🥳 Happy 14th Birthday, Around The Spiral 🥳

Hi there!

Today marks 14 years since I created this website. A lot sure has happened over the past 14 years - from it taking me 8 years to become an official Wizard101 Fansite & Pirate101 Fansite, to no longer being one, to hosting dozens of in-game events, making YouTube videos, creating another website, and so on! The question is... what do I have planned for the future?

It's not a secret that the future certainly holds new in-game events. I'd like to promote them more and to a new audience. Our real world is very chaotic and divisive. Despite this, I want to offer the community a place to come to escape all of that.  There is a community within the Wizard101 community where everyone is welcome at our events regardless of their sexuality, political affiliation, religion, etc. 

I joined Wizard101 in 2009 to escape the real world for a bit each day. I'd like to provide that same escape to everyone here. If you want to hang out with a truly diverse and lovely group of people, I welcome you to attend our in-game events. I want to work with Kingsisle to bring our events to a much larger audience - not to promote my name, but to promote a truly diverse community.

One other thing I hope to do is to make new YouTube videos - specifically Spiral News Season 3. I've wanted to do that for quite some time and will look into it. Regardless, I'd like to share my opinions on the game. I promise I'm not a Kingsisle hater - per my nearly 15 years of playing their game and being involved in their community for nearly as long. I want to share my thoughts on how they can improve their game.

As of late, I've been very proud of Kingsisle - with their creation of Ravenwood Academy (releasing later this year), listening to players on PvE, and the generous gifts to the community through the Fansite Festival which celebrated its 10th year. There is much to appreciate. I've defended and criticized Kingsisle - that's what true fans do. A fake fan would only share hate or only share love about the game. 

Other than that, I'm happy to finally be back and provide more to the community than I have these past few years. It's been very tough. I've lost family and friends. My dad passed away from Covid this past September, but I thank Jesus, family, and friends for helping me get through this tough time. I've had my ups and downs, and sometimes so far down where I am where the Helephant appears from. 

My support system has helped me get through one of the toughest times in my life to do things I haven't done before. Kingsisle, Wizard101, Pirate101, and the community have been in a special place in my heart for nearly half of my life. Blogging certainly is of the past, but I'm using Around The Spiral to transcend blogging. 

I'd like to thank you all for 14 wonderful years of Around The Spiral. I hope we can have another 14 - but I'll be almost 45. Lol. I'm not going to rush time. Thank you all so much for your support. I hope to see you Around the Spiral. I also hope y'all will join us at this year's Pride Run event to meet our community within the community. 

🏳️‍🌈 The Wizard101 Pride Run - Saturday, June 29th 🏳️‍🌈

Hello Wizards!

I'm happy to announce that I'll be hosting an in-game Wizard101 Pride event. Like Pride Parades, we'll have our own parade around Wizard City. You do not need a membership or mounts to participate in this event. All you need to do is wear a pride color (or colors) that best represent you. If you're an ally, wear all of the colors you can! Here's more information about this event:

When: Saturday, June 29 @ 3pm Central / 4pm Eastern

Where: The Commons, Wu Realm

Livestream: www.twitch.tv/AroundTheSpiral

Please share the link to this post with your friends - I hope to promote this event so everyone knows there is a community of love and support. I'm hosting this to let everyone in the community know they are loved and accepted no matter their sexuality, political ideology, religion, race, etc. As a fellow gay man, I'm thankful I got to come out to such a large accepting part of the community. I'm paying the love back by hosting in-game events such as this. I hope you can attend - the picture below is from 2023!

The Halloween Run Event - Sunday, October 29th

 Hello Wizards!

It's that time of year. Dressing up in your favorite Halloween costumes for one shell of an in-game event. I'm excited to announce that Around The Spiral will begin hosting an annual Halloween Run event starting this October. We'll have two primary contests at this event - a Screenshot Contest and a television-themed Song Contest. Before we talk about that, let's get the important details out of the way - the event's day, time, and area.

When
 Sunday, October 29 @ 3pm Central / 4pm Eastern

Where
Nightside, Vampire Realm (All Areas)

Stream

www.twitch.tv/AroundTheSpiral

 Rental Mounts Provided + Contests Announced on Twitch Stream

As I mentioned, we'll be hosting two contests. In order to participate in these contests, you must be in attendance at the event - and watching our live stream on our Twitch Channel above. Below, you'll see the rules of each contest. I hope you'll participate in these awesome contests! We'll also have more fun giveaways and contests throughout the event.

