Here at KingsIsle, we celebrate Cheese Day once a month. This has been our tradition for several years, and it is a fun way to catch up with fellow employees as we eat some tasty cheeses from around the world. But how did we get this strange idea to eat cheese once a month in an organized setting? Read on and maybe you will want to celebrate Cheese Day along with us, month by month.
A long time ago, when Wizard101 was simply a glimmer of an idea being worked on at Kingsisle Entertainment, a young designer got a gift for Christmas. He received a Cheese of a Month Club subscription. With an overabundance of cheese, he started to bring in the cheeses from around the world to the office, inviting everyone to finish off what he couldn’t eat. Once a month, a cheese from another country would arrive with a little pamphlet telling about the history of each cheese. Most of the cheeses were good and a few were bad, but it started a tradition of gathering around a table, eating cheese and crackers and chatting with each other in a relaxed environment.
People started to ask about when the next cheese package would arrive next month, and soon there was an e-mail thread about when the cheese would arrive. When the cheese DID arrive, people would rejoice and talk and laugh and eat a bit of cheese around the break room.
But all good things must come to an end, and that end was the discontinuation of the designer’s Cheese of the Month Club. For, you see, it had been a year since the initial cheese had been shared around the table, and the subscription died out. The designer left the company, and all hope was lost, for we had no cheese.
Until one day, a not-so-young but inspired artist decided that we didn’t need a Cheese of the Month Club as an excuse for eating cheese. We didn’t need one person determining when we could eat some snacks. The concept was stronger than one individual. That realization was when Cheese Day was born. We got people to bring their own favorite cheeses for others to share. Every month, we have discovered many different cheeses that still to this day surprise even me. The concept of Cheese Day is one of sharing and simple conversation around a break room table. It is a break from the busy day and instead focuses on how good a simple flake of 10 year old cheddar tastes on the tongue. (The answer? Very, VERY good, thank you very much.)
So, we celebrate Cheese Day here at Kingsisle. We may have started this tradition, but we encourage every business and family, large and small, to start their own Cheese Day. Announce a date; buy some cheese and crackers, (The more variety, the better) and simply eat and talk with your coworkers or family. Oh, and tell us about your Cheese Day experiences and maybe take some pictures and send them to us at community@kingsisle.com. We would love to spread this idea to the rest of the country, for it is both relaxing and delicious.
And isn’t that what life is all about? As we enjoy our delicious cheese, we’d love to hear from you. Share your favorite kind of cheese in the comments! Happy Cheese Day, everyone!
The Spiral is a magical place, with Wizard City at the center of all the worlds that are or could be. But, the Spiral had to come from somewhere. Who conjured Merle Ambrose? How did Ravenwood School come to be? What evil genius summoned the diabolical Malistaire and Morganthe? It all began with an idea… These eight facts about the making of Wizard101 might truly surprise you.
1. Was Wizard101 the brainchild of Shadowbane?
Once upon a time, there were some heroes on a quest to build a different kind of world. Little does most of the public know that many of the Wizard101 founders, including Josef Hall, initially learned how to build worlds by creating Shadowbane, a popular MMORPG game from Wolfpack Studios. That experience translated into the creation of the family-friendly MMO game, Wizard101.
2. Wizard101 Wasn’t meant to fit in with other MMOs.
When the heroes mentioned above came together, they thought about all the other games out there, like World of Warcraft, and realized there were not many games designed for parents and kids to play together. Josef Hall was a father, and he knew he wanted to build a game that would be fun for families. Quests in most MMOs are filled with violent battles and weapons that are not appropriate for children, so the creators wanted to come up with a game that was suitable for the whole family. In addition, the chat feature within the game is filtered to be safe for players of all ages.
3. Finding Nemo, Toy Story, and Wizard101
Turns out Pixar’s model played into the inspiration behind Wizard101. Like the heroes behind Pixar, the heads at KingsIsle wanted to create a world that would be engaging and safe for children, but still interesting and challenging for adults.
4. It started out as a real card game.
Believe it or not, the premise behind the game didn’t magically appear. The team spent days playing with a deck of character cards, some dice, and beads that symbolized the power-up and other boosts. They scribbled down rules, ideas, and notes about what worked and didn’t. They knew that the core of any good game, no matter how amazing the graphics and effects, is that it is fun to play.
5. It was made in record time.
The team of heroes had an ambitious goal: They wanted to launch their new game within three years, which is a pretty short video game development time in the gaming industry. By keeping the initial features compact and focused, they imagined, designed, tested and programmed the game on time!
6. You can play it at Grandma’s house.
The creators realized that many kids and families don’t have the latest technology, so the game is designed to run well and look great on any system, even the old one at Grandma’s house. The specs that this game requires were actually thought out with a purpose. The designers knew casual users and kids on hand-me-down computers would be playing Wizard101, so the focus needed to be on the game being easily accessible and able to run on minimal RAM and processing power.
7. The cards actually come to life!
Instead of flat cards popping up on the screen during game play, Wizard101 took creativity a step further to have the characters on the cards actually come to life and act out the combat.
8. The first launch of the game only included four adventure areas.
With a deadline quickly approaching, the team opted to only ship with four major adventure areas (Wizard City, Krokotopia, Marleybone and Mooshu), then added a fifth area three months after launch. Can you imagine playing the game back then?!
Wizard101 is constantly evolving, bringing about new spells, characters, and technology. The creators of the game frequently refer to it as the best project they’ve ever worked on, and you can see why!
Put on your Pirate hats and eye patches for these six swashbuckling family games that will help your kids find the buried treasure of fun. Fire volleys of cannonballs, swab the decks, and hunt for hidden doubloons. Win them all and you’ll earn the right to call yourself the best Pirate to sail the seven seas – and, of course, to make your opponents walk the plank!
