Warp zone
Encyclopedia
A warp zone is usually an area in a video game where players can go from one place or level to another. They are sometimes used as cheats (Super Mario Bros.
) and sometimes as ways to avoid too much walking (Donkey Kong 64
). They were particularly useful back when there was no battery backup, since they would save players from having to replay areas every time players started again. In the Super Mario Bros. series, warp pipes are used in warp zones to transport the player from one area of the game to the other. The original Super Mario Bros.
game contains a bug
that allows the player to enter a Warp Zone in such a way that it will bring you to the Minus World, an underwater level that loops over and over.
Warp Zones are also known as "warps" in some circles and while they're not a crucial element of the Sonic the Hedgehog
games, in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
s "Planet Freedom" they serve as a convenient form of transportation.
Their first known appearances were 1980's Pac-Man
, as areas where you can walk to the far left or far right side of the screen and they take you to the opposite side and ones that actually allow players advancement passed certain levels in Crystal Castles from 1983. In more advanced versions of the game, they are orbs, or something else closer related to modern games.
mapping (level design
). A Warp Zone in this sense is a method of (somewhat) seamlessly connecting two parts of a level that are not normally connected.
Imagine two rooms, separated by empty space, with no hallway in between. If you placed a doorway shape on the east wall of one room and another on the west wall of the other room, then set the doorways up as a warp zone, the player could see, move, and shoot through the doorways as if the rooms were physically right next to one another, with a real doorway in between.
Aside from making it easier to create a level in sections, this enables the level designer to do some interesting tricks with space, such as creating containers that appear bigger on the inside than the outside (à la TARDIS
), or a doorway on one side of a room that leads to one on the other side of the same room.
".
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
) and sometimes as ways to avoid too much walking (Donkey Kong 64
Donkey Kong 64
Donkey Kong 64 is a platform game, developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in North America on November 24, 1999 and in Europe on December 6, 1999. The game is a follow up to the Donkey Kong Country trilogy on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System...
). They were particularly useful back when there was no battery backup, since they would save players from having to replay areas every time players started again. In the Super Mario Bros. series, warp pipes are used in warp zones to transport the player from one area of the game to the other. The original Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
game contains a bug
Software bug
A software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...
that allows the player to enter a Warp Zone in such a way that it will bring you to the Minus World, an underwater level that loops over and over.
Warp Zones are also known as "warps" in some circles and while they're not a crucial element of the Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog series
Sonic the Hedgehog is the best selling video game series released by Sega starring and named after its mascot character, Sonic the Hedgehog...
games, in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie is a two-episode OVA film series based on Sega's best-selling franchise Sonic the Hedgehog....
s "Planet Freedom" they serve as a convenient form of transportation.
Their first known appearances were 1980's Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
, as areas where you can walk to the far left or far right side of the screen and they take you to the opposite side and ones that actually allow players advancement passed certain levels in Crystal Castles from 1983. In more advanced versions of the game, they are orbs, or something else closer related to modern games.
Unreal
"Warp Zone" is also a term used in Unreal engineUnreal Engine
The Unreal Engine is a game engine developed by Epic Games, first illustrated in the 1998 first-person shooter game Unreal. Although primarily developed for first-person shooters, it has been successfully used in a variety of other genres, including stealth, MMORPGs and RPGs...
mapping (level design
Level design
Level design, environment design or game mapping is a discipline of game development involving creation of video game levels—locales, stages, or missions. This is commonly done using level editor, a game development software designed for building levels; however some games feature built-in...
). A Warp Zone in this sense is a method of (somewhat) seamlessly connecting two parts of a level that are not normally connected.
Imagine two rooms, separated by empty space, with no hallway in between. If you placed a doorway shape on the east wall of one room and another on the west wall of the other room, then set the doorways up as a warp zone, the player could see, move, and shoot through the doorways as if the rooms were physically right next to one another, with a real doorway in between.
Aside from making it easier to create a level in sections, this enables the level designer to do some interesting tricks with space, such as creating containers that appear bigger on the inside than the outside (à la TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
), or a doorway on one side of a room that leads to one on the other side of the same room.
Space strategy
Many space strategy games employ this idea as well, often labeling it "wormholeWormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
".