<s>
Wizardry	B-Application
:	I-Application
Proving	I-Application
Grounds	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Mad	I-Application
Overlord	I-Application
is	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Wizardry	B-Device
series	O
of	O
role-playing	O
video	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
ended	O
up	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
of	O
a	O
trilogy	O
that	O
also	O
included	O
Wizardry	B-Device
II	I-Device
:	I-Device
The	I-Device
Knight	I-Device
of	I-Device
Diamonds	I-Device
and	O
Wizardry	B-Device
III	I-Device
:	I-Device
Legacy	I-Device
of	I-Device
Llylgamyn	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
releases	O
of	O
Wizardry	B-Device
also	O
do	O
not	O
announce	O
that	O
the	O
player	O
has	O
teleported	O
and	O
play	O
resumes	O
as	O
if	O
one	O
step	O
forward	O
was	O
taken	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
Wizardry	B-Device
games	O
made	O
it	O
easier	O
by	O
restarting	O
at	O
the	O
point	O
in	O
the	O
dungeon	O
where	O
the	O
characters	O
died	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wizardry	B-Device
saves	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
party	O
and	O
game	O
progress	O
onto	O
a	O
scenario	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Completion	O
of	O
Proving	B-Application
Grounds	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Mad	I-Application
Overlord	I-Application
is	O
necessary	O
to	O
play	O
the	O
sequels	O
Wizardry	B-Device
II	I-Device
and	O
III	O
since	O
they	O
require	O
the	O
characters	O
from	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
imported	O
from	O
a	O
scenario	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wizardry	B-Device
drew	O
influences	O
from	O
earlier	O
games	O
from	O
the	O
PLATO	B-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
,	O
most	O
notably	O
the	O
1977	O
role-playing	O
game	O
Oubliette	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
initially	O
coded	O
in	O
Applesoft	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
,	O
but	O
Greenberg	O
and	O
Woodhead	O
rewrote	O
it	O
in	O
UCSD	B-Language
Pascal	I-Language
after	O
BASIC	O
proved	O
too	O
slow	O
to	O
be	O
playable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
had	O
to	O
wait	O
for	O
a	O
run-time	B-Device
system	I-Device
,	O
not	O
available	O
until	O
early	O
1981	O
,	O
before	O
publishing	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
took	O
two	O
and	O
a	O
half	O
man-years	O
to	O
complete	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
delay	O
benefited	O
Wizardry	B-Device
by	O
permitting	O
almost	O
one	O
year	O
of	O
playtesting	O
and	O
game	O
balancing	O
before	O
release	O
,	O
distinguishing	O
it	O
from	O
others	O
such	O
as	O
Ultima	B-Device
I	I-Device
.	O
Frederick	O
Sirotek	O
,	O
Norman	O
's	O
businessman	O
father	O
and	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
financier	O
,	O
insisted	O
that	O
the	O
packaging	O
and	O
documentation	O
be	O
professional	O
,	O
also	O
distinguishing	O
the	O
game	O
from	O
others	O
sold	O
in	O
Ziploc	O
bags	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lengthy	O
load	O
time	O
and	O
extensive	O
disk	O
access	O
was	O
a	O
problem	O
with	O
Wizardry	B-Device
;	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
Commodore	O
versions	O
,	O
which	O
particularly	O
suffer	O
from	O
this	O
,	O
provided	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
workarounds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
C128	B-Device
mode	O
,	O
the	O
VDC	O
memory	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
store	O
overlays	O
and	O
REUs	O
are	O
supported	O
in	O
both	O
C64	O
and	O
C128	B-Device
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sir-Tech	O
published	O
Wizardry	B-Device
,	O
Revision	O
2	O
in	O
1982	O
,	O
which	O
implemented	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
new	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wizardry	B-Device
was	O
a	O
major	O
commercial	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
shipped	O
in	O
September	B-Application
1981	I-Application
and	O
almost	O
immediately	O
became	O
a	O
hit	O
,	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
game	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
comparison	O
,	O
Temple	B-Application
of	I-Application
Apshai	I-Application
(	O
1979	O
)	O
had	O
sold	O
30,000	O
copies	O
and	O
Ultima	B-Device
(	O
1981	O
)	O
had	O
sold	O
20,000	O
copies	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	O
Games	O
described	O
Wizardry	B-Device
in	O
1983	O
as	O
"	O
without	O
a	O
doubt	O
,	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
fantasy	O