Feed the Shark
Photo by Joi
Assemble your crew and decorate a box with a shark’s face, making sure to include a hole for its mouth. Mark the border of your ship’s deck with string a few feet away from the shark. Line up your crew of family members to take turns “feeding the shark” by throwing three pieces of crumpled paper each and earning a point for each one that gets in the shark’s mouth. Once every kid and parent has had a turn, the Pirate who got the most points wins.
Hook the Treasure
Grab the family, two hook hands, two treasure chests (or decorated boxes), and lots and lots of necklaces, and head out to the backyard!
Put the treasure chests at one end of the yard, scatter the necklaces, and divide your family into two crews. Say “Go!” to signal the hunt as one pirate from each team dashes to gather the necklaces one at a time using only their hooks.
After 20 seconds, the Pirate with the most treasure wins a point for his or her crew! Scatter the necklaces again, then let the next two pirates have their turn. Once everyone’s gotten their chance, the team with the most points wins.
Parlaying Pirates
Perfect for long car rides, Parlaying Pirates involves dividing your kiddos into two crews. Each Pirate takes a turn asking another a question, and the recipient can’t answer except by asking a question him or herself, no matter how silly. You only have 10 seconds per turn!
The Pirate who runs out of time or says something that’s not a question loses the round and the other team gets a point. Once everyone’s had a turn, the crew with the most points wins.
Swab the Decks
Photo by Dean Hochman
Deckhands, it’s time to clear the poopdecks! To make sure your galleon has a wide enough deck for this game, head out to your backyard. Divide your family into two crews and have your captains split you up on opposite sides of the deck. Take 10 ping-pong balls in two different colors and give five and a broom to one member of both crews.
At the word “Go!” the swabbies sweep their balls to the opposite side of the deck. Once they get there, they trade places with the next Pirates on their teams, who take the brooms and sweep the balls back to the other side. The crew that finishes first wins.
Cannonball Battle
Print out pictures of islands, items, and characters from Pirate101, assign one to three points to each, and set them on the floor. Mark a toe line with string or tape and have the crew line up behind it. Each Pirate takes a turn to throw three beanbags at the targets, and whoever gets the most points wins.
Doubloon Hunt
Get a big bowl of uncooked rice and have your captains bury doubloons in it — pennies or chocolate coins work! Every Pirate takes a turn wearing a blindfold and searching through the rice to find as many coins as they can. Winners get to keep the treasure they’ve found!
These nautical games can keep a crew occupied for hours. Next time you’re on shore leave with an itch to sharpen your wits, gather your mates and play!
Hello, young Wizards! No matter if you’re just starting out on the quest of saving the worlds of the Spiral or you’ve been battling Malistaire forever, you need a good laugh now and then. Nothing can tickle your funny bone like a pun, even a bad one! We’ve put together 30 of your favorite punny Wizard names, as mentioned here on the Wizard101 forums.
The favorite by far is the famous Luke Skywalker. Chances are you either use this name yourself or have at least one Luke on your friends list. Lukes abound in the Spiral, walking the skies between the different worlds – or traveling by broom, dragon, or another mount for some extra speed.
For the musical bunch looking to Shake It Off, Taylor Swifts also fill the world of Wizard101, along with their nemeses Taylor SwiftHunter and Taylor SwiftStalker. Be careful because there are also some Taylor SwiftSwords about.
Another favorite isn’t so much a name as a name group. You love the family of Pants, particularly WindPants, BoomPants and ThunderPants… My, you are a noisy bunch. There are even FirePants and the related TaleTails, who are likely to be less than truthful in their questing adventures. Meanwhile, FairyPants and SparklePants are common names for those who like their wizardry a bit more magical. You might want to be careful of Noah Pants though, as clothing is required in the Spiral realm.
Your favorite first names, combined with pretty much any surnames, are Fallon and Emma. Fallon Water, Troll, Star and Dreams give young Wizards the giggles. But when combined with your favorite family name, Fallon Pants gives trickster Wizards the hardest laugh.
Emma Troll is the most popular Emma among wizards, but she’s an endangered species thanks to the widespread Emma TrollHunters and the Emma Stones. Thankfully, the mighty Emma BoomPants is there to protect her sisters.
Some other great punny names are:
- Hunter Hunter
- Jack Frost
- Patrick Star (a cousin of the Pants family)
- Sierra Mist (how refreshing!)
- Angel Angle
- Brittany Spear
- Cheryl Crow
- Jack Hammer
- Steven Hawk
- Amber Rose
- Austin Moon
- Luke CastEllen
- Malorn AshThorn
- Willow Smith
Last but not least, we have to give shout-outs to the less obvious but still awesome Flint Stone (Yabba Dabba Doo!) and our personal favorite, the black-dressed blond named Wesley (As you wiiiiish…).
When you gather your energy and build your Wizards for your next battle to save Wizard City, use your own imagination. There are almost 2 million name combinations available in Wizard101. Get crazy, get crafty, get silly, and most of all get punny. Then share your creations with your friends!
What is the name of your favorite Wizard?
This year for our 12 Days of the Spiral celebration, we had an artistic contest involving snowmen! Both Wizard101 and Pirate101 players were given a snowman template to draw on and asked to create a unique, festive design. We had over 3,000 entries this year for the contest! With such an amazing turnout, it was hard to pick our favorites but we did manage to narrow it down to these lucky winners.
Grand Prize Winners (click to view larger size):
Runners-up:
Honorable Mentions:
Thanks everyone for participating in our annual holiday contest. We really appreciate your continued enthusiasm and support for KingsIsle Games. Hope your holidays are merry and filled with tons of fun!
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