The Screenshot Contest                                    2 Winners: $20 W101 GS Card

1. Attend the Halloween Run Event

2. Take 1 Screenshot when the run begins using the keys CTRL+G & PRTSRC 

3. Email the Screenshot to edwardfrostgem@gmail.com with the subject "Screenshot Contest" and your wizard's name.

The two winners will be drawn using a random.org list randomizer. Since this is random, everyone will have an equal chance to win. 

The Television Theme Contest                     2 Winners: $20 W101 GS Card

1. Watch the Halloween Run Livestream - www.twitch.tv/AroundTheSpiral

2. Write a List of the 7 Television Theme Songs in Order played (Type them in the live stream chat as each song plays throughout the event to help others.)

3. Send the List to edwardfrostgem@gmail.com with the subject "Television Contest" and your wizard's name.

The two winners of this contest will also be drawn using a random.org list randomizer. Since this is random, everyone will have an equal chance to win.

Share this blog post with all of your friends so they know to attend the Halloween Run. Also, mark those calendars. Thank you all for your support. I hope to see you at the event. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the comments below OR on social media. Until next time, I'll see you around the Spiral. 

Pride Run Recap

 Hello Wizards!

I hope all of you have had a wonderful weekend. I had a great weekend especially since I was able to host the Pride Run without any technical difficulties - thanks to my new computer. It was amazing to hang out with everyone once again for an event that brought the community together.

Pride Run 2023 Stream Video

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1848810782

This event wasn't about me but about the community in general. This event was one of many examples around the community that shows that in the Wizard101 community - you are loved and supported. I'd like to thank everyone that supported this event whether you were able or unable to attend. Your support for the events this month is a sign for those that may be uncomfortable with their identity/sexuality that they are supported here.

I came out a few years ago to this wonderful community because of the support and love I've received for years - whether it was when my grandfather passed away or when I was going through a severe depression. I'm very thankful to have an online place to call my home away from home. Continuing to show this support, not just one month but year-round, will inspire many to be themselves.

Life can be hectic offline, but we can make our time in this community the best it can be. It can be an additional reminder that life is worth living. I'm very thankful that I can have moments like yesterday that truly renew my faith in humanity. Thank you all again for attending this year's Pride Run and reading this new blog post. Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral.

As a confirmation, we will host another Pride Run in 2024. 💙

Happy 13th Birthday, Around The Spiral!

 Hello Wizards!

You've read the title correctly.. Around the Spiral is officially a teenager! Now, don't worry I won't be going through the "teenage years" with a bad attitude. We all know that occurred several years ago! 🤣 Instead, I want to bring Around the Spiral to new heights and reach a wider audience than just here through my blog. Let's talk!

For years, I've made blog posts or created guides (my past project). I became burned out with blogging back in 2020. I took nearly a three year hiatus to focus on my mental health - which became a major problem from 2015 through the early 2020s. I've improved a lot, but still have work to do. One part of improving my mental health is doing things I enjoy - which is playing Wizard101 and Pirate101. 

These are hobbies. I don't look to be paid for it because I already have a career path that I'm enjoying. I'm happy for those that are able to work while playing these games or any games for that matter. That's a pretty cool job. What I'm hoping to do is build up Around the Spiral to get as many people to know that they are loved and respected in this community.

A true judgmental zone and safe space involves not judging people based on their sexuality, their race, their religion, who they vote for, etc. I'm not capable of changing the community on my own - it takes everyone to do that. I do hope this platform can be part of the change that shows everyone that no matter what they believe, they are welcome in this community. There are people that will agree to disagree. I'm not perfect, I've certainly had my moments - in the past. What I've always wanted, even during those imperfect moments was to make new friends that didn't judge me for who I am. I did judge others for judging me which was a major mistake on my end. 

We all know our world is crazy and a whole lot of bad is occurring. We don't have to ignore the bad, but we can share kindness because I'm a firm believer one kind action can go a long way. One thing I'm very excited about is a new program that I (and anyone) was able to join - Wizard101 Extra Credits. This program doesn't restrict us to only praise the game/team. I believe its purpose is to unite us to also share our love for the game. We can still share our thoughts on what we want changed. That's awesome!

