Every dog has its day, and today is that day! To celebrate National Dog Day, we wanted to share some of KingsIsle’s fluffiest (and underappreciated) employees. Trust us, you’re in for a treat!
Alice, QA Tester
“Even though we’re 900 miles apart, I love my doggo Alice! She loves to play fetch even in her old age (11yrs old in October), chilling on the sofa with my sisters, and fighting with the house cat Archie! I miss her all the time and hope to see her on visits some day!” – Mercedes F.
Corvo, Desktop Support Specialist
“Corvo is my service dog. When he isn’t working he loves getting pets, snuggling, and squeaking his toys in my ear.” – Chris R.
Auty, General Manager (Austin)
“Auty is a mellow fellow who is never too urgent about anything. His hobbies include walks, naps, and quietly standing next to strangers until they give him bum scritches.” – Dave R.
Leo, Sound Designer
“This is Leo, he’s a Plott hound pup currently 15 weeks old (I think..hard to keep track) and loves to chase my son and scour the yard for cicadas, explore any trail we can get him on, and sample the buffet of plants around our neighborhood when he’s not inside napping … which is most of the time!” – Andrew C.
Butters, Senior Environment Artist
“Hi fellas! My name’s Butters! I’m a 1 yr old fluffy Corgi from Austin, TX. I love to swim and play fetch. When I’m not playing I like to snuggle up in my pawrents arms and give ’em kisses! My mom tells me I’m the Best Boy Around!
@soft_butters
instagram.com/soft_butters” – Butters (Owner: Evan F.)
Sadie, Associate Producer
“Sleeping on my 3 different beds (one of them is called a queen like me!) is my favorite hobby, but I have to share it with my human. I have horrible separation anxiety when my human leaves the house, so I’ve destroyed door frames and drywall while they’re away. It doesn’t matter though because they love me and I make sure to remind them of my love.” – Sadie (Owner: Renee W.)
Red, Senior Producer
AKA: Red Beans & Rice, Redford, Reddifer, Roberta Redford, Fuzzy Goblin Baby, Reddington and Reddikins.
“She’s a doggo who does not understand boundaries in any way, and thinks she is small. Her favourite thing to do is get as dirty as possible (expert mud hole finder). If she can’t be dirty, she’d like to nap together (but on top of you) and also to push you off of the bed until she takes up the whole bed. She will also beg for cheese and her skills are 11/10.” – Selena H.
Raider and Paloma, Senior World Builders
“Raider and Paloma are both rescue dogs that rescued our family a few years ago. Both have a very playful nature and enjoy teasing each other with the ball. When it isn’t playtime, snuggling is their favorite.” – Rand F.
Waffles, Senior Accountant
“This is Waffles my mini dachshund. She enjoys naps, riding in the car and is really good at hiding from my small children!” – Michele M.
Woody, Game Designer
“Woody is a 14 year old pupper who is very gentle and sweet. He loves to eat, smelling everything on his walks, and nap!” – Nicholas T.
Addison and Peggy, Marketing Associates
“Meet Addison the Shepherd (bottom) and Miss Peggy Hill (cone of shame)! Addison is the large-Marge-in-charge in the office and makes sure everyone is meeting their deadlines. Peggy is our newest intern-to-hire (foster-to-adopt), and is still learning the ropes but shows great playful promise. She tends to nap a lot on the job, but Addison is doing a great job coaching her to make sure yall still get some great game content.” – Jenny L.
Iroh and Winston, Senior Game Designers
“Iroh and Winston enjoy playing with their kitty sister, begging for all the food, and barking at everything while chillin’ in their watermelon pool. Most importantly, they enjoy helping dad while he is work from home.” – Matthew F.
These adorable pals are all employee of the month in our book! Do you have a cute furry coworker you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!
Happy National Dog Day!
FreeKI Games Trivia Quizzes are getting a new home! They are being migrated over to both the Wizard101 and Pirate101 main websites.
