Wizard of Wor
1981 · Shooter · Arcade
Overview
Wizard of Wor (1981) is Midway's two-player dungeon shooter, where partners can cooperate — or shoot each other — while the Wizard taunts them.
Deep Dive
Wizard of Wor puts one or two Worriors in a series of maze-like dungeons full of monsters, some of which turn invisible when out of the line of sight. Both players can hit each other, so co-operation and rivalry blur together. The Wizard himself teleports around the maze to attack, speaking in synthesised voice, and later dungeons lose their walls. Developed by Dave Nutting Associates, it was one of the early simultaneous two-player arcade shooters.
Developer Story
Wizard of Wor was developed by Dave Nutting Associates and published by Midway in 1981. It was one of the first dungeon maze games to support two simultaneous players who could cooperate or accidentally shoot each other. The eponymous Wizard appeared periodically to taunt players and shoot at them, while the maze walls gradually disappeared to remove hiding spots.
Did You Know?
- Wizard of Wor was one of the first arcade games to allow two simultaneous players who could shoot each other — friendly fire was always on.
- The Wizard himself appeared periodically, teleporting around the screen and firing at both players.
- Maze walls gradually disappeared as players progressed, turning a strategic cover-based game into an open-field shooting gallery.
- The synthesised speech for enemy names and the Wizard's taunts was remarkably clear for 1981 technology.
Sources & further reading
- Wizard of Wor — Wikipedia
