Ryan’s Make-A-Wish Visit
This past week, KingsIsle had the honor of hosting a wonderful young man and his immediate family. Ryan is an 11-year old boy who chose to visit KingsIsle and Pirate101 through the Make-a-Wish organization and was accompanied by his 14-year old brother, 16-year old sister and his parents. Here at KingsIsle we did everything we could to make a memorable experience for him.
Welcome to KingsIsle Ryan and family!
The whole family arrived at 9:30 am, and after a brief look around we introduced him to the 250+ employees here in the Austin office as our newest Pirate101 Honorary Producer. The kickoff was led by KingsIsle’s Senior Producer, William Haskins, who really went above and beyond organizing an incredible visit and some special surprises for Ryan. In addition to these surprises the team put together, the Pirate producers, Jay Gordon and Mike Stone, also worked to pull together a “treasure chest” with an assortment of appropriate goodies.
William introduces Ryan to everyone as the new Pirate101 Honorary Producer
After the introduction, Ryan sailed off to an in-office recording studio we had set up where he and his family got to meet a number of our Pirate101 voice actors. Ryan also met with all the folks in our Sound department to learn how sounds are built into our games, and then he stepped up the mic himself to give voice recording a go. We had some stealthy lines for Ryan to record for a purpose, but we tried to work them in with a bunch other fun voice over lines to help hide what was really up our sleeves . . . .
Recording voice over in the studio
After a short break, Ryan whisked off to one of our conference rooms where he got to play his character on a computer hooked up to a large-screen TV surrounded by KingsIsle’s Creative Director & Vice President, Josef Hall; Pirate101’s Community Manager, Tom Purdue; Lead Creative Designer, Sam Johnson; and a number of other Pirate101 folks. I honestly had a hard time trying to figure out what was giving Ryan more pleasure: leveling up all the new companions we had put on his account, running around Aquila asking Sam for some of the integral details behind the story, or defeating Satyrs in Achaea side-by-side with Tom. The hour we spent in that room went incredibly fast, and Ryan’s parents had to almost pry him away from the computer to hit one of our break rooms before having lunch with a large group of KingsIsle employees.
Playing Pirate101
After lunch Ryan got to put his new title of Pirate101 Honorary Producer to the test. He appropriately started with the resident Pirate101 producers who gave him some background on their jobs and showed him how to track a bug from putting it into the system all the way until it gets fixed. He then got to go and spend time with each department, learning about art and animation, game design and story development. He also got to spend some time on one of Pirate101’s internal servers and be the first non-KingsIsle employee to see a few yet unreleased “cool” things that are coming soon. He really did great work with the designers and was able to give us some very good and specific feedback 🙂
Learning Production with Pirate101 Producers Jay and Mike
Giving feedback on brand new animations and effects
Working with the design team
Participating in a story session
Toward the end of the day we brought Ryan and his family back to the conference room and reveal the special “treats” we had up our sleeves. The first was a custom poster that Josef presented to Ryan that had Ryan’s in-game character surrounded by his top companions. It was a beautiful one-of-a-kind original done by one of our very talented concept artists, Nick Overdiek. We had made sure to have a little time left so we could “let” Ryan jump back into the Pirate101 internal test server again. Here he got to see the newest addition to the Pirate101 game: a Yum-n-ade stand manned by none other than Ryan the Relentless, complete with voice over lines he had performed that very morning. It took a lot of quick work and a few weeks of prior planning, but the Pirate101 team had created a new NPC with Ryan’s in-game character so he will forever forward be known as the NPC vendor for the Yum-n-ade stand. You can check him out in the live game this week 🙂
Josef Hall presents Ryan his poster
Ryan the Relentless’ Custom Poster
Ryan, his family, and the some Pirate101 team members
If you want to learn more about Ryan and his story, check out local Austin news source KVUE’s story on his day at KingsIsle. You can show KVUE and Ryan a little extra appreciation by clicking the share button on the KVUE site to share their story on Facebook or Twitter.
I’m pretty sure Ryan and his family had a great time. What I do know for certain is that everyone at KingsIsle had an amazing time getting ready for the visit and then spending the day with them. We were truly honored that Ryan and his family chose to come spend a precious day with us!
Fred Howard
Vice President of Marketing
Watch a Video of Ryan’s Day at KingsIsle
KingsIsle Blog 
Kudos to you Kingsisle for making this day so special and for giving him a spot inside the game with his character ! I am amazed and I love it.
omg 😀
Ryan you are so lucky 😦 I envy you o; I hope I get to meet you on pirate101 and wizard101 😀
and again youuuuuu!!!!! are!!! flipping!!!!!!!!!!!!! lucky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He got this experience from make a wish, It means he has a life threatening disease. Instead of saying you envy him, you should be happy that he got to experience something most people will never get to in their life.
Do you not realize that he was a cancer patient? how could you envy him? this was his wish for his limited time left. i think this is pretty cool that they did this.
Well remember wild winds the whole reason that Ryan is actually meeting KingsIsle in the first place, Ryan must have a life-threatening medical condition. And maybe it is not him that is so lucky, but you for being healthy and well.
awesome at first i did not like it but then i loved it
Awesome, jobe well done KI – good on you.
