Everyone keeps saying that the MMORPG would be aimed at children like the books. But I highly disagree. Apparently noone that is posting in this discussion has read the 7th book. It's actually quite dark. I don't think that it's really that appropriate for kids. And even though the first few books and movies were aimed at kids they are definitely much deeper/darker/maturer towards the end. I think that they could make a great MMORPG which could appeal to both children and adults. I also believe that they would work PVP in to it in the correct situation. Duelling being the main option. But also organised battles, wars and events. Hopefully if they create the game, the GMs will actually keep the game running and have active content unlike SOE with The Matrix etc. Let's just hope that SOE doesn't try and get the title.
Hmm, I think that they will make a kids MMO for sure. I hope however that we can get a company to take the IP and make a more mature game. If it could happen I would make it a definite buy.
As a long time fan of the Harry potter series, and having read book 7, I hope that an MMO of the HP universe never sees the light of day beyond people's creative ideas. It would for me destroy the whole mystical and magical feel to the world. Past game adaptations are crappy enough. Not to mention having people running around yelling I pwned you or with names like LeetBoi1 etc etc in game would be highly distressing.
Rowling has turned down the idea of making an MMO out of her world already (i dont have a link so if anyone else remembers where that article is (from several years ago) lemme know ). Rowling has complete control over what is built out of her story. She's veto'd concepts in movies, approves final scripts(although i do beleve they still can do what they want in the end as far as the movie goes but it works better if rowling approves it), and even veto'd things that EA wanted to put into the HP games. She does give a good bit of creative leeway obviously but she has final say.
The number of magical children attending magical schools like hogwarts has been dwindling which is why now many are finally warming to the idea of marrying muggles. By making it an mmo the world would suddenly be huge (who would honestly want to be a muggle). Rowlings world has a deep rich history which MMO developers would be bound to want to change or rip out and it would in the end destroy the world (look at the utter destruction to Star Wars, they tried to keep it 'cannon' and then went out of cannon to bringi in more folks and just destroyed the world!).
Not to mention it just would be down right weird to have entire areas of the game your not allowed to use magic since most of the world is full of muggles. And honestly everyone screams about being unique and cool gear well in HP you wouldn't be unique you'd all be wizards and you'd all have the same powers, the access to the same spells, and access to the same type of jobs outside of hogwarts and the same items since the rarest end up in gringotts or the department of mysteries (or were passed down through pure blood families) plus you'd all be human since magical creatures are still under much stricter laws.
Are you sure that artwork you saw isn't from the most recent HP game? Its supposed to have the most complete version of Hogwarts ever used before allowing for really deep exploration through the school. (the link is broken for me so I couldnt' see).
btw someone mentioned most of its readers are kids. That'd of been true 10+ years ago when the books first started coming out but now most of its fan base are between 18 to 20 and up. Yes kids still buy and read it but its original biggest numbers are teens or older, they've grown up along side the books which is what made this series such a huge experience. The idea of making the game more 'mature' is just ludacris if you've read the last book then you know there's no reason to make it any darker than that and to do so would be immediately vetod by Rowling and completely supported by HP fans.
Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED!
Originally posted by Laserwolf Harry Potter, like Pokemon, or Star Wars screams MMORPG potential. All I would love to see is a magic system where magic is launched by saying the words yourself (Mic?) or at least typing them. And/or by waiving the wand in a certain pattern. Like if you hold down the left mouse button and move the wand around the screen it leaves a light trail that you have to draw in a certain pattern to do certain spells. I think another game had this but I never played it.
Yes Black and White had such thing as to draw figures with your mouse on the ground to cast spells. I wouldn't mind to see such system implemented in a magic system in a mmorpg. Doesn't matter if it is the settings of a Harry Potter universe or not.
As for the no pvp possible is quite wrong. Their is duelling, there are if I'm correct more magic schools that engage in tournaments. These are all pvp without pk. And then you also have those on the side of Voldemort (oops sorry) and those that oppose him. More then enough room to have conflicts to enable pvp.
"If all magic fails, rely on three feet of steel and a strong arm"
Its possible that Sigil could make it, they were doing an amazing job with Vanguard before MS dropped them because they wanted it strictly for Vista, SOE is the one that boned the game up and made it suck royally. Like I said before, Hogwarts would be to small, but could possibly be a place to visit. It should cover tons of places in the wizarding world. Godric's Hallows, Diagon Alley (and off streets), Hogwarts, Hogsmead, The burrow and what ever neighborhood that is in. They could even make other countries open like Romania, Egypt, The Ministry, Other Schools, Wizarding Family neighborhoods, and other places that shes mentioned that have a large amount of wizards.