This migration is in preparation for the eventual closure of the FreeKI Games portal later this year. Until that closure date arrives, the original trivia quizzes pages will automatically redirect you to the new pages if accessed from the FreeKI Games’s website.
News about Grub Guardian will be announced at a later date.
Free Crowns for Trivia Quizzes
Did you know that completing these trivia quizzes can net you additional Crowns?
Each online trivia quiz you pass will automatically apply 10 Crowns to your KingsIsle account. You can complete 10 free trivia games per day and take each quiz once per day for Crowns. Come back each day to complete more free trivia questions and earn more Crowns!
Crowns can be applied to your Wizard101 and Pirate101 accounts to help you access premium zones and add cool game items to your supply.
Let us know if you have any questions about this update!
Do you hear that steady beat? KingsIsle staff members don’t just keep pace with game development, they also hit the right note in their free time as well! Since today is National Buy a Musical Instrument Day, we thought it’d be rocking to share musical stories and samples from our talented KingsIsle musicians.
Oliver Hudson, Associate QA Analyst
“Many a moon ago there were two close friends of mine. They inspired me with their beatbox talents, one could make a didgeridoo sound with his mouth, the other a solid drumkit, high hats and bass drum included. Since then I practice casual beatboxing, in my own style.”
Dennis Bestafka, Senior Audio Designer
“Being on the Audio Team, it’s safe to say that musical skills play into much of what we do. Of course, this comes in handy for composing in-house music for the games, but additionally, sound design can be very musical by nature, with timing, frequency, and even key. I grew up playing trombone, concert bass and percussion in wind ensembles, orchestras and marching bands, from Jr. high, through high school, and into college. I have also played guitar in Rock bands throughout the years, which led me into studio recording, as well as other instruments such as drums, bass & keyboards. All of these experiences, paired with my love for video games, play direct roles into why I chose game audio as a career; which I knew would be the best job in the world for me (second to rock star, of course).”
His current musical project: Buona Sueno
An older project (he’s playing the guitar):
Justin Meisse, Senior Artist
“This is my modular synth, it’s a lot for me to explain but basically I’m connecting different modules with patch cables to create different sounds and patterns. I started out modifying old electronic toys and keyboards from flea markets and yard sales, this is usually referred to as Circuit Bending. Later I started making inexpensive diy electronic noise makers like the Atari Punk Console and then eventually got into modular synths when I wanted to make more musically pleasing sounds. If you’re interested in modular synthesis, I recommend the 2014 documentary “I Dream of Wires” … it will explain it better than I can!”
Tom Purdue, Game Designer
“In 4th grade my mom had me take a year of Piano lessons, which was great, but I knew it wasn’t really “me.” In 5th grade, I convinced my mom to let me switch to the drums . . . and now we were talking! (Even if the neighbors hated it. 😉)
By my senior year in high school I was first chair in my age group, but playing drums with the big boys in college was a big eye opener. These guys were really good, like insanely good. Since I couldn’t hold a candle to their talent (and didn’t want to be a band teacher), I switched majors, and that’s how I ended up working at KingsIsle in a section that *isn’t* the Audio department.
I still play my drum set from time to time with a couple of dads like me from my neighborhood. Here’s a video of us jamming on a tune in a secret music studio in downtown Austin right off 6th street—the very heartbeat of the live music capital of the world!”
Rachel Ripstra, Lead Software Engineer
“I grew up playing classical upright bass, but I always used the school’s loaner. When I went to college I couldn’t afford an upright, so I bought an electric bass and taught myself jazz walking lines and some improvisation – although that part of my skill-set has gone rusty due to disuse. Even so, when my family gathers for the holidays on occasion, I still play Christmas carols with my sisters who also play various instruments.
Last year I went in the entirely opposite direction and got a tenor Ukulele and started teaching myself some songs and chords. I still practice with it a few hours a week building the muscle memory in my fingers and extending the number of chords I have easily at my fingertips.
