Pottermore is a Harry Potter on-line “reading experience” that was supposed to open to all this November. It is being beta tested by a million people who did some sort of quest to become a tester. In response to this beta test, the grand opening has been pushed back indefinitely.
Now I’m dying to know what exactly goes on at Pottermore. Surely we have Doper beta testers. What was the quest, exactly and what goes on once you sign in?
Ya know, I’m not sure it’s a game. Perhaps I shoulda put this in Cafe Society. Oh well.
I just popped in to say thank you for reminding me about this, I had completely forgotten about the Pottermore project. But otherwise I can’t help you, I wasn’t a beta tester.
It is very cool and very well done. The extra information (McGonagle’s backstory among others) really explain a lot about character that we saw in the books. The artwork is all done in a style that is beautiful but doesn’t put a face on any of the major characters (lots of back shots) so it allows the reader to maintain their own imaginations for what people and places actually look like.
Right now it is only book 1 and book 2 doesn’t come until after christmas. It will
The games are too difficult for anyone under the age of ten though. And I don’t think they are particularly fun after the first play of them- I think they would be very fun iPhone/tactile games but too hard to hit the correct spots and motions with a mouse.
I’d say it would take an adult about 2 hours to complete Book 1 and all of the current content.
So it is definitely something to check out and you will enjoy it, but it won’t be a massive time sync by any stretch of the imagination.
A bit more about what goes on:
Each chapter of the book is broken down into three scenes. In each scene there are items to find (some of which appear to be necessary for potion making/task doing in later books and others are chocolate frog cards or fun magical items mentioned in the books like the rememberall).
During scenes as you meet people, you can click on them to get a fairly detailed backstory (various teachers or shopkeepers). Or when you get to a new location you get a history of it (Platform 9 and 3/4). There are some games interspersed (a couple of potions to mix- measuring, addition, mixing in specific order or wand magic- swirling and spelling) but I don’t think they add much. The Sorting Hat ceremony is a lot of fun and they really make it incredibly formal feeling process and welcome ceremony to your new house. The colors of Pottermore and Hogwarts change to your house colors- the 4 family members playing are all in the different houses- we really expected the kids to be disappointed with their assignments to Hufflepuff and Slytherin, but the ceremony and the backstory on their houses from an in house perspective really spin Hogwarts differently and both are dedicated to their houses now in their own room decorations and artwork. I would really like to see how the houses are used in later books.