Factions would be easy, Order of the Phoenix, Death Eater, or Ministry of Magic.
As for classes, I think it would be best if you just made a witch or wizard, and then as the game goes on you choose your path. And specialize in what ever skills that you prefer most. Charms/ Dark Arts/ Transfiguration/ Potions/ Care of Magical Creatures/ Occlumency & Legilimency/ Divination. You could learn specialties like Animagus/ Metamorphmagus/ Parselmouth/ Seer/ etc...
After choosing fields of study, the players could choose occupations to increase a cash income like working in various fields of the ministry, (Law enforcement, Auror, etc...), Working with magical creatures, product creation (wands, brooms, robes, etc...)
It could be a very functional game with some caring effort and creativity by the developers.
I think a Harry Potter mmo could work just fine, but it shouldnt just be about howarts. Hogwarts could be say a newbie starting zone, and have others schools be the same thing. After that you are out in the world, and you can gain skill in the various areas you want to excel in. PVP would be pretty easy to do, there are always Dark wizards.
Harry Potter MMO, it sounds like a fun game. As long as they do it when our technology is better. Imagine participating in the Tri Wizard Cup, Imagine flying around Hogwarts campus. Theirs tons and tons of ideas to go with. The professors can give you quests and such. Forbiddon Forest.
Another thing, people often thing that Hogwarts is the only school for wizards and such. Your wrong. As dumbuldore or someone said, its the #1 school for it. So yeah, you could go to other campus's and schools for missions and the idea is not a bad idea, they'd gross a lot of money, i know i'd get it. Its just they need to do it with uptight graphics and better technology.
---------------------------- Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils ... - Louis Hector Berlioz
This will just be another huge IP that get turned into a Singleplayer game, and they give the game internet access so people can do instances with eachother.
i personally would be very interested in this game, i would like it if they had different races though, other than just human. Giants, centaurs, house elves
and have it somewhat like UO, where your reputation is actually based on your actions. The more ppl you PK, the more evil you become...
ya i agree, your reputation should be judged buy your actions. PVP would be great, player duels, tournaments, quidditch matches, all sorts of past times. I do agree that the schools should be newbie areas, something like it should start off at the end of your seventh year so you are a young wizard about to enter into the world or something like that. I'd say that it should take place somewhere between books 5 and 7 because thats when the voldemort problem would take place, it just makes sense for it to be right around there.
well even tho harry potter isnt really something that ou may or maynot would want to base an mmorpg on, you have to realize all of the events in book 7 if you had read it. it may take place in the events between the last book and those 19 years in between te epilouge. i think tho that it has a standing chance to become a good game, especially if you can specilize in the type of magic you want to traing in and like the house i think it has the peotential to be a highly customizable game
I believe where Star Wars went wrong was that it was set in a time period with a lot of restrictions. If it was set in the time of Knight of the Old Republic having lots of Jedi and Sith would have been okay. They were asking for trouble making the Jedi an aplha class anyway when everyone wants to be a Jedi. They should have just not had the class at all if set in that time period.
The same can be true for Harry Potter. You could allow the creator of the game to use a differnt time in the games history and create their own villians. This way it wouldn't be restricted by the Harry Potter lore. There might be mentions of Harry Potter, Ron, Hermione, and others in books in the game as past heros.
(Im looking forward to magic crafting, if it ends up being non-existent or poorly executed, I doubt I'd bother playing the HP MMO.)
A Harry Potter MMO could have a lot of success based on systems, synopsis and game play.
I would prefer two separate games, one as hogwarts online type game for kids and a darker game for the adult gamer.
A sample idea for the latter: After the death of Voldemort the ministry of magic is up for grabs, throwing the magic world into a state of civil war. Three factions develop, a totalitarian government led by a wizard-supremacist, Order of the Phenix to resist it and restore the ministry to pre-Voldemort time. And a crime lord intent on keeping the world lawless for profits.
