Article:
Wizard101, a magical MMO from KingsIsle Entertainment

It’s the first day of school and students gather excitedly around their new headmaster or run back and forth between classrooms, meeting their teachers and trying to decide what school of magic to specialize in. Wait, school of magic?
Yes, this is Ravenwood School, where young Wizards from around the world have gathered to hone their magic skills and help Headmaster Merle Ambrose to right the wrongs perpetuated by a former Ravenwood instructor upon the connected magical lands of the Spiral.

Welcome to Wizard101, a magical MMO from KingsIsle Entertainment.

Launched in September 2008, Wizard101’s balance of high fantasy and pop culture humor struck a chord with kids and adults alike. At its first anniversary, the game had more than 5 million registered players – a number that only continues to grow.

Designed for players who had never before played an MMO, Wizard101 sets up its story and combat mechanics with a fully voiced and animated interactive tutorial in which Headmaster Ambrose guides the player through the creation of their Wizard. From there, the Headmaster explains the basics of the user interface and supports his young student in confronting former instructor Malistaire Drake.

In designing Wizard101, the KingsIsle developers created a unique, turn-based combat system using traditional collectable card game concepts. As Wizards learn new and more powerful spells, they are given access to new cards by their professors. Some Wizard gear – both clothing and items, like wands – add additional cards to players’ decks. Basic spells are supplemented by “treasure cards” that can be purchased from an in-game vendor or obtained through crafting, defeating NPCs, in-game special events and trading with other players. The deck-building strategies add a depth and complexity to Wizard101 that can be appreciated by all gamers, while still making the game accessible to children and adults.

In the initial battle with Malistaire, Headmaster Ambrose deals limited hands of cards, allowing the player to see and understand the cards for buffs, shields, damage and healing spells. The Headmaster also speeds up the shortened battle by instantly providing the player with “power pips” for casting spells that would normally need to build up over multiple rounds of combat.

Embarrassed, but not defeated, Malistaire departs, leaving the player and Headmaster to return to their original task – Ravenwood enrollment!

Young Wizards depart the dark tower from their previous battle to find themselves in the bright and cheerful commons area of the school. It’s here that young Wizards first encounter the “massively multiplayer” part of the game, as the commons serves as the hub to initial quests, training from professors and shopping areas. Fellow Wizards wander about the area – shopping, chatting and looking for help with quests and dungeons.

The Worlds of the Spiral

As players move throughout the magical worlds of the Spiral, young Wizards encounter unique lands inspired by literature and populated with characters from fantasy, myth, legend and pop culture. In the Egyptian-inspired land of Krokotopia, young Wizards first encounter canine explorers from the land of steampunk-influenced Marleybone.

As young Wizards follow the path of confusion left in Malistaire’s wake, they travel to the Asian-influenced MooShu – land of the Samoorai cows – and finally on to Dragonspyre, where Malistaire himself is waiting.

To give players additional options for experiencing the stories of Wizard101, the land of Grizzleheim has recently opened trade routes with Wizard City. The Viking Bears invite young Wizards to visit their Norse-inspired land to explore, make new friends and confront new opponents. While the other worlds of Wizard101 serve as progressive stops along a continuing narrative, Grizzleheim offers a parallel story that periodically calls Wizards away from their pursuit of Malistaire.