Electronic game play is huge among baby boomers. Distance challenges family bonding and nurturing connections with grandchildren. One baby boomer entrepreneur solves that with his groundbreaking family game.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Games (MMORPG) have been around for years. Players quest for treasures and entertainment in animated worlds. Most have violent themes – battling, killing, raw player chatter. Not good places for grandchildren and grandparents. Some, like Club Penguin, are tame enough for youngsters, boring for adults.
What is Wizard101?
Baby boomer CEO Elie Akilian, founded KingsIsle Entertainment in Texas, 2005. He had a goal: create a role play game that invited cross-generation play. Since he doesn’t believe in releasing a product before it's ready, Wizard101 debuted online September 2008.
Akilian and partner David Nichols, former VP Midway Games, follow a business model emphasizing energy, skill, character, and creativity. Their 100 employees radiate energy, creativity, and skill, says spokesperson Ben Conrad, it's in the air every workday.
Character? Wizard101 customers have a positive experience. Players from about 8 to beyond the senior citizen threshold, play by the millions everyday. The site buzzes around the clock with safeguards in place.
KingsIsle VP Fred Howard said, “We set goals early, and safety was huge. So was entertainment. We make family entertainment, not family-friendly gaming. We wanted to make games that brought families together, all generations playing. Online space changes the dynamic of game night -- it reaches across the country or the world, and we’re right on top that.”
Howard explains, “You'd call Barney family-friendly. Safe. Fun for kids, but not much for adults other than time with the kids. Wizard101 is safe, fun for kids. At the same time, in the same virtual space, adults take it to levels that challenge and entertain them, too.”
Safe Online Experience
There are controls in the game. A parent or grandparent can set his child’s account for open chat, or set it so chat other than pre-written phrases is not possible between the child and other players. Adults control what areas a child plays in.
It’s nearly impossible for players to share personal information – filters remove address words, urls, blue words, or anything the system doesn't recognize as 100% fit for all audiences. A parent or grandparent’s wizard can see and hear what the child’s wizard is doing, if he wants to.
Called “the kid’s MMO for adults”, this game receives safety commendations from several web watch dogs:
- 2009 National Parenting Publications Honors Award (NAPPA)
- 2008 Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval (PTPA Media Award)
- 2009 Best Family Game per MMORPG.com
- Entertainment Software Rating Board E10+ rating
Playing the MMORPG
Play is based on battling trolls, dragons, skeletal pirates, or banshees. Players defeat enemies who disappear in a flashy end, but don’t bleed, scream, writhe, or gyrate. They just lose the battle. If a player loses, she simply returns to a beautiful grassy park and where she left off.
Each player builds his student-wizard from the ground up, clothes the character, and enrolls in a school of magic. How far he chooses to go is a personal decision. Players can play free as long as they choose or subscribe from a few bucks a month to $75 annual unlimited play. They can buy into new areas one at a time, purchase deluxe equipment, their own giant castles and furnishings, or other perks.
Battle is original, too. Fighting is an elaborate card game, with enough voice-over that even non-reading children can quickly learn to play some effective cards. Older gamers and adults can add as much strategy as they like. The lovely thing about this massively multiplayer game is that most players, no matter what age or experience, jump in to help each other out in a pinch.
Elie Akilian’s team created a massive universe spanning six worlds and soon to encompass a new world. The art work is as impressive as a Harry Potter movie set, but boasts originality. The sound track has good music and effects.
Four-year-old Blake, of Chicago, says he loves the colors and sparkles. “Everything flies and some stuff goes real fast. I can do it myself, too.”
Grandfather, Dan, says, “It’s totally entertaining to play with Blake – and once he goes to bed, I conquer bigger worlds and larger enemies all by myself.”
Bottom Family Gaming Line
All is not perfect. Real world issues lurk. Servers overload as the game gains popularity. Overpopulation causes mild delays and buggy behavior. But the company appears to leap on the issues quickly and, overall, keep the customer satisfied.
KingsIsle’s team members are mid 20s to baby boomer ages. Akilian, head wizard, and executive wizards, Nichols, Howard, Josef Hall, J. Todd Coleman, and Mike Reiman are family people who understand the value of family spaces. They express a dedication to continuous improvement and the creation of other cross-generational properties.
Maryan Pelland - A professional, established freelance writer, I've earned the moniker, "expert" in technology for baby boomers. I have deep experience in ...
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