Wizard101 and the Benefits of Educational Games
In a previous post I discussed some of the benefits that can come from online games. That post was driven primarily by the experience I had speaking at a conference and being concerned that so much of the press and academic focus was on the potentially negative aspects of gaming. I was thrilled to read a recent article on Venture Beat where Dean Takahashi had a chance to have a conversation with Mark DeLoura, the senior adviser for digital media at the White House. I highly encourage all of our fans to read the article and leave comments as it is wonderful to see this kind of focus on the POSITIVES that can come from gaming. If you hear cheering as you read this it quite possibly could be me still sitting in my office vigorously applauding. 🙂 This has been a message I have been trying to explain to the press for almost six years now. Perhaps more accurately stated this has been a message that we have heard from our players for the last six years. It is wonderful to finally see a well-known outlet cover the educational benefits of gaming. Perhaps just as exciting is to see the focus at the highest level of our government.
One uphill battle I’ve faced in relating our players stories was “Wizard101 isn’t a true educational game”. I guess in the most technical sense that rings true. Wizard101 isn’t a “Math Game” or a “Spelling Game” that was designed specifically as a game to teach math or to teach spelling. Of course, neither are some of the games that DeLaura references including Mine Craft (a wonderful building game). But the root of that argument is that if it isn’t a game specifically designed to “teach math” then it cannot help players obtain increased mathematical skills and thus is not an educational game. That argument seems about as flawed to me as to tell a teacher it was bad to assigning Harry Potter to kids as a summer reading exercise. Harry Potter isn’t written specifically as a textbook to teach grammar or spelling. It’s not a technical book to teach English fundamentals so does it have no learning or educational benefit to the reader? I would argue that the Harry Potter series is a wonderful story that keeps people of all ages engaged, stretches the imagination and certainly helps young readers improve their reading skills. Thus, it has “educational value” to the reader. I’m not sure how many people realize the extent of reading in Wizard101 but there over 50,000 lines of text in Wizard101. I feel confident talking about the educational value of Wizard101 because of the huge number of letters, comments, emails we have received from parents and players telling us how much our games have helped them improve their reading, spelling and grammar skills.
It’s the same story with math. While not technically a math game we hear countless stories about how player’s math and reasoning skills have improved. The card game behind Wizard101 has a huge component of statistics and our players learn this as they progress. They are taught to solve problems, to reason out solutions, to understand which combinations of spells lead to the best outcomes.
This same concept seems even more so when it comes to teaching creativity. Is Wizard101 technically an art game? Nope. But tell that to the thousands of fans who’s art submissions we receive (we have entire walls in our office decorated with fan art). How about to the players that have written thousands of pages of creative stories inspired by Wizard101? In an era where programs like creative writing and art are being cut from our school systems our children need an outlet and an inspiration for creativity. Whether that is Wizard101 or other forms of inspiration.
There last area I would like to touch on that was discussed in the Venture Beat article is the growing opportunity in our economy and workforce for actual technical skills. Skills like computer programing, digital art and engineering. While games like Wizard101 don’t really “teach” these skills I think it’s very hard to discount that passion that can be driven by experiencing an amazing virtual like Wizard101. I firmly believe that many of the future employees in these fields will get their “start”, their “passion” to pursue those careers by engaging with games like those that we make here at KingsIsle.
I would highly encourage you to share your views on this topic. Clearly leaving a reply here is great but if you are willing, please go to the Venture Beat article and leave a reply. Perhaps Mark DeLoura will read your comment and help him continue to position the values of these types of games at the highest levels. Who knows, maybe if enough positive comments are left President Obama himself may read a few 🙂
Fred Howard
Vice President of Marketing
KingsIsle Blog 
i agree, its why i like adventure games. kings quest series forced players to use reasoning skills. mmorpgs such as runescape and wow teach team work, financial and trade skills. but i will say that video games in general even though they have benefits as this, these benefits are usually outweighed by the lack of use they have. most people who do great stuff, are the most useful to society, do not play video games.
