Wizard101, the magic-themed MMO, is celebrating its one-year anniversary. We speak with James Nance, Lead Designer and Senior Producer of Wizard101 about the past, present and future of Wizard101.

FreeMMOGamer: Can you introduce yourself and your role – past and present – on Wizard101?

My name is James Nance and I’ve been with KingsIsle for just about four and a half years. During the development of Wizard101, I served as Lead Designer. Currently, I’m Senior Producer, which means I’m responsible for the overall creative vision of Wizard101, as well as the management of the development team and game service.

FreeMMOGamer: Where did the inspiration came from? The Harry Potter novels?

Wizard101 drew inspiration from a number of different sources, but also reflects the situation we found ourselves in as designers. Todd Coleman (Wizard101 Creative Director), Josef Hall (Director of Technology) and I had just finished Shadowbane, which was a very different kind of game, pitting groups of players against groups of players. It was dark and gory and aimed at mature players who enjoy more antagonistic, player versus player types of combat.

So after Shadowbane, we took a mental break – we watched lighthearted tv and movies, we played games and we found ourselves kicking around ideas. Why weren’t there any plot-driven MMOs for kids? Collectible card games had been around for years, so why hadn’t anyone created a CCG-based combat MMO? Most “magical” games and shows for kids are based in worlds very similar to ours – why not a high fantasy world for kids?

We had some interesting ideas that we wanted to combine into a unique MMO experience. We needed an entry point for players that would resonate with our young player base, so we chose the idea of a school for wizards. The player enters the game by enrolling in school and the first few levels are dedicated to the things you’d do in a new school – learning to navigate the grounds, meeting the teachers and administrators and being guided through the mechanics of spellcasting through a one-on-one tutorial from the headmaster himself. The tutorial also sets up the main storyline that the player will follow through the game.

FreeMMOGamer: Is Wizard101 what you’d call a perfect family friendly MMO?

Well, we’d certainly like to think so! With Wizard101, we set out to create a game that combined the fun and challenge of massively multiplayer worlds with a family-friendly environment that’s safe for younger kids, but enjoyable on another level for older kids and adults. Because of our tiered chat system and other parental safeguards, Wizard101 is a game the whole family can play together, but that kids can also play alone. That’s not something you can say about most other MMOs.

We feel that we’ve created something that has depth and complexity, but is still accessible to people who have never played MMOs before. One of our goals was to create an opening and tutorial that provided just enough guidance to get a player started in the game, but not so much information that we overwhelmed them. We had to take into account that there would be people playing – both kids and adults – who aren’t familiar with standard game concepts like health and mana pools or experience bars. We had to balance the needs of those players against the needs of more experienced gamers, who would be bored by long explanations.

FreeMMOGamer: KingsIsle Entertainment claims more than five million players registered to play Wizard101 within a year. Were you expecting these huge numbers during the development stage?

I don’t know that you can ever expect this kind of success, but it was certainly something we’d hoped for. When we were developing Wizard101, we felt that there was a hole in the market that we could fill with a high-quality game that appealed to kids and adults alike. One of our priorities was to make the game accessible to people who probably don’t think of themselves as video game enthusiasts – people who don’t have bleeding-edge graphic cards or dedicated gaming machines. We wanted to create something that didn’t make demands on the player in terms of upgrading hardware or downloading new drivers. We wanted a game with a stylized look and feel that would look good and play well not only on brand new computers, but on older ones as well. Our success to-date tells us that we made the right decision because we see families playing Wizard101 together – it runs on Mom’s computer, Dad’s computer and the older, hand-me-downs the kids are using.

FreeMMOGamer: How many active players are right now on Wizard101?

Coming from a hardcore gaming background, I’ve learned some interesting things about play patterns in kids and casual gamers – one of those is a different definition of “actively” playing. We’ll look at login patterns and we’d see that someone hadn’t logged in and played for two months, so we’d ask them, “Why did you quit the game?” From a hardcore perspective, if you haven’t played in two months, you’ve quit. But what people told us was that they hadn’t stopped playing, they had just been busy with other things and hadn’t had time to play. They intended to play again once they had time – and they do.

FreeMMOGamer: What do you have in store for the anniversary celebration?

If you were to log in to the game right now, you’d see that Wizard City is decorated for a party! There are banners, balloons and streamers throughout the common areas. We’ve put up flags around the pond and there’s a new fountain commemorating our first anniversary. Players can also pick up party hats for their characters to join in the fun.

FreeMMOGamer: And what does the future holds for Wizard101? Anything you’d like to share with our readers?

There are a couple of interesting things coming in the next month or so. First, we’ve announced player mounts that can be purchased or rented. There will be horses, dragons, flying brooms and cats – and within each category, there will be several differnt models and styles. Rented mounts will increase movement speed by 20 percent and permanent purchase mounts will increase movement speed by 40 percent.

At the same time, we’ll be launching a Crowns Shop that will expand the ways that players can spend their in-game currency. Currently, players can purchase Crowns by credit card or using a prepaid Wizard101 gift card. Crowns can be converted into gold for use in-game, used to unlock new areas or used to purchase special clothing, wands and treasure cards. The Crowns Shop will expand that list to include new time-limited in-game modifications, including short term buffs and shields, in-combat NPC help and rentals of mounts or other items. We know that some Wizard101 players enjoy changing the look of their characters, so we’ll also have options for in-game disguises and a seamstress who will be able to take two items and create something with the look of one piece, but the stats of another.