In addition to posting about various topics each month for Extra Credits, I am also going to expand Around the Spiral to new platforms. I know about the leadership talks, but... for now, I'm excited to announce that Around the Spiral is officially on TikTok! It took me years to finally decide to start sharing content there. Anywhere from 0 to 1 million people may watch whatever videos I post on there. LOL. I'm acting silly ab out it, but I think it'll be fun to make different types of videos there. I've had many ideas in the past but never got to share them since I didn't have a TikTok. Now that I do, I hope you'll join me on there for a lot of fun stuff. It'll be slow postings at first, but as we progress through Summer - there will be many new uploads. I've embedded my first video at the bottom of this post if you'd like to check it out.

Overall, I want to try my best to make fun videos, posts, events, and more to help guide a focus on more fun stuff. Life is short. We should always make the best of it - which I hope to do during the teenage years of Around the Spiral. We WILL make it to 20. Imagine that... 20 years old... Goodness. 2033 better not rush here too fast. Anyway, I want to thank each and everyone of you from the bottom of my heart for all of the support you've shown me and this website over the past 13 years. I'm so thankful to call each and everyone of you my friends. Thank you for reading and here's to 13 more years of Around the Spiral. 

@aroundthespiral101 My FAVORITE Wizard101 Pet! #Wizard101ExtraCredits #Wizard101 #W101 ♬ original sound - aroundthespiral101

I'm Looking Forward To The Halloween Run

Hello Wizards!

Yeah, it's still May. I've had this obsession with Halloween as of late. I've seen flowers that are "Fall" colors and I keep thinking about this year's Halloween Run. I already plan to announce the event next month after the Pride Run. I've never announced an event so far in advance but I want to go all out for this event. 

My plans are to promote to parts of the community the event hasn't been promoted. My main goal is to let everyone know there are people that love hanging out in game to make new friends and have fun together. The Halloween Run has always been one of my favorite types of events to attend - despite hosting it. You may have recently read that we're planning on hosting events first and activities second. This is the outline for the events here on out. I'll give everyone a reason to stay for the activities - adding new ones and bringing old loved & popular ones back. 

The main reason I'm looking forward to the Halloween Run is because we've missed at least three years of them in a row due to many different reasons. We will NOT miss this one. I want to make up for all of the lost time. If you're new to attending these events - I welcome you to join us in a year of fun. I hope to add more events throughout the year, but not so many that we get burnt out. 

I tweeted out that I wish we could host the Halloween Run now. Gosh, if I could, you know I would. It wouldn't be strange - I've hosted a Santa Run event back in 2020 when COVID was just being announced. It was a way to get everyone's mind off of the awfulness of the world at that time. However, I will wait for the Halloween Run. October will be here before we know it... We just have to... wait. Plus we have other great events coming up. If you see any time wizards - tell them we'd like it to be October about now. Thanks! Until next time, I'll see you around the Spiral.

It's Not About Me, It's About You

 Hello Wizards!

I hope all of you had an amazing weekend. It was quite a weekend with Fansite Festival. I wanted to thank the main hosts - Sheldon and also Iridian Willow for putting this event together despite being very busy! They managed to set up the times, send out all of the codes, and promote & also host their own events. Thank you for all of your hard work!

Show Your Support By Following Them On Twitter

@SheldonCentral

@Iridian_Willow

In addition, I wanted to thank you all again for your support on Saturday. Your feedback always helps me improve what needs to be improved. You are the reason that these events take place and it's only fair to make the events fit your expectations. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again throughout the year. I hope to host some mini events in addition to our main run events. I'll keep you updated on that. Anyway, I'm glad I was able to make this post this morning because I was thinking about y'all. Thank YOU for making these events happen. 

Updating The Events

 Hello Wizards,

I would like to thank all of you that were able to attend this year's Bunny Run event! I had a lot of fun hanging out with y'all. I was also able to test out streaming for the first time in well over a year. With that, I've decided from popular demand to change things up with our events.

For nearly seven years, we've had activities first and the final Run Event towards the end. Well, I've decided that we'll host the Run First and then activities afterwards so everyone has a chance to do what they want to do. Activities have always been a part of the Run events so I hope you'll enjoy those each time we host in-game events.

Our next event will take place in June. Starting there, we'll host the Run within 10 minutes after we start the stream and then we'll do activities such as Hide & Seek after the run. I'd like to thank all that provided constructive criticism today because I do love listening to the community and will change what needs to be changed. If you have any other suggestions for the future, I'd appreciate them. You are always welcome to comment here on my blog, message me on social media, or even message me in game with your suggestions.

