Wizard101

''Wizard101'' is a 2008 massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by KingsIsle Entertainment. Players take on the role of student wizards who must save the Spiral, the fictional universe in which the game is set, from various threats. Players battle enemies by casting spells using a variety of different weapons in a turn-based combat system, similar to collectible card games.

''Pirate101'', a sister MMORPG set in the same universe, was released in 2012.

Gameplay

The fictional universe of the Spiral is divided into many worlds, each of which has multiple areas. The worlds of the Spiral are islands suspended in midair within spheroid atmospheres. The first world in the game, Wizard City, is a university city based around the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts, which players join at the start of the game.

Players can unlock all areas temporarily via a paid subscription or unlock each area permanently with the game's premium currency "''Crowns''". A wizard first starting the game must choose a school: Fire, Ice, Storm, Myth, Life, Death, or Balance, each complete with their own set of unique spells and playstyles.

The game is based around "duels": two teams made up of one to four players or computer enemies on each team who take turns casting spells. Spells can be cast using "pips". A player gains one pip every round, and there is a chance that that pip will be a "power pip", worth two regular pips for spells that are of the player's class. Spells can reduce the health of enemy creatures, increase the health of players or their allies, add shields that reduce damage, add blades or traps that modify the amount of damage done, and more. When a player reduces a computer enemy's health to zero, they are defeated; players with a health of zero can be healed by others on their team unless they "flee" the duel. When every player or computer on a team has zero health, the other team wins. When the players win a combat, they earn rewards, which are distributed automatically so players need not argue over spoils.

As the player progresses, more worlds become available. There are many main worlds, with a few smaller side ones that are optional. When wizards level up, they gain new badge titles and automatic increases in their base statistics: health, mana, and energy. Most equipment also has level restrictions. Hobbies such as training pets, fishing, and gardening require energy; crafting instead requires various resources called "reagents". Players can duel each other in the PvP arena and some houses. As of November 2022, players can achieve a maximum level of 160.

Payment model

The game offers a choice of either a subscription or a "Free-to-Play" option with microtransactions. Free-to-Play customers can purchase access to different areas of content using an in-game premium currency called ''Crowns''. Such areas need to be bought only once. Crowns also can be used to purchase exclusive in-game items and access PvP tournaments. Crowns can be purchased with a game card, from the online store or earned in small amounts through SuperRewards.

Subscriptions unlock all playable worlds, as well as allowing players to compete in ranked PvP matches and ranked Pet Derby races, enter tournaments for gold, store more items in their backpack, and gain the ability to post on the Wizard101 Message Board, along with other minor benefits for the duration of their membership.

Online safety features

Parental controls

''Wizard101'' has various parental controls available that can be managed by a "Master Account" through the game's website. Once a setting is changed on the Master Account, it goes into effect on all connected accounts in a family of accounts. Parental control options include changing the chat settings to restrict the account from certain chat functions.

Player chat

If a player is under 13 years of age, they are not able to see text messages and are restricted to "menu chat", a selection of phrases that can be used to interact with other players (must have made a debit/credit card purchase). However, with a master password, the parent can allow a child under 13 to use text chat. If the player is 13 years or older, they can send and see text messages, but word filters are in place to censor profanity, numbers, and personal information such as emails or names. Filtered words are marked red while typing, and will be sent as three dots once sent. If the player is 18 years or older and has verified their account via credit card, text messages become much less restrictive, allowing them to see and type some words that are usually filtered, though some are still restricted. Filtered words that are generally restricted by 13+ text chat is visible to 18+ chat, and are marked yellow. Those with 18+ chat can see them, but not 13+ chat.

Names

A player's name must be decided through predetermined names made up of a first name and a one-part or a two-part surname. The official game forums are also heavily moderated, and forum posts must be checked by a moderator before they are made visible.

