Where do KingsIsle Employees Get Their Inspiration?
We often feature highly creative people here on the KingsIsle Blog, and often get asked “where do you get your inspiration?” To get to the bottom of this open question, we asked some creative KingsIsle employees where they personally found inspiration for their projects at work. Here’s what they had to say!
I am pretty active in sports and living adventurously in the world. Ever since I was a kid playing baseball, I would see physics in motion in visual ways. The arc a baseball would travel, etc. That grew as I got older to snowboarding, wakeboarding, motorcross and many others. The way you fall when one crashes, dirt, water, fire and ice/snow. I suppose I have a thing for elements and the way it moves. The majority of my inspirations also come from helping the helpless. I know that sounds far off from a cinematics and FX artist, but my passion for other peoples stories and lives and helping give back to communities actually inspires me back. Well…that and old Disney films.
Russell Hughes – Principal Artist Cinematics/FX
As the lead writer on Wizard101, I get my inspiration from anywhere and everywhere I can. My foundation is based on all the books (fiction, history, mythology & folktales), comics, movies, cartoons, TV shows, music, and games (tabletop and video) I consumed as a kid, teenager, and college student. I’m also inspired by my two young children (ages 5 and 2) as I play with them and try to tell them stories. I will do specific research for whatever project I’m focused on (African myths for Zafaria; Aztec & Mayan legends and dinosaur stories for Azteca; etc.), but there are a few touchstones that I seem to regularly return to: the television series Babylon5 by J. Michael Straczynski; the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny; Dune by Frank Herbert; The Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin; Sandman by Neil Gaiman; three Star Wars movies; two Aliens movies; and one Matrix movie.
Jesse Scoble (King Artorius) – Wizard101 Creative Design Lead
I was raised on cartoons: mostly 90’s nickelodeon shows such as Ren and Stimpy and Rocko’s Modern Life. “Golden Age” animators such as Bob Clampett and Tex Avery. Game developers with offbeat senses of humor such as Doug Tennapel and Tim Schafer help inspire me.
Robert Lovelett – Lead Artist and Animator on Pirate101 Puppet Shows
The easy answer is that I draw creative inspiration from all kinds of sources, the same as most everyone else. But that’s not really the whole picture. The best thing an influence can do is point me towards other sources of inspiration. When I encounter something that provokes my interest, I seek more about it, and even look at related subjects. This way, I am continually encountering the new and the unexpected, things I never expected to learn about. For example, while reading a magazine article about the spread of curry throughout the world, I found myself trying to learn more about history, geography, culture, and agriculture of the places mentioned. I even looked up articles about key people, and the restaurants, as well as some of the recipes mentioned. Together, all of those subjects help flesh out my understanding of our own world, which ultimately is the best source of inspiration there is.
Jason Durall – Creative Design Lead
KingsIsle Blog 
Your inspiration inspires me to inspire others with inspiring things of inspiration.
This inspires me.
Inspiration. :3
lol
Congratulations to Jason and Jesse and the whole team at Wizard101 (and Pirates101). I play obsessively. It’s that good. -Carol
cool
ok and yeah amazing plus cool
What game did you like making better? Pirate101 or Wizard101? Plz Reply 🙂 i have played Wizard101 since Dec 2008 and Pirate101 since release date (sorry cant remember release date for Pirate101)
It was 10/15/12.
mine to I like wiz but I haven’t play p101
I been playing since 2010 🙂
ture this game is fun and i am there with you thats ture
Can you give us a hint of the next worlds?
The way you got the inspiration is cool and will the world after Khrisallis be Polaris or is the game done after Khrisallis??????????????????????????? Oh, and also you can make an element called the light element and different wand attacks for it.
yea a hint would be nice
@Kyle
everybody working on (WORLD of Khrysails is new world) only did part 1 (now everybody waiting for Khrysails Part 2 (level cut in half) for world of Khrysails (for now only get up to 95)
Amazing, thanks for sharing!
TY for the insight . I have been wondering who was behind this very complex and creative game. I am in my seventies so nice to see that there is so much back ground work to make this entertaining for young and old. Keep up the good work. Dennis C.
