The Harry Potter MMO, or Lack Thereof

Originally, I was going to do a post today about new class ideas. But, after reading this article over on Massively, decided the Harry Potter mmo discussion was much more pertinent.

I understand that this property has probably been discussed endless times on blogs already. However, I feel the need to weigh in, given the fact that: THIS IS BULLSHIT.

Before I start in on my little shit storm, let me just say that, yes, I did attempt to read Twilight. But, it was apparent to me very quickly that hypersexualized tween stories about vampires were just not my thing; at least not after reading much higher quality vampire novels.

So, why is Twilight being made into a game and Harry Potter not? Nobody asked for a Twilight mmo! Most teens who read crap like Twilight don't play video games and those that do are perfectly happy playing Wii Sports and probably have no clue as to what an mmo is*. On the other hand, fans have been hoping and speculating for a while now on whether an mmo would ever be set in the realm of our favorite evil-vanquishing boy-wizard. Whoever the complete dumb ass (Mrs. Rowling excluded) is that decided to sit on this property and not develop it into what would almost certainly be a massive hit should be shot, several times.

After recently seeing this sixth movie and subsequently deciding to re-read the series from book two, a near endless stream of ideas has come into my head regarding what could be done with this mmo. A few are as follows:

• Set it during the first wizard war before Harry was born in order to create factions.
• If Rowling has direct input in the storyline, this setting would allow her to flesh out the back story without requiring her to write any more books, which she has more or less made clear she probably will not do.
• The inevitable expansions could be based around expanding out of England to the major battles that were hinted at all over the world.
  
• Start all characters at Hogwarts and by level 10 allow them to decide to become Death Eaters or part of the Order of the Phoenix.
• For all those bitching about class systems, it wouldn't even have to be class based...because everyone is a wizard! Make it skill based and allow players to specialized in different types of magic. Ex: herbology = healers, defense against the dark arts/dark arts = tank, care of magical creatures = pet style tank/dps, charms = dps, potions = support/buffs/healing?
  

Now, I am not advocating that a game with a fan base of this size and dedication be rushed to release, just to appease drooling idiots like myself. There is one very good example of a large franchise turned into a lackluster mmo. If they are going to do Harry Potter, I think everyone will agree, they need to do it right or not at all. Despite my disdain that was the impetus for this blog, I would also say that a game based on Twilight should be done well or not at all, too. All dedicated fans expect and deserve quality.

So, when we're done adapting games that no one actually asked for, can someone please get to work on our beloved Harry Potter?

-Max

*I didn't have time to talk to her before writing this, but I will send a message to a friend of mine who is Twilight's target audience and get her expert opinion on this matter.