Sirens helped me on my spelling test 🙂 A+
This is something I’ve been trying to explain to people for years. At our house, we play Wizard101 as a family affair. The children are challenged to read, follow directions and work out logical puzzles while playing Wizard101. Honestly I’d rather my children responsibly game during their free time, after school work and chores, instead of sitting in front of a cartoon or some silly sitcom on TV. You have a wonderful game that we all truly enjoy. Keep up the great job!
before i played wizards i typed about 20 words a minute now i type like 70
its amazing how much you learn to type on this game when hanging out with friends
I know its so using i learned allot of new words on how to spell them because the filter wouldnt let me use misspelled words until i corrected them and man i easily learn 200 plus words before i got open chat plus this game is great for teaching you mythlogy
me and my wife talk more that we play this game
Wizards101 does have some learning benefits it teaches greek mythology
I like the bazaar aspect of your game it encourages youth to learn buying and selling much like a mini Wall Street Stock Exchange. This first step for younger children can help them understand how the real stock exchange works while making it fun for them to do.
JOB WELL DONE! As a parent of three, in which one of my kids has inattentive ADHD and has been struggling with math for years, I was floored one evening when we were on our computers playing the game across from each other and he says to me the exact amount of damage the spell is going to do. He was spot on, when I asked how he knew he sighed as if I was disturbing his concentration and began to methodically breakdown the critical ratio to damage output ha ha.
My youngest son has a boundless imagination. The design and planning he does with his “Wizard Home” is staggering. And oh btw he is also on A-B honor roll now.
You have given me and my family a great family fun game. Thank you sincerely.
Have a blessed day!
This is a great post! All of these are wonderful positives on Wizard101 and online gaming, especially since w101 teaches people about history and history (like Krokopatra, or Cleopatra, in Krokotopia, or Egypt :D). This is a well developed game and I hope to see W101 continue and live on to see its 10th anniversary. Best of Luck!
I began playing Wizard101 to monitor this multi-player game. My grandchildren play, and I wanted to see if I had to call a halt to play due to stranger-danger, etc. Since I’m not really a game-player IRL or otherwise, I am surprised to find that I’m still at it after two years. My own theory of the benefits for the ancient-of-days players is that it sure keeps your brain active, perhaps warding off incipient senility, Sundowners, or Alzheimers. The game is a tension reliever, a time-killer for the house-bound, and an easy way to work off aggressive tendencies. In addition the game is educational to the point of having to look up who in the heck all these characters were and reading their back-stories. It will teach patience when interacting with the less-swift among us, or the downright mean. It will teach team-work play, and sharing techniques and explanations as to how to defeat the undefeatable. The art work and detail is incredible, the programming amazing. The programmers must lie awake at night wondering how to torture the players further with new challenges.
i see the Wizard 101 as one of the top video games that we have available today. If people consider reading a hobby then they should note that’s the best part of the Wizard 101. If you reach out to the people that read but only use reading as a part of studying then you tell them that playing the Wizard 101 everyday is not only fun but the greatest part is making friends.
now i understand that there is a benefit of playing this game.I hope to learn a lot from this game
Love the game!
Keep making amazing new worlds
Wizard101 is the most excellent game. I play it every day, & you are never too old to learn.
when one stops learning, one may just as well hang it up. I love Wizard101. & for me, it keeps me up & running with the younger generations.
Wizard101 help me with my spelling and my math believe it or not, My spelling has improved while text chatting friends and family. My math has also improved because of all the blade and traps you have to put on an enemy. Wizard101 is also a great way to make new friends and become a better typist. Great job Wizard101, in my opinion this is the best game I ever played
This is amazing. I knew there were benefits to such a wonderful game! I’ll make sure to share this!
I see what you mean with the traps and blades because you not only have to see how many you lay but what the traps or blades are going to do to improve the hit points
My friend and I have been playing this game for years and when we were in elementary school we were the fastest typers there. All thanks to wizard101 😛
On-line gaming also helps in developing hand-eye coordination. My senior citizen mother’s doctor was very concerned when she was losing ground in this area. I started her on Wizard101 and 6 months later her doctor reported tremendous improvements. It is also giving her a social outlet and keeping her mentally active. We play and talk together every day even though we are hundreds of miles apart.
