''Wizard'' is a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

created in 1980 for the

Atari Video Computer System The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...

(later renamed the Atari 2600) by Chris Crawford while working for

Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...

The game was not advertised or released by Atari. ''Wizard'' uses a 2K ROM, the last Atari 2600 game developed by Atari with less than 4K.AtariProtos.com - All Your Protos Are Belong To Us!
/ref> ''Wizard'' was eventually released as part of the Atari Flashback 2 package in 2005.

Gameplay

Screenshot The player is a wizard from Irata (Atari spelled backwards) and battles imps in a maze. It's not a

symmetric Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definiti ...

battle: the player is faster than the enemy, but the enemy can go through walls and fire faster than the player can. There is no need to aim, as the angle of the player's fire is automatically sent in the direction of the enemy. The enemy remains invisible when it is behind a wall. It also has heart beat audio, which becomes louder as the player gets closer to the enemy.

Development

The production of ''Wizard'' is detailed extensively in the book '' Chris Crawford on Game Design''. Crawford wanted to write software for the new Atari home computers, but Atari management required developers for the system to create an Atari VCS game first. ''Wizard'' was never published for the Atari VCS. It was included with the Atari Flashback 2, 25 years after it was written. Chris Crawford learned about the release in an email from a fan. Crawford's original prototype did not contain a two-player mode, but the game released with the Atari Flashback 2 does.

References

External links

The Wizard Game Manual
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wizard (Video Game) 2005 video games Atari games Cancelled Atari 2600 games Atari 2600 games Maze games Chris Crawford (game designer) games Video games developed in the United States