Wizard101 Preview

[GameBanshee News]

RPG Vault has a preview up for KingsIsle Entertainment's recently unveiled Wizard101, based on a recent visit to their studio.

Fittingly enough, my knowledge of KingIsle was very limited. I had been aware of the company's existence for some time, but knew nothing about its initial project except that it's massively multiplayer. As a result, some surprises lay in store. One is that the target launch date is the third quarter of this year; it's pretty unusual to keep a game under wraps until this stage of development - it's approximately three years along now - especially without word somehow leaking out.

Another unexpected aspect combined two things. One is the core target audience, which consists of teens and "tweens". The other is that the primary holder of the creative vision is Todd Coleman. In case you don't recognize his name, he was previously one of the principals at Wolfpack, the studio that created Shadowbane, a title that was very much positioned at the hardcore end of the spectrum; i.e. it certainly wasn't for the same age demographic. Indeed, some may remember its "Play to Crush" slogan. In any case, several other developers who worked with him before are on board again for this endeavor.