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Thread: Hogwarts Legacy

  1. - Top - End - #91
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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Quote Originally Posted by Rynjin View Post
    Edit: I wasn't initially going to touch this part, but I feel it would be a bit unfair not to.

    The point is not "if you read into subtext, you are [Bad Thing You're reading Into]", the point is that in a lot of cases people are less reading into things and more manufacturing reasons to be upset. And when it comes to free-associating physical characteristics and perceived cultural stereotypes with a fantastical ethnic group that doesn't fit the group you're trying to connect them with as clearly as you think they do...eh, it starts to make me wonder what's actually going on inside some peoples' heads.

    I'm not saying you, specifically are [Negative Thing], but I do think that the people who initially whipped up this particular subset of the frenzy very well might be, the same as the orc "controversy" was, and people lacking context, and already inclined to think negatively about the property due to more valid reasons, are getting caught up in it. it's kind of the double edged sword of trying to boycott a product and also argue details about it at the same time. You, uh, don't actually know the details, because you're boycotting it.
    Much like the orc controversy, I cannot properly convey why I disagree with your statement.

    Regardless, washing my hands of this {Scrubbed} conversation.
    Last edited by truemane; 2023-02-17 at 11:01 AM.

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    What's the origin of the house elves? I get the impression they have been magically made into servants/slaves of wizards -- which implies they've either been conjured , or they've been modified from an existing ordinary creature , the way domestic dogs are made from wolves.

    This reminds me of our conversation in Media about the Han Solo adventures where we debate just what "freedom" and "free will" mean to a droid, given their ethical choice not to harm humans (for example) is not necessarily something they've arrived at by their own reasoning, but is imposed by external programming. Change the programming, they'll become homicidal without blinking an eye.

    So House elves "like" being slaves. Why, exactly? Because they've been magicked into thinking that way? If so, can we un-magick them without destroying the creatures they are today?

    If a house-elf were to refuse such un-magicking, can we truly say they are doing so out of their own free will?

    The one thing I'm sure of is that whatever wizard or witch thought it was a good idea to create a literal slave race was probably a Slytherin and certainly a villain.

    ETA: Then again, now that I've written this -- maybe the house elves were created in a time when human slavery was still practiced, and this was done to allow human slaves to be freed? I can well imagine some well-intentioned person creating a slave race so that human slavery could become a thing of the past -- but that's the nature of history. If you wait long enough everyone's a villain.

    But now that the fact exists, what is to be done about it? You can't just set them free; they don't understand what it means and they aren't prepared (yet) for a free society.

    If they were some other creature magicked into being house elves, the answer seems to be to reverse that magic and revert them to their natural state, whatever that is. But is that 'better'? What if the original version wasn't intelligent? Would the house elves thank you if giving them freedom also meant taking away their minds?

    And when the house-elves say they like being happy, is that really how they feel or are they just saying that because they know from bitter experience that their current state is infinitely preferable to the "help" of do-gooder teenage wizards and witches? Back in the 19th century it was common for certain groups of slaves to pretend happiness and contentment with their lot, and the 'happy slave' was a music hall trope. But it was an act, brought about by the fact that really being honest about feelings would have done them no good at all, once the do-gooders go away and the owners once again have absolute reign over anyone so foolish as to tell the unvarnished truth.

    ...

    if it were me, the first thing to do would be to talk to some already-freed house-elves. They exist. Then discuss how we would go about educating and preparing the large number of still-enslaved for transition to life as free, independent beings. It's going to be the work of a lifetime. Of several lifetimes, to bring about a state where house-elves are both free and reasonably happy in that state.

    I actually was pretty angry at Hermione in that novel. First, because she went on her crusade without any concern for the lives of the elves once freed, and attempted to so radically change their situation without preparing any kind of transition or soft landing for them. Then, by the next book, she seems to have completely forgotten about the whole thing. As if, because her initial chidish steps were misguided she's unprepared to make the effort to get educated and become really effective as an advocate and an activist; instead she's just going to slot seamlessly into her post-Hogwarts life as an Aurore and for the most part leave the wizarding world's approach to house-elves unchallenged.

    I'm given to understand that she still worked on the matter, but I haven't really seen anything to that effect in the text, almost the author writing an excuse for her characters.

