''Wizard'' is a video game developed for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

written by

Sean A. Moore Sean A. Moore (April 20, 1964 – February 23, 1998) was an American fantasy and science fiction writer, and computer programmer. His primary significance as a writer is for his three pastiche novels featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery ...

and Steve Luedders-Dieckbrader for Progressive Peripherals and Software (PP&S) out of Denver, Colorado in 1984.

Gameplay

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

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

es,

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

s, giant

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s, and other various

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

Development

''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).

Ultimate Wizard

Craig Smith and Aaron Hightower teamed up to make an improved construction set in their homes in

North Richland Hills, Texas North Richland Hills, commonly known as NRH, is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It is a mid-to-high end suburb of Fort Worth and forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The populat ...

. 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 Paul Reiche III ( ) is an American game designer. His career started in the pen and paper RPG industry, where he collaborated with artist Erol Otus on games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Gamma World. He then transitioned into video games, wo ...

, 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.

Reception

'' 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".

References

{{notelist

External links

''Wizard''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

''Ultimate Wizard''
at MobyGames
''Ultimate Wizard'' reviewed by Jason Compton

YouTube video of ''Ultimate Wizard'' demonstration

Review
in

GAMES Magazine ''Games World of Puzzles'' is an American games and puzzle magazine. Originally the merger of two other puzzle magazines spun off from its parent publication ''Games'' magazine in the early 1990s, ''Games World of Puzzles'' was reunited with ''Ga ...

1984 video games Ariolasoft games Commodore 64 games Commodore 64-only games Electronic Arts games Multiplayer and single-player video games Platformers Video games about witchcraft Video games developed in the United States