kotaku.com
Warner Bros.’ large Harry Potter the game is just around the corner and it’s keep looking very weird in some very specific ways. According to a new developer interview, Hogwarts Legacy won’t judge you if you want to commit crimes, whether it’s blowing people up or becoming full-fledged Voldemort and unleashing a host of unforgivable curses.
A bunch of previews of the game were released today ahead of its February 10 launch, and one more to game radar discussed at length the amorality of the game. Editor Sam Loveridge described a section of the game where you can choose to take on dragon poachers via stealth or direct attack, one in which she accidentally threw an explosive barrel into the enemy camp, blowing them up with a nearby bridge. . However, this conventional “play it your way” approach will apparently have little effect.
“It was important to us to give players who were looking to become a dark witch or wizard the opportunity to do so,” lead designer Kelly Murphy said. Told game radar. “It’s the ultimate embodiment of role-playing; allowing the player to be bad. Also, it was important because it comes from a place of non-judgment from the creators of the game. If you want to be mean, be mean.
This even extends to the game’s unforgivable curses, which, in the strict moral system of the game, Harry Potter the books warrant life sentences. On the rare occasions the titular hero uses them, it’s usually portrayed as a last resort and a violation of ethical boundaries. It was apparently too puritanical to Hogwarts Legacy.
“Characters will visually and audibly react to seeing the player throw an unforgivable, but we don’t have a morality system that punishes them for that – that would be too critical of the game creator,” Murphy said. game radar. “But, if the player continues these actions, the world will reflect the knowledge.”
I’ll be the first to admit that rote morality meters in games can be unimaginative and a real drag. But having clear consequences for the choices you make, like blowing up poachers or assassinating a goblin, seems like the bare minimum for a player fantasy centered around attending a school to become a powerful wizard.
It’s also hard not to see parallels between the game’s stated lack of judgment and the biggest controversy surroundings Hogwarts Legacythe link with transphobic author JK Rowling. Like many others who are crying wolf about cancel culture, she embodies the contradiction of someone who wants to promote shitty viewpoints while facing no consequences for them.
Publisher Warner Bros. and studio Avalanche Software attempted to to get some distance ethical debate around buying or boycotting the game. Looks like the cowardice could trickle down to Hogwarts Legacy‘s world building too. We’ll know better when the game finally releases in a few weeks.