Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
Most Recent: News
The Elder Scrolls and Theology to be released next month
Former Warp Zoned Contributor Joshua Wise has been plenty busy over the last year. In addition to working on his PhD, Wise found time to edit Past the Sky’s Rim: The Elder Scrolls and Theology. As you may have guessed from the title, the book explores the religious underpinnings of the Elder Scrolls series, giving particular emphasis to Bethesda’s 2011 smash hit, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:
The Elder Scrolls series has entranced gamers for two decades with its deep mythology, complex history, and intriguing locations. Players have explored a world in The Elder Scrolls rich with kings, demons, heroes, magic, and gods. Past the Sky’s Rim: The Elder Scrolls and Theology engages with the world from the perspective of academic theology and religious studies. Within these pages, scholars ask what it means to become a god, to die alone in the solitude of Vvardenfell, and to live in a world with different afterlives for different people. Attempting to move beyond a shallow engagement, Past the Sky’s Rim considers video games as serious media capable of transmitting important ideas to those who engage with them and invites readers to think more deeply about what games can say about ultimate realities.
Past the Sky’s Rim: The Elder Scrolls and Theology will be available through your favorite bookseller (including Amazon) on April 15.
Daily Scoop: March 12, 2014 – This weather, amirite?
So our Editor-in-Chief, John Scalzo, had a snow day today up in New York, while here in Philadelphia, it was 71 degrees, and will go down to 26 later tonight. We’ll be getting that snow tomorrow, I hear. Seriously, this weather is crazy! But hey, I’ve got lots of games to keep me company tonight, and we just got another DualShock 4, which means Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition and TowerFall: Ascension are on the menu.
As for deals, you still have one more day to get in on the Humble Weekly Sale, featuring a load of games from PopCap. Humble also has the Devolver Debut, where you can pay what you want for Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition, Shadow Warrior Classic Redux, Austin High, The Poisoning, and One Couch at a Time. Pay $10 or more to unlock Defense Technica, Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, Cosmic DJ, Good Game, and MARS.
Over at Steam, the Daily Deal is The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav for $4.99. They’re also having a huge sale on titles nominated for British Academy Games Awards, including The Stanley Parable for $8.99, BioShock Infinite for $7.49, and Surgeon Simulator 2013 for $3.40. Scoop ’em up!
No scoop is complete without a bunch of t-shirts!
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News
Hasbro is asking players to add a word to Official Scrabble Dictionary
Arguments over what counts as a legal Scrabble are a time-honored tradition in many households. While the rules officially forbid “slang,” those non-standard words are only removed from the board if they’re not found in the Official Dictionary after a challenge. But who among us hasn’t had the urge to throw down a well-known slang word like “ZEN”? Now, you might finally get a chance to without having to bluff your way through it.
Hasbro is updating the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary for the first time since 2005 and they are seeking suggestions from the Internet-at-large. After gathering all the suggestions, Hasbro will pit the 16 best choices against each other in the Scrabble Word Showdown bracket. The last word standing will make it into the dictionary (along with thousands of other words chosen by Hasbro). To make a suggestion, just visit the company’s official Facebook page from now until March 28 and nominate your favorite slang word for a promotion to the big time. The Scrabble Word Showdown begins on April 2.
One word can change everything. We’re updating the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online Official Scrabble Players Dictionary for the first time in 9 years with the #ScrabbleWordShowdown!
And in case you were wondering… “KWYJIBO,” “CROMULENT,” and “EMBIGGEN” have all already been suggested.
Posted in News
Tagged Tabletop Games
Angry Birds Epic is a turn-based RPG… seriously
A few weeks ago, Rovio revealed Angry Birds Stella, a girl-powered spinoff to their popular mobile franchise. While we still don’t know what kind of game Stella will be, we now know that the developer is working on another Angry Birds game that is going to be “Epic.”
Angry Birds Epic will star the titular birds and their piggie antagonists in a turn-based RPG and “an extensive crafting system.” The game will “soft launch” this week on the iOS App Store in Australia and Canada. After that, it will expand to several other countries before officially launching on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8 devices later this year.
You have to hand it to Rovio, they know how to tick all the franchise boxes. In addition to the original Angry Birds trilogy, they’ve produced several crossover games (Angry Birds Rio, Angry Birds Star Wars I & II), a multiplayer-only version (Angry Birds Friends), a totally different type of game starring the swine (Bad Piggies), and a kart racer (Angry Birds Go!). Hey, it worked for Nintendo…
[Source: Kotaku]
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Angry Birds Epic
First R.B.I. Baseball 14 screenshots bring back the 80s sports game… literally
Today, Yahoo! Sports published the first screenshots of MLB Advanced Media’s mysterious R.B.I. Baseball 14. The game franchise was incredibly popular in the late 80s and early 90s, and the reboot will respect that heritage with its graphics and gameplay style. R.B.I Baseball 14 sidesteps the heavy duty simulation aspects of 2K’s defunct MLB 2K series and Sony’s upcoming MLB 14: The Show to bring video game baseball back to a simpler time.
