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
The 12 Days of the Spiral have once again come to Wizard101 and Pirate101. As with previous years, this festive event kicks off with our charity mount the Noelephant. While I actually loved the Fa La La Lama from last year, I still vividly remember one of our designers coming up with the idea of the Noelephant. I actually laughed/snorted out loud at the comedic idea of an elephant dressed up in Christmas garb and the wonderful play on words. Something that I really love about our creations at KingsIsle is the humor and the light heartedness of their personalities. But there is a serious side to this event, just as our characters in game take themselves very seriously. At the end of this year’s charity drive you, our players, will have helped raise almost $400,000 for charities targeted at improving the lives of children. Our hats are off to all of you for your generosity in helping improve the lives of so many that these charities touch!
Over the last few years we have been thrilled to work with two great charities here in central Texas. The Children’s Medical Center at Legacy in Plano is an award winning facility that provides excellent care to children in the greater Dallas area. The Austin Children’s Shelter provides critical resources and services to children, youth and families recovering from abuse and neglect. We are thrilled to continue to support these two organizations through your generosity.
This year we expanded the charities in the program to include Make-A-Wish® Central & South Texas. All of us at KingsIsle were extremely touched when Ryan and his family came to visit. We saw firsthand what kind of impact Make-A-Wish has on families and wanted to expand our support beyond visits. As a complete coincidence, we are actually hosting another child and his family today. We received this request less than two weeks ago and it seems fitting that the schedule worked out so that they are here on the kickoff of the Noelephant charity event.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season as we head into 2014. Happy holidays from everyone here at KingsIsle!
Now, back to the fun of showing a very enthusiastic child and his family the inner workings of the Wizard101 world…
Fred Howard
Vice President of Marketing
When we started KingsIsle in 2005, I saw a need for a family friendly game where players of all ages could connect online in a safe and fun environment. After starting with a handful of employees, it’s a little surreal now to walk around the office eight years later and see three hundred people working on KingsIsle Games. What an adventure this has been!
The creative people who work here brainstorming, designing, testing, and supporting our games have put in countless hours to bring you Wizard101, Pirate101, Grub Guardian and more. Even so, they’re not the only reason for KingsIsle’s success. If you were to ask me something that I’m thankful for as we enter this year’s holiday season – I would have to say you. All of you. I’m so thankful for all of you amazing players.
When you walk through the offices of KingsIsle, the love of our fans is apparent everywhere. There is fan art decorating cubicle walls, stacks of fan mail piled up on desks, and even memories of hosting Ryan’s Make-a-Wish day. Everywhere you look, the outpouring of affection from our players is evident.
Ryan’s Make-a-Wish Visit
What I want all you players to know is that we are so thankful for every picture, every letter, and every time you login to play one of our games. We love hearing about how Wizard and Pirate helped you do better in school in math and reading, or how it helped you connect with your family more. Those are the reasons why we make these games, but you are the reason we continue to do so.
So from myself and the rest of the KingsIsle family, thank you players! I can’t wait to see what the next year brings us all.
Elie Akilian
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
A while ago, one of our fantastic Pirate101 players and KingsIsle blog reader left this comment on the blog:
My little sister and I play all the time and we are from Wales. We have always wondered if the actress that voices Sarah Steele is from Wales too? We love her accent as it is close to ours. Ours is like a cross between hers and Bonnie Annes but more Sarahs.
We do our best to answer any questions you guys post to us, and when Ashley Spillers, the voice of Sarah Steele, was in the KingsIsle offices recently to do some recording we had a chance to ask her these questions! Here’s what Ashley had to say:
Hello there, Greetings from Los Angeles, California!
Thank you so much for your sweet note all the way from Wales! I would be very happy to answer the questions you sent for you and your sister.
My name is Ashley Spillers and I am the voice of Sarah Steele – I am so happy that you enjoy her! I have a blast playing her so I am happy to know you’ve found a friend in her. Regarding your questions: I am in fact not from Wales, but actually from Texas! I am so glad to hear that Sarah’s accent sounds somewhat authentic; as I am always concerned it’s not!
