A World of the Familiar

[scifi129]

Ryan attests that "the appeal of the Harry Potter video games resides as much, if not more, in finding oneself in a favorite fictional world with beloved characters and familiar activities, such as Quidditch matches, as in solving the particular problems presented by the game.... computer games are an art of compromise between narrative and

Comments

[caronbot]

We have no story in this preview, it isn't a narrative, it isn't even a game. It's just a long description.

Although, the game itself I'm willing to bet has some semblance of a plot to it, but like several of our authors said, that plot will be nothing but an undeveloped hook to draw the audience. This game seems far more akin to the games Aarseth described in telling why games are older than stories, then the computer games that one could analyze narratologically and actually have something to say.

-Matt

Games as adaptations

[scifi129]

If Harry Potter games and others based on films and books are considered perhaps adaptations, then could they still be narrative adaptations as well, having their own narrative slightly different from the original form? I agree that the Quidditch Game builds on a familiar setting, characters, and that in the preview, the audience must adapt the narrative of the books or film to make sense of what the preview shows- without knowledge of the Harry Potter story, would the preview make much sense at all? It's all images, descriptions and while there is action, is becomes hingent on the formation of the Harry Potter world from the books and films.

-Liz

[digital_liz]

I don't think the Quidditch game is as good an example of the familiar narrative as the actual Harry Potter games, where you are Harry and Company, acting out (to some degree) the events of the novel. The Quidditch game is more like Ryan's sports events. You can make a narrative out of it, "Oh, Harry's chasing the Snitch, he's diving, he's caught it!" but I don't think it operates on the same narrative structure as the Official Game, because the Quidditch Game is more ludic and the Official Game is (to whatever extent) more mimetic.