    But then, perhaps we're expecting too much, both of the books and of the movies. JK Rowling, bless her heart, was neither a deep thinker nor highly educated when she wrote those books. They struck a chord with a generation of young people -- but maybe it's well past time for those young people to re-think the assumptions from the books, decades on.

    Me? I didn't encounter the books until I was an adult and my convictions were already formed, so not the same issue.

    Respectfully,

    Brian P.
    Last edited by pendell; 2023-02-14 at 03:47 PM.
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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Quote Originally Posted by pendell View Post
    I actually was pretty angry at Hermione in that novel. First, because she went on her crusade without any concern for the lives of the elves once freed, and attempted to so radically change their situation without preparing any kind of transition or soft landing for them. Then, by the next book, she seems to have completely forgotten about the whole thing. As if, because her initial chidish steps were misguided she's unprepared to make the effort to get educated and become really effective as an advocate and an activist; instead she's just going to slot seamlessly into her post-Hogwarts life as an Aurore and for the most part leave the wizarding world's approach to house-elves unchallenged.

    I'm given to understand that she still worked on the matter, but I haven't really seen anything to that effect in the text, almost the author writing an excuse for her characters.

    But then, perhaps we're expecting too much, both of the books and of the movies. JK Rowling, bless her heart, was neither a deep thinker nor highly educated when she wrote those books. They struck a chord with a generation of young people -- but maybe it's well past time for those young people to re-think the assumptions from the books, decades on.

    Me? I didn't encounter the books until I was an adult and my convictions were already formed, so not the same issue.

    Respectfully,

    Brian P.
    I mean, she was a literal child. Or a teenager, which can be called a child with attitude. Her being childish and her help causing more harm than help is pretty common for teenagers finding a cause for the first time and trying to tackle it on their own.

    Anyways the books in general fall apart as they get into the last novels. As children's novels Harry Potter works fine. But as you try and take it more seriously, it starts to fall apart hard.
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    So, I feel I should preface this by saying I've only ever interacted with the original HP-novels (not including whatever that 8th one is called) and the bare surface of the "wizarding world" before deciding the latter was a dumpy worldbuilding nightmare. Thus, my arguments are only concerning said novels.

    Quote Originally Posted by Forum Explorer View Post
    Anyways the books in general fall apart as they get into the last novels. As children's novels Harry Potter works fine. But as you try and take it more seriously, it starts to fall apart hard.
    This, combined with "tone-deafness isn't necessarily deliberate maliciousness" is why I tend to disagree with people saying she's a bad writer. Some of her personal views are.... divisive, to put it politely and forum-friendly, but her actual writing in HP is generally about as good as it has to be for the target audience of the novels. Elements like e.g. the House-Elves show some pretty notable tone-deafness on her part, and the worldbuilding falls apart once you start picking at it, but it fulfills the function it has to: allowing you to immerse yourself in the magical castle-school as a kid/young teen and letting your youthful suspension of disbelief take care of the rest. It's also why I think it falls apart more towards the later novels: they "grew with their audience", but her writing skills weren't quite growing along.

    tl;dr From what I know of her viewpoints (again, won't discuss them), there's plenty of real complaints to make about Rowling without analyzing a series of children's novels as if they were mature fantasy works, rather than kid-focused British boarding school fiction in a thin fantasy jacket.

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    Seems like a dubious take.

    It's especially odd when you have to start by blaming the teenage girl for not ending institutionalised slavery singlehanded while at school, and then you have to assume the author is lying when she says the character returned to the matter later in life when she could actually achieve meaningful change. It's very easy to be a critic when you can make random assumptions and then when the creator contradicts them you can assume they are lying. That's great, because it means there are no conditions where you might have to think you might be wrong.

    House elves as an institution are not portrayed positively in the books. Harry is universally disturbed by the compulsion to punish themselves and goes out of his way to free Dobby from an abusive master. But Rowling is mature enough to realise that making a fundamental difference is a long term game.

    It's a weird thing with fantasy authors, if there is a social issue that isn't resolved by the end of the text readers tend to assume that the author approves of it. There is no reason to think that, it's a more mature take than trying to downplay massive societal issues by giving them easy answers and wrapping them up by the end of the story, thereby downplaying how difficult it is to actually resolve said issues.

