FAQs on Word Warp Part III

 Our last set of responses for Word Warp deal with probably the biggest complaint about the application, the issue of where we get the words in Word Warp.

Now the thing that confuses me to a great extent is that from talking to a large number of Word Warp players, reading over reviews and then also reading the comments from the App Store, I have concluded that there are two types of Word Warp players:  those who are extremely happy with the game and can't find much to complain with, and those who vehemently question the authenticity of the words used in Word Warp.


Today, I will address the concerns of the latter group, that have left comments such as these:

     "Now I know that some of the words you guys have in there aren't words at all.  Still a great game, just need to fix that"

Ok, so it seems that there are two parts to this conspiracy theory here:  words that people think should be included in the game, and words that people haven't heard of that are included.  Well contrary to what some people may believe, Word Warp does not make up the words in-the game.  But even I didn’t know the details of how the game worked.  Therefore, I decided I must find a solution and seek the counsel of the MobilityWare sorcerers, the obscure Engineering group.  In true Indiana Jones fashion, I ventured (minus the fedora) into the dark hallways of the building, tip-toeing past several of the offices and taking great leaps of faith before I found myself in the bowels of Engineering.

Engineering kindly informed me that there were two word lists that the Word Warp game uses: the “default” word list and the “Alternative” word list.  The default list in the game comes from an open source dictionary project, a compilation of many different lists oriented towards common, non-technical, words in American English.  So the words aren't all fake!   The "Alternate Word List," which can be selected from the options screen, is a larger and more difficult word list that is a subset of the North American tournament Scrabble word list.   Now that’s where you’ll find some obscure words!  Perhaps some users have inadvertently selected the Alternative word list ¹.

Another comment deserves some discussion:

     "in almost every game there are words that do not exist in the dictionary.  It is irritating trying to figure out a word that is not a word"

Besides the choice of word lists, Word Warp includes access to a dictionary to help those that encounter a word that they don’t know.  That dictionary is an online one that is completely SEPARATE from the word list in the game.

Another user wrote:

     "enjoy it, but would love to know where dictionary comes from and to be able to modify. A few real words don't get accepted."

This is a perfectly reasonable comment/request.  If anybody has words they object to or think are unreasonable, please send an email with the word(s) in question to Support@MobilityWare.com.  After receiving any correspondence, our support staff will research it and make a decision as to whether or not to pull the word, or include it.

I hope this resolves any questions anyone had regarding the origin of the words in Word Warp. 

Back from my quest, I read some more comments and found this one particularly amusing:

     "many of the words are slang, abbreviations, or not even words at all.  The sources confirm that some words are not really words.  It appears that some Jolt inspired programmer felt necessary to include his favorite letters, and try to pass them off as words.  I feel they should stick with a single dictionary, perhaps Webster's dictionary."

While we love Word Warp, we didn’t realize that we deserve to have our own “Deep Throat!”  Who are these "sources" that you consult?  Perhaps they are mythical beings that are experts on the English language?  May I consult them before I try out for Wheel of Fortune?  I could really use the knowledge!  It's interesting to read one person’s attempt at explaining where the words come from.  Now that I know the truth, to the person who posted this comment, I can safely say that my "sources" confirm that your "sources" are wrong.

As I’ve explained, MobilityWare doesn't make up words to throw in the game and confuse our players.  We admit we want more customers, not fewer.  Why would we intentionally try to frustrate our players?  We know that people prefer to win rather than lose.  Making customers unhappy is NOT a way to get more customers or to convince people to play our applications more often. 

So in summary, no, we do not make up the words, just make sure you choose the appropriate word list.  We just want you guys to have fun.  If a word comes up that you think is inappropriate or that you think should be added, let us know!  We make our best effort to read all of your suggestions on how Word Warp can be more fun and we'd like you to know we are listening! 

All in all, we can't tell you how much we appreciate you guys taking the time to leave a comment regarding Word Warp.  Without your feedback, we wouldn't have such a clear idea on where we should focus on to improve the game.  We make our applications for you guys to enjoy and we definitely welcome all suggestions. Thanks again and make sure you stay tuned for updates!



1. The Alternative Word List can be selected from the Options screen, which is accessed by pushing the little "i" button at the top right during gameplay