In fact, we have a number of Wizards that started the game at launch (two years ago) and are still active, but have never spent a dime. Parts of the game (the low level adventure areas, the Pet game, housing, the gardening system) are accessible to all players, even those that have never subscribed or purchased Crowns. Wizard101 was one of the first online games to offer a hybrid model for how players consume content. Talk about the difference between what's available when playing without a subscription to what is available with a subscription? Can simply buying crowns get what you need in the game without a subscription? Basically you repeat this process as many times as you can afford to do so – with more important features or characters getting a larger slice of the pie – until you’ve got something really cool and unique.ĭo that enough, and a game starts to emerge. From there, it’s a question of iteration we look at the initial results and make changes, which often lead to new (and hopefully better) ideas and we re-concept. Game features, characters, environments – it all starts with a written vision document, which is then sent to the various groups for concepting or prototyping. After the initial brainstorming, the process becomes a lot more predictable. It’s odd, but when you put the right elements together with an approachable art style and a tongue-in-cheek attitude, unexpected things can really gel nicely. Like (Feudal Japan + Barnyard Animals = world of Samoorai and Ninja Pigs). Wizard101 is an odd fusion of elements, meaning that we love to squash together things that don’t normally go together. The design process is somewhat hard to describe at the start – because ideas can really come from anywhere. This could result in a warning, or muting the player for some period of time, or sometimes even banning them from the game. Then we assess the situation, look at the context, and address it appropriately. So, when other players try and get around the filters, and some do, that behavior will be reported and will eventually flow back to someone in our office. To facilitate that, we have a reporting mechanism for players to flag inappropriate conduct that they witness in game. We’ve done as much as you can with automation eventually you reach a point where people have to get involved. We created a dictionary of safe words and players can then construct any sentence they want using only these words… well, almost any sentence – we also had to add a filter that removes inappropriate innuendos created out of safe words. Players who are over 13 can opt to use our Safe Dictionary chat system. Players under the age of 13 are limited to “safe chat”, which means they can only communicate with other players through the use of pre-canned phrases selected from a menu (“Hello!”, “How are you?”, “Let’s go fight that dragon!”) This is the ultimate degree of safety, as these players literally cannot send or receive any private or inappropriate messages. We went to extraordinary lengths to protect our younger players. One of our first principles in developing Wizard101 was: safety first.
What steps have you taken to ensure children are safe from harassment while playing? They have an attitude that says, “I don’t know where you’re going with this, but let’s find out!” and that enables you to try out creative directions that might be too risky for an older primary audience. Kids can see things with fresh eyes, and they’re willing to give you a larger range of latitude when it comes to trying out new ideas. Something that I really love about the kids market is that creatively, it’s completely open. Also, I generally like ideas that are focused on areas that are being ignored or under-served by others in the marketplace. First of all, I have young daughters and wanted them to have a fun and safe game to play.
What inspired you to create the game for all-ages?Ī couple of things led me in this direction. This means that the experience has more meaning and isn’t just a simple level grind, but it also means that you are guided through your adventures and never at a loss for what to do next.įinally, it combines some concepts that are enjoyed by many: a school for Wizards with collectible card-based dueling in a fun and whimsical universe.
It’s also much more story-driven than most MMOs. I think that approachability makes it easy for both kids and parents that have never played an MMO to jump in and not be overwhelmed. It’s a surprisingly deep and rich MMO experience, which appeals to experienced gamers, but it is also very easy to learn and play. There are many other things that give Wizard101 its unique character.
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