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Where is the Harry Potter MMO?
RollieJoe
Member UncommonPosts: 451
I was just discussing with a non-gamer how well (or not well) the big-IP MMO's have done (Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings), and they asked me why there wasn't a Harry Potter MMO. And I thought......good question!
Its the most successful Western IP of the past decade, in both books and movies, surely some studio/publisher has thought about making it into an MMO? So where's it at?
Regardless of whether you like or dislike, love or hate, the Harry Potter universe, let's discuss why there hasn't been any mention of an HP MMO!
Comments
Give it time. Warner Brothers has been slowly working its way into the game front, and their recent acquisition of Turbine pretty much means that its only a matter of time.
Here's one rumor
http://www.massively.com/2008/06/08/is-the-world-of-harry-potter-turbines-next-mmo-project/
Gosh, I just hope they are doing it correctly and allow us participate in the every-days school life, having classes and grades and such that you can accomplish.
Yeah, that should be the way of "leveling"
And not make it a hack-a-slash crap game
The answer is pretty simple. An IP needs a few years to settle, and then it's still about 7 years to develop a game.
I'm a big fan of the books and movies, so I would love to play a Harry Potter MMO. Unfortunately, I remember reading somewhere that they may never be able to do it because J K Rowling would not give permission for a Harry Potter game that would require writers to create new stories within the Harry Potter universe. Obviously any sort of MMO would require that, so it may never happen unless she changes her mind.
I can see it now, high schoolers everywhere subscribing to a game that tests their calculus knowledge, history, and magic-wand-wielding prowess.
That is exactly right, and we're not saying NO to save WoW, because it is already a lost cause. We are saying NO to dissuade the next group of greedy suits who decide to emulate Blizzard and Cryptic, etc.
We can prevent some of the future games from spewing this crap, but the sooner we start saying no, the better the results will be.
So - Stand up, pull up your pants, and walk away.
- MMO_Doubter
I'm not sure that there's enough variety in the Harry Potter IP to fuel an MMO.
What would I do if I didn't want to be a human wizard?
That's such a crazy concept that it might actually work.
Imagine. Being rewarded epics for correctly resolving quadratic equations.
Only if they let me join Slytherin, if they only go a story way with Griffindor.. and be really linear, then no.
Solving illiteracy via gaming? Preposterous!
Now, if we could figure out this darned obesity thing too...
That is exactly right, and we're not saying NO to save WoW, because it is already a lost cause. We are saying NO to dissuade the next group of greedy suits who decide to emulate Blizzard and Cryptic, etc.
We can prevent some of the future games from spewing this crap, but the sooner we start saying no, the better the results will be.
So - Stand up, pull up your pants, and walk away.
- MMO_Doubter
Grinding quadratic equations on a treadmill. Genius!
Genius! Quick! Pattent your idea!
That is exactly right, and we're not saying NO to save WoW, because it is already a lost cause. We are saying NO to dissuade the next group of greedy suits who decide to emulate Blizzard and Cryptic, etc.
We can prevent some of the future games from spewing this crap, but the sooner we start saying no, the better the results will be.
So - Stand up, pull up your pants, and walk away.
- MMO_Doubter
And then you are going to solve the ultimate formula (boss) with your whole class (raid), to get approval from your teacher (epic loot).
And you can only go to the next class (dungeon), when you did the previous one (checked by quoting the approval).
And for the obesity-thing:
We connect the Harry Potter MMO with Project Natal, so you actually have to ride your broom, cast your spells with gestures and so on. Yeah! Fuc*ing yeah!!
Be a human witch?
No seriously, this sort of thinking is the problem with MMORPGs these days -- this false idea that if a game doesn't have a certain number of races and a certain number of classes, it can't be fun. That just leads to all MMORPGs looking like WoW. There are other ways for a game to have variety than having the same tired old formula with elves and orcs, warriors and wizards, etc.
That's a really weird mental image.
Especially attempting to imagine someone casting a spell while riding their broom. With one controller.
I don't think it's a false idea to say that an MMO benefits from a large variety of gameplay and customization. I'm just struggling to see how the Harry Potter universe could offer that given that the premise demands every player be a human spellcaster.
Create a harry potter MMO where you actually have to sit with a wand and yell in mic, the name of the spells.
That would be awesome
Good idea, I will enter the school yelling "Avada Kedavra" all over the place. :-D
But Grungi, you are forgetting that there are different types and varieties of spellcasters with differen't specializations. Some specialize in death magic, some in protection spells, then theres potions/herbology, divinity, transmutation, illusions, invisibility/stealth.
There's lots of potential for diversity, you just have to think outside of the normal mmo "box"
Be that as it may, your avatar is still just going to be a guy/gal in a dress.
There may be SOME potential for diversity, but nowhere near that possible in other settings.
Just my opinion, of course.
I have to believe there will be one eventually. And based on the behavior I see in most mmos these days, Slytherin will be a packed house.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
OK, I'll grant you that there wouldn't be much potential for visual customization of your avatar. You could do face, hair, and some clothing but school robes are school robes. I still think there are ways to customize even that, but not as much as in a traditional fantasy MMO.
But I don't think that's a big problem if the game is fun to play otherwise. Gameplay-wise I think there is plenty of ways to have a lot of variety between players and play styles.
Well, it would be fun if there were actually classes. And while you attend them, you have to wear your robe. While you have your leisure time, you can dress the way you like, just as common modern clothing looks like.