Solutions to the Hogwarts Mystery Problem
Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery is something that could’ve been a truly amazing piece of entertainment for every potterhead and while it can be enjoyable, it’s simply not what it could be. It’s free to play model is ultimately it’s downfall.
Now I’m not saying that it’s something unplayable and that it doesn’t get anything right; the story it gives along with a player created character is truly something we’ve all been wanting. However, when all you do is tap on outlined objects and then wait while your energy recharges-the magic is lost all too quickly.
More recently, the new dueling club stacks against the player horrendously with opponents able to two hit the player while the player themselves at best can do little less than a fourth of the health bar’s worth of damage. On top of that, it’s in a modified form of Rock Paper Scissors which against an ai, is a game of pure luck. Then it holds the game mechanic of dueling hostage for more gems-a currency hard to come across and for a hefty amount no less.
For those of us that stayed (including myself), it’s only for the story and our love for the individual characters. The game could be so much better and we all want that. Perhaps some general ideas of what could be a better game would be helpful in some way.
Idea 1: Keep the Story, revise the mechanics
Keep the story of Jacob’s sibling intact and the general events that happen
But then make a life is strange esque episodic like series
It doesn’t have to be 5 episodes a season (it can be more or less) but each season is a year.
This enables those that can’t buy 59.99 games on cue to save up between seasons and the seasons themselves will cost less (eliminating the shut out of those lacking funds and the need for microtransactions)
Keep character creation of course since we all love that
Perhaps draw out sequences like the wand choosing and have the player actually choose each wand they pick up before finally getting the wand they want (therefore not everyone sees the same wand texture)
Make choices more varied and based on actual player choice as opposed to skill checks. After all, it’s hard to reflect your personality when it’s locked behind hours of grinding
Your choices more visibly shape your friendships, if you want to be an absolute ass and join Merula as one of her new lackeys or equal then you can
Your actions aren’t railroaded and making the wrong choice can actually get you to lose house points and not find vaults
On the subject of house points, make it so that while the player can ultimately decide whether or not their house wins through choices; make it so that they can very easily screw that up or even have other characters earn house points through cause and effect
Ditch the rock paper scissors dueling aspect and have players be able to choose when they want to cast what spell. On top of that, have unofficial-against-the-rules dueling be dirty. Let the characters bob and weave and use cover. Use utility spells to move parts of the environment and get the upper hand. But when the dueling club starts make sure your spells are precise yet quick and don’t you dare try anything unorthodox unless you want to lose house points
In small details like whether or not the MC’s parents were both wizards or what their boggart looked like maybe do a personality quiz in the beginning of the game to try and make it more personal.
Have classes be there but don’t make the player have to dread going to them. Either make them engaging and fun or simply gloss over them or use them as a tutorial
An idea for an engaging class would be to actually have to listen to what a teacher is saying and then perform the task! For example in potions listen to Snape’s instructions and god help you if you screw up and cause a cauldron to break!
Let the player explore the castle in perhaps an offtime portion of each episode. Fill it chock full of secrets and at the end of each season let the player go back and explore the castle!
When episodes end have the player fill out a questionnaire that asks them important questions about the game and use that feedback from their answers to improve on later seasons
Feel free to add on to this or give feed back! I will post more ideas later but at the time of writing it is late and I am tired
Part 2