I never really noticed me learning but I now notice that I know a lot more words from wizard101. It also helps my friends and I to bond by playing together. I have gotten better at typing too from the text chat. I am better at spelling too when i am typing because the limitations for text chat make me spell words correctly.
o my gosh do people really think this doesn’t help with math and spelling and stuff like that? i have to say i disagree with those people wizard101 has helped me with both i like to see what a strong attack of mine would have done with out critical and with boosts like traps and blades so it helped my math and for spelling i have filtered text chat and it seems to have a spell check it helped me a ton with my spelling before i played w101 i couldn’t even spell the word spell 😀 😀 😀
I must thank you for helping me with those things they where my worst subject now they are my best! 😀
I luv and think this game is educational i recommend this game to anyone. 🙂 good luck all you players out there. Currently i am in tyrian gorge so good luck newbies! 😀
When I first came to the U.S. I didn’t know a single word of English beside “Hi”. As a child, I was easily drawn to colorful commercials, such as Wizard101. Once I started playing it I didn’t really know what to do. But once I got the hang of it, it turned out to be pretty fun, AND helpful. I learned more English, and when my parents started playing, so did they! I also learned good social skills, and me and my parents bonded more thanks to Wizard101. So I personally say, Wizard101 is an educational game 🙂
In my specific circumstance, Wizard101 has helped me to learn how to coordinate a group of people to accomplish a common goal. This is actually an important skill in the workplace and I might (indirectly) get my money back from my subscription.
So right. It does especially help us learn how to learn strategy, to. Its great!
I think wizard101 the best game i ever piayed cause i have nothing better to do so i just go on wiz to make me happy!!!!! thank you for making this game!!!!!!
For those who are math wizards (no pun intended lol) of course Wizard101 is educational, calculating the damage alone is enough for me as an adult lol. Not only that but, the game teaches good morals and definitely patience which, as an adult, I noticed I have a problem with. Also the feelings and values of victory, defeat, and persistence I think Wizard101 teaches that effectively as well coupled with great graphics and an outstanding storyline that will keep the kids (and adults) coming back for more. The realm of the spiral should interest the President in a society nowadays that takes many of the things we learned as children, from our parents and life itself, for granted.
Wizard101 has helped me in my reading, when I was in second grade my reading was a C now, moving on to fifth grade I get straight a’s. in my spelling be one of the words were hydra. And I got it right. I hope this game lasts for many years to move on to my kids and my family.- Joshua
You are right. In a spelling bee you can contact many words your familer with like Hydra. I love Wizard101 because it also does help you with math too!!! When you do a spell try to count up to estimate how much that spell you will do if you estimate right you just did math!!!!! 8) 8D 🙂 😀
you know that’s true it may not help with anything like math a ton but it does make you think like what should i do next or how should i go about this new opponent and its a computer game so it does help with typing so if you need to do something on the computer you don’t sit there and type with one finger or have to keep checking all your moves.
Usually, original is the best!
It’s so refreshing to know that some people do see the benefits of gaming. Wizard101 inspired me to write a story about my wizard, and it definitely improved my reasoning skills. Usually people only focus on the bad things that come from gaming, but I personally think the benefits outweigh the negatives. Thanks so much! 🙂
This game has helped me with my take at school, This may sound weird but I hate school, I absolutely hate it but when I comes down to it, when you log in you see your wizard(s) sitting at a desk thumping their fingers on the desk and the Wizard you choose is standing up. This tends to be what I choose to do so when the school dismisses me I get up, say my goodbyes and leave hurrying to my bus so that I can do my homework as fast as I can and then hop on the computer and do it all over the next day except on weekends I got out and play with my friends outdoors because I like a balance between Wizard101 and real friends!
I absolutely love this game t has helped my wpm (words per minute) go up by at least 30-40, which is a giant improvement. Also in Wizard101 it’s all about communication with other players which has helped me socially in real life I’ve made so many new friends since I’ve played this keep up thw good work Kingsisle!
