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
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Warp Zoned Presents
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Most Recent: PC
John Romero hacked together another Doom map in his spare time
John Romero is at it again. The Doom co-creator recently returned to one of his earliest successes with “Phobos Mission Control,” a brand new WAD for Doom that replaces the “Command Control” map (E1M4). Available to download now through Romero’s Dropbox account, here’s what the developer had to say about the new map:
With the Toxin Refinery in the rear-view, you make your way to Phobos Mission Control where the computers crunching the data from the Phobos Anomaly are located. You need to use them to gain access to the Phobos Lab, but remember hearing that the computers were tied into all areas of the installation and that you never knew when the environment around you would change. You need to keep your eyes alert to all movement – this place is not what it seems…
According to Romero, “Phobos Mission Control” isn’t as hard as his previous new map, “Tech Gone Bad,” and was created as another warm-up for the newly announced Blackroom. However, the developer “paused” Blackroom’s Kickstarter campaign earlier today to create a playable demo of the game for potential backers.
If you want to see “Phobos Mission Control” in action, check out a gameplay wakthrough embedded after the break from YouTube user “Doom Video Vault.” (more…)
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Doom (1993)
John Romero “pauses” Blackroom Kickstarter campaign to produce a gameplay demo for potential backers
Even though the Kickstarter campaign for John Romero’s Blackroom was going pretty well, the Doom developer has decided to suspend it for now to work on a gameplay demo for potential backers. Here’s what Romero had to say about pressing Blackroom’s “PAUSE” button:
The team is at work on a demo which demonstrates the kind of gameplay, look and innovative, cool features that make Blackroom truly unique — the things we’ve waited years to put into an FPS and which make us incredibly excited about this game.
There’s a hitch here, a hitch that’s making us do something that’s right for the game, the team, and the community: we’re pressing “PAUSE” on the fundraising campaign for Blackroom to complete this gameplay demo. Simply put, this will take more time than the Kickstarter has left, so we’ve decided to suspend the campaign and launch a new one when the gameplay demo is ready. We believe, however, it is the right choice. We know you do, too. Thanks to your feedback, we know we should have included it at launch.
Romero’s original goal for Blackroom was $700,000, and at the time of its cancellation, backers had pledged $131,052 towards the project. According to Kicktraq, Blackroom was on pace to reach its goal before the cancellation, so Romero, and the rest of Night Work Games, probably do want to do right by their fans.
Developers from id Software showcased Doom’s single-player campaign in this 60-minute video
“This isn’t Doom 4. This is actually Doom, straight up, from the beginning.”
The developers at id Software have always said the upcoming Doom reboot was about getting back to their roots. Even when id co-founder John Carmarck was involved with the project, he often discussed his desire to locate “the DNA of Doom.” Yesterday, Creative Director Hugo Martin and Executive Producer Marty Stratton walked us through 60 minutes of Doom’s single-player campaign in a brand new video, and I have to admit, I think they found it.
Players who watch the whole video will be introduced to Doom’s “Glory Kill” system, as well as a massive amount of weaponry and some of the lore that’s sprinkled throughout the game. Naturally, it all ends with a trip to Hell.
Doom will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 13.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Doom (2016)
The Walking Dead Season 3 tease from Robert Kirkman reveals an older Clementine
Robert Kirkman is the creator of the Walking Dead comic book and the guiding hand behind the megafranchise’s expansion into television, novels, and video games. So Telltale Games recently gave him the chance to talk about his thoughts on The Walking Dead: Michonne, which came to a conclusion yesterday.
