Wizard101 is the theater, You are the star!

I’ve been thinking about things and coming up with crazy ideas again. This one is a little out there, but hang with me till the end and let me know what you think.

I think Kingsisle needs to create a zone in Wizard City where Wizards can put on magic shows.

So, parents and families are no strangers to going to their kid’s performances. I’ve gone to a good number of these where every parent has a video camera in their hands and a row of relatives are there to cheer on their star. School performances, singing groups, music groups, dance groups, sporting events, talent shows, etc.: I've been to a slew of these in my lifetime, and there's many more of these slated in my future.

This same friends and family draw needs to somehow work its way into Wizard City. On some small level, Kingsisle has already tried to do this with the stage in the Wizard City housing, right? This is a good start, but not nearly what it needs to be. As it is now, let's be honest, the productions on that stage that I've seen were difficult to follow and a little boring to watch. They just weren't that "fun."

I’m sure Kingsisle could brainstorm a few ideas on how to make this happen on their own, but I'm going to give my two cents.

Step one:
You have a kid schedule a time to put on a magic show, and she sends out e-mail invitations for her relatives and friends to join her in Wizard101 where she will be demonstrating her skill as a performer.



Step two:
Instructions are given in the e-mail on how to assume a “guest” account. Guests are given a special name in game with a quick pre-built random character so they can quickly log into the game and watch the show at the correct time. Only menu chat is given to Guests. Guests may log into a theater zone that a player has reserved for up to fifteen minutes in advance.

Step three:
When the performer enters the theater zone, they zone in on the stage side of the theater while viewers remain in the guest area.

Step four:
The performer runs into an empty battle circle on the stage, and her spell cards are then played on the stage to produce varying effects. For instance, our performer plays a thunder snake card, and a thunder snake appears on the stage and hisses at the audience. Guests have an applause button they can press. The kid plays a blade spell and smoke poofs on the stage. The guests have a "ooo!" button they can press. The kid plays a trap spell and a rain cloud appears. The guests have an "ahhh!" button they can press. Etc. Cards take on magician-like illusionist abilities rather than attacks in this special "theater" battle zone.

Step five:
The performer selects one from a number of pre-made dramatic endings in which Malistaire or another favorite NPC appears on the stage to deliver a cool ending for the wizard performer and the audience.

Step six:
The end. The curtain closes. After the show, the guests are taken to a webpage where they are given instructions on how to “continue the magic” with their friend or relative and play alongside them in Wizard101.

I think if Kingsisle gave their players the opportunity to be the star of the show and for Wizard101 to be the theater in which they perform, Kingsisle will have provided incentive for fans to promote the game naturally. Wizard101 is the theater and the kid is the star. Wizard101 gets promoted by the fans "naturally" because it’s where the kid is going to perform.

And that's my crazy idea for the day! What do you think? Would it be fun? Let me know.

Happy Dueling!