I agree with jake I also approved with then wpm at 50-60 and I gotta say I do love wizard101 thank you kingsisle you really helped me 🙂
i have made so many good friends too but my spelling is not moving at all because you spell a bit differently to us in Australia but Kingsisle is doing such a good job i love the game, keep up the good work guys
well im so in to w101 its my like fav game lolz lol 😀 i find it some how fun & funny XD
Wizard101 and Pirate101 alike are both probably the best mmorpgs out there today. Not only do they both have educational purposes, but they also tell a story. Most online games today don’t have a specific storyline. W101 and P101 each have a unique storyline that pulls the player into the game and story. Its like a book- anticipating for the next chapter (update). If anything, both games are a virtual book! 🙂
I love wizard101 so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it also teaches kids to type faster and easier if you ask me
Wizard101 is half the reason I got involved in writing fanfictions. True, they aren’t Wizard101 based but the huge number of favorites and follows I’ve gotten for one of my story series is just….it’s incredible. I had no idea I’d get so many rave reviews and “Please continue!” comments. It’s truly heartwarming. ^-^
I personally think this this game far more educational than most random running and shooting games kids play those days. I have ADD and things such as reading, typing, spelling and especially math were the biggest challenges of my life. But I was always good with creativity and art. Ever since I started playing wizard 101, I improved in math tremendously due to the strategising in order to win. I was always a scatter brain and it was hard for me to stay organized, but figuring out the cards you’ll need for certain battles helped me become more collected. It improved my reading skills a lot and now i can type with no trouble approx 20-30 words a min which is far from what I could do before. Also I’m extremely forgetful, and remembering how to spell some words was one of the hardest things for me, but wizard 101 helped me overcome that barrier as well. I now almost make no spelling mistakes when I either type or write. Or I catch them much faster when i do make one (where was this game when I was still in school?). But more importantly, the most unusual thing this game taught me is economy. That’s right. I was really bad at being economical when it came to spending or saving money. But in this game, dealing with shops, selling and purchasing, taught me keep better track of my finances. In addition to that, this game teaches responsibility when dealing with gardening. Once planted something, you constantly have to take good care of it, if don’t it will die, this teaching you to have more responsible approach to every thing you do with patience. It also teaches you to deal with others. In addition, since I love art, this game allows me to lash out my creativity on wizard 101 housing decor. That is my absolute favorite part. Plus I spend a lot of time at home, and don’t have much chance to go out and socialize, so this game allows me to stay social and open to people around me. Also by constantly helping lower level players, it has gotten in to my habit to help out with out hesitation any one who asks my help even in real life. So I let you be judges for your selves whether this game is educational or just simple waste of time, but this is what its done for me.
math you should make me do math in pvp after every match if they are the get 20 more and same if you lose
My husband and I have played Wizard101 for several years now with our 6 grandchildren (4 of which live in another state). This amazing game has helped them with self confidence; spelling; math (the Bazaar!); social interaction; friendships; and overcoming challenging situations.
We have all tried other games, but always come back to Wizard101!
Hello, My name is Thomas and i love online games, It has made my spelling in gamma inprove very much see what i did with gamma? ‘ the headmasters pet ‘ So thanks for helping my spelling and gamma
This is so true. Especially the math thing. Couldn’t have accuracy, strength and resistance points without math. Or health and mana, critical, block, etc. Math is definitely in this game!
I gotta agree with this article, It has a lot of typing and a lot of reading in it, but I also have learned about other cultures that some of my friends live in and how its like over there.
wizard101 taught me how to write and read correctly. its also fun to play! this game was my favorite game and it will always be!
This game improved my vocablurary and it just wow. I wonder how they do it?
Just as some people may find it difficult to say my name right‚ making friends at School isn’t always easy and I feel thats what I really used to struggle with. In my school we have tons of clubs and we even have the option of making a club and get paid if we run it! 😀 I really don’t see myself as a leader‚ but my counslers always told me that I should persuit in what inspires me. I tood myself that I would make my own club and in fact I did. I started by staying after School with a few laptops and invited people who play wizard101 and people who don’t to stay and join me. I was surprise to see how few people didn’t aleardy play however I didn’t judge them andI was more than happy to let them stay. Bottom line I feel that this game helped my gain leadership skills andI believe it impacts all people differently 🙂
I learned a lot playing Wizard101 Spelling, Math, and a lot of times Social Studies. This game has changed most of my life to be honest.
Isn’t kingsisle the best vidio making company or what!!?? I always fell like this when I play wizard101 😀 😀 😀 😀 :D.
It helps us understand how to deal with money.
I hate math and spelling normal but this way is awesome!!!:O I know right. This game is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I personally have gotten very competitive in pvp as many other wizards are which can be good or bad but mostly its driven me to try and improve my wizards stats which means learning the best combinations of things or gear to use. Thus I have worked with a lot of numbers and worked out a lot of equations too see what some spells will do and if that’s the best I can get them too do. More then anything its improved my typing I went from staring at the keyboard searching for letters to choosing my next spell while sending a message to a friend I am easily now typing 40 words a minute within my 1 year of playing this game. Also keep up the good work this game is amazing.