History
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1984
Progressive Peripherals and Software (PPS) developed and released the original Commodore 64 game called Wizard. It was written by S.A. Moore and Steven Luedders, and only had 40 levels. The game also had a basic level editor that could create scenery and monsters but couldn't make treasure matrices.

1985
Ariolasoft released Wizard in the UK. Also, the Wizard Expansion Kit was released by PPS. It had an improved editor that could replicate most of the tricks used in Wizard, except the ones that were directly coded into the treasure matrices in ASM code (Simon Says, Ladder Land, Diamond Mine, Twilight Zone, Fire Alarm!, etc.) The other component of the expansion was a data disk of 40 new levels.

1986
Electronic Arts bought the rights from PPS and released Ultimate Wizard. Ultimate Wizard is a mix of the 40 original Wizard levels, the 40 levels from the Expansion Kit, and 20 new levels. The original levels were remade tougher, usually by removing extra keys and giving you less or different spells. Most of the enemies' graphics were also upgraded.

PPS is out of business now, so the copyrights for Wizard have reverted back to the programmers, if they are still alive. If they could be contacted, a future version of Wizard would be possible!

Much of this information was supplied by Chuck Cochems. Thanks!


Interview
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On October 3, 2002 I conducted an interview with Roland Kippenhan. Though he is not mentioned in the packaging, he was the associate producer of Ultimate Wizard. It was his first assignment as an employee at Electronic Arts (EA).

Keir Howell: First things first, what exactly does an associate producer do?
Roland Kippenhan: That's the second toughest question here. It varies significantly from company to company and changes over time too. Back in the day at EA, Associate Producers would identify potential product, negotiate contracts (under guidance and supervision of a Producer) and oversee titles from conception to completion. Nowadays it's quite a bit different. There are many levels of middle management and even Executive Producers at EA have little true authority (so I hear).

KH: Tell us some of the more notable games you've worked on.
RK: Starflight. Yep it's old skool, but I think those titles stood out at the time more than anything else I ever worked on.

KH: I see from your email address that you're at Infogrames now. What's that like? Anything interesting happening there?
RK: It's great. The atmosphere is very positive and supportive here. Tons of interesting things are going on, but as usual the most interesting things are the furthest away and so I can't talk about them. I'm looking forward to playing Master of Orion 3 to see how it came out. I haven't been on that project at all, but there's been a lot of blood sweat and tears put into that title. I hope it was worth it for all involved.

KH: When you worked at EA, were you involved with their purchase of Wizard from Progressive Peripherals & Software? RK: No. I came on near the end of the project. Paul Reiche was finishing up the levels and I would test them and provide feedback. Paul is one of my favorite people in this industry. I have all the respect in the world for him.

KH: Were there ever plans to release Ultimate Wizard for any platform besides Commodore 64?
RK: Not that I ever heard of.

KH: What ever happened to the original programmers S.A. Moore and Steven Luedders?
RK: I have no idea. I only ever interacted with Paul.

KH: Who owns the rights to Ultimate Wizard now anyway? Is it still EA?
RK: I very much doubt that it is EA. The standard contract of that time only let EA have the rights to it while it was being actively published. All the programmers would have had to do was to write a letter sometime after about 1988 stating their intent to have the rights back and it would be theirs. So if they haven't done so already, it would be trivial.

KH: Wouldn't it be cool if someone made an updated version of Ultimate Wizard?
RK: Sadly, no. Even using the most modern technolgy and art, the expectations of gamefans today would not embrace such simple gameplay. Just mho. I would love to see somebody prove me wrong.

KH: Do you actually like the game, or do you just think of it as your first project?
RK: For the most part I think of it as my first project. I did enjoy it at the time. I still remember that first day and hooking the C64 up to my stereo and checking it out for the very first time. It was good.

KH: What do you think is the best video game of all time?
RK: That's a trick question, and one I prefer not to answer. Go watch Forbidden Planet. Do you think that's the coolest movie you've ever seen? Nah. But *at the time* it was amazing. Playing Star Trek on a mainframe was the coolest thing I had ever done -- at that time. So, it's something that changes over time as your tastes and expectations are altered by your experience.

KH: Thanks a lot for your time!
RK: My pleasure.


Jumpman versus Wizard
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Wizard (and subsequently, Ultimate Wizard) has often been compared to Jumpman, and is very similar in terms of gameplay. However, it has arguably better graphics and sound, as well as other improved features. So why does everyone, myself included, seem to like Jumpman more? I was unable to answer this question, but if you're interested in how the games compare, I've created this small summary.

               JUMPMAN                                             WIZARD
- 42 original levels (J, JJ)            -->      100 original levels (UW)
- Catchy tunes at end of each level     ===      Cool sound effects while each level is "built"
- Limited level customization           -->      Full level customization capabilities (UW)
  capabilities (JL)
- 8 different speeds                    -->      9 different speeds
- Can climb up and down ladders         -->      Can climb up and down ladders, or slide down ladder poles
- Can only climb up "up ropes" and      -->      Can climb up and down all ropes
  down "down ropes"
- Can shoot enemies on 3 levels         -->      Access to 11 different offensive and defensive spells
- Can defuse bombs while dying          <--      Cannot do anything while dying
- Ported to 7 different systems         <--      Only available for the Commodore 64.
- Current fan base consists of at       <--      Only one known dedicated website (this one!)
  least 6 dedicated websites
- 2 official sequels (JJ, JZ),          <--      1 official sequel (UW) and 4 unofficial
  2 unofficial (JD, JL), and 2 planned	

NOTE: 
J = Jumpman, JD = Jumpman Deluxe (Amiga), JJ = Jumpman Jr., JL = Jumpman Lives!, JZ = Jumpman Zero (Palm OS), UW = Ultimate Wizard