Wizard of Id's WizType (1984)

The Wizard of Id's WizType is an edutainment title based on the comic strip created by artist Brant Parker and writer Johnny Hart. The title is designed to give keyboard novices lessons on how to improve their typing accuracy and speed. The game is broken into two sections: The first section pits players as the Wiz, matching wits against the Evil Spirit, an apparition that lives in the Wizard's vat. The Wizard must quickly type out the words that the Evil Spirit gives him in order to diminish the Spirit and win the round. Failure to spell words properly, or taking too long to spell results in the Evil Spirit morphing into a dragon, and singing the Wizard to a crisp. The second part of the game has the player trying to keep up with Bung the Jester. In this segment, players must type out a pre-written paragraph in order to keep pace with Bung, who is hopping along the words on a pogo stick. WizType has multiple skill levels to match different levels of typing ability, and increases in challenge as players progress through their lessons.

• Release Date: December 31, 1984
• Developer: Sierra