Development history

The development of ''Wizard101'' began in 2005, soon after the founding of KingsIsle Entertainment. Company founder Elie Akilian hired J. Todd Coleman, who served as creative director of the game from its launch through 2013. The game entered open beta on August 6, 2008, and it launched successfully on September 2, 2008. On August 25, 2010, it was announced that ''Wizard101'' would be released in foreign territories later that year.

''Wizard101'' launched a European Beta version on December 15, 2010, and then released the game on February 15, 2011, in partnership with Gameforge. This eventually included releases of the game in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Polish, and Greek. It was announced on August 17, 2011, that KingsIsle Entertainment and Taomee Holdings Limited had an agreement to launch ''Wizard101'' in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. ''Wizard101'' Taiwan officially launched on April 27, 2012, with the others to follow.

The Chinese version of ''Wizard101'' had changes made to the game to conform with laws or appeal to the gaming culture in the country. Any references to skeletons or death had to be censored or removed. Quests required more monsters to be defeated or more items collected. The game would suggest players take breaks if playing for long periods and after two hours, or the player will enter a "fatigued" state, where rewards and stats are cut in half, and after five hours, the "unhealthy" state would cut all rewards given completely.

In 2012, KingsIsle Entertainment released ''Pirate101'', a sister game of ''Wizard101'', also set in the 101 universe. It was described as "comfortable and familiar" to ''Wizard101'', but featuring "entirely new design, setting, and gameplay mechanics".

In 2014, Taomee no longer advertised ''Wizard101''. In April 2015, ''Wizard101'' Taiwan announced that it would shut down on May 25, 2015, but the date was rescheduled to October 15, 2015. ''Wizard101'' China announced its shutdown date as November 1, 2015. In September 2018, to celebrate the game's 10 year anniversary, the game was given a separate re-release on the gaming platform, Steam. Prior to the ten-year update, the graphics for Wizard City, the starting area of the game, were revamped along with the character models and animations. When the update did appear on September 8, 2018, players were able to get two housing items and a wand (sparkler) to celebrate the ten years. To get one of the housing items, the players are forced to go on a short quest, in which the company, Kingsisle Entertainment, thanks to the supporters of its game through the use of well-established characters in the game. This was a limited-time event, which ended shortly before November 2018.

On February 15, 2022, both KingsIsle and Gameforge announced that the European ''Wizard101'' servers would slowly transition to the KingsIsle and gamigo teams over the course of several months in the second quarter of 2022. It is "assured that game progress and Crowns balance will be maintained after the switch".

Music

In 2008, composer Nelson Everhart was asked to write the music for ''Wizard101''. The team initially asked him to compose a ''Harry Potter''-style track, which got him the job. That music eventually became the score for Marleybone.

In 2010, the second world Celestia was released. In association with Selena Gomez's released single " Round and Round", a questline for the popstar was made and players who completed the quest were given a statue and portrait of Gomez. However, the questline has since been removed.

In 2011, a campaign centered around a "mystery composer" was launched in anticipation for ''Wizard101''s upcoming Wintertusk expansion. It was finally revealed that Nick Jonas was the mystery composer. He worked with KingsIsle for two months, writing a total of seven atmospheric tracks for Wintertusk.

As of 2022, Everhart still actively composes music for the game's expansions.

Reception

According to KingsIsle Entertainment's press releases, the game has experienced a steady growth in the number of accounts: 2 million in April 2009, 5 million in September 2009, 10 million players by June 2010, 15 million by January 2011, 20 million by July 2011, and 30 million by July 2013. As of November 2014, there are currently about 50 million accounts created.

The game currently scores an average of 77.5% from ratings on GameRankings. GameShark reviewer Toni Dimayuga noted the game's overall ambiance and graphic setting as well as the overall fun nature of ''Wizard101'' in the pro column, while the combat (in particular defeats) and the perceived restrictive nature of chat were criticized.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.wizard101.com/

2008 video games
Active massively multiplayer online games
MacOS games
Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
Fantasy video games
Gamebryo games
Video games based on mythology
Fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing games
Video games developed in the United States
Windows games