The future is looking bright! I look forward to hosting new events throughout the year for the community. Whether you're new or old to the events - thank you so much for your support. I'm always thankful for everyone that takes time out of their day to attend these events. I hope you'll join us for the Pride Run in June! There's plenty of time for me to work on implementing your suggestions for these events. Without you, there are no events - you make these occur. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend. Don't forget to enjoy the rest of the Fansite Festival events! Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral.

The Wizard101 Pride Run - Saturday, June 17th

Hello Wizards!

I am so excited to announce that we will be hosting a Pride Run event in Wizard101 for Pride Month! Everyone, no matter their sexuality, is welcome to attend this in-game event. As we do in the majority of our events - rental mounts will be provided and you don't need a membership to participate! This will mark our first event where we Run First, Participate in Activities Secondly! 

When: June 17 @ 2pm Central / 3pm Eastern

Where: The Commons, Wu Realm

Stream: www.twitch.tv/AroundTheSpiral

We will have contests and giveaways - which will be announced during the stream! On top of that, we'll have fun activities after the Pride Run. You may also watch the Run Path by clicking the play button on the video above. If you haven't attended our events before and want more information about them, visit the Events page on the tab just below our "Around The Spiral" graphic. If you have any questions about this event, please leave a comment down below. Mark your calendars with the date & time and do invite your friends. We hope to see you there! Happy Pride!

A Return To My Roots

 Hello Wizards!

Can you believe it? I spent three years building up a website I had no interest in continuing! I did, however, learn so much about the game compared to early 2021. Most of my wizards are now at max level! Edward Lifegem was far behind in previous years, but he's max; I'm working on making my pets the best they can be for the upcoming world, Wallaru.

I'm excited to quest in the new world; there are things I've missed in making blog posts. Guides aren't everything - I'll eventually move all of the guides I made on Around The Spiral to this blog. I want to interact with all of you as I did for over a decade through blog posts. There are many things I have planned for the community: the return of in-game events, streams, YouTube videos, and new blog posts! 

Blogs are pretty old-fashioned. It's about time they make a comeback! I'm not setting a schedule for when I'll make new blog posts. I hope you'll join me on my return to Around The Spiral. There are many life updates I'd love to share with you as the year progresses. Also, Around The Spiral turns into a teenager in a few weeks. 13 Years Old. I mean, how is time flying by so quickly?!

Anyway, Thank you all for your support over the past 13 years. I look forward to meeting with everyone here and throughout the community! Keep checking back for more updates. Also - don't forget to join us for Fansite Festival this week. It'll be a blast! Thank you for reading. Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral.

Spiral News - Christmas In July Giveaway

Hello Wizards!

I hope you're having a wonderful start of a new week. Today, I wanted to share with all of you that Spiral News will be coming back (it seems that the past several weeks have involved numerous breaks). I've asked Kingsisle for support on an epic new giveaway for the next episode of Spiral News which will be a Christmas In July themed episode. 

You can join me on Saturday, July 25th for this new awesome new episode of Spiral News. I'm not going to tell you what exactly I'll be giving away since I'd rather you tune in live to see. I will say that you won't be disappointed. So, today I'm going to announce the time of this new episode!

Saturday, July 25th @ 3pm Central / 4pm Eastern

https://www.youtube.com/user/Edwardlifegem

Be sure to subscribe to the channel linked above for notification of when this new episode is live. I hope you'll be able to tune in live. I'll be talking with everyone who is able to in the live chat! Also... If you haven't already, be sure to check out the recent episode of Spiral News - where I'm giving away 3 UFO mounts. Thank you all for your support. I look forward to the future! 

Pride Run Event - Saturday, June 20th

Hello Wizards!

I hope you're having a wonderful start of your weekend. I asked wizards on Twitter what they thought about an Pride Run and many replied with great support. So, today (and yesterday - hehe), I'm officially announcing the next event, the Pride Run.

When

Saturday, June 20th @ 3pm Central / 4pm Eastern

www.twitch.tv/spiralvision

Where

The Commons, Greyrose Realm

Wear

Pride Colors & Your Favorite Colorful Mount

Pathway (Same Path As The Wizard Run)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugQ0VrAeW

Everyone is more than welcome to attend this in-game event. I will be streaming this event, but will not hot activities as we usually do - just consider this an old-fashioned event. The Run will begin exactly at 3pm Central / 4pm Eastern so be sure to line up on the bridge before that time. Share the link of this blog post with everyone so they know when/where to meetup + where to run. Thank you all so much for your support. We'll see you at the event. :D 

Community

Hi there!