    It's the epitome of that quote about making assumptions that don't fit the text and then complaining when they are not met.

    Anyway, I Youtubed a couple of hours of the game, so far it seems okay but nothing special. Voice acting not great, lead is generic, vaguely interested in the plot now, not sure If I will get it or not as of yet. Seems kind of like rings of power, where the conversation about it is so loud that the only way to get a fair perspective is to get the damned thing. Still don't know, though.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sapphire Guard View Post
    Anyway, I Youtubed a couple of hours of the game, so far it seems okay but nothing special. Voice acting not great, lead is generic, vaguely interested in the plot now, not sure If I will get it or not as of yet. Seems kind of like rings of power, where the conversation about it is so loud that the only way to get a fair perspective is to get the damned thing. Still don't know, though.
    I don't think it's a fun or interesting game to watch, especially since so much of it is just solving tiny puzzles or tasks as you run around. Weirdly enough though, I find it a lot of fun to actively play. I completely get the reviews where the author lists a bunch of small defects but still gives it a 9/10. Each time I fire it up, I'm thoroughly engaged. Watching someone solve a math puzzle then chase a flying key then levitate a statue to get a book page then sneak up on an eyeball chest is probably dull as heck.

    But it'll still be the same game when it's $30 or $15 and, even if you know the story twists, the story isn't really what makes it good anyway.
    Last edited by Jophiel; 2023-02-14 at 06:39 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jophiel View Post
    I don't think it's a fun or interesting game to watch, especially since so much of it is just solving tiny puzzles or tasks as you run around. Weirdly enough though, I find it a lot of fun to actively play. I completely get the reviews where the author lists a bunch of small defects but still gives it a 9/10. Each time I fire it up, I'm thoroughly engaged. Watching someone solve a math puzzle then chase a flying key then levitate a statue to get a book page then sneak up on an eyeball chest is probably dull as heck.

    But it'll still be the same game when it's $30 or $15 and, even if you know the story twists, the story isn't really what makes it good anyway.
    Yeah, I think this would be unusually boring to watch (though I can't say I find most games any fun to watch, that's just a bad movie with way too many repetitive fights) because the general gameplay is very low key. But it is extremely satisfying and engaging, I think because while it's very much a collect-a-thon, the actual collecting requires a bit more input and effort than usual. Except for crafting mats, everything requires a specific spell or observation or solving a problem or some combination of those. It's quite excellent.

    As it stands now, this is going to be a serious GoTY contender for me. The only things on my horizon that really threaten it are Age of Wonders 4 and Company of Heroes 3, which are so completely different I'm not even sure how to compare them. In terms of third person action games I don't see anything coming up that's gonna rival it. The world is fabulous, the combat is quite good, and while the story isn't great on its own, it's a very good videogame story,l. By that I mean it provides pretty reasonable explanations and motivations for going and doing videogame stuff, has decently engaging characters, and doesn't get in the way or make you think the game director really really wanted to be a movie director.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sapphire Guard View Post
    Seems like a dubious take.

    It's especially odd when you have to start by blaming the teenage girl for not ending institutionalised slavery singlehanded while at school, and then you have to assume the author is lying when she says the character returned to the matter later in life when she could actually achieve meaningful change. It's very easy to be a critic when you can make random assumptions and then when the creator contradicts them you can assume they are lying. That's great, because it means there are no conditions where you might have to think you might be wrong.
    I'm going off of what's written in the text itself, both here and in Cursed Child; which is, after the end of the novel it's never mentioned ever again, either in there or in the succeeding works. That puts it pretty clearly in "teenage phase" category, so far as I'm concerned.

    Of course I don't expect a teenage girl to overthrow an institution that has existed for centuries even if that's what Dumbledore's army actually did in books 6 and 7, taking on both Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and the ministry of magic and winning.

    The sole evidence I have to the contrary is one line in the wiki


    Later in life, Hermione would advance the rights of house-elves in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, before transferring to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
    So that appears to be it. She put some effort in, then moved on to more important things as far as she's concerned. Still looks like "youthful phase" rather than "serious advocate" to me.

