Game Portfolio -- Wizard101

Wizard101

• Release Date: September 2, 2008
• Current Availability: Available for download from Steam or Wizard101.com
• Release Credit Category: Marketing Credit (2012-2018)
• Company: KingsIsle
• Business Model: Free-to-Play
• Category: PC
• Genre: MMORPG

Personal Development notes

• Fun Fact: I'm the voice of a smack-talking bear in Wizard101! It's my one and only voice credit in a game.
  
  
• Job Highlights: After a couple years at KingIsle, I was asked to lead all Communication, Public Relations, and Social Media for the company. While I maintained most of my Pirate101 Community Management duties, we hired Leala Ulrich and Julia Delay to help with Wizard101's Community Management and KingsIsle's social media outlets. It was this Community Management team that launched KingsIsle's forays into streaming with KI Live.
  
  When KingsIsle suffered a round of layoffs, Community Management for Wizard101 became my responsibility in addition to my other duties. The job of Community Manger for Wizard101 meant that I basically ate, lived, and dreamed all things Wizard101! When it was Christmas Day, I was there moderating the forums! Every day was Wizard101 day! If there was a major bug happening in the game, it was my responsibility to make sure it was elevated straight to the top so we could fix it and then communicate our plans back out to the players.
  
  Of course, keeping the monthly newsletter running and writing Update Notes were busy times, but I was very happy I could institute a "Zone of the Month" article and get a little discount going for individual zones as well. As the main "free code generator" for the company, I sometimes wonder how many free crowns and gifts I was able to give to our players! Helping the fan sites also help our players enjoy the game to its fullest was key.
  
  Ultimately, the job was really a blend of Customer Support, Public Relations, Social Media Management, Marketing, and of course, Community Management. You're there to help both sides of the fence in a fast-paced environment where creativity is key.  
  
  

• Best Memory: My best memories, and the ones I'm most proud about, are those where I was able to work with the Make-A-Wish kids who wanted to become a part of our game. Spending a day dedicated to each of them is one of my proudest and happiest moments in the gaming industry. Outside of this, making videos like the KingsIsle Office April Fool's video was where our Community Management team shined best.
  
  
• Other Comments:  I've written a lot about Wizard101 here on my blog! In fact, this blog came about because of Wizard101.  It's the game that changed my professional life. If you want to read more about my adventures in the game, scroll all the way back to 2008 and have a trip down memory lane. 

Sample Gameplay:

It feels a bit silly adding Sample Gameplay for Wizard101 when a simple search on YouTube will reveal thousands upon thousands of videos. That said, I was among the handful of players that were there at the beginning, uploading Wizard101 gameplay videos to YouTube. My very first gameplay video was uploaded on Sept 21st, 2008. I was playing through Krokotopia for my very first time with some awesome breakbeats in the background.