Having worked charity events to benefit Make-A-Wish, I know the great work they do with children. I cried as I read this story and I am proud of what KI did for this boy, I am sure it was very special for him, and to be an NPC in Pirate101!! WOW! What a wonderful idea and hats off to all of you at KI for giving this child his wish and more! 🙂 You have made Ryan immortal in a way, and there are no words for that.
awesome work. i’m so blown away!
you have no idea how jealous i am, i want to meet kingisle!
Cool i want to do what you did but in wizard101. 😛 It’s really boring when you don’t have a upgrade like me. 😦 But congrats on being at the kingisle studios. 🙂
This almost made me cry! I can’t stop smiling now. 😀 What an amazing thing you guys did for Ryan the Relentless. I will definitely be looking out for that yum-n-ade stand! What a great day!
that is so amazing how you guys did that for him 😀 that is very hard to be that one person I am following you guys on google+ i love it i wish you guy would talk to me more on wizard 101 or google+ thx 😀 🙂
that was such a kind thing to do
That was so nice! I wish I could go to the Kingsisle studio sometime!
Go On Ryan the relentless! 😀
Awesome!
Great job KI, heck I’m an adult and I would of enjoyed that day. Thumbs up to you all.
You guys continue to inspire people all around the world. Ryan must feel so special. My sister had a Make-a-wish visit to Disney and my family went with her.
two thumbs up Ryan 🙂
nice job dude what was it like
five thumbs up
This is a really wonderful article to read and I pray brightened everyone’s heart (especially Ryan’s!). Thank you KingsIsle for putting together a very special day for a special young man.
God Bless!
Thats amazing , Awesome Job Ki for giving this young man something to always remember
and as always, thank you for making a good time for ( Ryan) good luck seeing you on the game, enjoy. from: kaitlyn unicorn rider, name on wizard101.
nice bro
awesome story
🙂 if that was me i’d be a wizard101 vendor
ryan. i hope to meet you on wizard101 good luck. and once again. your! so! lucky! o;
Kingsisle, thank you so much for making it a good year and a good place in wizard city- azteca. i liked your ideas, Ryan i hope to see you in game. enjoy.
As always, and best wishes, sarah petalsong
thank you kingsisle for making it a good life for ( Ryan) see you in game, and best wishes, sarah petalsong
Great Job KL, glad you were able to do that for him.
dude did they give you crowns
I LOVED the video and this was an awesome thing y’all did for this boy’s wish 🙂
I am so honored & proud to be part of a community where the creators for the games I play are so focused on the people. I can’t wait to see little Ryan in the game this week and to purchase Yum-n-Ade from him.
Thank you, KingsIsle, for making a boy’s wish come true & making his dream a reality! 🙂
~SM~
Kudos to KI. I started off crying and ended with laughter. Ryan was very creative in his Make a Wish choice. My sister, grandparents and cousin spent 3 days at Disney, courtesy of Make a Wish. I will def be looking for Ryan’s yum stand. KI, it sounds like not only did y’all go out of your way for a special young man- but angels guided your choices in what to do with him 😉
KI, what a wonderful way to honor a very blessed young man. Ryan was incredibly creative in his choice for Make a Wish. My cousin, sister and grandparents spent three days at Disney courtesy of Make a Wish. It is a blessed foundation as are those who participate in children’s dreams. I will be searching for Ryan’s yum stand now 😉 Kudos to KI and to Ryan 😉
you are really lucky. i would love to go to Kingsisle and see wizard101
good job Ryan 😀 i hope i can see you on Wizard101 one day it will be such a honor or even Pirate101 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 :D: D 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 :D:D 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 :D:D
What an amazing story,we seldom hear about such acts of kindness now days. All I can say is ” Stay strong Ryan the relentless..” Perhaps we’ll meet in the skyways one day. May your ship always be true and the wind.take you where ever you need to be.
nice
as I read the article I was really amazed. ty for ki producers and ty for the Make a Wish Foundation. when you are a guy or girl with a life changing issue its nice for; from both these groups to make these kids feel special and important Now we have a new npc that we can all relate to and in some way feel a little closer connected to the game. I have played these games since they started and always look forward to the new and exciting ways they encourage game play KI cares about their audience. Thanks again KI.
Kingsisle is, and always will be, a company that is more than just a gaming producer. It’s a family that treats its members with love and compassion. You never cease to amaze! 🙂
That is awesome. It would be cool if we met in WIzard101
*Restate* That is awesome It would be cool if he played Wizard101 and we met I:
You all rock!
Ryan you are so lucky! i wish something like that could happen with me. I can not wait to go see your character in person. Kingsile is my favorite game company ever, and i hope it is your’s too 🙂 🙂
I rely want kingsisle to add one more thing. Do you know what it is? Guess. I know it.Sew houses together with a friend or two. I want that to happen.
You’re a top-notch company, KI, would love to work for you. Prayers to Ryan and family, they were truly blessed (especially Ryan!) by you guys.
lol i want aposter
soooo cool thanks guys
You guys are amazing! i don’t know how many requests of that type you get, but to actually do that for one of your players is absolutely outstanding. Not only is your game wonderful and gives parents and kids the opportunity to play together as a family, but your family values and virtues are brilliant. May your business be Blessed!
Same here XD I would love to see KI in person… I hope to see you in P101 and W101, Ryan.
wow ryan you kid are a boss 😉
Ryan ROCKS! 😀