    Respectfully,

    Brian P.
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    Had a perfectly excellent pre-work play at this today. Only after my hour was up did I realize that I didn't get in a single fight. It wasn't all cutscenes either, I was actively playing the game and doing stuff, just not combat stuff. That's really cool.


    Quote Originally Posted by pendell View Post
    I'm going off of what's written in the text itself, both here and in Cursed Child; which is, after the end of the novel it's never mentioned ever again, either in there or in the succeeding works. That puts it pretty clearly in "teenage phase" category, so far as I'm concerned.
    This isn't true in the body of the books. Yes, SPEW itself gets mostly dropped after book 5, since there's that whole war thing going on, but Hermione does consistently dedicate time to house elf rights through that time. This includes directly advocating for freeing Kreacher, and generally being concerned with his welfare through book 7.

    Of course I don't expect a teenage girl to overthrow an institution that has existed for centuries even if that's what Dumbledore's army actually did in books 6 and 7, taking on both Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and the ministry of magic and winning.
    This is just not an accurate description of the text. Dumbledore's Army does not take on the Ministry and win, they get broken up after a couple months. By the end of Book 5, only Neville and Luna show up when Harry calls. Nor do they defeat the Death Eaters, they are pretty clearly losing the Battle of Hogwarts, and that's with substantial assistance from a lot of other people.

    Overall the text (not whatever Rowling has said since, just the text of the books) is very consistent that, while occasionally a bit questionable in how she expresses it, Hermione is genuinely and consistently concerned about house elf welfare and liberation. The text is also consistent in showing that refusing to take house elves seriously as beings worthy of respect is a moral and practical mistake by wizards, and that Hermione's concerns are fundamentally correct.
    Last edited by warty goblin; 2023-02-15 at 08:56 AM.

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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Quote Originally Posted by pendell View Post
    I'm going off of what's written in the text itself, both here and in Cursed Child; which is, after the end of the novel it's never mentioned ever again, either in there or in the succeeding works. That puts it pretty clearly in "teenage phase" category, so far as I'm concerned.

    Of course I don't expect a teenage girl to overthrow an institution that has existed for centuries even if that's what Dumbledore's army actually did in books 6 and 7, taking on both Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and the ministry of magic and winning.

    The sole evidence I have to the contrary is one line in the wiki



    So that appears to be it. She put some effort in, then moved on to more important things as far as she's concerned. Still looks like "youthful phase" rather than "serious advocate" to me.

    Respectfully,

    Brian P.
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    Apart from what warty has outlined, the book series is about the lead characters time as schoolchildren, of course it has more detail on their time as schoolchildren than their subsequent careers.

    The Death Eaters have not existed for centuries, they are a small terrorist group that existed from approximately fifty years before the books and were inactive for fourteen years of that time because their ringleader was dead (temporarily) and the elite core was in prison,

    The DA mostly ran and hid, all their primary conflicts have 'escape' as the main goal rather than 'win' unless they have a lot of backup. Harry manages one successful raid on the ministry for a magical artifact, but that's it, he doesn't even try to bring it down.

    So... nearly all of that is very inaccurate to the text.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sapphire Guard View Post
    Apart from what warty has outlined, the book series is about the lead characters time as schoolchildren, of course it has more detail on their time as schoolchildren than their subsequent careers.

    The Death Eaters have not existed for centuries, they are a small terrorist group that existed from approximately fifty years before the books and were inactive for fourteen years of that time because their ringleader was dead (temporarily) and the elite core was in prison,

    The DA mostly ran and hid, all their primary conflicts have 'escape' as the main goal rather than 'win' unless they have a lot of backup. Harry manages one successful raid on the ministry for a magical artifact, but that's it, he doesn't even try to bring it down.

    So... nearly all of that is very inaccurate to the text.
    It has been several years since I read it. Very well, I stand corrected.

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    This morning had a good bit more combat, mostly against spiders. The fighting is really growing on me. It’s a ranged game, but it feels quite like a melee system, with its emphasis on blocks and guard breaks. If it was a melee game, it would have one of the best systems I've played in ages, since the guard breaks have some depth to them, what with needing different types of spell to break different guards, but each spell carrying its own effect and range and so on. It's way, way better than the extremely samey light/heavy attack system every bloody game uses now.