What I enjoy most about playing music is how the whole is larger than the parts. One note here or there heard in isolation might mean nothing, it may be noise, but when done with others at the right moment it can add an emotional push just where it needs to be. When we play together, my playing feels bigger and better. Music can also be ironic in the best way: somehow bringing my mind to another place while at the same time being absolutely present in the moment. Magical!
I’ve only recently gotten the bug to compose my own music. Usually I just have bass line running though my head, but I’ve started using the Ukulele to find chord progressions that have the emotional vibe that I’m going for and setting out an 8 or 16 bar loop that I can riff on bass over or pluck out a melody. Right now it’s all amateurish, but once I have something that I like I’ll be looking at investing time and energy in that part of things. Next time Kingsisle does a Game Jam, I aim to contribute some music as well as my engineering ability!
The bass I play right now is a refurbished Vantage VA900B. Some knobs and switches have been replaced over the years, along with some of the internal wiring. It’s just such a lovely instrument! I mean, it LOOKS like the late 70’s/early 80’s, doesn’t it?
My Ukulele is a Cordoba 20TM, which is an ‘affordable’ beginners instrument that has a surprisingly warm tone for such a non-bassy instrument.”
KingsIsle staff members aren’t the only ones who have incredible musical gifts though – the KingsIsle community does too! What kind of instruments do you play when you’re not casting spells or sailing the skyways? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Buy a Musical Instrument Day!
Community,
In response to the COVID-19 coronavirus reaching Texas, KingsIsle has made the decision to have all staff work remotely. We are taking this step to keep staff safe and help prevent any possible spread of the virus.
Game development, support and our communications with you through our supported channels will be unaffected. Wizard101’s Spring Update development is also continuing as planned and we can’t wait to share it with you.
Wherever you are during this time, please stay safe and follow officially recommended procedures for taking care of you and your family’s needs.
Thanks,
KingsIsle Team
Join us at PAX South in San Antonio, TX from January 16-19, 2020! We had a great time at least year’s event, so wanted to be sure to attend this year’s event with even more to talk about with the community. Some from our team will be attending through the weekend (no booth, just us roaming around), including Senior Community Manager – Mathew “Sparck” Anderson, Associate Producer – Renee Wooten, and QA Tester – Kayly “Vanessa Mythdust” Ginsberg!
Attending DuelCircle’s 5th Anniversary Party
We will be attending DuelCircle’s 5th Anniversary Party Thursday evening to celebrate their anniversary. Free General Public Ticketing is now open for the party! Please be sure to carefully read the entry and ticketing guidelines that DuelCircle has posted before registering and attending the event.
This is the best place to meet us!
For those who cannot attend PAX South, during the event we will also be on a community-led livestream with the DuelCircle team! This show begins at 7pm CST on KingsIsle’s Twitch channel. This show will be in addition to our normal running livestreams at KingsIsle and focus on the community and PAX South.
KingsIsle Capturing the PAX Magic
The community has a bunch of fun plans at PAX South for those tuning in on social media. Keep watch on Twitter and Facebook for updates!
Follow KingsIsle’s Instagram account, instagram.com/kingsisle, for photos and videos posted from our PAX South adventures with the community.
Follow Us and Win!
Everyone that follows our account and likes an Instagram post during PAX South, will be entered into a drawing on January 21 for a chance to win 1 of 8 10k Crowns codes for Wizard101 & Pirate101! Also, if you leave a comment and tag a friend, we’ll enter you in a drawing for the chance to win an Undersea Enchantment Bundle!
Each post that you like and/or comment on will count as an entry. The more you like and comment on our posts, the greater your chances of winning.
JAN 21 UPDATE: Congrats to the following Instagram winners!
- @eclipsefox
- @kristinemarie0913
- @johnyergermua
- @mattcookchs
- @me_is_jamesss
- @peachpiepaige
- @purplestorm13
- @sea_wiz_101
Thanks everyone for participating on social media and those who were able to attend the event and meet us!
KingsIsle Blog 