Quite a few customers on the subreddit of the 2008 youth-oriented MMO Wizard101 (opens in new tab) shared screenshots of official server messages pushed to gamers that contained jokes, profanity, and complaints of poor pay at developer KingsIsle.
In line with an official assist account from the developer on Twitter (opens in new tab), the sport’s servers had been taken offline Friday night time earlier than coming again on early Saturday morning. The messages are of a stunning character, very NSFW, and readers of delicate sensibilities might want to look away.
Wow, harrowing stuff. That one comes courtesy of consumer yellowvitt (opens in new tab) on r/Wizard101. A number of of the opposite messages are equally temporary and direct. “This recreation is shit (opens in new tab),” one other message shared by consumer jakeofsteel reads.
Others communicate to an worker’s deeply compromised relationship with KingsIsle administration. Consumer scumfolry (opens in new tab) shared a set of server messages complaining of the pay and dealing setting at KingsIsle. My favourite is, “The following world is my boss’s asshole.” Unbelievable poetry to that one. “BRADLEY COME DOWN TO THE OFFICE THIS INSTANT -the ceo” from Disco_Potato_Go (opens in new tab) can also be fairly good.
A few of the messages are comparatively nonsensical trolling. A fan favourite of the subreddit appears to be a snippet of dialogue from Walter White in Breaking Unhealthy shared by lidikgurl (opens in new tab). One other one advises gamers of a nonexistent payout of ingame foreign money.
Clearly, somebody employed or till very lately employed by KingsIsle had a nasty week. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if this may very well be some aggressive type of guerilla advertising for the sport—we most likely would not be reporting on it at PC Gamer in any other case, for instance.
Certainly, how can we ever know something for sure in our post-post-truth society? I nonetheless have not recovered from the key NieR Automata church (opens in new tab) saga. The server down time leads me to imagine this actually was one worker (Bradley’s?) Sisyphean revolt. After all, that is simply what a advertising individual would need me to assume. I’ve reached out to KingsIsle for remark, and can replace this story if we hear again.
Regardless of the actuality of the state of affairs, the messages themselves are a delight. There’s one thing significantly desolate about seeing them in Wizard101’s home font, Comedian Sans. Hating on the notorious font is a bit gauche within the yr of our Lord 2022, but it surely nonetheless actually provides to the impact right here for me.
The forceful simplicity of “dick and balls” could be my favourite of the lot, had been it not for the haunting despair of “The following world is my boss’s asshole.” That one seems like graffiti from Disco Elysium. To the rogue worker/deep cowl viral advertising affiliate of KingsIsle, I want you properly in your job hunt/sizable quarterly bonus.