Players would be able to select a race such as Wizard, Muggle, Goblin, Half-Giant and other HP races. Each with unique abilities in crafting and combat. Goblins could be expert smiths, muggles could have their own secret witch-hunter faction that discovers wizards and decides to spy on them and kill off the evil ones to make sure Voldemort doesn't happen again, after all he killed more muggles than wizards.
what exactly would you be doing? I don't see you leveling up by killing mobs.... I suppose you could play quidditch(spelling..) or mini games for classes... or just hang out in wizard robes.... Really what would you do in the game? I honestly want to know
Scrap the level system, go to a system of attributes. To level up you would go study at the local library of train in solitude. Such games are best served sandboxy, you could fight in the civil war, perks can be granted if your faction currently control the ministry and whatnot, go craft, sell, and yes even the generic kill-loot-repeat, but that last one is best implemented in such a way that its not a nessecity.
Scrap the level system, go to a system of attributes. To level up you would go study at the local library of train in solitude. Such games are best served sandboxy, you could fight in the civil war, perks can be granted if your faction currently control the ministry and whatnot, go craft, sell, and yes even the generic kill-loot-repeat, but that last one is best implemented in such a way that its not a nessecity.
yeah well what if they opened up from just the world? like well hogwarts is a a school so it should be like the tutorial or something or a place to gain alot of attributes before leaving. Then you have like the whole world....like there are the other wizarding schools and the wizard world then the muggle world and like ya know...it could be a really really big game. the place you can visit could be unreal...fight giants in the moutains, kill dementors in dark ravines and near prisons, giant spiders and rogue centaurs in the forests.
really i see alot of potential in a harry potter game. so yeah i say make it and make it good or die!! haha lol
I was just thinking about this a couple of weeks ago. I think that if a developer took away the focus on Harry Potter and made the world exist just in the "Harry Potter" world, then it could definetly be a possiblility. *Note I haven't read the seventh book yet, so sorry if I get things screwy* There will need to be some kind of 'enemy' though, be it something along the lines of more death eaters, or be it crazy dragons and giants. I would also think that while a developer should include Diagon Alley and Hogwarts (if they place the world in 'Europe') there should also be other new places. Maybe have a plane ride (floo powder ride or whatever) or so to the US or to Japan or something similiar and have a completely imagined world created there with only the basics from JK Rowling in it. It might work, if a developer took it enough away from "Harry Potter" and made it more their own. *grumbles* Kind of like the more recent movies.
and...
I understand your concerns about the maturity of the playerbase but I don´t think it´s possible to find a mmorpg without such people.
From Macsen
Ryzom. A game not advertised like it should be, but one of the better communities out there.
What if they combined skill based and level based. For example, my first thoughts of a harry potter mmo were this:
Choose a school, whether it be only hogwarts and you choose between the four classes, or they have multiple schools it doesnt matter.
PvP would exist in the forms of duels and competitions with other schools, (or eventually, and i will get there) you could build in death eaters/ministry of magic etc.
You would start as a Year 1 wizard. Gain enough skills, go to year two. Proceed like this and specialize your character in divination, occlumency, dark arts, DAtDA etc. It could be like a CoX system where you get one main and one sub. Otherwise, it could be more open where anything goes, except that specializing in one skill is most likely the best way to build a character. Then, after you have "graduated year 7", you must choose a profession. Whether it be something in the ministry, being an auror, working for the dark arts, just something to show you have become a real wizard.
Following this, you continue to add skills to your arsenal and improve upon older skills. This is where you could build in Good vs Evil pvp. IMO, while the game might "work" better capping at year 7, people will want the chance to become ultra powerful witches/wizards, therefore, you must have post schooling wizardry.
What if they combined skill based and level based. For example, my first thoughts of a harry potter mmo were this: Choose a school, whether it be only hogwarts and you choose between the four classes, or they have multiple schools it doesnt matter. PvP would exist in the forms of duels and competitions with other schools, (or eventually, and i will get there) you could build in death eaters/ministry of magic etc. You would start as a Year 1 wizard. Gain enough skills, go to year two. Proceed like this and specialize your character in divination, occlumency, dark arts, DAtDA etc. It could be like a CoX system where you get one main and one sub. Otherwise, it could be more open where anything goes, except that specializing in one skill is most likely the best way to build a character. Then, after you have "graduated year 7", you must choose a profession. Whether it be something in the ministry, being an auror, working for the dark arts, just something to show you have become a real wizard. Following this, you continue to add skills to your arsenal and improve upon older skills. This is where you could build in Good vs Evil pvp. IMO, while the game might "work" better capping at year 7, people will want the chance to become ultra powerful witches/wizards, therefore, you must have post schooling wizardry.
