''Wizard'' is a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

created in 1980 for the Atari Video Computer System (later renamed the Atari 2600) by Chris Crawford while working for Atari, Inc. The game was not advertised or released by Atari. ''Wizard'' uses a 2K ROM, the last Atari 2600 game developed by Atari with less than 4K.AtariProtos.com - All Your Protos Are Belong To Us!
/ref> ''Wizard'' was eventually released as part of the

Atari Flashback 2 The Atari Flashback series are a line of dedicated video game consoles designed, produced, published and marketed by AtGames under license from Atari SA. The Flashback consoles are " plug-and-play" versions of the Atari 2600 console. They cont ...

package in 2005.

Gameplay

Screenshot The player is a wizard from Irata (Atari spelled backwards) and battles imps in a maze. It's not a

symmetric Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definit ...

battle: the player is faster than the enemy, but the enemy can go through walls and fire faster than the player can. There is no need to aim, as the angle of the player's fire is automatically sent in the direction of the enemy. The enemy remains invisible when it is behind a wall. It also has heart beat audio, which becomes louder as the player gets closer to the enemy.

Development

The production of ''Wizard'' is detailed extensively in the book '' Chris Crawford on Game Design''. Crawford wanted to write software for the new Atari home computers, but Atari management required developers for the system to create an Atari VCS game first. ''Wizard'' was never published for the Atari VCS. It was included with the

, 25 years after it was written. Chris Crawford learned about the release in an email from a fan. Crawford's original prototype did not contain a two-player mode, but the game released with the Atari Flashback 2 does.

References

External links

The Wizard Game Manual
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wizard (Video Game) 2005 video games Atari games Cancelled Atari 2600 games Atari 2600 games Maze games Chris Crawford (game designer) games Video games developed in the United States