Some movie-turned-game franchises should simply throw in the towel. Others, despite only warm response from reviews, have a chance to redeem themselves and, possibly, become a budding sector of the gaming industry. As I see it, the Harry Potter behemoth can really expand on their moderately successful gaming contributions. With the only few game releases it has, the Harry Potter franchise has strictly focused it’s attention on movie plot lines. Take the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, for example. The film was just yesterday delayed until a July 17, 2009 release. The corresponding title will be released the same day, no surprises there. The plot of the Electronic Arts developed/published game, as I imagine, will be identical to the movie, making the gaming experience more or less déjà vu if you’ve seen the film. Electronic Arts, it’s time to get innovative or throw in the towel (not that they would, Harry Potter is a cash cow and it’s still full of milk).

Imagine this. In 2011 the last Harry Potter film, The Deathly Hollows: Part 2 will hit theaters. Soon after, EA or whoever is in control of the franchise at that time, should release a massive multiplayer online game (MMO) titled simply Hogwarts. Initially, EA should release a few hundred editions (to market, name each one as a different spell name), each one tuned to accommodate a few thousand “students” at Hogwarts in a specific online world. Essentially, this would mean that a person with one edition would be cut off from the goings on of the other version. So, if your friend wanted to join you at your Hogwarts, some sort of friend invite and EA user moderation system could be put in place. Also, since other magic schools do in fact exist in Potter world, they could be assimilated into the game somehow.

The point of the game would be to make it through your years at Hogwarts and become the greatest wizard of all. You will have classes, and however much time you spend online and at school will reflect in your studies and understanding of magic. EA could have permanent members be teachers at the school and would also have the ability to trigger events in their respective “world” such as an attack by Voldemort or something of that nature. They would probably have to be EA employees if it were to work efficiently and responsibly. You would read up, learn spells, interact with other players, and go through various events that occurred in the movies, though the game would have to steer clear from following the Harry Potter plot lines specifically. Since you would be your own unique character in this world, you’d be viewing the actions of Potter and friends from the outside, or, possibly, challenge him for dominance as the pre-eminent wizard of his time. You could visit Diagon Alley, or maybe even stray into muggle-ridden London (though, if you perform magic, you would be punished somehow by the Ministry of Magic).

And how to decide which house each player/student is sorted into? The only way I see this being done fairly and quickly, for lack of the Sorting Hat is through placing a card in each copy of the game specifying which house you are placed in. After all, its all up to fate in the book anyway, only makes sense.

If it comes in 2011 we’ll have graphics that are far superior to what we experience now, as well as better online systems to support such an ambitious idea. So, what do you all think of this idea?

Posted by Daniel on 08/15 at 02:10 PM
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