Today, I am celebrating 10 years of Around The Spiral. When I created this website, I thought that maybe it would last a couple of years, several years at most. I would've never dreamed that this website would still be here 10 years after my first blog post! I never really mention what I'm proud of, but I'm certainly proud that my website has become the 3rd oldest still-active website in this community. And, I'm not even done yet.

Over the years, Around the Spiral has had its ups and downs since its creation in 2010. Sure, there may have been many chaotic moments here and there, but we've overcome those very strange moments and made it to a point I never thought we'd make it - a decade. Around The Spiral would've never made it this far without the support of my true friends here in this community. It's because of you that anything that this site provides continues to thrive whether it's my online safety tips or any in-game event that we host. I am so very thankful for each and every one of you! 

So, now let's travel back in time to 2010. On May 8th & May 9th of 2010, I was deciding on whether or not to create a website with an old friend, Mary Dreamshade of The Pie Loving Necromancer. The following day, May 10th, 2010, I decided to create the website. I called this website... wait for it... Wizard101! I know, I know. It's silly, but I had no idea what to call it. I've never been good at coming up with names for anything. Creating this site provided me a way to share all of my memories at the time from attending Diary of a Wizard's Ravenwood Ball to questing adventures. When I look back on the nearly 2,000 blog posts I've made since that time, there are some adventures that I don't even remember. While I don't remember these adventures, I am thankful I wrote them down at the time so I could still look back on them in the future. One day, I'll even look back on this blog post and be like... wow, that was so long ago, even though 2020 seems futuristic at the time. ;) 

Looking back, I am thankful for all of the support both you and Kingsisle has provided me to make this website the best it can be. Through thick and thin, y'all have continued to support this site and even make it the most popular it's been in 7 years even though I'm not making as many blog posts. I guess if you consider it, it really is the most popular year so far especially if I made as many blog posts as I did back in the day. I would literally wake up and make a blog post about something random in the game. But these were such fun times and while I might not make as many blog posts as I have in the past, I still have many special blog posts, events, and more planned for the future. There will certainly be a future here at Around The Spiral and I hope you stick around to see what I have planned. 

Everyone should go to www.wizard101.com right now and have one of the best times of your life! If you follow my advice, you will make many new friends and will never get tired of playing the game. Log into Wizard101 now and create a new wizard to have a lot of fun with the rest of the Wizard101 Community. This is somewhat poetic. My first blog post was labeled Wizard101. My 10-year blog post is labeled Community. The true community members that make this place such a fun place to be will always thrive now and forever. Thank you for helping this website make it to 10 years.  Feel free to read ALL of my Bloggerversary posts by clicking on the hyperlinks below. 

May 10th, 2010

May 10th, 2011

May 10th, 2012

May 10th, 2013

May 10th, 2014

May 10th, 2015

May 10th, 2016

May 10th, 2017

May 10th, 2018

May 10th, 2019

May 10th, 2020

I still can't thank you all enough for what you've done for me over the years. My main goal has been and always will be to bring this community together since the very beginning. I hope to continue to do that through this website and more as time progresses. You're great friends, a great family, and overall, a great community. One community. Now, let's see what the next 10 years will bring us! I have avoided making a throwback video because I'm saving that for the future. If Future Edward doesn't make a throwback video for his final blog post, you better cast one of the level 58 spells (or higher) on him! Thank you all for reading. Until next time, I'll see you AROUND THE SPIRAL. 10 MORE YEARS of...

Spiral News - Episode 1

Hello Wizards!

Long time, no talk. It's been a Century! Okay, maybe it hasn't, but I have taken a bit of a break from blogging. Today, I wanted to make a new blog post to share some news with y'all. Over the past few weeks, I have been preparing to grow my YouTube Channel, Edward Lifegem. I've created a few videos, including the start of a new series called, Spiral News.

Spiral News is a weekly series that will premiere each Friday on my YouTube Channel. This series will promote all of the important Wizard101 News stories of each week, along with a few other surprise segments that will be added as each episode premieres. All major news updates will be released right away. I have a lot more planned for this YouTube channel as well. If you would like to subscribe to my YouTube Channel, feel free to click on the link below. And just below the link, you can watch the first episode of Spiral News! Enjoy! 

https://www.youtube.com/user/Edwardlifegem

Wizard Run 2020: Saturday, May 30th

Hello Wizards!

