Users of Pottermore can “brew” potions online, like this cure for boils. Pottermore, J.K. Rowling’s newest addition to the Harry Potter franchise, allows users to interact with the Harry Potter world.
– Pottermore
Pottermore, J.K. Rowling’s new site revolving around her successful Harry Potter series, has been creating buzz since its announcement this summer, and for good reason: It is a welcome and long-awaited addition to the Harry Potter franchise for avid fans.
Although the site operated slowly during the first few days of its opening to 1 million early account holders including me, the Beta, the opened-site now, is quite impressive, entertaining and faithful to the books.
The site follows a simple format: after logging in, users are presented with a map of the seven books of the Harry Potter series. Users can follow Harry’s journey throughout the books by clicking through the specific scenes from the series. The scenes are presented in the form of a background, like Hogwarts, or Snape in his dungeon. There are interactive features like extra reading material or objects to collect hidden in the setting.
The first few pages, for example, follow Harry’s journey from Privet Drive to Diagon Alley — from his broom cupboard to his trip to Gringotts.
Once sorted, users can also play games in which they can “duel” with an opponent, practice spells and create intricate potions.
Perhaps most incredible is the interactivity of the site. Not only can additional reading be found sprinkled over the site, but also, Pottermore users can recruit ‘friends’ and earn House points for whichever House they end up in, like they can in Facebook or other social media sites. They are free to comment and watch their friends’ activity in the “Common Room,” similar to the Facebook concept of a wall.
Impeccably detailed, it is obvious that the designers of the site spent many hours making sure to stay true to the Harry Potter books, something very important when it comes to spin-offs of a novel. From Hagrid’s sizzling sausages in the hut he found Harry in, to the winking boaconstrictor to Dumbledore’s deluminator, Harry Potter fans are sure to be delighted with the little details that Pottermore has.
If the goal of Pottermore was to keep people interested in Harry Potter and on the site, it definitely meets its goal. With all the games and options available — at least for the first few times on the site — there will never be a lack of things to explore.
There are a few concerns with the site, however. The amount of traffic it gets (according to Pottermore insider, over 550 million views already) is impressive, and I expect that after the site opens to the general public, the speed will be less of a problem than it was for me. After the first few days of a mass exploration of the site, the speed has gotten considerably better, and the site rarely, if ever, crashes.
However, the interactivity, while fun for avid Potter fans, may pose a problem to some of the older Potter audiences who may find it boring to sit there and “stir” a potion by clicking rapidly on the spoon and then clicking on a wand to wave it.
The graphics, though mostly impressive, can sometimes be childish. I felt almost ridiculous opening my Gringotts account with a golden key.
In addition, Pottermore seems to be heavily geared towards Harry Potter fans — and those who will follow the story in their books while exploring the site. Although the fan base is enormous and the detail is nice for a Harry Potter diehard fan, does it limit their audience for Pottermore? Will non-Potter fans or less avid fans enjoy the site?
Even as a Harry Potter fan, I think that most people who simply enjoy the Potter series will spend limited time on the site. It seems to try so hard to make the experience of Hogwarts “real” that it seems rather childish sometimes — although considering the number of faithful followers of the series, the size of the audience is not going to be a problem.
Despite a few glitches here and there, Pottermore was an amazing site. Harry Potter fans everywhere, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin, will love gaining back the franchise they thought was leaving them forever.