Wizard 101

So, how about you say "Hi"?

Here is a thread we have already.

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/199209

Anyway, kingsIsle, how about an MMORPG.com exclusive? What's this secret new project you are working on?

 Woohoo!

This is a fun game for the whole family and deserves a place on the list.

~Ripper

Well if the rumors are true about a harry potter mmo in the works, this game will then have nothing to stand on.

I guess untill then it would be a good game if your big on harry potter.

Originally posted by crunchyblack

Well if the rumors are true about a harry potter mmo in the works, this game will then have nothing to stand on.

I guess untill then it would be a good game if your big on harry potter.

I guess it depends on how the HP game turns out, if it does.  Harry Potter, as an IP, tends to skew older and darker than Wizard101 does, I think.  I think HP has promise, but they really need to get it right.

~Ripper

Originally posted by crunchyblack

Well if the rumors are true about a harry potter mmo in the works, this game will then have nothing to stand on.

I guess untill then it would be a good game if your big on harry potter.

Couple of things in reply;

Wizard 101 set out to be a game for 8-14 year olds - it does that nicely - if anything a HP MMO would give kids who grow out of Wizard 101 somewhere to go?  But it (a HP MMO) probably wouldn't attract 8 year olds (depending on how it is designed)

A Harry Potter MMO is a nightmare from a MMO design point of view.
Players will expect to be able to do everything they have seen in the movies from the very start.  But there are so many diverse ideas there it would be a very difficult and complex world for any MMO Dev team to put together (read: expensive).
 

Originally posted by Gyrus

Originally posted by crunchyblack

Well if the rumors are true about a harry potter mmo in the works, this game will then have nothing to stand on.

I guess untill then it would be a good game if your big on harry potter.

 

Couple of things in reply;

Wizard 101 set out to be a game for 8-14 year olds - it does that nicely - if anything a HP MMO would give kids who grow out of Wizard 101 somewhere to go?  But it (a HP MMO) probably wouldn't attract 8 year olds (depending on how it is designed)

A Harry Potter MMO is a nightmare from a MMO design point of view.
Players will expect to be able to do everything they have seen in the movies from the very start.  But there are so many diverse ideas there it would be a very difficult and complex world for any MMO Dev team to put together (read: expensive).
 

right because no other mmos have used book based lore as a foundation for the game......

i dunno i wouldnt play it if they made it but a HP mmo would be a huge hit, and they could do it fairly easy.

all i was trying to point out was the obvious "hey lets make a harry potter like game"

really the games for 8-14 year olds? 

*slowly backs toward the exit*

Originally posted by crunchyblack
...

 

right because no other mmos have used book based lore as a foundation for the game......

i dunno i wouldnt play it if they made it but a HP mmo would be a huge hit, and they could do it fairly easy.

all i was trying to point out was the obvious "hey lets make a harry potter like game"

really the games for 8-14 year olds? 

*slowly backs toward the exit*

Okay, I'll bite....

Yes, book lore has been used for other MMOs - but let's look at the complexity of Harry Potter compared to some of that?
 

Let's compare it to say... Lord of the Rings.
For the most part, in Lord of the Rings, there is very little flying  (Gandalf and the Wraiths).  No teleporting.  Not really any boats and no underwater stuff.  No time travel and a fairly generic technology.

In Harry Potter, everyone would expect to be able to fly on broomsticks and magical creatures. - And let's not even get into Quiddich - which would be a complete nightmare to design. There is teleporting (the flue for one example).  Boats, including one that travels underwater.  There is time travel - frequently if you include all the premonitions everyone has.  And very diverse technologies, Harry is repeatedly aided by very unique items.
Yes, it could be done.  But I see a lot of instancing and single player stuff being involved.
Not really immersive MMO type stuff...

Oh, and why would you be concerned that Wizard 101 was aimed at the 8-14 year old market?

IMHO one of the things KingsIsle did very right with this game was the fact they had a clearly defined target audience and stayed with that objective.
There is a lot they could have done with this title and concept - scarier plot, scarier graphics, more complex plot, more blood, more 'hardcore' game design.  And the end result?  Another WoW clone delivered to a saturated market?
The devs did something here based around a simple idea and they did it very well.  It doesn't try to appeal to everyone.  Then again, other MMOs that have tried this (to appeal to everyone) haven't done so well?

Originally posted by crunchyblack

really the games for 8-14 year olds? 

*slowly backs toward the exit*

Yes - Wizard101 is a "kids" game, but it's so well done that its lots of fun for adults, too.  Granted, it's not as deep a game, feature-wise, as LotR, WoW, etc.., but it's still very fun.  Gyrus is right - KingsIsle kept their focus simple and they hit a home run!  I'm sure we'll start to see some more sophisticated and familiar mechanics in the future (guilds, item trading, etc...), but what Wizard01 does, it does very well!

~Ripper

As a 48 year old adult  ( going through my second childhood) I am thoroughly enjoying the game play.BUT........A lot of the quests I can get access to want me to go into areas I cannot get to without payment.Unfortunately my card is no good.Maybe opening this up to "MAESTRO" or PAYPAL would encourage more people to continue playing