Today, I'm happy to announce a new in-game event called The Wizard Run! This event will take place on Saturday, May 30th in The Commons, Greyrose Realm with tons of fun in-game activities & awesome surprises beginning at 12pm Central / 1pm Eastern on www.twitch.tv/spiralvision! Everyone is welcome to attend this event. Memberships aren't required to participate. Now, let's get to more information about this event, including an official schedule.

12pm Central / 1pm Eastern - Twitch Stream Begins / Pet Dance Party

www.twitch.tv/spiralvision

12:10pm Central / 1:10pm Eastern
Pet Derby (Your Favorite Teen Plus Pet)

12:30pm Central / 1:30pm Eastern

Hide & Seek

1:00pm Central / 2:00pm Eastern
Wizard Caroling Raid

1:30pm Central / 2:30pm Eastern

A Wizard Story

2:15pm Central / 3:15pm Eastern

A Very Special Surprise
(Watch Twitch Stream For Announcement)

2:45pm Central / 3:45pm Eastern

Line Up For Wizard Run

(1-Day Mounts Provided - Watch Video Guide Below For Run Path)

3:00pm Central / 4:00pm Eastern

The Wizard Run Begins - The Commons, Greyrose Realm

3:30pm Central / 4:30pm Eastern

Afterparties Begin

(Port Wizards Announced On Stream)

Not all Activities above (such as the Wizard Caroling Raid or Hide and Seek) will be in the Greyrose Realm. Remember to watch our Twitch Stream for directions on how to win any giveaway and realm changes. Keep in mind that the run will begin after the activities at 3pm Central / 4pm Eastern in the Greyrose Realm. And please be a good sport if you don't win a contest or giveaway - don't beg for prizes. Help us spread the word about this event by sharing this blog post with your friends and on your social media pages. Below you can get a reminder of this event by following the Event Page on Facebook or giving us a follow on Twitter. There's also a link to a page explaining more about our events. We hope to see you at this year's Wizard Run. Thank you all so much for your support. Let's continue this tradition together.

A Facebook Reminder - Event Page

https://www.facebook.com/events/227534265354740/

A Twitter Reminder - SpiralVision Twitter

https://twitter.com/thespiralvision

Learn More About Our Events

http://www.edwardlifegem.com/p/events.html

Opinion: Wizard City, Krokotopia, & Marleybone Should Be Free

Hello Wizards!

As you can tell by reading the title, you might think that this is going to be a controversial blog post. Rest assured, this is far from controversial since I'll be sharing my opinions in a constructive, not destructive, way. So let me start off straight-forward: I believe Kingsisle should make not one, not two, but three worlds free to the public.

Before I start telling you why I believe they should make the first three worlds free, I'd like to tell you that for about 10 years, I didn't agree with anyone that said they should make Wizard City free. It wasn't until this year that I started realizing that maybe they should start making the beginner worlds free. When Wizard101 first started, nobody really complained much about a Paywall because we had 5 main worlds and the first world was nearly half free. Today, we have a total of 13 main worlds - and several sides & dungeon instances. With that, we will have a new world soon and the level cap will most likely be increased to 140 levels.

There have already been new updates that are focused towards beginner players such as spell graphic updates (lower-tier spells - so far), game events, and even beginner storyline updates. While all of this is being updated, there should be something that brings a massive influx of players to the game to get a real start on the storyline - at least 30 levels of the storyline. I hope to see this one day in the near future. But let's talk about something else that I've briefly touched on at the beginning of this blog post. There is always a respectful way to share your opinions.

Many, at least today, complain. Things that could be easily fixed have massive backlash (overreaction). If we want to make the game, or really, anything, better, we should give Kingsisle constructive criticism. Telling them that they're a bad company does nothing but makes you look like you've just wandered out of Cyclops Lane for the first time ever. Let's continue giving Kingsisle our opinions, but do it in a respectful way. If people disagree with you, that's just fine. There will always be people in this life that disagree with you, but that doesn't make you or the person that disagrees with you wrong. I wanted to share my opinion in a constructive way - this can be done no matter what you believe in. This is the way to do it. Let's continue making this community the best place that it can be for everyone. Thank you all for reading. Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral. Feel free to share your opinions down below - whether you agree or disagree. :) 

Wizard101 - Strange Beast Pet Giveaway + Spring 2020 Update

Hello Wizards!

