Game:

Wizard101 (2008)

Duration: 49:14

489 views

46

Wizard101 is a game trapped in amber. But its captors aren't the developers. Rather, they are the player base, both new and old, who herald the game as an object of pure nostalgia, of rainy afterschool evenings, of innocent childhood. This is by no means an unimportant aspect of Wizard101, but it ignores the past decade-and-a-half of advancements, particularly in the storytelling department. This is an error that should be dispelled, because upon examination, Wizard101 reveals itself to be a surprisingly novel and fascinating game, pushing the envelope on the types of stories one might expect to see in an MMO and video games in general.

You can read the original essay here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19dqFJcui_rTNT92stTo1DML3mUBcknhOy07tVbajkrk/edit?usp=sharing

Chapters:
00:00 -- Introduction
02:36 -- Getting From There to Here
09:37 -- Digging Into the Aether
13:39 -- Murky Reflections
22:26 -- All For Nothing
37:14 -- A Whole Novus World to Explore
41:26 -- "Mature" Is in the Process

Credits:
All uncredited footage captured by myself.

BlazeLifeHammer for a good portion of the dialogue footage: https://www.youtube.com/@UCBj5SZ1ceUdoZvUMD-E2I7g

The Craft Box for the Chaos Jungle footage: https://www.youtube.com/@UCB0iXWdoD49mj3ySdkYMk6w

The Atmoplex for the Pirate101 Puppet Show and background music: https://www.youtube.com/@UCx1a5w9LvSjbqqY9loaeUwg
Also check out Nelson Everhart, the game's composer, here:
https://www.youtube.com/@UClht9s5u80lqb3HrkbZhjOg

Anony mous for the Milgram Experiment footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nexpwnwonRc

Wizard101 Forum Posts/Newsletters:
Leah Ruben Dec. 2015 Letter: https://www.wizard101.com/game/producers-letter-december2015
Sam Johnson Joins Wizard101: https://www.wizard101.com/forum/empyrea/greetings-wizards-8ad6a42667365b2d01675195fa0b5ecc
Sam Johnson Pirate101's Future Story: https://www.pirate101.com/forum/captains-log/well-i-asked-for-it-blind-mews-musings-return-8ad6a4145554b4820155786ce4297d28
Sam Johnson Vocabulary in Wizard101: https://www.wizard101.com/forum/ravenwood-commons/thank-you-8ad6a42b6a2b2985016a59e19f0d7788/8ad6a4276abaa785016ac15b45065070?fromSearchResult=true#8ad6a4276abaa785016ac15b45065070

U.S. Scientists' Role in the Eugenics Movement (1907–1939): A Contemporary Biologist's Perspective: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2757926/

Novus Promotional Interview: https://mmohuts.com/news/exclusive-interview-wizard101s-novus-update/

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