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Wizard 101 : From Shadowbane to Wizard 101
Posted Nov 05, 2009 by Jon Wood
KingsIsle Entertainment's Josef Hall writes this developer journal kicking off a series that compares Shadowbane, his last project and Wizard 101, his current project. While there are many differences between the two, there are also similarities.
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From Shadowbane to Wizard101 - the lessons I've learned developing two MMOs and spending nearly a decade in the online game space. It may seem strange to compare two projects with such different visions and audiences, but as the co-creator of both MMOs, I've found that many of the lessons I learned were the same for both projects. I'm currently the Senior Director of Software Engineering at KingsIsle Entertainment, the independent developer behind the popular family MMO Wizard101. However, my role has never been confined to technology alone and I've been integrally involved in the design, story-telling, and production of the games. So, I'd like to discuss some of the more interesting and, hopefully, helpful lessons I've gleaned by comparing these two projects in their entirety. As I reflect on my experiences, I will delve into various stories and lessons learned from both Shadowbane and Wizard101. Some of the items I will cover include: Vision and Focus, Critical Technology Decisions (scalability, tools, middleware, etc), Limited Expectations, Marketing, Quality and Polish, Crunch, Funding, and more. This first installment will serve to set the stage, providing some background on both projects.
