Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Interviews
Interview: Looking at Geometry Wars 3 From All the Angles With Creative Director Craig Howard
I thought the Geometry Wars series had gone dark forever after Bizarre Creations closed its doors in 2011. It was a surprising end for the developer that had created Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, a simple twin-stick shooter that many people consider the first great Xbox 360 game. Retro Evolved was followed by a well-received sequel in 2008, which lead Bizarre’s Craig Howard to admit to the MTV Multiplayer Blog that a third game in the series was already in the works.
Howard moved on after Bizarre’s closure and he’s now the Creative Director at Lucid Games, which teamed up with Activision’s Sierra Games imprint to finally release Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions last year. The game was an instant smash hit was fans of the series, as it expanded the playing field into the third dimension and added a wide variety of new weapons and modes to the franchise’s standard formula. But rather than jump right into Geometry Wars 4, Lucid doubled the size of Dimensions earlier this year with the Evolved expansion. The developer also wanted to take Geometry Wars 3 on the road with portable ports for iOS, Android, and the Vita.
I recently got the chance to talk with Howard about Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, which will be available for the Vita beginning today, and Lucid’s journey to bring the franchise back. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
Interview: Crossing Swords in Knight Squad with Chainsawesome’s Jean Simon Otis
We played a ton of Knight Squad at PAX East. Read our Hands-On Preview here.
Every year at PAX East, there’s always one game that attendees begin to whisper about as they’re chatting with strangers while waiting in one of the many lines. This year, that game was Knight Squad from Chainsawesome Games. All weekend long, crowds were pushed towards their little booth to play their eight-player game that very closely resembles the love child of Gauntlet and Bomberman. This left the developers, including Lead Programmer Jean Simon Otis, completely exhausted, but also excited.
Both feelings were very present when we sat down to talk with Otis at the show. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, Top Story, Xbox One
Tagged Knight Squad, PAX East 2015
In the Year 20XX: An Interview With Chris King of Batterystaple Games
Back in the day, Sega used to run an advertising campaign that claimed “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t.” Aside from angering my inner nerd (I was an excellent speller in grade school), I could never actually figure out what Sega did that Nintendo didn’t. The same benefit of the doubt does not apply to the people who currently run Capcom. We know exactly what they aren’t doing, and that’s treating Mega Man, one of gaming’s most beloved characters, with the respect he deserves. There hasn’t been a new Mega Man game in nearly five years, and aside from an appearance in last year’s Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U (a Nintendo production), the character has been completely forgotten.
Enter Chris King, the programmer for Batterystaple Games. He saw the Mega Man-shaped hole in the market and decided to give the people what they wanted. His new game, 20XX, is a loving homage to Mega Man (more specifically, to the Mega Man X series) that adds in a lot of things that Capcom couldn’t do back in the 90s.
What does Capcom think of 20XX? After playing a few rounds of 20XX, we asked the developer that question, and a few more, at this year’s PAX East expo. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, Top Story
Tagged 20XX, PAX East 2015
Don’t Leave… Take This Interview With the Developers of Guns, Gore & Cannoli
At first glance, zombies, mobsters, and a wonderful cheese-filled dessert don’t seem like they’d have much in common. But while Clemenza instructed a young mafioso to leave his gun and take the cannoli in The Godfather, players will need both if they’re going to find any success against the rampaging zombie hordes of Guns, Gore & Cannoli. Belgium-based Crazy Monkey Studios is currently seeking funding for the game through Kickstarter, and we recently talked to Benjamin Claeys, one of the game’s artists, about the Prohibition era side-scrolling shooter and its unique art style.
Naturally, the conversation drifted away from the cartoonish violence of the game towards an appreciation for really good cannoli… (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, PS4, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Guns Gore & Cannoli
For Our Readers… For My Brother Interview With Crooked Tree’s Katy Levinson
Last year, developer Lat Ware and his team successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign for the brain-bending title Throw Trucks With Your Mind. Now that team is back under the guise of Crooked Tree Studios with a fresh puzzle platformer, For My Brother, which was featured in the latest edition of our monthly look at interesting crowdfunding campaigns, Kickstart This!. We chatted with Katy Levinson, the co-founder of ArcBotics and now Business Development Manager for Crooked Tree, about social media campaigns, art design, and Michael Bay’s The Rock. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Top Story
Tagged For My Brother
Interview: Exploring the Final Frontier With Maximillian Kovtun of Space Enigma Studios
In the latest edition of Warp Zoned’s Kickstart This! column, one of the games we featured was Space Pioneer from Space Enigma Studios, an exciting fusion of space exploration, colonization, RTS, and mystery adventure. We recently spoke to Space Enigma’s director, Maximillian Kovtun, to find out more about the project, the science behind the game, and why the Wii U was chosen as one of the release platforms. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, Top Story, Wii U
Tagged Space Pioneer
Interview: We Take Aim at MODUS With Imagiro’s Allan Wang
Some gaming projects on Kickstarter are criminally overlooked by the general public. Imagiro Studios MODUS, a 2D turn-based artillery shooter set in a chaotic, post-apocalyptic Earth dominated by mutated beasts where humans once reigned supreme, is one such title.
We recently had the chance to talk with Allan Wang, CEO and Story Developer at MODUS developer Imagiro Studios, about the game’s failed campaign, alien monstrosities, Studio Ghibli influences and home-made beaver tails. (more…)
Interview: Deep in the [Stuff] With Bullet Bros’ Jason Stokes
From the bold opening line of the trailer that immediately articulates the level of excrement the brothers-in-arms constantly reside in, Bullet Bros wears its guts on its sleeve. The game features two mercenaries who can link together for some outlandish and original manoeuvres, as well as hook cars, choppers, and other vehicles together for maximum devastation. Unfortunately, the project did not find much love on Kickstarter, collecting pledges for only a third of its $80,000 target. Warp Zoned caught up with creator Jason Stokes in the bloody aftermath of his criminally-overlooked campaign. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, Top Story