Wizard 101 is now celebrating its 15th anniversary. Throughout the last 15 years, I’m almost ashamed to say that I had never had an inkling of desire to boot up either Wizard or Pirate101, as both of these games always seemed to skew in the direction of younger gamers. During PAX West, KingsIsle Entertainment had both titles on display, and I was intrigued by what I experienced. According to the team at KingsIsle, they are just getting started.
Ahead of PAX I snagged a demo and interview time with KingsIsle, where I meant to focus on the remarkable news that Wizard 101 was celebrating its 15th anniversary. Things went off the rails quickly once I sat down and actually got some hands-on time with Wizard and Pirate 101. The first thing I noticed between both games was that, in many ways you could tell graphically that the games were more than 10-years old. In the universe where Unreal Engine 5 exists, some jagged polygons and simplistic textures can stand out like a sore thumb. Luckily, the character models and art style are appealing enough that there’s a lot left that can be done without a complete graphics overhaul. The cartoon aesthetic is timeless in that there’s a charm that still accentuates that the game skews to a younger crowd.
More importantly, what intrigued me most about both games were how different they were. Not just how different they are from each other, but how different they are, even compared to many of the current games on the market. For example, my time with Wizard 101 consisted of some basic questing, where I happened upon an area filled with angry faeries. Once in battle, I noticed that the combat system was turn-based and card-based. At first, I believed this to be an evolution of their initial system, but I came to learn otherwise. The melding of this system seems tactical, but it’s also quite accessible, which was the team’s initial thought when building the game for a younger audience.
Design Director Artie Rogers explained this in greater detail, “When we released Wizard we had a multi-layered approach where we’re being accessible for children and being a safe space for people to come in and create friendships with the four-person sigil” he stated. For those not familiar with the game, Artie is mentioning Combat Sigils, which are essentially a party-space where multiple Wizards could battle enemies in a turn-based battle. “Wizard is a turn-based game with not a lot of twitchy requirements, it’s not a hardcore game, and it’s not about needing to be optimal or an optimal player. Because it’s turn-based, and because it’s not stressing optimal performance, you have an opportunity to just chill out and talk to people and meet friends.”
More Than Just a Kids Game
“I think when we say ‘Kids Game’ sometimes it means it’s dumbed down or it’s targeting a different audience, but we were purposely targeting adults also, to play with their kids. And now that a lot of those kids have grown up, we’re addressing our strategy to appeal to those people.” Artie explained. To Artie’s credit, he wasn’t wrong in his sentiment that players have indisputably grown up with the game. During my demo session, I met a young man who had been playing Wizard101 for 15 years, and later that evening, during the KingsIsle community get together, I met several other players who have been playing the game for more than 8 years.
The passion is palpable with their players, and I could tell that the developer’s recent push for a resurgence means a lot to them. Boomeranging back to my play session with Wizard101, I sifted through my limited deck of cards as I learned the combat enough to eke out a few wins against some evil faeries. Of course, there is only so much you can glean from a demo of a game, especially where MMO’s are concerned. These are games that have a plethora of systems baked into the gameplay and stories that require dozens of hours, it would be ridiculous for me to ascertain the complexity of the combat system in just ten minutes. COO Leah Ruben explained the system in a platitude we’re all familiar with, but that isn’t any less true, “The system is easy to learn, but hard to master.” As the team went on to explain their expansion of cards and interesting deck choices, I learned that there’s clearly deck building strategy options there for players that want to delve into it. That became equally true when I jumped over to Pirate101 for my demo.
Whereas Wizard101 played like a turn-based card strategy game, Pirate101 felt more like a grid style strategy RPG. During my time in Pirate101 I ran through a lengthy combat scenario, where my crew of characters was pit against some nasty ne’er-do-wells. I positioned my pirates on the field, and dictated their attack patterns, utilizing the powers of a cartoony cow, and a ghoulish fiend to strategize my way to victory. Despite both games taking place in the same universe, and the art style adhering to the same aesthetic, there were nearly no similarities to the combat from Wizard101 while I played Pirate101 which signals a purely novel experience. In fact, both games had such unique systems, it became apparent how few MMOs have implemented similar systems that have broken through to players in the way that KingsIsle’s games have.
“The last few years have been some of the most successful years for the company, I think it’s in part because we know what our game is, and we’re really helping to grow those portions of it.” Artie told us, as we drilled down into what has made Wizard and Pirate stand the test of time. Just a few short years ago, KingsIsle was bought by MGI’s familiar games division, Gamigo, and since the acquisition, the team has successfully reinvigorated their development, released Wizard101 and Pirate101 on Steam (to very positive reviews, might I add), and they now have plans to push further into what their properties are capable of. While nothing has been set in stone, internal conversations related to new games and the potential for a mobile release are not out of the question, both of which would diversify and expand what KingsIsle could have produced prior to the acquisition.
Much More Content Coming Your Way
In addition to several goals slated for the future, the team has pushed some more challenging aspects to Wizard, such as new end-game raid content for 12-person teams, timed challenges, and PvP scenarios that complement the world, as it grows alongside its players. The team has also pushed out interesting events such as the Beastmoon, which is a team-based monster hunt, where the players transform into beasts, and a community fashion event called Rate My Stitch, where players vote for the best outfit. Pirate is also getting a lot more love as well. On top of the story updates that have been rolling out, the team has stated that they plan on adding plenty of additional side-content as part of their return to form with quarterly updates planned for next year.
Many of these new features, and many headed down the pipe, are thanks to the teams new analytics system, that has helped the team better coordinate the kind of content their evolving player base enjoys. Narrative Director Sam Johnson explained how important the analytics shift was to their team, “When we realized that we needed to grow with our players, there was a lot of analysis that happened. We suddenly invested in data more than we ever had before.” He explained. With a data driven approach now assisting in granting players more of what they want, and less of what they don’t, KingsIsle predicts the game will continue to see growth across both titles.
As we rounded out our conversation, I was pleasantly surprised by my time with Wizard and Pirate. They’ve built a niche here that certainly isn’t meant to appeal to everyone, but what they do have, no matter which game you decide to play, are games that can be played by anyone. KingsIsle will continue to grow, and I can’t wait to see the strides the team makes in the year to come. For those ready to try something new in a Wizardy or Piratey world, you can now find both games available on Steam.
