Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- 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
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Most Recent: PC
Here’s what the Steam Controller looks like as of March 2014
Valve revealed the first version of their Steam Controller back in September and the company’s initial vision for a PC controller featured a few unorthodox choices, such as a touchpad instead of face buttons. After undergoing a beta test in late 2013, Valve dropped the touchpad and added face buttons in a new version of the controller that debuted during the Steam Dev Days convention in January. And now, the papier-mache mockup is a real controller, as you can see to your right.
Valve plans to let developers and the media play with the prototype during this year’s Game Developers Conference, which begins today in San Francisco. And don’t go thinking this is the final, Valve’s Eric “Axiom” Hope said, “We will be posting more updates very soon about the continuing testing, development, and refinement of the controller.”
[Source: Steam Universe]
A new trailer explores the combat and narrative of Hyper Light Drifter
A new trailer for Hyper Light Drifter has been posted to the PlayStation Blog along with more details about the game’s combat system and narrative style.
On the topic of combat, developer Alex Preston had this to say about how enemies will attack The Drifter:
Creating intelligent and tactical scenarios with enemies is key, rather than stacking cannon fodder that waits gleefully in line to get their heads chopped off. Some enemies dodge projectiles, others deflect attacks, some (the poison wolves) attack you and vulnerable enemies as a pack. We even have enemies that command weaker types in order to gain an advantage. Each encounter should feel different, and remain challenging.
And for the narrative, Preston will attempt to tell the story of Hyper Light Drifter using no dialogue:
We are wary of endless blocks of text, poorly designed UI, and explicit handholding, which can often dilute a great experience. These leave a player frustrated, or worse, disinterested. Instead, we want players to uncover the rich mythology along with the Drifter in a more organic way, with a narrative that’s not explicit. We chose to recognize that players are smart.
Dialogue and quests are presented in storyboardlike sequences, which convey a specific mood without the use of text or voiceovers. This also allows us to keep the game as visually lush as possible and break past language barriers.
If you’re interested in one of the most interesting Kickstarter success stories of 2013, the remainder of the PlayStation Blog post is a recommended read. Hyper Light Drifter will be available for PC platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux) by the end of the year with PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Ouya versions coming later.
Creative Assembly makes the Alien scary again in Alien: Isolation
In a new developer diary, Al Hope, the Creative Director at Creative Assembly, details his team’s goal for your extraterrestrial adversary in Alien: Isolation: “We wanted to make the Alien scary again.” Hope will attempt to make good on his promise by creating a Xenomorph that is unpredictable and very scary. Gary Napper, one of the game’s designers, laid it all out for us:
“Depending on how cautious players are, we’ve seen encounters in Alien: Isolation last over 30 minutes in some cases. And this just can’t be done with scripted behavior. As soon as the player can predict a pattern in the Alien, it stops being scary. It doesn’t follow any prescribed path or set of behaviors that are telling it to do specific things. It’s just reacting to the player’s presence and the choices that the player makes.”
We’ve heard these kinds of promises before in relation to a game based on the Alien films. But the atmosphere and mood that Hope, Napper, and the rest of the Creative Assembly team have packed into this video’s few minutes is incredible. They deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Alien: Isolation will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One towards the end of the year.
Secret Ponchos will sneak into PAX East 2014 in playable form
The developers at Switchblade Monkeys certainly had a busy 2013. In March, they debuted their first game, Secret Ponchos, at PAX East 2013. After a huge reaction from the crowd of con-goers, the team signed up with Sony and agreed to showcase the game at E3 2013 as a PS4-exclusive. And with its April release date looming, the developer has just revealed that first we’ll all get a chance to try it out again at PAX East 2014:
We've been working like mad, getting the game rebuilt in PhyreEngine for PS4! Get your hands on the new SP debut PAX East! Its been worth it
— Switchblade Monkeys (@SwitchbladeMkys) March 14, 2014
PAX East 2014 will be held in Boston beginning on April 11. If you plan to attend, I hope you’ve got your tickets. The popular Spring event is already sold out.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged PAX East 2014, Secret Ponchos
Call of Duty: Ghosts is the best-selling game of February 2014
Call of Duty: Ghosts was the best-selling game of the month in November, December, and January. Today, the NPD Group released their list of the best-selling games in February and, once again, Ghosts has taken the top spot. Ghosts has had an impressive run, but I have a strong feeling that major new releases like TitanFall and Dark Souls II will prevent Infinity Ward’s military shooter from winning one for the thumb next month.
Amongst new releases, the game adaptation of The Lego Movie and a trio of games from Square Enix (the Thief reboot, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, and Bravely Default) all broke into the top ten. Amazingly, the boxed version of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is still hanging on at #9.
The battle of the next-generation consoles continues to be almost a wash as the PS4 slightly squeaked ahead of the Xbox One in February. According to Microsoft, 258,000 Xbox One systems were sold during the month with the NPD Group reporting that Sony sold 10% more PS4 systems. Due to the Xbox One’s premium price tag, it technically brought in more sales dollars in February. As I said, the whole thing is almost a wash.
A complete look at last month’s top ten best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
The Last of Us takes home Best Game at 2014 BAFTA Awards
The 2014 BAFTA Awards were handed out yesterday in London and Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us was crowned the big winner of the night. The Last of US was declared “Best Game” by the British Academy and also took home four additional awards: “Action and Adventure,” “Story,” “Performer” (for Ashley Johnson’s portrayal of Ellie), and “Audio Achievement.”
The Last of Us, an American game, shared the spotlight with two distinctly British titles. Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V (“Best British Game,” “Game Design,” and “Multiplayer”) and Media Molecule’s Tearaway (“Mobile & Handheld,” “Family,” and “Artistic Achievement”) won three awards apiece.
The remainder of the awards were split between a handful of games and you can check out the complete list of winners after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Vita, Xbox 360
Tagged BioShock Infinite, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, FIFA 14, Gone Home, Grand Theft Auto V, Tearaway, The Last of Us
Shovel Knight digs into a slight delay and will miss March 31 release date
There’s no joy in Shovelville, for Yacht Club Games has delayed Shovel Knight. Originally scheduled to be released on March 31, the developer has confirmed (via Kickstarter) that a slight delay has befallen the game. Don’t worry, it’s just a few weeks:
So, we hemmed and hawed, and made a Super Important Executive Decision. This update is to let everyone know that Shovel Knight will be missing March 31 by a few weeks to make sure it’s a world class experience, and can release on all platforms simultaneously. This isn’t a major delay, or a long one; it’s simply a stretch of time to get everything polished and aligned. While major development is quickly drawing to a close, there are still some external factors, like submission preparation, which need a little bit more breathing room before the game goes live.
In order to ensure a simultaneous release on the 3DS, Wii U, and PC, Yacht Club has decided to hold off on a new release date announcement until once they get a certification go-ahead from both Nintendo and Valve.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, Wii U
Tagged Shovel Knight
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.