Recently, footage of a Harry Potter RPG was leaked online. Although there is huge potential for a contemporary game based on Rowling’s classic series to be fantastic, there are certain things that need to be executed well in order for it to be a worthwhile RPG. By this, I mean that in order to make a game that emphatically encourages role-playing, certain mechanics and narrative devices must be set in place; in particular, the following five things need to be addressed and implemented in order for the game to succeed as both a Harry Potter game and a role-playing game.
The Harry Potter RPG that is apparently in development is still shrouded in mystery, but if it can successfully implement the five things mentioned above, it could potentially excel as a game that is both true to its source material and good in its own right. An RPG in the Harry Potter world sounds fantastic, but making it a game with a role worth playing is easier said than done; easier said than done, but very much possible if the right things get the attention they deserve.
Essential Reading:
- Books We Can Play: Railsea by China Miéville
- What Red Dead Didn’t Do As Well As The Witcher 3
- When a Game’s Schtick Doesn’t Stick the Landing – The Quiet Man
5 Things a Harry Potter RPG Needs
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Spells as Builds
Most RPGs allow players to earn skill points through experience, be it from fighting or completing quests. These skill points can then be used in order to unlock unique abilities, some of which are general and some of which are tied to specific playstyles. For instance, BioWare's Dragon Age: Inquisition allows players to commit to a style from Level 10 onward, such as "Tempest" or "Champion." These styles each have their own unique skill trees, meaning that the player can commit to a certain role to emphatically play.
In relation to Harry Potter, skills such as lockpicking (using Alohamora) should be bunched together under an intellectual overhead, creating a playstyle that resembles Hermione's character in the novels and films. By the same logic, brute strength using spells such as Expelliarmus and even spells from the Dark Arts could be tied to a style resembling Durmstrang's Viktor Krum. It would be far better to have skills tied to styles than to afford the player access to all kinds of spells early on; those who like intuitive, stealth-based playthroughs can pour points into Charms, whereas those who prefer to wreak havoc can spend time working on their Defense Against the Dark Arts spells.
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Wand Selection
Often, games will allow the player to choose a background. In Dark Souls, players can opt to play as a Knight; in Mass Effect, players can choose "War Hero" as their background prior to the games. The player's choice affects their predisposition towards certain skills, allowing them to employ an early advantage in the game.
Everyone who knows anything about Harry Potter knows that in Ollivander's, the wand chooses its owner. By slightly altering this and allowing the player to make the choice as to which wand chooses their character, the groundwork for a build can be set in place right near the beginning of the game. It would also make sense to allow players to upgrade their wand, further enhancing the abilities it affords its user. Obviously the Elder Wand should feature as a late-game item, allowing the player to wield the most powerful wand in the world; however, until then, players can make use of different wands that offer different enhancements. In the novels, there are several occasions that a witch or wizard must use a wand that is not their own. Therefore, it is not strictly necessary that a player only uses their starting wand. Perhaps another wand-maker can offer them something better along the way, or perhaps a powerful enemy could drop something that aligns with the direction in which the player-character has taken. Either way, wands need to offer specific abilities based on what they're made of, and these abilities should enhance certain stats and decrease other ones, allowing for greater build variety and offering serious potential for online PvP to be successfully implemented into the game.
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Fast Travel Explanation
Earlier this week, I wrote about Red Dead Redemption 2 in relation to the fact that NPCs will offer the player directions, meaning that the HUD can be disabled, allowing for a more traditional RPG experience. In Harry Potter, though, fast-travel exists.
Disapparation only works when the witch or wizard using it can clearly visualize where they intend to go. Therefore, it would make sense for players to be able to fast-travel areas they have already been to. Interestingly, Harry & co. often disapparate from right in the thick of a heated confrontation. Perhaps the best way for a Harry Potter game to replicate this would be to employ either a turn-based, or a Dragon Age-esque strategic combat system, as this could hypothetically allow for the player and their team to group up and disapparate. However, this can only work if the entire party can literally link hands, as leaving one person behind would mean certain capture, or even death. Disapparation often goes wrong, so there could be a mechanic set in place to regulate this out-of-combat travel; if the button sequence tied to successful orchestration misses, then the player will be transported to a random location, where they will be forced to fight a random encounter, incapable of fast-travelling until they manage to defeat the enemies surrounding them. This means that disapparation is risky, as opposed to being a foolproof soft-reset that allows a player to escape an almost lost fight unscathed. There is room to really place fast-travel front and center in terms of innovative mechanics here, as opposed to pressing start, clicking X, and ending up halfway across a 300km map in seven seconds.
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Detached Setting
Although it would make sense for established characters to appear, the role-playing aspect of the game would suffer if the setting were to be made too similar to that of the novels and films. If this game is to take place during the Triwizard Tournament that Harry enters in The Goblet of Fire, then the player should be playing as a predetermined character from the series, if not Harry himself. Watching from the stands with no established narrative to support intervention would not yield a particularly riveting gaming experience.
If the game seeks to truly operate as an RPG, then the player should be able to create their own character from scratch. This means that it should either be a prequel or a sequel to the mainline titles, lest the narrative and the fates of all the major characters already be known. Fans of the series will know what happens at the end of The Deathly Hallows, so they won't fear for characters that they know survive, and they won't opt to save characters that they know will inevitably die.
While it's important to include Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, The Burrow, Godric's Hollow, and many more infamous locations from the series, it's also important to make sure that the stories tied to them are fresh. Therefore, the game can be set in the same places that the novels established, yet the time should not align with that of the mainline plot. It is of course possible to make a fantastic game that does retell the story of Harry Potter, but it would be a linear narrative. True, it could offer tons of side quests, lots of unique abilities, and myriad extra tidbits of lore; however, choices would be meaningless, directly influencing the significance attached to the player-character's role.
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Make Use of Lore
While it's important to retain the settings of Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, it's equally important to feature timeless characters such as Moaning Myrtle, Hagrid, and many more. These characters could serve as companions, or offer unique side quests that the player can undertake.
By the same logic, everything from The Whomping Willow to The Forbidden Forest could have its own unique significance in this iteration of Harry Potter. In particular, the ambiguity of The Forbidden Forest could allow developers to really capitalize on lore-building. There is very little known about The Forbidden Forest, so it could potentially be a high-level area reserved for late-game play, or an area that is tied to a specific questline that features more mature themes of horror and violence. This game has the opportunity to expand on the esoteric aspects of Harry Potter, allowing it to forego rewriting for the sake of actual writing.
