Gel Blaster, a company specializing in water blasters, has revealed the Nexus Spatial Gaming Console at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo in Orlando, Florida. Gel Blaster is aiming to launch Nexus with select partners in location-based entertainment (LBE) centers across the U.S. Gel Blaster is hoping to make Nexus a flagship family entertainment center experience and leverage the company’s expansive user base to drive traffic to partner venues.
Nexus blends paintball, laser tag, and video games, changing the landscape of interactive gaming. The spatial gaming console creates a new physical and digital gaming experience for team-based blaster play.
The Nexus system combines three gaming components: the Nexus Smart Blaster, the wearable Nexus Vest, and the Nexus Portal Smart Target. Each product utilizes ESP32 system-on-chips with a bespoke networking and communications protocol. This enables edge computing for first-person shooter game modes and a physical shooting experience.
The Nexus Smart Blaster propels water balls at velocities between 170-240 feet per second, and features infrared emitters, ultrasonic sensors, and a comprehensive display screen. The Nexus Vest is outfitted with piezoelectric hit detection panels and more than 600 programmable RGB LEDs. The vest provides visual, auditory, and haptic cues through animations and the Nexus AI Voice Assistant. In the gaming arena, the Nexus Portal Smart Target serves as the strategic point. The combination of the three products result in an immersive experience, resulting in the best fit for the Nexus Spatial Gaming Console.
The three products are run by a software program that controls gameplay and monitors hardware usage for customer support. Teams can compete in multiple game modes while the system calculates scores and attributes hits to users and their profiles.
Gel Blaster and entertainment center beta partner Main Event have been running trial gaming, and Nexus is expected to officially launch next year.
