Factsheet
Developer:
Hypnotic Owl
Based in Leipzig, Germany
Release date:
July 23rd 2014
Platforms:
Web
Website:
http://thewizard.hypnoticowl.com
Regular Price:
| FREE |
Description
The Wizard is a quirky, turn-based dungeon puzzler with an unique spell casting system, lovely 16bit-look and high-quality soundtrack. You play as the exceptionally handsome but uneducated wizard Kevin, whose good looks have just been stolen. The pursuit of the mysterious thief leads you down to the dangerous dungeons underneath the wizard academy. There you'll encounter mythical monsters, discover powerful spell gestures and improve your newfound abilities with the experience you gain to catch the thief and reclaim your beautiful face. At its core, The Wizard is a dungeon crawler with a heavy emphasis on finding the optimal strategy to advance. Each level and enemy type presents the player with a different challenge that can be overcome in various ways. To beat the game, the player will have to plan ahead and use the different spells wisely. With the experience gained by defeating enemies, the player can improve individual spells to shape the gameplay experience. Additionally hidden spells with particularly powerful effects can be discovered throughout the game. The game was developed in HTML5 and runs on PC (Linux, Windows, iOS), tablets and mobile devices using an up-to-date browser. Upon release, the game will be playable for free on the Hypnotic Owl website.
History
The Wizard started out as a small experiment with the Phaser framework. It featured the faceless wizard and a single level inhabited by rats. When the first spells were added to the game, the developers were dissatisfied with simply placing icons for them on the HUD. Instead they implemented a basic gesture system. Though it was primitive, it turned out to be a fun alternative to common icon bars. Around this time they heard of the Tizen App Challenge. Despite having only a month until the deadline, they decided to develop a complete game from the prototype and partake in the competition. At the end, however, porting issues prevented the game from entering. This prompted the developers to aim for a release on browser game portals instead.
Features
- Brain-teasing, turn-based dungeon crawl
- Unique gesture-based spell casting
- Lovely retro graphics by Oryx & Rieke Helms
- A whimsical, goofy story
- Magical soundtrack by Hannes Flor
- 15 challenging level
- 11 distinctive, upgradable spells
- 3 difficulty settings
- Playable on smart phones, tablets, PC and Mac
- Supports touch, mouse and keyboard input
- Supports Xbox controller in Chrome
Videos
Totally Official Trailer YouTube
First Impression by GamerFi YouTube
Images
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Logo & Icon
Selected Articles
- "The Wizard is a unique and charming dungeon crawler with a very special magic system. At first it might look simple, but later in the game you have to think which of your many spells are the most useful. The spells themself and what they do is pretty diversified and it's amazing how many options you've got with this simple control/interface. And there is not only one possible solution to beat the game. I love that."
- Raebyn (Newgrounds), - "I think the way you made the spellcasting system work with the level maps was brilliant. I couldn't just barge in and fling spells around without planning ahead, but I wasn't railroaded into using only one type of strategy, either. Few games find that balance, and I think you did that well. The puzzles were challenging, but never felt unfair or needlessly hard to me. Every time I discovered just the right combination of spell and positioning to get past the enemies, the little "Aha!" moment made me feel like a genius."
- Celidah (Kongregate), - "This game is seriously underrated. Like, the plot was both humorous and interesting, the gameplay spiced up the usual monotony of mashing out linear damage spells, and the game even had somewhat of a chess-like taste to it"
- homesliggidy (Kongregate), - "Damn! This game is GOOD! Not only is it fun, makes you use your brain, it also teaches some intresting stuff."
- limzekai (Kongregate),
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Additional Links
About Hypnotic Owl
Boilerplate
Hypnotic Owl is a Germany-based independent game studio originally founded by Jan Lachnit and Hannes Flor. In cooperation with various freelancers they develop games focused on the narrative and unusual game mechanics.
More information
More information on Hypnotic Owl, our logo & relevant media are available here.
The Wizard Credits
Jan Lachnit
Game Design & Programming, Hypnotic Owl
Hannes Flor
Narrative, Programming & Soundtrack, Hypnotic Owl
Rieke Helms
Artist, Freelancer
Giliam Spliethoff
Sound Designer, Freelancer
Contact
Inquiries
contact@HypnoticOwl.com
YouTube
https://youtube.com/hypnoticowlgames
Twitter
https://twitter.com/HypnoticOwlUG
Facebook
https://facebook.com/HypnoticOwl
Instagram
https://instagram.com/hypnoticowlgames
presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer) - also thanks to these fine folks