With its excellent Remote controls, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix was the first good console game starring the boy wizard. With spells being cast by flicking of the Wii controller, it really felt like you had magic running through your hands.
So, for the first time, we're actually really looking forward to the release of a new Harry Potter game. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince will be released on Wii before Christmas and to find out a bit more about the game, we chatted to Jonathan Bunney, executive producer at EA Bright Light Studio.
ONM: What makes this game different to last year's instalment? Jonathan Bunney: We've really focused on capturing all the important story points of the movie and turned them into great, fun gameplay: mixing bubbling potions, casting spectacular spells in wizard duels and, for the first time in five years of Harry Potter games, we're putting Harry back in his Quidditch robes. We also have two-player games that you can play from the main menu.
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ONM: Is it difficult working on the game of a movie that isn't out until the end of the year? JB: It's a real pleasure working with the movie makers. The game and movie studios are only about an hour apart, so over six movies we've built a great relationship of trust and respect. Every couple of weeks there's someone from the game team on the movie set, taking photos, discussing changes, reviewing costumes and visual effects.
The game allows you the complete freedom of Hogwarts. How was this handled? JB: We built the castle based on the movie blueprints and the filmmakers' exterior miniature. But we also went through all the films, scene by scene, and took note of any corridors or staircases that connected to obvious locations like the Great Hall, the Grand Staircase and the classrooms. Finally, we spent hours poring over the books and the notes we have from JK Rowling herself to ensure that the locations were fictionally accurate. It's a labour of love!
ONM: How many of the voices in the game are those of the real actors in the movie? JB: We've had a constant flow of actors in the studio over the last few weeks, including favourites like Ron Weasley and Luna Lovegood, as well as many of the new characters that are unique to this movie, such as Lavender Brown.
ONM: Half-Blood Prince is more linear than the last game. What was the thinking behind this? JB: The story is really cool and so we wanted to make sure we could tell it well, which is impossible if you can do any task in any order. It also allows us to change the time of day in the castle as you progress, so you can experience the world's most magical school in the morning, noon, sunset and night. The castle is still an 'open world'. If you want to go and explore, you can, including visiting many of the school clubs where you can practice duelling, potion making and Quidditch.
