December 10, 2013 / KingsIsle Entertainment

Wizard101 Changed My Life

During the holidays, we’re running a contest through our “12 Days of the Spiral“. The question is – what has Wizard101 or Pirate101 meant to you and/or your family in the past year? Today we have our first winner! Read about their growth through playing Wizard101.

Wizard101 has changed my life. I first began at around 2009, which doesn’t even seem that long ago, but the impact it has had on me has been immense. When I was younger I had trouble making friends. I was too shy and I never really talked, so for the first ten years of my life I was practically alone. My parents were always at work and I was often left home alone. I was never really unhappy, but life just felt a little bland. Then, however, when I was in the fifth grade, a few of my classmates started talking about this great new game that they were all getting into. I decided to give it a shot (since I had never really tried online gaming before, and I figured I might be able to make some new friends), so one day I logged on to Wizard101.com and made myself an account.

My family had an Apple computer, however, and Macs didn’t support Wizard101 at this time, so I began looking for every way possible to get onto the game. I would walk over to the library when I was home alone and play for a few hours, I would ask my grandma if I could go over to her house to play sometimes, and I got completely absorbed into this game. I started meeting new people and we went on quests together, and I had never had more fun in my life. Well, I didn’t have a membership at the time, so I was eventually left to fighting Lady Blackhope and the Kraken over and over again, but just the experience of doing it with others who appreciated me was more than enough.

After several months, I finally asked my parents if I could purchase a membership. They said if I could raise enough money for a computer and a membership, I could get one. Since I was really anxious to get a membership to this game, I started to do chores for neighbors as well as my own family. So, Wizard101 kind of indirectly taught me some responsibility and people skills! Several months later, I had a shiny new PC and a twelve-month membership to call my own, and it was completely worth it.

I played for years and the game kept getting better and better, taking me on breathtaking journeys and countless adventures. The game also developed my interest in music and acting, because I always found myself listening to the many music tracks and impersonating all the characters in the game. Currently, I am in high school and I’ve already seen huge improvement in myself. Talking to other wizards online helped me “get out of my shell” a little bit, and I actually made one of my best friends in sixth grade! Today I am in the drama club and the band at school, I have lots of good friends, and my grades are getting better and better. My parents say Wizard101 is a waste of my time, but honestly, I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. Sure, I may have naturally at some point made a friend here and there, but Wizard101 truly gave me the skills necessary to lead a happy life, and I am eternally grateful for everything Kingsisle has done. I really do hope you realize how much this game can change lives, and also that I’ll be a loyal member of the 101 games until the very end. Thank you KI!

Rogan HawkBreath