In the video, Kirkman praises the Telltale team for their fine work, and reveals that several of the game’s plot points came directly from his notes for Michonne’s absence in issue #126. The writer also couldn’t resist teasing The Walking Dead Season 3, and confirmed that fans of the series are in store for another time jump:
“Season 3 of the Telltale series is really exciting to me. The way that the timeline works, Season 3 will actually be getting pretty close to where we are in the comics concurrently,” said Kirkman. “We’ll be checking in on Clementine again, so we’ll be seeing her, seeing where she’s at and what’s going on with her which is going to be great. But also similar to the Michonne series there will probably be some more comic book elements that we’ll be working into it in some interesting ways. I don’t want to spoil too much…”
The first episode of The Walking Dead Season 3 will be released sometime this year.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, The Walking Dead: Michonne
Cuphead Hands-On Preview: A Shoot-Shoot-A-Hoot
There was no Cartoon Network when I was a little kid. Instead, a sugary haze of Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and G.I. Joe filtered into my home via regular broadcast channels on Saturday mornings. And after they turned the day over to programming for adults, I’d turn my attention to nearly six hours of non-stop Looney Tunes on TNT.
I loved the Looney Tunes, but occasionally, TNT programmers would slip in an older 20s or 30s short that didn’t have anything to do with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, or Foghorn Leghorn. I never knew what to make of those earlier attempts at animation, but I always felt like there was something unsettling about them. Brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, of Studio MDHR, saw the same sinister edge in these cartoons, and they tapped directly into it for their upcoming side-scrolling shooter, Cuphead. (more…)
Dear Diary: Saturday and Sunday at PAX East 2016 I Played…
Another PAX East has come to an end, but Mike “Gabe” Krahulik, Jerry “Tycho” Holkins, and game developers from around the world will return to Boston next year for more shenanigans. In the meantime, I’ve got an overflowing notebook and thoughts on more than a dozen titles from the final days of the expo. (more…)
Posted in Features, PC, PS4, Retro, Top Story, Xbox One
Tagged 20XX, Cuphead, Flinthook, Just Shapes and Beats, Knee Deep, Mages of Mystralia, Metrico+, PAX East 2016, Perception, Rogue Stormers, Streamline, Tooth and Tail, Umbrella Corps
An open beta for Fallout 4’s modding tools is now available on the PC
Fallout 4 is about to get a whole lot crazier on the PC as Bethesda has announced Creation Kit is now available. Using the included modding tools, players will be able to craft new “quests, environments, characters, dialogue, outfits, weapons, and more” for other Fallout 4 players.
Players can search for new mods from within Fallout 4 by selecting “Mods” from the Main Menu. There, they’ll be able to select a mod, download it, offer feedback, and rate it all from the same spot.
Bethesda is still tweaking the Creation Kit tools, so the framework is currently available to download as an open beta through the Bethesda.net launcher. But eventually, Bethesda wants to make the Creation Kit available for the PS4 and Xbox One in June, and cross-platform compatibility for mods looks likely.
John Romero and Adrian Carmack return to their FPS roots with Blackroom
John Romero’s about make make you his… sorry, force of habit. The Doom co-creator has done more for the image of the “rock star game developer” than almost anybody, and he’s back with Blackroom, a “visceral, action-packed first person shooter set in a holographic simulation gone rogue.”
Blackroom is in development at Romero’s new studio, Night Work Games, and it’ll follow a near-future engineer as he investigates anomalies in his company’s holographic simulator. Because of the ever-changing nature of the Blackroom, players will be able to visit a variety of locales including “military sims, hellish infernos, and interstellar space” in both single-player and co-op campaigns.
Romero launched a Kickstarter campaign and also enlisted fellow id co-founder Adrian Carmack to handle the art design. The developers have already raised $100,000 in pledged funds and they’re seeking a total of only $700,000. After spending millions on the development of Daikatana, Romero has cut way back for Blackroom, but he’s also partnered with an unnamed publisher who will provide addition monetary support if the campaign is fully funded.
Blackroom is still early in development, but Romero already has a vision for how he wants the final game to look and that includes support for online multiplayer, dedicated servers, mods, map creation, and a single-player Challenge Mode. Romero has also promised to spearhead the level design personally and he’s hired guitarist George Lynch to provide a metal-influenced soundtrack.
There is a lot more information about Blackroom’s story and Romero’s plan for the future of the game on the Kickstarter page. And if all goes well, Romero wants to launch Blackroom in Winter 2018 exclusively for the PC. So let’s see if this rock star has one last encore in him.