Read, play, and gain new insight into the world of Harry Potter with Pottermore
Shortly after Pottermore was unveiled, a scavenger hunt for early access commenced, giving 1 million lucky fans the chance to experience the magic weeks before the October launch. A million is a very small number considering the last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sold 8.9 million copies in the United States within 24 hours of release.
If you weren't lucky enough to snag a Pottermore beta account, no need to consult Professor Trelawney's tea leaves to know what it's all about. Hop on the Tecca train in our very own Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and let us take you on a tour of J.K. Rowling's newest project.
Pottermore
Pottermore, the online reading companion
When the first clues to Pottermore appeared online, speculation popped up regarding the site's nature. Was it going to be a social networking hub for Potter fans, a Potter gaming portal, or a platform to sell Harry Potter ebooks? Turns out Pottermore is all of the above. But right now, it's an online reading companion to the books more than anything.
Potteroore
Magical Pottermore moments
The idea is for all seven books to have online versions you can explore, although only the first book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) is available right now. Pottermore doesn't have the books' complete texts, though. Instead, chapters are divided into "moments," vignettes representing the story's highlights. Each moment comes replete with an artwork and a sidebar menu containing links to info on the characters, places, objects, creatures, and (once you get to the part wherein Harry gets into Hogwarts) school textbooks present in each scene.
Zoom in and out of the interactive artwork to find objects you can use for games (more on this later!) or send to friends. Some hidden nuggets even unlock exclusive content only found on the website. Unfortunately, we think the experience could be a lot more interactive. We would have liked to cast Wingardium Leviosa to levitate the club that knocks down the troll in the toilet, or to play the wooden flute that lulls Fluffy to sleep when the trio gets to the third-floor corridor. The addition of sound effects and background music could also add another layer to the experience, enriching it even further.
PottermoreNew content from J.K. Rowling
Most of Pottermore's content can be found in the books, and those who've read them a million times might get bored halfway through. But it's worth finding clues in the images and going through each chapter, if only to Alohomora your way into locked exclusive content.
This "New from J.K. Rowling" content is marked with red quills on the menu. It provides you with detailed explanations of how Rowling came up with the ideas that she did, as well as extensive background stories of secondary characters like Professor McGonagall. The exclusive content is a joy to read and are a form of legilimency in their own right, taking us even deeper into the author's mind.
But as only one book is available right now, the amount of exclusive information available is smaller than we'd like. Getting more backstories on the other characters we've come to love as much as the main protagonists (and antagonists) is ideal. But the inclusion of character backgrounds in the first place raises the question: Does Pottermore take the place of the Harry Potter Encyclopedia that Rowling says will contain previously unpublished material? Maybe, maybe not. All we know is that we consider Pottermore's exclusive content the biggest reason to join the site, and we want more.
PottermoreHogwarts, Hogwarts, hoggy warty Hogwarts
Pottermore is like a portkey that transports you straight into Harry's universe. You go through the book as if you were a part of the story, including getting your own wand and getting sorted into one of the four houses! A shame there's no real Ollivander to find your perfect wand for you or that you can't actually sit on a stool in the Great Hall and jam the Sorting Hat on your head.
Instead, you're asked a series of questions on both occasions to determine what kind of wand you get and what house you belong to. Once sorted, you can start earning house points as you progress through the story and as you play games — a great feature, as it fosters team spirit and friendly competition. You can find the current house points in Pottermore's Great Hall.
Staying true to the events in the book, you can buy a lot of other things in Diagon Alley besides your wand. One of which is a pet — choose from owls, cats, and toads — that becomes your avatar in-game.
PottermoreBrew potions and duel other players
When it comes to gaming, Pottermore has very little to offer. The beta version of the site launched with only two games — potions and spells. Spells is a typing and coordination game that prompts you to hit certain letters within a magic spell at the same time an onscreen indicator reaches them. The game is designed with a feature that lets you challenge other students to a duel (Gilderoy Lockhart approves!). With Potions, you get to make your own brews with ingredients you buy from Diagon Alley and objects you pick up from each moment.
Unfortunately, both games are faulty. Duels have been unavailable for quite some time now, while potion-making is extremely buggy. According to the Pottermore Insider blog, dueling will be reinstated in the future after a few tweaks. On the other hand, potion-making works — it's just riddled with issues that render it unplayable at times. Considering Pottermore only has one book available for perusal, games could be the key to people revisiting the website. We can only hope the Pottermore staff gets them up and running in time for public launch.
Hanging out in common rooms
Yes, Pottermore is a social network, but it's an extremely limited one in part due to Harry Potter's younger fan base. If you're a parent, rest assured that Pottermore collects very little information about your child, as specified on the site's child safety policy. And if you're a potential user, know that even if you can add people to your friends' list, you can't send them private messages (regardless of your age). You won't even get to choose your own username — the website chooses a handle for everyone, and that's all other players can see.
Pottermore's social networking aspect is confined to comment areas. You can leave some on your house's common room or on every page containing information from each chapter. You can even upload your own fan art relevant to the page.
Pottermore
Public launch in October
Pottermore's beta launch hasn't been a smooth one. A lot of people are still waiting for their welcome emails even though they registered on the first day of the scavenger hunt. The site loads quite slowly at times, posing problems for members with slow internet connections. That there's only a single book on board (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets will be available in early 2012) and that the games are not working mean revisit value is just a step above Moaning Myrtle's toilet right now.
But do we think it's worth jumping into Pottermore once the site opens in October? Definitely. Pottermore's exclusive content makes up for its drawbacks. Besides, the staff might be able to fix things prior to public launch in the same way Filch fixes things Peeves breaks. If all the problems we mentioned still persist by the time the site launches, you can always set your account aside until the second book gets added. We believe that with more exclusive content and working, playable games, Pottermore can enchant like a dancing veela in a good mood.
[Image credit: Pottermore]
Article by Mariella Moon
This article originally appeared on Tecca
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