Few gaming stories are as compelling as the symbiotic relationship between MMORPGs and their community. KingsIsle Entertainment, the team behind the long-running MMORPGs Wizard101 and Pirate101 stands out specifically as a testament to this phenomenon. While several games have been around for multiple decades at this point, KingsIsle has found far more than just a player base, but they have evolved their community and their game itself into a breeding ground for talent, shaping the future of both the game and the company.
Now that Wizard101’s latest update Wallaru has gone live, I took a look back at my visit to the KingsIsle office and the team that worked to put this update through its paces ahead of release. At the heart of this narrative are stories from individuals like Mia Smith and Mercedes Fuller, whose journeys from passionate players to integral members of the KingsIsle team encapsulate not just the power of the game’s community, but the emotions this game evokes.
From Player to Creator
As Wallaru was still under development during my visit, I sat around a table full of developers, all of which were once community members, that sparked their passion for creating games through playing Wizard101. Mia Smith, an associate character artist at KingsIsle, explained the profound impact Wizard has on its players. Her journey with the game began at age of 10. It was more than a pastime; it was a gateway into the world of art. Mia's involvement led her to discover her passion for painting and digital art.
Her work can be seen throughout Wallaru, especially in one of the most recognizable characters of the update, Riley, who was one of Mia’s creations before she was hired on. As I sat around the table, her story sounded unique, but so many others at the table echoed her sentiments on the game captivating them at a young age. For instance, Cam, one of the system’s designers began playing Wizard when the game first launched, and now, you can find him aiding in the creation of spells and combat. To this day he continues to play along with his siblings, and he streams the game several times per week, chatting and cultivating the next generation of potential KingsIsle team members.
These stories are not just about fans that turned into professionals; it's about a lifelong relationship with a game that shaped the trajectory of their lives.
A Journey Through the Spiral
Perhaps one of my favorite experiences I had while visiting the KingsIsle office was when I sat down with Mercedes Fuller, an Associate Designer for Wizard. Sitting at the table surrounded by community developers wasn’t the first time I had met Mercedes that day. Prior to that the KingsIsle team had me meet with Lead Producer Kevin Alexander and Design Lead Benjamin Durbin to partake in a tour of Wallaru. Mercedes sat in with us, and what followed was a complete player-perspective version of the entire story of Wizard101 up to that point. Within that story was a deep connection to the game that nobody else at that table could have possessed, and from an outsiders perspective (that outsider being me, a person that had only played Wizard101 in a demo) it was a beautiful thing to watch.
For many of us, those experiences have been lost to the sands of time. For those of us who cut our teeth on beautiful community driven experiences like City of Heroes or Star Wars Galaxies, those experiences live in the past (emulators aside). But Wizard and Pirate don’t just have community members who can relive those moments, but they now have developers who lived those moments, and they’re actively working to make more of them. Mercedes found solace and community within the game's virtual world that helped in ways far beyond mere entertainment – it was a safe space, as an individual with autism and ADHD.
By sticking with the game, becoming developers and actively helping to shape the game, Mercedes, Mia, Cam, and their growing development team truly are paving the way for KingsIsles future, as they intimately know the game in ways, I don’t think even the original development team can relate to.
The Future of KingsIsle
KingsIsle was bought by Gamigo back in January of 2021, and since then, the team has started to ramp up their development and expand their horizons. Gamigo recently launched a mobile Pirate101 spinoff, and Wallaru was a longtime desire that has just come to fruition.
The company's recognition and integration of its community's talents into the very fabric of its games are in large part due to Gamigo’s acquisition, which has given the team enough leeway so they can spread their wings (or straddle their brooms) and see how high they can fly. With the next generation of community-turned-developer team members on their side, it will be interesting to see how far KingsIsle will go in 2024. We hope they’re able to cast another charm spell on the next generation of gamers. You can play Wallaru now by jumping into Wizard101 on Steam.
