Any Potter fan would expect the answers to two questions before any further discussion of this site: Where were you sorted? And… What wand did you get?
So let's get these out of the way. The wand first (you need a wand before you can be sorted, after all):
My wand is blackthorn and unicorn hair, 10 inches, unyielding. And yes, this means something— there's a test to determine this result, and explanations of wand woods, cores, lengths, and descriptions that can be unlocked. Which brings me to… no, I promised. Questions first; then discussion.
So for the second question— yes, the rumors are true: I was sorted into Slytherin. There's actually quite a long introduction to the common room, which leads me to my first concern: Is it a good idea to have unique content only available to a quarter of the users? Especially if there isn't an equal amount available for each house— and there doesn't seem to be. Steph was sorted into Gryffindor, and her common room intro was short, basic, and gave no information not available in the books. I was sorted into Slytherin, and my intro was long, fascinating, and gave little details
not available in the books. I don't know Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw's intros. Are they as long as Slytherin's, and Gryffindor is just short because readers are already familiar with it? Or do they vary in length?
Another comment on houses: Slytherin has won the first house cup. That's actually part of why I held this review so long, to see how the cup was handled.
Points are awarded for unlocking information, collecting things, winning duels, and successfully brewing potions. Unlocking information and collecting are once-offs; once it's done, it's done. The only way to lose points is to mess up a potion.
Normally, the hourglasses recording house points can be viewed in the great hall at any time— but in the last few days before the cup was awarded, they were hidden.
The reward for winning? Slytherin will be allowed into book 2 early. Yes, I may be gloating a little bit.
Over all, I think it worked pretty well. Hiding the point count was a surprise, but now that I think about it, probably a good idea. Instead of people obsessing over exactly how the other houses were doing, they could simply focus on earning as many points as possible in the remaining time. I haven't dueled anyone, so I couldn't tell you how that works (though spell casting is more difficult than it looks), but I did contribute to the effort with a few potions. At first glance, they appear time-consuming, but they're not really. Spend a couple minutes on one screen, wait half an hour to an hour, then spend a couple minutes on another screen. The countdown can run in the background well you're doing other things, and therefore can actually make a good timer ("I'm allowing myself to goof off for one hour— so I'll start this potion, and then may read a book until I need to finish it, after which I'll go back to work.")
I do have a second concern here, though: collectibles don't regenerate. Neither does the money, and it can't be earned, either. I see the logic behind this: Pottermore is about expanding the book experience, not power-gaming. But what about ten years from now? I have this account, and I'll want to go back to it occasionally, maybe even every time I read the books. So what happens in the long run? What am I supposed to do with the site when I've found every collectible, unlocked all the information, and spent all the money? I can reread the new pieces, sure. But if the site does nothing else, it could be come nothing more than a tedious way of accessing a free encyclopedia. I couldn't even brew potions— not after running out of money to buy ingredients.
Still, who knows? Maybe this will be fixed somewhere down the line. Maybe in later books, I will be able to sell the potions or earn money some other way. Maybe after completing book 7, the whole journey can be reset. We'll have to wait and see.
Now back to what I was going to say about the wand, and could say equally about the sorting: these tests are impressive. They are involved enough that I believe they actually are judging something, but not so obvious that you can equate answers directly with the possible result and cheat. They are multiple choice, but the number of possible answers ranges from 2 to at least 7. There are many questions. And they are not the same questions from one person to the next— again, making it hard to figure out the system and cheat.
Now for the overall: What is Pottermore? Was it a good idea? And is it the start of something new?
What is it?
Well… it's Pottermore. It's certainly unique; it's easier to say what it is not. It is not a social site. It is not an online game. It is not an online book. Pottermore is a framework, a part of something. It is incomplete without the books, but combined with them, it is a fun experience. It's like reading the books with matching ambiance, while the author peaks over your shoulder and occasionally explains details or reminisces about bits that were cut.
Was it a good idea?
Yes. But…
Is it the start of something new?
Probably not. This works because of sheer volume. There are so many books in this created world, so many fans of them, so much that the author wrote and created outside of just what was in the books, so much that was kept secret before the site's opening. It's a perfect storm. So I'm not so sure it's as big for the publishing world as I had hoped it would be.
Still, it's pretty fascinating. I'm a total Potter fan, I admit it.
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Unfortunately,
this does affect publishing.