I like your game kingsisle (w101) makes me imagine it in real life and I have some ideas for spells if you don’t mind
Loved this sense the begining I can’t wait for more worlds I am happy i started this in 2009 Great Graphics and everything been times i have been on and off but i am going to start back up again and I also had some ideas to share some i know this might be a little different but I think we should make a new world where the Spiral is threatened by a Newer more evil villian and he plans to destroy Wizard City i think it is time to open Ambroses secret room in his office with the books in front of it and there will be something more shocking then anything anyone has seen and a special gift when you beat the Evil that threatens the City and there could be a new type of Magic After Shadow magic could be Spiral Magic and this School will be for people who save Ambrose and the city. These are some ideas that i have thought of for a while now sense some of my other ideas are old and were used already. I hope you read this my users i play on most are either KaneGoldDreamer or JackDragonHeart.
ok
TV games music and cartoons and movies and TV shows lol cool bro. :-).
awesome
tea I do think wizard101 AWESOME I feel ya
i like wizard101 and pirate101. the people that create these games must be off the charts in their imaginations. what ever your doing to create these games don’t stop. the other people in customer support , billing etc. they are also just as wonderful because they do help in keeping all the rest working. Kind of like your ground crew of support. Thank you , to all of you!
cool I like it because I don’t care I love it 🙂
I love w101! it is amazing. this is truly inspiring to some people who are still uninspired, be inspired by this inspirational inspiring thing that makes us want to inspire the uninspired ^_^ 😀
Where do you get your inspiration for the one eye symbols and the pentagram? The occult?
Those are just common magic symbols. You can usually catch a glimpse of them in Fantasy movies. So it’s not a big mystery where Sherlock Bones is needed.
This is amazing on how you get inspired to then create these amazing animations with amazing graphics. I personally haven’t seen a game with this much thought into it with inspirational animations/graphics/pixels
Its nice to know that your reading the same stuff I am. I detected hints but now you confirmed it. love it! Keep doing what your doing. Wizards Rule!
any chance those who got shadow magic will ever be allowed into fort rachias. three months and only quests are collect kryckets ans krysanthamum in a place I am not allowed to visit.
well bro shadow magic is the best spell there is basically and wiz101 is the bomb my name is wolfbluehunter got to realm wu to add my nigga
well wt i think about wizard101 is that they should make a world that has the Greek mythology gods for every school if they could make that i would never stop playing this amazing game thank you people who made this it is amazing!
As a theme song they should add “Best Day Of My Life”
Will make so awesome
I love you guys worlds I was thinking can you guys make a scorpions world in wizard city in Cyclops lane ,you fan cole storm blade^-^
the biggest fan who ever lived the names wolf blue hunter I play every day morning evening afternoon and night I love wizard so much biggest fan who ever lived 🙂
😛
Not always what I had expected for inspiration. I would have thought they were inspired by magic and wanted to make there own game for it or something like that. Still, I think Pirate101 and Wizard101 are great games.
i love wizard101 and i love the polymorph spells i wish it was more high level polymorph but it is cool 🙂 Thank you Kingsisle for making wizard101 and Pirate101 😀 it is the best game in the world
hi people I ❤ wizard 101 because it makes me fell like I am a real wizard. when my mom tells me to get off I get so mad I:. but it is a really good game. I play it every single day! I love the creators of wizard 101! good job creators! kings isle creator you should make a rabbit place like in the spiral full of bunnies and the guys you defeat in that world should be wolves, coyotes, bears, and other predators of bunnies and the level of this place I thought of and I think it should be is level forty five or something like that. but so far so good! (;
I’ve noticed that some of it comes from harry potter too. also must of the is from greek mythology
It seems interesting that most if not all worlds that were created here have more than myth and legend involved in the designs and plot. Most, if not all of the symbology included in the designs and artworks have a more sacred meaning to ancient cultures, is placed in the correct locations, and even the different, hidden languages separate between each world yet similar to actual language of the location in which each world or area represents. I’ve deciphered these and written down the messages contained within them, it was easy enough, yet fun to do. I enjoy the creativity and condone the studies each of the designers have undergone to so masterfully recreate an close replica of each individual “myth” around the world from so many various locations. Keep up the good work and keep going back in time to the beginning to reach the future 😉
All this time I’ve been wondering what kind of weird folks the developers were. Well, now I know. It would be really fun to just chill with you guys over dinner. I imagine an epic food fight might follow. xD
I wonder how he chose each spell for each power?