But don’t think this means that R.B.I. 14 won’t feature realistic baseball. All 30 MLB teams will be represented and 480 players will be included in the game. And the developers will use real-life game metrics compiled by MLB Advanced Media to create each player’s digital self. But all of these statistics will be in service to a game that doesn’t include online multiplayer (it includes local “couch play” only) and only offers three modes: Season, Postseason, and Exhibition. It’s just like the 80s, but many don’t see that as a bad thing.
“There are people out there who would want by a pixel-by-pixel recreation of a game from that era, and there are people who want something that has more control and has more than eight teams,” said Jamie Leece, MLB Advanced Media’s Vice President of Gaming. “If you take a step back and just play the game, what we’re seeing and hearing is: ‘You’re taking me back,’ ‘It feels like the old games,’ ‘It’s so much fun.'”
R.B.I. Baseball 14 will be available as a downloadable game for the PS3, Xbox 360, and mobile platforms in early April (lending credence to this earlier rumor). The game will also slide onto the PS4 and Xbox One “shortly after.”
XBL Store Today: TitanFall, Dark Souls II
While Sony continues to work on getting this week’s PlayStation Store update uploaded to the PSN, Microsoft has added two games that need no introduction to the Xbox Live Store. So say hello to the multiplayer mech madness of Respawn’s TitanFall (Xbox One) and the brutal medieval action of Bandai Namco’s Dark Souls II.
But if you really need an introduction, here’s a bit more information about both games:
Xbox One Game Store
TitanFall ($59.99)
Stand by for Titanfall. Crafted by key developers behind the Call of Duty franchise, TitanFall is the first next-gen shooter that combines pure adrenaline, wall-running, double-jumping action with powerful, fast-paced titan warfare to set the new bar for online multiplayer gameplay. Delivering blistering fast, fluid combat that gives you the freedom to fight your way as elite, assault pilots or agile, heavily armored titans. Rethink fundamental combat and movement with new abilities to change tactics on the fly, attacking or escaping depending on the situation. Heart-pounding multiplayer action combined with dramatic, cinematic moments lets you enjoy the fiction and characters of the universe without having to leave your favorite game online multiplayer mode. Online multiplayer matches featuring both human/AI allies and enemies create an experience like none other.
Xbox 360 Game Store
Dark Souls II ($59.99)
Developed by From Software, Dark Souls II is the highly anticipated sequel to the punishing 2011 breakout hit Dark Souls. The unique old-school action RPG experience captivated imaginations of gamers worldwide with incredible challenge and intense emotional reward. Dark Souls II brings the franchise’s renowned difficulty & gripping gameplay innovations to both single and multiplayer experiences.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Dark Souls II, TitanFall
Daily Scoop: March 11, 2014 – Much excitement
Tuesday has finally arrived, and I can’t wait to get my TowerFall on tonight! I even gave in and picked up another DualShock 4, though I still need two more to get the full experience (and two more people – Anthony Amato and I can’t play them all ourselves). I’m so excited!
There are a couple of good deals happening today. The Humble Mobile Bundle 4 has some new games added to the unlockables section. Pay what you want for Catan, Vector, Riptide GP2, and Zombie Gunship. Pay more than the average for BADLAND Premium and Breach & Clear, and now the added OLO, Color Sheep, and Gunslugs.
Steam is having some sales as well. Their Daily Deal is Demonicon for $13.49, and they’re having a huge Franchise Sale on Call of Duty games. Black Ops II is $29.99 and Modern Warfare 3 is $19.99, with DLC on sale all over the place as well.
Got a few t-shirts for you today!
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News
Get to know Diablo III: Reaper of Souls’ new character class: The Crusader
Diablo III‘s first expansion, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, will be available exclusively for the PC at the end of the month. In addition to a higher level cap and several new gameplay modes, the expansion will give players the option of a new character class: The Crusader.
The Crusader’s origin, and his/her ability to dole out divine justice, is explored in a new trailer for Reaper of Souls that was released today by Blizzard.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls will be available for the PC on March 25. The expansion will also be released for the PS4 sometime this year as part of the “Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition” bundle.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Diablo III