Another month in the bag here at Warped, and this month was heavily focused on gameplay and player experience. Gameplay, progression, maps, enemies, loadouts, and almost all other areas of where games become “fun” were leveled up this month. There was a point where everyone on the team started talking about how it suddenly was more fun and it felt rewarding to play. It wasn’t just testing, it was enjoyable.
We’ve been aiming to reach this point in internal testing and development before moving on to our next phase, which involves bringing in outside testers for a closed beta. We want testers to enjoy the experience and feel like their actions matter, so that they stick around and continue to play, rather than test and grind.
We believe that the results of a happy tester will have a much more lasting impact in the long run. While there are still some engineering milestones to hit before closed beta, the fun has already begun, and it will help closed beta be more impactful once started.
One of the major standouts in the update is how the game now loads maps, facilities, and enemies in a more dynamic and random fashion, resulting in gameplay that constantly changes and evolves throughout each mission. To do this, we needed more maps and facilities to load.
Besides all the new facilities and parts that were designed, our artists created a new planet, one that is incredibly unique and unlike than anything we’ve seen in a game before. It feels dreamlike, and the influences from old sci-fi films and books are coming in full throttle.
When we first brainstormed Warped Universe, we made a pact to create a universe that stands out. We want every screenshot to scream Warped Universe. This new planet and map do that more than ever before. We’re making a fun, exciting, and fresh game, and we’re beyond thrilled to be at this point in development.