Congratulations to Jason and Jesse and the whole team at Wizard101 (and Pirates101). I play obsessively. It’s that good. -Carol
Kingslsle is so creative and they inspire me.
how do you become a kingsile employee
I totally agree and know how you all feel about inspiration! When someone comes up to me and tells me they’re bored, I could come up with so many things that would “cure” their boredom, but many of them just don’t feel like doing anything on their own. I plan to become an animator one day and can relate to each post. Since I was a kid, I’ve always been interested in the way creatures move, especially running and flight. I’ve even made an articulated wing out of wire and have studied anatomy on my spare time just to further understand how it all works and moves. Speaking of movement, certain games I’ve played as a kid have given me a good sense of in-game physics, such as “Ball Breakers”. (It’s a game about synthetic lifeforms that compete for survival through different stages, similar to The Hunger Games, only the competitors are robots who are made of a torso hovering over a ball. I usually played as the character, Apostle.) This game had such amazing physics for a rolling ball and they really got creative. I wonder if this could help inspire a new mini-game on Wizard101 and/or Pirate101, maybe even for pets. A pet or player balancing on a ball would be pretty cool. Perhaps a circus ball could even become a mount along with a new circus-like theme. Now that I realize it, I think I just typed an example of how inspiration works.
Wow. Just wow. I’ve been playing W101 for a year now, and gosh. That game has changed my life, to say the least. I’ve made a lot of awesome friends on that game. I’ve been inspired to draw my own character, sometimes write fanfiction for it, but what would the plot be about? It wouldn’t be a stable enough plot to continue. Just do what you’re doing, because W101 was my life a month ago! Now, not so much (Don’t have membership anymore). Such an addicting game, it is. Love it! I just wish non-members could report others. There’s a lot of swearing and bullying going on, and I can only ‘Ignore’ them. But how does that solve MY problem when OTHERS are being bullied and I can’t do anything to stop it? Ignoring doesn’t exactly help, in my opinion… Hope that can be fixed. Hopefully.
awesome, thou wizard 101 could a new arcade game in fairgrounds like a dungeon based arcade.
also could use new school and realm like nexus ( space like spiral, with moon like fragments, planet fragments, stars ) . with spells like comet , chaos bolt . houses/gear, pets. also increase level cap to 150. in the long term run speaking
I think one of you kingsisle people should make batman quests or a pet 😛 Please!!! lol but this is very nice i always wondered this. also all the pets! omg allot of graphics and awesome stuff. i thought it was cool when you putr Aquila on because i just got done reading the Percy Jackson Series.
I just noticed the new dress that came out seemed to be a bad copy of the commanders robe even the stiching on it I can see right threw it and see the wall if you look close it was very disappointing to me it seemed like it lacked creativity I would like to see more nice looking gear like the commanders robe and the guys look the same as the girls what is with that what guy wants to wear a dress. I know you are very busy with the new world and you guys are doing an awesome job. Iwould just like to see you work on the outfits more and not make copies of ones that are already their and where tired of all the wings on the dresses
w101 is mine but my school is too and reading
why were the prisms made to attach to the enemy an not the spells?
I’m very impressed.
i love the wizard 101 everything and pet outfit mount gear warlord also guardian outfit some time i really want to get that crown and training gold also exp etc.
🙂 wolf blade
this compny is nice I love their work!:)
congrats
i love this game really i cant wait for next part of khrysalis….
and i hope this game have more worlds after khrysalis
Amber Ravenheart here! I love you all ❤
creative inspiration can come from anywhere really and you can see definitive styles by what people use to fuel that creative motor. I love entries like this Im also really curious as to what inspired the gear design, some of the clothing and looks. Would they ever be featured on a show like lets say project runway? where the contestants have to design an outfit from a specific school that can then be placed in the game?
I absolutely love the inspiration for Wizard101! I believe you guys should make a spiral world which has the storyline of the migration of humans. Sort of a world that tells how all the other worlds came into existence! If you look into AP Human Geography, I think you’ll learn a lot and find tons to draw from.
I love how you always add in easter eggs in your games like your doctor who ones ^_^ and I was wondering could you add in school mounts that you get in a quest as a reward at lvl 100?
i like wizard101 and pirate101. the people that create these games must be off the charts in their imaginations. what ever your doing to create these games don’t stop. the other people in customer support , billing etc. they are also just as wonderful because they do help in keeping all the rest working. Kind of like your ground crew of support. Thank you , to all of you!
its the awesomest game i have ever seen
Amazing! I always wondered how you came up with EVERYTHING that we’re now enjoying. Kingsisle, you inspired me to try out a new art technique for my drawings. Now most of my sketchbook contains at least 80% of Pirate/Wizard 101.
Thank you! 😀
i love wizard101