Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Why a Harry Potter MMO would suck
Man1ac
Member Posts: 1,428
I know so many of you out there think, a Harry Potter MMO would be sooo awesome, well there's one key factor why it wouldn't. Harry Potter the books are was clearly aimed for children, although many adults have enjoyed the books it would be ever so hard for a company to produce a proper MMO which would have decent sales. You look at LOTRO, it's a decent game, but remember when everyone said a LOR MMO would be awesome! I hated it, and so did quite a few others, some love it but the subs would hardly reflect their estimates in all fairness. It would be a hell lot worse for a Harry Potter MMO unless we had Richard Branson and Bill Gates working on the idea.
We're all Geniuses. Most of us just don't know it.
Comments
I never even thought of a Harry Potter MMO, and I don't see how it would work.
MMOs seem to be more fit to be based around you, the player. Lord of the Rings is a good example. It's a good game, but the story isn't really about you. You play a small, trivial role in the entire game. The reason that Lord of the Rings works is because its... Lord of the Rings. Personally though, the one thing that bothered me about LOTRO was that I felt like the story was already written ahead of time. Well, it is, really.
Another example is the now cancelled Marvel Universe. How could this game be based around you while its really about the superheroes and villains in the Marvel world? I suspect that this is one of the issues that all of the folks involved in this project had. CoH worked because it is an original story based around the characters that the players create.
In my opinion, an MMO needs to be based around the players and their affect on the world. It's great to have lore and backstory, but what is so immersive about a game if you feel that you have very little to do with its outcome?
Yeah, those well known games designers....
So because a game is not aimed at adults it automaticly " sucks"? The mario game series have always been aimed at children, do those games suck too?
And the books aren't really aimed at children anymore. in fact there are many adult subjects found in the books and
*spoiler for last book*
The last book in the series killedd off a lot of major characters many readers became attached to.
I don't think the game would fail because it written for children..... a game based in the Narnia universe could be quite successful.
And that's the key...when dealing with a popular IP as a game, I feel it needs to have a well thought out universe.... be it based in fantasy, sci -fi or what have you.
My problem with Harry Potter is...its too much like real life. Other than Hogwarts Academy, most of Harry's adventures take place right here in our modern day world...and this is a terrible place to base a good adventure.
LotRO works because of the in depth, fantasy world that has been woven for us in books and movies. Same for Star Wars..... we all have a picture of it in our heads and can imagine being part of it.
For me, I just can't see myself being part of Harry's World..... regardless of the characters in it.....
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I never thought that it would be AWESOME, but I would think that, it could be a profitable venture IF it was done right. For one, IF it was made (considering no company has bothered to pick up the IP to make an MMO) it COULD potentially become an excellent skill based game similar to UO and SWG (pre CU). No levels, only skill sets, skill sets which you can learn from learning spells in class and/or practicing them on your own and/or on other players. It could also allow for minigames for players to play against each other when they don't feel like killing/cursing other players (quidditch, that chess game etc.)
Now that being said, do I think this would make a good MMORPG? It's actually a really hard thing to say. I think it would make a great social environment for players to chat in, you know going to a virtual "school" where you get to meet players around the world, learn spells, play sports with them etc. If you feel like killing stuff you can go outside the school grounds. There definetely would be opportunities for adventure, although they would be nothing like DnD or LOTRO, it would be more akin to nancy drew or the hardy boys, or even the "young indiana jones" books, but only with wands. So I'm a little dubious as to whether it would be a huge success, it would make profit, but I wouldn't think it would be a huge success.
All that being said, if they made a Harry Potter MMO in a similar fashion to what I've mentioned above, I actually would probably play it since it would be a great virtual interactive world with many options on things to do other than killing monsters.
Anyone wanna come camp the voldemort spawn with me?
I need wand +10..
"Don't hold breath about another KOTOR game coming from Bioware" - Chris Preistly
"Bioware is more intrested in pursueing development of it's own Intellectual properties"
- James Henly
In my opinion I think a Harry Potter MMO would kinda just cheapen the idea of Harry Potter.
I mean the books are Fantastic, the moves are always entertaining. The new Theme park is due to open up in florida. All in all trusting a game to a developer that COULD or COULD NOT make magic out of a very wonderful world is kind of a toss up.
Too much of a good thing is a bad thing, and this could very much be a bad thing.