Wizard is a video game developed for the Commodore 64 written by Sean A. Moore and Steve Luedders-Dieckbrader for Progressive Peripherals and Software (PP&S) out of Denver, Colorado in 1984.
Each level contains keys, and the object is for Wilfrid the Wizard to get each key to move on to the next location. Each level requires a different spell to find the key, and every key found gives Wilfrid a finite number of times he can cast the spell. Some spells cast projectiles, which can either kill or freeze enemies, while some teleport Wilfrid around, either by turning him to a non-corporeal "shadow" or by instantly moving him to his starting point.
The player character, Wilfrid, is a wizard in purple robes, and his enemies include witches, knights, giant insects, and other various monsters.
DevelopmentEdit
Wizard was created contemporaneously with the Epyx release Jumpman. Steve Luedders stated that it was a coincidence, and that he felt Wizard could have been more successful if Jumpman had not been released first (company size and marketing resources being a significant factor).[citation needed]
Ultimate WizardEdit
Craig Smith and Aaron Hightower teamed up to make an improved construction set in their homes in North Richland Hills, Texas. They communicated with Sean and Steve to understand the memory layout for the levels and then set out to create an advanced construction set better than the one included with the original game. Among other things, their construction set included the ability to create "treasure matrices" that allowed the user to create special effects similar to the ones seen in the main levels. The original set had remnants in its code alluding to features that had been disabled, likely due to their instability or lack of documentation.
PP&S took the code from Craig and Aaron and released it commercially in a package called the Wizard Expansion Set. This add-on pack also included 50 new levels from a competition held by the company specifically for the expansion; none of the new levels had any advanced features because of the limitations of the original construction set.
Electronic Arts, including Paul Reiche III, used the Construction set created by Aaron and Craig to create a new set of levels. The Construction Set was also included by EA, as were a combination of levels from the original game and from the expansion pack, albeit in a different order from the original PP&S releases. The Ultimate Wizard version also featured some changes to existing levels to increase their difficulty, as well as different sprites for some of the game's monsters.
ReceptionEdit
Compute!'s Gazette approved of the "instant playability" of the Commodore 64 version of Ultimate Wizard, reporting that it "has become a favorite of the neighborhood youngsters".[3]
wizard, 1984, video, game, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, wizard, 1984, video, game, news, newspape. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Wizard 1984 video game news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Wizard is a video game developed for the Commodore 64 written by Sean A Moore and Steve Luedders Dieckbrader for Progressive Peripherals and Software PP amp S out of Denver Colorado in 1984 WizardNorth American cover artDeveloper s PP amp S a Publisher s NA PP amp SEU AriolasoftNA Electronic Arts Ultimate Designer s Sean A MooreSteve Luedders DieckbraderPlatform s Commodore 64ReleaseWizard NA 1984 1 EU 1984 1 Ultimate Wizard NA 1986 2 EU 1986 2 Genre s PlatformMode s Single player multiplayer up to four players Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Development 3 Ultimate Wizard 4 Reception 5 References 6 External linksGameplay EditEach level contains keys and the object is for Wilfrid the Wizard to get each key to move on to the next location Each level requires a different spell to find the key and every key found gives Wilfrid a finite number of times he can cast the spell Some spells cast projectiles which can either kill or freeze enemies while some teleport Wilfrid around either by turning him to a non corporeal shadow or by instantly moving him to his starting point The player character Wilfrid is a wizard in purple robes and his enemies include witches knights giant insects and other various monsters Development EditWizard was created contemporaneously with the Epyx release Jumpman Steve Luedders stated that it was a coincidence and that he felt Wizard could have been more successful if Jumpman had not been released first company size and marketing resources being a significant factor citation needed Ultimate Wizard EditCraig Smith and Aaron Hightower teamed up to make an improved construction set in their homes in North Richland Hills Texas They communicated with Sean and Steve to understand the memory layout for the levels and then set out to create an advanced construction set better than the one included with the original game Among other things their construction set included the ability to create treasure matrices that allowed the user to create special effects similar to the ones seen in the main levels The original set had remnants in its code alluding to features that had been disabled likely due to their instability or lack of documentation PP amp S took the code from Craig and Aaron and released it commercially in a package called the Wizard Expansion Set This add on pack also included 50 new levels from a competition held by the company specifically for the expansion none of the new levels had any advanced features because of the limitations of the original construction set Electronic Arts including Paul Reiche III used the Construction set created by Aaron and Craig to create a new set of levels The Construction Set was also included by EA as were a combination of levels from the original game and from the expansion pack albeit in a different order from the original PP amp S releases The Ultimate Wizard version also featured some changes to existing levels to increase their difficulty as well as different sprites for some of the game s monsters Reception EditCompute s Gazette approved of the instant playability of the Commodore 64 version of Ultimate Wizard reporting that it has become a favorite of the neighborhood youngsters 3 References Edit a b Wizard release information at GameFAQs a b Ultimate Wizard release information at GameFAQs Randall Neil December 1986 Ultimate Wizard Compute s Gazette p 101 Ultimate Wizard additional development by Electronic Arts External links EditWizard at MobyGames Ultimate Wizard at MobyGames Ultimate Wizard reviewed by Jason Compton YouTube video of Ultimate Wizard demonstration Review in GAMES Magazine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wizard 1984 video game amp oldid 1168423382, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