I am now living in Los Angeles, California pursuing my acting career, where I get to work on film, and voiceover work! I love theater as well.
I came into voice acting via theater and film acting! I have always been told I have a “funny” voice, so now I can finally put it to good use! It’s not always easy to land jobs, but I just continue to audition and record just like all the other actors, and hope someone chooses me.
Thank you again for your interest in my work and Sarah Steele! I wish you the very best and hope you continue to find lots of joy with Sarah and all the other wonderful characters in the game.
Cheers! and be well,
love Ashley Spillers
– and may you always find joy in whatever you do – and don’t give up on your dreams!
Here’s a photo of me waving to you from LA! 🙂
Ashley’s hard work in acting has paid off as she’s recently starred in Hollywood movies with Academy Award winners like Robert DeNiro. You can read more about Ashley’s film roles here. Thanks for answering our questions Ashley! You can learn more about Sarah Steele in Pirate101 by watching the Rogue’s Gallery video below!
Here at KingsIsle, we’ve had pets on the brain lately… I wonder why that could be? Regardless, we wanted to showcase some of our furry (and not so furry) friends on the blog!
This is my pet tarantula, Rosie. She’s an Orange Knee Tarantula, very friendly and a great companion. She loves the finer things in life like fine dining on Texas crickets, listening to her favorite band Rush and basking in the warmth of our Texas sun.
Fred Howard – Vice President of Marketing
Benny only moves at two speeds: asleep and lightspeed. He’s a Boston Terrier and knows a variety of tricks in both English and Korean, such as twirl, roll over, and high-five. He also loves eating lettuce and carrots.
Carl McKevitt – Game Designer
Meet Elvis, a 50/50 California King Snake. Her favorite thing is swimming in her pool. Also, meet the twins, Maui (back) and Moscow (front). Maui’s favorite things are brushing his Mom’s hair and nibbling on wheatgrass. Moscow’s favorite things are snuggling with his Dad at bedtime and finding new ways to sneak food off plates.
Leah Raymer – Purchasing & Inventory Specialist
This is Simon, my best buddy! He helps me travel 40% faster than walking 😉 Simon is a seven year-old OTTB, which stands for “Off the Track Thoroughbred.” That means he was bred to be a race horse, but was too slow! I am training him to be a hunter/jumper show horse. His favorite thing to do is jump fences and make silly faces at me!
Lauren Mauldin – Marketing Website Producer
Charlie is my little yellow tabby bobcat and is probably the funniest cat anyone could have adopted. He’ll come up for some love, and meow his thoughts on the world and life and such, and then bolt off to do backflips from the bed. He’s a purr machine, too. Kirby is the regal one in the family. He sleeps under the covers, enjoys a good belly rub every so often, and is one handsome little devil, to boot. They’re pretty much best pals. They’re my little furry buds, and it’s nice to come home to them every day, enjoy a short one-sided conversation, and get some relaxing couch-time in together.
Chris Kokkinos – Sound Designer
IguanaDonna is her name. She is about 5 or 6 years old, a little more than 5 feet long and just under 10 lbs. She takes a bath in the tub almost every day and loves to swim in it, although she is getting so big we might need a tub upgrade. Her enclosure is about the size of twin bunk beds and it has multiple levels with lighting toys, a water dish and humidifier. She hates to be on her leash, but occasionally we take her out with us, a few times here in the office even.
Joel White – Senior Game Designer
This is my dog, Zoe. We adopted her from the Humane Society when she was a puppy. She likes walks, belly rubs, and cheddar cheese.
Sara Jensen Schubert – Design Lead
Mirin is a Bambino, which is a hairless cat with little legs! But don’t let that fool you, he jumps and plays like any other cat. His favorite game is fetch, just like some dogs! Mirin aspires to one day have a snazzy suit like Meowiarty so he can be suave and sophisticated too.
Phred Newman – Pirate101 QA
You know, we had sooooo many pets that we couldn’t show them all without including this super collage of cool KingsIsle pets! Enjoy these photos of many more of our wond’arrful pets!
KingsIsle Blog 