adventure	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
at	O
the	O
present	O
time.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Wizardry	B-Device
sold	O
200,000	O
copies	O
in	O
its	O
first	O
three	O
years	O
,	O
outselling	O
the	O
original	O
Ultima	B-Device
during	O
that	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
on	O
sales	O
and	O
market-share	O
data	O
,	O
Video	O
magazine	O
listed	O
Wizardry	B-Device
tenth	O
on	O
its	O
list	O
of	O
best	O
selling	O
video	O
games	O
in	O
February	O
1985	O
,	O
and	O
ninth	O
on	O
the	O
best	O
seller	O
list	O
in	O
March	O
1985	O
,	O
with	O
II	O
Computing	O
listing	O
Wizardry	B-Device
third	O
on	O
its	O
list	O
of	O
top	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
games	O
as	O
of	O
October	O
–	O
November	O
1985	O
(	O
behind	O
Zork	B-Application
and	O
Sargon	B-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
and	O
ahead	O
of	O
Zaxxon	B-Application
and	O
Ultima	B-Application
III	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1989	O
,	O
Video	O
Games	O
&	O
Computer	O
Entertainment	O
reported	O
that	O
Wizardry	B-Device
had	O
sold	O
"	O
well	O
over	O
500,000	O
copies	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Forrest	O
Johnson	O
reviewed	O
Wizardry	B-Device
in	O
The	O
Space	O
Gamer	O
No	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
commented	O
that	O
"	O
Wizardry	B-Device
represents	O
a	O
leap	O
in	O
computer	O
game	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
1985	O
,	O
Computer	O
Games	O
magazine	O
called	O
Wizardry	B-Device
the	O
"	O
all-time	O
tops	O
in	O
role-playing	O
entertainment.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Macintosh	B-Device
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
known	O
by	O
fans	O
as	O
"	O
MacWizardry	O
"	O
,	O
was	O
reviewed	O
in	O
1986	O
in	O
Dragon	O
's	O
first	O
"	O
The	O
Role	O
of	O
Computers	O
"	O
column	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jerry	O
Pournelle	O
named	O
it	O
one	O
of	O
two	O
games	O
of	O
the	O
month	O
for	O
March	O
1986	O
,	O
writing	O
"	O
I	O
do	O
n't	O
know	O
what	O
the	O
fascination	O
of	O
Wizardry	B-Application
I	I-Application
is	O
;	O
if	O
I	O
describe	O
it	O
in	O
objective	O
terms	O
,	O
it	O
seems	O
boring	O
—	O
which	O
it	O
certainly	O
is	O
not	O
,	O
as	O
witness	O
the	O
time	O
it	O
has	O
eaten	O
this	O
month	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Macworld	O
commented	O
that	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
port	O
's	O
conversion	O
to	O
the	O
Classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
mouse-driven	O
graphical	O
user	O
interface	O
enhanced	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
charm	O
and	O
streamlined	O
its	O
gameplay	O
;	O
the	O
game	O
mediates	O
actions	O
through	O
"	O
such	O
familiar	O
Macintosh	B-Device
devices	O
as	O
windows	O
,	O
alert	O
boxes	O
,	O
icons	O
,	O
scrolling	O
lists	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
on.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Macworld	O
inducted	O
Wizardry	B-Device
into	O
its	O
inaugural	O
Game	O
Hall	O
of	O
Fame	O
as	O
Best	O
Role-Playing	O
Game	O
,	O
ahead	O
of	O
runner-up	O
Xyphus	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wizardry	B-Device
series	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
various	O
Japanese	O
computers	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
NEC	O
PC-8801	O
and	O
became	O
popular	O
there	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
Ultima	B-Device
,	O
it	O
inspired	O
JRPG	O
series	O
like	O
Dragon	B-Application
Quest	I-Application
and	O
Final	B-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
the	O
top-rated	O
adventure	O
for	O
five	O
years	O
in	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
Worlds	O
reader	O
poll	O
,	O
until	O
Ultima	B-Application
IV	I-Application
replaced	O
it	O
in	O
1986	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
7.69	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
,	O
in	O
1988	O
Wizardry	B-Device
was	O
among	O
the	O
first	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
magazine	O
's	O
Hall	O
of	O
Fame	O
,	O
honoring	O
those	O
games	O
rated	O
highly	O
over	O
time	O
by	O
readers	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
magazine	O
's	O
1982	O
review	O
predicted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1996	O
,	O
the	O
magazine	O
named	O
Wizardry	B-Device
the	O
16th	O
best	O
game	O
ever	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
editors	O
wrote	O
,	O
"	O
The	O
seminal	O
dungeon	O
romp	O
,	O
this	O
RPG	O
sent	O
AD&D	O
fans	O
scrambling	O
to	O
buy	O
Apple	B-Device
IIs	I-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
