I recently emailed D.W Bradley regarding W&W and how much I enjoyed the game. He got back to me quickly and was very helpful in answering my questions and satisfying my curiosity. I'm sure the rest of you would enjoy reading his response. I'll post it here for you. Please post your responses to this as well.
First I'll post my email to D.W Bradley
Dear Mr Bradley,
I am writing to you regarding your game Wizards & Warriors. I just
recently purchased the game and I am amazed at how much fun it is. I've
been playing CRPGs since 1983 or so. Wizardry 1 on the Apple 3 system was my
first taste of Computer Fantasy gaming. Anyhow, I just wanted to drop a
line and say how much fun I've found Wizards & Warriors to be. I understand
from members of the Iron Works message board, that Wizards & Warriors did not
get good reviews from the media. How could that be? I am sorry to hear that. I
think it is a fine game and one I'd love to see a sequal of. I'm not sure
if you ever drop by the Wizards & Warriors message boards at
http://www.tgeweb.com/ironworks/index.shtml but if you did, you'd see
there is still a strong community of W&W fans. I would like to ask you two
questions and I hope you don't mind me asking. First do you think there
may be a sequal to Wizards & Warriors some day that may incorporate all those
wonderful ideas you had for the first one, but were sadly left out do to
business decisions? Second, is it possible that a patch might some day be
released that would enable the multiplayer support? I read on one of the
threads that the code is most likely part of the game and that it was just
turned off during final release. The community would love to be able to
multiplay W&W and even perhaps build their own maps/items/creatures/quests,
etc, if a W&W game editor was to be included in a possible update or
add-on release. I know the gaming industry can be very difficult. At least
from what I've read and heard from people in that industry, but to me
Computer role playing has got to be one of the top genres in gaming.
Surely there must be the call for another W&W type game or even another crack at
making a W&W continuation. As I said I love the game and haven't been able
to stop playing except to sleep, eat and go to work.
Since before
online gaming was even big, I dreamed of a computer role playing system that
would allow the player to build his own worlds in 3D and setup a server so that
others could log in and play in the designers world. Everquest came close,
but not close enough as we can't build our own maps and can't run our own
servers. I know Neverwinter Nights is coming, but thats not 1st person 3D.
If a W&W type game was to be created that could incorporate those 2 main
features, I think it would sell like crazy. W&W seemed to be all that and
then some. If it is at all possible, please don't forget us your loyal W&W
fans, we support you and Wizards & Warriors. W&W is just a great game that
was obviously overlooked by some of the media. If there is no call for a sequal,
then please think about a patch for multiplay or even a release of some
sort of editor so we can keep the enjoyment and entertainment given to us by
W&W alive!
Thank You
John Draugr
P.S Many of the fans would even pay for an add-on or major update for the game. Thats got to say something about your fans and their love for W&W.
Sorry for the long message.
Take Care
*************Here is D.W Bradley's Response*********************
Hi John,
Thanks for your message, and here's a go at a brief response:
(Snipped by request from John)
Not that there isn't room for improvement to W&W, however, which brings me
to part 2 of your letter.
Although I am currently prototyping a different kind of RPG, I look forward
to continuing W&W in a sequel at some point. I have already drafted a number
of planned changes (some are very big changes), I have the W&W suggestion
and request list from all the fans who wrote me on the first W&W, and I have
promised myself that the next time around multi-player won't get cut out. I
was hoping to have had a free month to work on another patch for W&W (and
try to squeak multi-player back in) but thusfar my other new creation has
kept me far too busy (the good news is that the new technology I've
developed will also serve a new W&W sequel). Once the moon and stars have
aligned just right and I have the time to locate a suitable publisher for
it, I'm sure a W&W II will get underway.
In the meantime, however, we come to part 3 of your letter.
Whereas it would be very convenient of all that was required to add a scene
to W&W was to provide a level builder, alas, there is much more too it than
that. However, if it appears that a W&W sequel is too far off in the future,
then I'll look into what would be required to make the necessary changes and
provide the tools and instructions for the many fans of W&W.
I enjoyed receiving your letter, and most of all I appreciate the support of
you and the fans.
Best Wishes,
D.W.Bradley
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[This message has been edited by Ziroc (edited 06-07-2001).]