Harry Potter RPG

[Rossell]

No I haven't gone mad. Leaked footage of a potential new Harry Potter game. However not only does it look quite decent but Rocksteady are rumoured to be developing. If that's true, this goes on the watch list.

[Mantis]

Odd timing for this franchise to suddenly get a new AAA budget game. Is there some sort of expected resurgence from the Fantastic Beasts movies or something? Because this franchise has never really been a big hitter in the gaming world, seems really odd that Rocksteady landed development duties on it.

That said, I'm not sure that it has ever been given the proper big budget treatment by a decent developer, so this could be really cool.

[DjchunKfunK]

Hard to see who the target market for this game is. Avalanche Studios are another developer who have been linked with it.

[Wrathbone]

Hard to see who the target market for this game is.

Aside from the vast swathes of Harry Potter fans who are also gamers?

[Alan]

Especially the ones who were young and loved the Lego games and are now late teens/twenties and want some more meat.

[DjchunKfunK]

Hard to see who the target market for this game is.

Aside from the vast swathes of Harry Potter fans who are also gamers?

I don't think they are the more dedicated type of gamer that this game looks like it is aiming for. It looks like a big budget game akin to a Star Wars game and I don't think there is anywhere near a big enough crossover between people who love Harry Potter and people who love playing video games to make that kind of bet worthwhile.

[Sly Boots]

I'll be honest, I never did get into the whole Harry Potter thing and everything about the franchise just leaves me cold. Maybe it's an age thing, it's similar for Pokemon, when it came out I was too old to really take an interest. The first Harry Potter book came out when I was at university, my girlfriend at the time made me read it - I know a lot of adults have read and enjoyed them but I just didn't really see the appeal. I've tried several times to watch the first couple of films, but generally have fallen asleep halfway through.

/oldfartgrumpmode

[DjchunKfunK]

They are fine books that are put on an pedestal on which they do not belong. There is much better writing out there and I don't begrudge their popularity, what I do take issue with is anyone who says they are great works of fiction. Popularity does not equal quality.

[Wrathbone]

Hard to see who the target market for this game is.

Aside from the vast swathes of Harry Potter fans who are also gamers?

I don't think they are the more dedicated type of gamer that this game looks like it is aiming for. It looks like a big budget game akin to a Star Wars game and I don't think there is anywhere near a big enough crossover between people who love Harry Potter and people who love playing video games to make that kind of bet worthwhile.

Frankly if you don't think there are enough Harry Potter fans to warrant a more in-depth RPG then you're living under a rock. It's the biggest franchise since Star Wars. Keep in mind the people who grew up with the books are in their late twenties and early thirties now, and as someone with young nieces I can attest to its enduring popularity with younger generations. They'd happily give a more in-depth RPG a go on the basis that it's a Harry Potter game, and I think anything that makes people try new things is positive.

Also, while I don't think they're the greatest books ever written, they're not exactly bad. Popularity obviously doesn't equal quality, but nor does it imply the lowest common denominator. JKR's writing improved as she progressed through the series, and there's some really good stuff in there if you put aside expectations. If you don't like it you don't like it, but it's kind of snobbish to take exception with someone who sees quality where you don't.

[Mantis]

The books around the middle of the series are pretty great, particularly 3 and 4 I think. The plot really tailed off in quality as the series progressed though. I read the first one in primary school and I think the final book came out around about the time I was going to university, and I'm pretty sure that my negative reaction to it wasn't simply a case of having outgrown the series; it was simply nowhere near as good.

A game focusing on the more magical and fun side of the world would be better than some 'young adult' edgy story that she tried to move the series towards in the latter days.

[Stormbringer]

I'll be honest, I never did get into the whole Harry Potter thing and everything about the franchise just leaves me cold. Maybe it's an age thing, it's similar for Pokemon, when it came out I was too old to really take an interest. The first Harry Potter book came out when I was at university, my girlfriend at the time made me read it - I know a lot of adults have read and enjoyed them but I just didn't really see the appeal. I've tried several times to watch the first couple of films, but generally have fallen asleep halfway through.

/oldfartgrumpmode

I am with you there. I've read the first four books. I gave up on the fifth. The first three were all right; I may have enjoyed them a lot if they had been read to me when I was a kid, but I was too old to really appreciate them when I finally got around to it.

Objectively speaking, I think the first three are far better than the later ones; judging by the fourth and the first quarter of the fifth books, the Potterverse becomes horribly bloated and the story loses its tight focus as it progresses.

[DjchunKfunK]

If you don't like it you don't like it, but it's kind of snobbish to take exception with someone who sees quality where you don't.

That's kinda how reviewing stuff works mate. I don't think it's snobbish, just a difference of opinion. When I say they are not great works of fiction I'm not saying they are badly written just that they are often given higher literary praise than I think they deserve.

Regarding the size of it's popularity I never said it wasn't popular, I just don't know if there is enough of a crossover between Harry Potter fans and fans of video games to make it worth pumping triple AAA kind of money into a Harry Potter game.

[Wrathbone]

If you don't like it you don't like it, but it's kind of snobbish to take exception with someone who sees quality where you don't.

That's kinda how reviewing stuff works mate. I don't think it's snobbish, just a difference of opinion. When I say they are not great works of fiction I'm not saying they are badly written just that they are often given higher literary praise than I think they deserve.

I think it's the way you phrased it. A difference of opinion is no problem to anyone, but taking exception with someone? That's where it becomes problematic. If you take exception to someone about something it suggests that you don't just feel differently about it, but that you think you're right and they're wrong. Hence, snobbery.

[DjchunKfunK]

If someone is going to put JK Rowling up there with the titans of literature I don't think it's wrong to take exception to that. I'm not saying anyone here is doing that, but I've heard people do it.

[Mantis]

I'd agree with that. Milton, she ain't. But I do see some merit in the argument that her influencing an entire generation of kids to pick up reading makes her something of an all time great; there weren't really many authors having that kind of impact around the time that the first books were being published.