Tha is seriously a very good idea. i think that this would be the perfect thing for a harry potter mmo
What if they combined skill based and level based. For example, my first thoughts of a harry potter mmo were this: Choose a school, whether it be only hogwarts and you choose between the four classes, or they have multiple schools it doesnt matter. PvP would exist in the forms of duels and competitions with other schools, (or eventually, and i will get there) you could build in death eaters/ministry of magic etc. You would start as a Year 1 wizard. Gain enough skills, go to year two. Proceed like this and specialize your character in divination, occlumency, dark arts, DAtDA etc. It could be like a CoX system where you get one main and one sub. Otherwise, it could be more open where anything goes, except that specializing in one skill is most likely the best way to build a character. Then, after you have "graduated year 7", you must choose a profession. Whether it be something in the ministry, being an auror, working for the dark arts, just something to show you have become a real wizard. Following this, you continue to add skills to your arsenal and improve upon older skills. This is where you could build in Good vs Evil pvp. IMO, while the game might "work" better capping at year 7, people will want the chance to become ultra powerful witches/wizards, therefore, you must have post schooling wizardry.
I also think to split up the years into subdevisions. Quarters or something, I don't know, but at least make the game last a while. I want to have to play for at leassssttt 3 months before maxing out, and I don't want to spend a week per level either.
Comments
Everyone keeps saying that the MMORPG would be aimed at children like the books. But I highly disagree. Apparently noone that is posting in this discussion has read the 7th book. It's actually quite dark. I don't think that it's really that appropriate for kids. And even though the first few books and movies were aimed at kids they are definitely much deeper/darker/maturer towards the end. I think that they could make a great MMORPG which could appeal to both children and adults. I also believe that they would work PVP in to it in the correct situation. Duelling being the main option. But also organised battles, wars and events. Hopefully if they create the game, the GMs will actually keep the game running and have active content unlike SOE with The Matrix etc. Let's just hope that SOE doesn't try and get the title.
Hmm, I think that they will make a kids MMO for sure. I hope however that we can get a company to take the IP and make a more mature game. If it could happen I would make it a definite buy.
As a long time fan of the Harry potter series, and having read book 7, I hope that an MMO of the HP universe never sees the light of day beyond people's creative ideas. It would for me destroy the whole mystical and magical feel to the world. Past game adaptations are crappy enough. Not to mention having people running around yelling I pwned you or with names like LeetBoi1 etc etc in game would be highly distressing.
Rowling has turned down the idea of making an MMO out of her world already (i dont have a link so if anyone else remembers where that article is (from several years ago) lemme know ). Rowling has complete control over what is built out of her story. She's veto'd concepts in movies, approves final scripts(although i do beleve they still can do what they want in the end as far as the movie goes but it works better if rowling approves it), and even veto'd things that EA wanted to put into the HP games. She does give a good bit of creative leeway obviously but she has final say.
The number of magical children attending magical schools like hogwarts has been dwindling which is why now many are finally warming to the idea of marrying muggles. By making it an mmo the world would suddenly be huge (who would honestly want to be a muggle). Rowlings world has a deep rich history which MMO developers would be bound to want to change or rip out and it would in the end destroy the world (look at the utter destruction to Star Wars, they tried to keep it 'cannon' and then went out of cannon to bringi in more folks and just destroyed the world!).
Not to mention it just would be down right weird to have entire areas of the game your not allowed to use magic since most of the world is full of muggles. And honestly everyone screams about being unique and cool gear well in HP you wouldn't be unique you'd all be wizards and you'd all have the same powers, the access to the same spells, and access to the same type of jobs outside of hogwarts and the same items since the rarest end up in gringotts or the department of mysteries (or were passed down through pure blood families) plus you'd all be human since magical creatures are still under much stricter laws.
Are you sure that artwork you saw isn't from the most recent HP game? Its supposed to have the most complete version of Hogwarts ever used before allowing for really deep exploration through the school. (the link is broken for me so I couldnt' see).
btw someone mentioned most of its readers are kids. That'd of been true 10+ years ago when the books first started coming out but now most of its fan base are between 18 to 20 and up. Yes kids still buy and read it but its original biggest numbers are teens or older, they've grown up along side the books which is what made this series such a huge experience. The idea of making the game more 'mature' is just ludacris if you've read the last book then you know there's no reason to make it any darker than that and to do so would be immediately vetod by Rowling and completely supported by HP fans.
Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED!
I think the site is farked.
Who really wants to pay $15 a month to play a game where you go to school?!?
Mom: "It 9:30. Time for bed Jimmy"
Jimmy: "Aw Mom, can I play for 15 more minutes...PLEASE!!! I am studying for my potions exam!"
As for the no pvp possible is quite wrong. Their is duelling, there are if I'm correct more magic schools that engage in tournaments. These are all pvp without pk. And then you also have those on the side of Voldemort (oops sorry) and those that oppose him. More then enough room to have conflicts to enable pvp.
"If all magic fails, rely on three feet of steel and a strong arm"
Its possible that Sigil could make it, they were doing an amazing job with Vanguard before MS dropped them because they wanted it strictly for Vista, SOE is the one that boned the game up and made it suck royally. Like I said before, Hogwarts would be to small, but could possibly be a place to visit. It should cover tons of places in the wizarding world. Godric's Hallows, Diagon Alley (and off streets), Hogwarts, Hogsmead, The burrow and what ever neighborhood that is in. They could even make other countries open like Romania, Egypt, The Ministry, Other Schools, Wizarding Family neighborhoods, and other places that shes mentioned that have a large amount of wizards.
Factions would be easy, Order of the Phoenix, Death Eater, or Ministry of Magic.
As for classes, I think it would be best if you just made a witch or wizard, and then as the game goes on you choose your path. And specialize in what ever skills that you prefer most. Charms/ Dark Arts/ Transfiguration/ Potions/ Care of Magical Creatures/ Occlumency & Legilimency/ Divination. You could learn specialties like Animagus/ Metamorphmagus/ Parselmouth/ Seer/ etc...
After choosing fields of study, the players could choose occupations to increase a cash income like working in various fields of the ministry, (Law enforcement, Auror, etc...), Working with magical creatures, product creation (wands, brooms, robes, etc...)
It could be a very functional game with some caring effort and creativity by the developers.
I think a Harry Potter mmo could work just fine, but it shouldnt just be about howarts. Hogwarts could be say a newbie starting zone, and have others schools be the same thing. After that you are out in the world, and you can gain skill in the various areas you want to excel in. PVP would be pretty easy to do, there are always Dark wizards.
Harry Potter MMO, it sounds like a fun game. As long as they do it when our technology is better. Imagine participating in the Tri Wizard Cup, Imagine flying around Hogwarts campus. Theirs tons and tons of ideas to go with. The professors can give you quests and such. Forbiddon Forest.
Another thing, people often thing that Hogwarts is the only school for wizards and such. Your wrong. As dumbuldore or someone said, its the #1 school for it. So yeah, you could go to other campus's and schools for missions and the idea is not a bad idea, they'd gross a lot of money, i know i'd get it. Its just they need to do it with uptight graphics and better technology.
----------------------------
Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils ... - Louis Hector Berlioz
This will just be another huge IP that get turned into a Singleplayer game, and they give the game internet access so people can do instances with eachother.
It wont be a MMORPG... I can already foresee.
Futilez - Mature MMORPG Community
Correcting people since birth.
i personally would be very interested in this game, i would like it if they had different races though, other than just human. Giants, centaurs, house elves
and have it somewhat like UO, where your reputation is actually based on your actions. The more ppl you PK, the more evil you become...
i would so play!
Currently Playing : WAR, UO, RL
ya i agree, your reputation should be judged buy your actions. PVP would be great, player duels, tournaments, quidditch matches, all sorts of past times. I do agree that the schools should be newbie areas, something like it should start off at the end of your seventh year so you are a young wizard about to enter into the world or something like that. I'd say that it should take place somewhere between books 5 and 7 because thats when the voldemort problem would take place, it just makes sense for it to be right around there.
well even tho harry potter isnt really something that ou may or maynot would want to base an mmorpg on, you have to realize all of the events in book 7 if you had read it. it may take place in the events between the last book and those 19 years in between te epilouge. i think tho that it has a standing chance to become a good game, especially if you can specilize in the type of magic you want to traing in and like the house i think it has the peotential to be a highly customizable game
I believe where Star Wars went wrong was that it was set in a time period with a lot of restrictions. If it was set in the time of Knight of the Old Republic having lots of Jedi and Sith would have been okay. They were asking for trouble making the Jedi an aplha class anyway when everyone wants to be a Jedi. They should have just not had the class at all if set in that time period.
