Nice, I like it, its Wizard

Wizard Defense

Today is official launch day! Wizard Defense hits the Interweb in full today at 6PM PST. You can actually go to the site and start playing now, but the leaderboard will be reset at 6PM today so try it out and then come back later to see where you stack up against everyone else.

Wizard Defense Gameplay

Wizard Defense is my very first venture into the gaming world as a writer. Sure I play a lot of games (some say too much) but this is the first time I’ve ever been involved with the creation of something like this. Built in the “Tower Defense” genre, this strategy-based free flash game is a cross between Starcraft and your regular turned based RPG. You play as a young wizard enrolled at the Espeon School of Wizard Defense and your goal (at first) is to successfully pass all of your courses. Each level consists of a couple of stages and by the end, you’ll have to fight a boss.

Sounds simple enough right?

Wizard Defense Domidos

But before you play and starting commenting on how awesome/terrible/disappointing/ breathe-taking/ offensive/ amazing the game is, here’s a little info that you might find interesting.

Like I said yesterday, I wrote the script for a game that had pretty much already been concieved and one of my tasks was naming all of the characters and levels. So here is what I came up with:

Kana Tahara – I was struggling to figure out a cool name for a level that takes place on the side of a mountain. The characteristics are that it is snow-capped and being taken over by Yetis. I was tossing around names like “Mount Tapestry” and “Mount Snow-cap,” when it dawned on me that an easy-to-spell and easy-to-say, 2-sylable name would probably be the best way to go.

Goran Arevski – The second to last level is a bubbling, magma filled violent inside to a volcano. I needed a name that was imposing, something powerful and something that was makes player remember the level when they chat about it.

Taj Pannun – This was probably the easiest name to associate with the level. Described as a ruined city, a place that used to prosper but is now overrun by monsters, this level just reminded me of the situation out in Surrey right now. And whenever I think Surrey, I think Taj Pannun…. (Dude, don’t be offended – you’re in a video game now)

Wizard Defense Arbok

So that’s it for now – if you’ve got any questions drop me a comment and I’ll answer. Remember, check out Wizard Defense and have a good time. See where you land on the leaderboard and try not to get caught playing at work.