Edward Lifegem here. Welcome to my website! Today, I'm giving away 100 "Strange Beast Pets" to 100 different Wizards all at once in celebration of the new Spring Update - which has now been released to the live realm. Keep in mind that this code will run out quickly, so redeem it as soon as you can. Now.. I need to hush up and give away this code.

ATSWELPet2020

 Also, when you have a chance do check out the awesome new updates in Wizard101 - and spread the word to your friends about Wizard101. If it's been a while since you or they've played the game, you really should check out ALL of the updates that have been added over the past few years. You wouldn't believe how much this game has improved. If you would like more information about what has been added in the Spring Update, click on the link below! Thank you all for reading. Be sure to check back on this website for more fun giveaways, in-game events, and of course, random blog posts.

https://www.wizard101.com/game/community/update-notes/april2020

Idea: Enhancing Community Events

Hello Wizards!

Did you know that Kingsisle created a new Twitter Page called Wizard101Devs? On this new social media page, various Kingsisle developers ask for our feedback on numerous topics! So, today, I'll be answering one of their questions on this new blog post. Here's what they asked the community earlier today:

If there was one thing that would enhance general community gatherings in Wizard101, especially when you want to put on an event or contest of your own, what would it be? [Sparck]

— Wizard101Devs (@Wizard101Devs) April 20, 2020

As you see above, today's question was about enhancing community gatherings. If you know me, I always have more than one answer to questions like this. That's exactly why I decided to make a new blog post instead of replying to their tweet with many... many.. tweets! So, let's get started.

Party Realms - More Wizards In One Area
If you host an in-game event in Ravenwood, you may notice that there are a limited number of people allowed in one area. If you have a larger event, it's the same for any other location in the game. One thing I've wanted to see for a long time now has been the option to have an event where more people could be allowed in one certain area. A Party Realm would be different than any other realm where in-game events are hosted. It would be awesome to have decorations everywhere to show how different the party realm is to all other the other realms in the game. This would be a great way to let everyone that plays Wizard101 know that in-game events do take place. To make them family-friendly (which in-game events should be, ahem!), Hall Monitors could hang out in the realm(s) to make sure it doesn't get out of hand with trolls that wander in from Cyclops Lane.

More Lively Transformations - May I Have This Dance?
I'd also LOVE to see transformations (that can be bought for crowns or gold in the Crowns Shop) have options to do more things than they currently do. We can join battles and stuff, but why can't we dance? If Kingsisle could add anything, I would love to see them add this in the near future. You can make out tons of activities with transformations, so please, make it happen. I would love to see Paige Moonshade host a Transformation Dance Party during one of these Fansite Festivals! Overall, it would really be awesome to see any improvement in transformations to make them more event-friendly.

Bosses - Event Bosses That Everyone Can Farm
Over at SpiralVision, we've had boss farming activities during our events. While they haven't been major bosses like Malistaire or anything like that, I would love to see more bosses (specifically in free areas) that everyone can have a chance to farm. The best times to have events, currently, are during Halloween or Christmas since both Holidays have special towers/bosses. It would be awesome to see one year-around, maybe in the party realm that I mentioned. I don't think that it should be one boss and that's it. I think it should change depending on the time of year. Maybe these specific bosses could drop cute community event-themed pets, gear, etc. This would be yet another major thing that could enhance in-game events.

Overall, I'm one of many that love hosting in-game events. I'm sure any change that Kingsisle considers will help everyone out a lot. I'm looking forward to seeing what they will do to improve not only in-game events, but also the contests surrounding events that are hosted by the community. Anyway, that's all I have for y'all other than Family-Friendly Content Creators (event hosts, bloggers, YouTubers, streamers, artists) are the BEST in this community, BY FAR. Okay, now I'm done. Thank you all so much for reading this blog post. Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral.

Wizard101 Tips - Reduce Game Lag

Hello Wizards!

Over the past several weeks, more and more wizards have been playing the game. More wizards = more game lag. It's never fun dealing with game lag when you want to quest, garden, or even doing something as simple as going fishing. I've decided to make a new blog post with some helpful tips to reduce some of that game lag.

