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: PS4
Paul McCartney writing music for Bungie’s next game
Earlier this year, Sir Paul McCartney revealed that he was composing music for an unnamed developer. After everyone got over the shock of a former Beatle working on a video game, we all kind of put it out of our minds. There were actual games to be played after all.
But over the weekend, McCartney dropped a bomb. The unnamed developer that he’s working with is actually Bungie. That’s right, Bungie, the creators of the Halo series:
“I’m really excited to be working on writing music with @bungie, the studio that made Halo.” – Paul twitter.com/PaulMcCartney/…
— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) July 7, 2012
While the game he’s composing went unmentioned, we can assume that it has something to do with Destiny, Bungie’s sci-fi shooter for the Xbox 360, PS3 and next-generation systems. I guess we don’t know that for sure, but something tells me Paul McCartney didn’t just drop by the Bungie offices to hang out.
SCEA CEO Jack Tretton comments on PS4: “We’ve never been first”
SCEA CEO Jack Tretton was interviewed by Geoff Keighley the day after the big Sony press conference. When asked about the PlayStation 4, and being the last out of the gates in the most recent generation of consoles, Tretton spun it perfectly:
I think, if you look back at history, we’ve never been first, we’ve never been cheapest. It’s about being best. And I think if you can build a better machine and it’s going to come out a little bit later, that’s better than rushing something to market that’s going to run out of gas for the long term. I think, ideally, in a perfect world, you want the best machine that ships first, that’s the cheapest. But the number one goal is to have the best machine, and that’s what we’re always focused on.
They’re all about the core gamers at Sony – “At the end of the day, I look at the core gamer, and if they’re happy, I’m happy.” He also said the proof is in the pudding with Sony games, indicating E3 darlings The Last of Us and Beyond.
I’m happy, Jackie T. I’m happy.
Agni’s Philosophy gives a glimpse at what Square Enix can do on next-gen systems
Agni’s Philosophy is not a game. Instead, it’s a mini-movie, produced by Square Enix, depicting what is possible on next-generation consoles and PCs. Like the Final Fantasy VII technical demo they created to showcase the PS3’s processing power, Agni’s Philosophy was designed to give gamers their first taste of the Luminous Engine, Square Enix’s multiplatform game creation tool.
Agni’s Philosophy includes many of the hallmarks of the Final Fantasy series inclduing a plucky young protagonist, Summons, crystals, and an ancient order that protects them. New to the series is an almost post-apocalyptic look to the world including modern trucks and terrorists wielding AK-47s.
There’s little chance that Agni’s Philosophy will enter full production for the PS4, Xbox 720 or Wii U (in fact, Square Enix’s history with tech demos almost assures it won’t), but it’s also a stunning piece of video with some nifty smoke, fire, and water effects.
Outgoing THQ President talks Insane, Saints Row 4, more
Danny Bilson, THQ’s (now former) Executive Vice President of Core Games, has always been a little too talkative with the media. He admits as much in a recent interview with Eurogamer, his final one as a representative of THQ. Bilson also talked extensively about the company’s plans for 2013 (and beyond) and what the future holds for games like Insane, Saints Row 4, Devil’s Third, their unnamed shooter from Turtle Rock, and more.
Hit the jump for some of the highlights. (more…)
Now Infinity Ward is working on a “next generation” game
With the “next generation” officially set to begin next week with the Wii U’s E3 2012 reveal, another developer is looking to the future.
This time, it’s Call of Duty creator Infinity Ward. The development team is looking for a Senior Network Engineer, so I think it’s safe to say that their next game will include online multiplayer.
Their ideal candidate should also have an “[i]nterest in games, preferably first person shooters.” So I’m going to make another leap and state that Infinity Ward is working on a first person shooter, maybe even Call of Duty 10. I’m really sticking my neck out there, I know.
Check out these pretty pictures made with Unreal Engine 4
Epic Games has teamed up with Wired to release a few screenshots showcasing their upcoming Unreal Engine 4. If you want to skip straight to the pretty pictures, they’re after the break, but Epic had plenty of interesting things to say about their new engine as well.
“There is a huge responsibility on the shoulders of our engine team and our studio to drag this industry into the next generation,” said Epic Design Director Cliff Bleszinski. “It is up to Epic, and [CEO] Tim Sweeney in particular, to motivate Sony and Microsoft not to phone in what these next consoles are going to be. It needs to be a quantum leap. They need to damn near render Avatar in real time, because I want it and gamers want it… even if they don’t know they want it.”
Bold words CliffyB, bold words.
Epic will publicly unveil the Unreal Engine 4 at this year’s E3 expo. But eight images created using the technology that will likely power future-generation game development can be found after the break. (more…)
Developing a “future generation” video game, LucasArts is
LucasArts has become the latest developer to jump into “future generation” game development after a job listing for a Graphics Engineer was discovered on Gamasutra. The game is described as an “Action/ Adventure Title,” but any further details are being kept tightly under wraps.
LucasArts hasn’t done much development in recent years, choosing instead to work with TT Games, BioWare, and Behaviour Interactive to create several new games based on the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises.
However, the company did internally develop Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II this generation. And the second one did end on a rather massive cliffhanger…
Michel Ancel says Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still in development
Despite a whole decade since Ubisoft’s original appeared, it seems that Beyond Good & Evil 2 will prove naysayers wrong by climbing into the cold light of day. However, unlike the recent HD re-release on Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network, the franchise will be seeking a home on the next generation of consoles, if we are to believe Michel Ancel, the original game’s creator. He has (once again) been quoted as saying the game is in “the active creation stage,” explaining further:
“I can say that it’s a very ambitious game and we need some tech to achieve that ambition. We focus on the game. We create it first, then we’ll see what can run it. We don’t say 2013 because we don’t know when it will come. We’re working to create a great game and it needs more tech.”
However, it has been four years since Ubisoft debuted a teaser trailer for the sequel at their short-lived Ubidays conference in 2008. A short time before that, Ancel himself stated at the Video Games Live show in Paris that BG&E2 had been in development for 18 months, suggesting that the project was perhaps put on hiatus, only to be revived by the original’s HD re-release in 2011, but retooled for the next generation. Could it be they are gearing it up for release on Nintendo’s Wii U (or perhaps the PS4 or Xbox 720)? The Wii U’s tablet controller would certainly be a good match with Jade’s camera.
[Source: Destructoid]