The same can be true for Harry Potter. You could allow the creator of the game to use a differnt time in the games history and create their own villians. This way it wouldn't be restricted by the Harry Potter lore. There might be mentions of Harry Potter, Ron, Hermione, and others in books in the game as past heros.
I'd say find out who is making it and tell em what we want!
(Im looking forward to magic crafting, if it ends up being non-existent or poorly executed, I doubt I'd bother playing the HP MMO.)
A Harry Potter MMO could have a lot of success based on systems, synopsis and game play.
A sample idea for the latter: After the death of Voldemort the ministry of magic is up for grabs, throwing the magic world into a state of civil war. Three factions develop, a totalitarian government led by a wizard-supremacist, Order of the Phenix to resist it and restore the ministry to pre-Voldemort time. And a crime lord intent on keeping the world lawless for profits.
Players would be able to select a race such as Wizard, Muggle, Goblin, Half-Giant and other HP races. Each with unique abilities in crafting and combat. Goblins could be expert smiths, muggles could have their own secret witch-hunter faction that discovers wizards and decides to spy on them and kill off the evil ones to make sure Voldemort doesn't happen again, after all he killed more muggles than wizards.
what exactly would you be doing? I don't see you leveling up by killing mobs.... I suppose you could play quidditch(spelling..) or mini games for classes... or just hang out in wizard robes.... Really what would you do in the game? I honestly want to know
Scrap the level system, go to a system of attributes. To level up you would go study at the local library of train in solitude. Such games are best served sandboxy, you could fight in the civil war, perks can be granted if your faction currently control the ministry and whatnot, go craft, sell, and yes even the generic kill-loot-repeat, but that last one is best implemented in such a way that its not a nessecity.
thts actually quite true
yeah well what if they opened up from just the world? like well hogwarts is a a school so it should be like the tutorial or something or a place to gain alot of attributes before leaving. Then you have like the whole world....like there are the other wizarding schools and the wizard world then the muggle world and like ya know...it could be a really really big game. the place you can visit could be unreal...fight giants in the moutains, kill dementors in dark ravines and near prisons, giant spiders and rogue centaurs in the forests.
really i see alot of potential in a harry potter game. so yeah i say make it and make it good or die!! haha lol
As i said here:
I was just thinking about this a couple of weeks ago. I think that if a developer took away the focus on Harry Potter and made the world exist just in the "Harry Potter" world, then it could definetly be a possiblility.
*Note I haven't read the seventh book yet, so sorry if I get things screwy*
There will need to be some kind of 'enemy' though, be it something along the lines of more death eaters, or be it crazy dragons and giants.
I would also think that while a developer should include Diagon Alley and Hogwarts (if they place the world in 'Europe') there should also be other new places. Maybe have a plane ride (floo powder ride or whatever) or so to the US or to Japan or something similiar and have a completely imagined world created there with only the basics from JK Rowling in it.
It might work, if a developer took it enough away from "Harry Potter" and made it more their own. *grumbles* Kind of like the more recent movies.
and...
Ryzom. A game not advertised like it should be, but one of the better communities out there.
~Lheage~
What if they combined skill based and level based. For example, my first thoughts of a harry potter mmo were this:
Choose a school, whether it be only hogwarts and you choose between the four classes, or they have multiple schools it doesnt matter.
PvP would exist in the forms of duels and competitions with other schools, (or eventually, and i will get there) you could build in death eaters/ministry of magic etc.
You would start as a Year 1 wizard. Gain enough skills, go to year two. Proceed like this and specialize your character in divination, occlumency, dark arts, DAtDA etc. It could be like a CoX system where you get one main and one sub. Otherwise, it could be more open where anything goes, except that specializing in one skill is most likely the best way to build a character. Then, after you have "graduated year 7", you must choose a profession. Whether it be something in the ministry, being an auror, working for the dark arts, just something to show you have become a real wizard.
Following this, you continue to add skills to your arsenal and improve upon older skills. This is where you could build in Good vs Evil pvp. IMO, while the game might "work" better capping at year 7, people will want the chance to become ultra powerful witches/wizards, therefore, you must have post schooling wizardry.
Tha is seriously a very good idea. i think that this would be the perfect thing for a harry potter mmo
I also think to split up the years into subdevisions. Quarters or something, I don't know, but at least make the game last a while. I want to have to play for at leassssttt 3 months before maxing out, and I don't want to spend a week per level either.