Before I provide these tips, I want all of you to keep in mind that this won't fix your computer. There are many more steps you have to take to speed up your computer. I'll only be talking about things that you can do in-game to reduce lag when you're around a lot of wizards aka in a crowded or full realm. These tips may also help even if you're not in a full or crowded realm. With that, let's get started!

Video Options - Set To The Lowest Possible Options

One way to reduce a lot of lag is to set your graphics to the lowest settings possible. If you're running the game on a slower computer, the highest settings possible will increase your lag & game crashes. This really includes the advanced graphics settings option. The next time you log into the games, remember to set your video settings to the lowest settings. Texture Detail, UI Size, and Particles should all be set to the lowest settings to reduce game lag. Turning on Classic Mode will also help. Press the "ESC" key to access these settings. See the images below for an example of where you can set your settings the next time you play Wizard101.

Gameplay Options - Additional Steps To Reduce Lag

There are additional options that you can take to reduce some game lag. Next to the sound options, you can access the various gameplay options. There are numerous ways to additionally reduce game lag you experience. Two major steps to take is to turn off ALL overhead names and gameplay chat bubbles. Doing these two things (and other additional options which I'll display below) will do wonders for your gameplay. You can also reduce the chat size (just make sure you're able to read the chat - I've set mine to Medium - gameplay options 3. Below, you'll see where I usually set up my gameplay options every time I play Wizard101. 

Realm - Change To A Perfect Realm

Last, but certainly not least, remember to check your realm. If you're in a full realm while questing, it will increase your lag. Be sure to change to a perfect realm right when you log into the game. If you're at an in-game event, remember to follow all of the steps I've provided above so you have a better experience at any event you may attend. Slower computers may make events a little more difficult to attend without game crashes or major lag, but following the steps above might reduce that a bit. 

Taking all of these steps will help improve your experience in Wizard101. You may also close all applications outside of Wizard101 - such as your browser (Chrome, Internet Explorer), music players (Spotify, Pandora, etc.), and any other application that you're not using at the time. I truly hope these tips help a few of you reading this blog post. If you have any tips to share yourself, be sure to comment below. Thank you all for reading and I hope to see you in-game. Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral.

A Massive Comeback

Hello Wizards!

I hope you're having a wonderful start of the week. Over the past few weeks, I've been getting more involved in blogging and many other community-related things. It's almost as if Around The Spiral is making a major comeback. I mean, technically, it kinda is. So it's best for you to keep an eye out on this website and social media for all of my awesome plans for the community. Speaking of plans, let me first give you an update on our group questing group.

As of late, the SpiralVision group questing group has made it at least halfway through Azteca. We're continuing to make our way through this world while also making it a fun streaming experience for everyone. This is still one of my favorite things to do with friends in the community, and I'm proud to announce that it will continue for a long time. If any of you are interested in joining us, we stream every Sunday @ 530pm Central / 630pm Eastern on www.twitch.tv/spiralvision. Everyone is always welcome to attend. 

On top of group questing, the events and more blog posts are also coming! I hope you're ready for a new community experience. My goal has been and always will be to bring the community together. I truly appreciate everything y'all have done for me since 2009 and want to continue to show that appreciation by doing things that I believe will help the community. All that want to participate are more than welcome to participate in a true community experience. An old community experience.

A lot has certainly changed since I joined the community, but I want to come back with a fresh, non-dramatic, non-toxic, start to show today's community what the community was like when I joined. Now, there's no way I can be exactly like the old community leaders, but I can certainly give everyone the option to support a community that I believe represents all people in the community, not just certain select groups of people. With that, prepare for a major comeback of Around The Spiral. I'll have new blog posts, events, streams, and much more. Also, be sure to follow my official social media pages as well for special event, contest, and stream announcements!

@AroundTheSpiral

@TheSpiralVision

You won't want to miss what's coming to this website. I had time to reflect on my past mistakes and don't plan on repeating them. I'll be using the rest of my time here in the community to make it the best place to be for everyone. That means I will not include myself in any toxicity or drama that is usually a reoccurrence in a small part of the community (which no longer exists to me after the publishing of this post - will never reply to it again). After all, there are better things to focus our energy on. I've planned a lot of great blog posts over the past year and I plan to make every single one of them and more. I'm no longer being held back with self-doubt. Keep in mind, you are the reason that this website, the events, and everything else, is here. I appreciate all of you and I'm thankful for all of you. I've done this for 10 years. I'll continue doing so to help be a small part of building a more inclusive community. So, let's get to it.