    Quote Originally Posted by pendell View Post
    It has been several years since I read it. Very well, I stand corrected.

    Respectfully,

    Brian P.
    Fair enough. There is a lot of book, I know them very well thanks to listening to the audio books more times than I care to count.

    And it is definitely true that the whole house elf thing is clumsily handled, and a sort of weird B plot. I think it would have worked much better to have, say, free elves working at Hogwarts from the get go, but owning elves is still legal and something a lot of older families do. That would make it clear that elves are not by their general nature inclined to be slaves, and that wizarding society is split on the issue.
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    Quote Originally Posted by warty goblin View Post
    This morning had a good bit more combat, mostly against spiders. The fighting is really growing on me. It’s a ranged game, but it feels quite like a melee system, with its emphasis on blocks and guard breaks. If it was a melee game, it would have one of the best systems I've played in ages, since the guard breaks have some depth to them, what with needing different types of spell to break different guards, but each spell carrying its own effect and range and so on. It's way, way better than the extremely samey light/heavy attack system every bloody game uses now.
    Yea the best way I have been able to describe the combat system is snappy. It's fast paced and captures the wizard duel thing really well, and I love the way I can build my own combos and experiment for combining effects.

    Quote Originally Posted by warty goblin View Post
    And it is definitely true that the whole house elf thing is clumsily handled, and a sort of weird B plot. I think it would have worked much better to have, say, free elves working at Hogwarts from the get go, but owning elves is still legal and something a lot of older families do. That would make it clear that elves are not by their general nature inclined to be slaves, and that wizarding society is split on the issue.
    You know, in the hands of a writer who is less of a blunt instrument then Rowling is I could see the moral conundrums of interaction with a magical species of elf being naturally servile and the question of how to ethically interact with them making for an interesting plot. Rowling however is not the woman for something that delicate.
    Last edited by Dragonus45; 2023-02-16 at 10:23 AM.
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    Yeah. I don't think it's a hot take to say that Rowling is only subtle if you spell subtle like...another controversial public figure would.
    Last edited by Rynjin; 2023-02-16 at 09:41 AM.

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    And it is definitely true that the whole house elf thing is clumsily handled, and a sort of weird B plot. I think it would have worked much better to have, say, free elves working at Hogwarts from the get go, but owning elves is still legal and something a lot of older families do. That would make it clear that elves are not by their general nature inclined to be slaves, and that wizarding society is split on the issue.
    Why would that be better? That just removes the idea that people you know and love are also part of upholding this system, and instead it's those elitist meanies over there that are at fault.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sapphire Guard View Post
    Why would that be better? That just removes the idea that people you know and love are also part of upholding this system, and instead it's those elitist meanies over there that are at fault.
    Because then it makes it clear that slavery is a wrong and evil thing, and not some weird 'its okay to own slaves if you aren't super abusive to them' thing that we get instead.
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    Wouldn't it be better for them to just function like the various folkore creatures they're based on?

    Free agents who live in people's houses and do household chores in exchange for respect and some sort of food offering. When mistreated they make the house owner's life a misery and/or leave and find a new house. Slavery issue is gone.

    If you still want to have Dobby's arc then have him be enchanted to force obedience despite maltreatment, and have such enchantments be outlawed by the end of the story.
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    Well... The wizarding has never been presented as particularly virtuous. In fact, it can be very retrograde and selfish in many many ways.
    It's not out of character for it to still have slavery. Especially of a species most wizards consider subhuman and who seems to "like" being slaves (personally, I always took that as they liking to serve/help others, and wizards using that to abuse the little fellas).

    There's nothing wrong with depiciting slavery in a story without making it the absolute central point of the plot... It could have been handled better, of course (honestly, I don't consider HP to be a particularly well-writen work), but at very least it's ALWAYS depicted as something despicable, even if most wizards are too used to it to give it a thought.
    Last edited by Lemmy; 2023-02-16 at 07:38 PM.

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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Finally got a broom. Whee! Controls took a little getting used to, but I can fly, and it is just great.

    Now it really hits that perfect open world game state for me, a big chunk of cool and varied geography full of stuff, and a convenient, fast and fun way to get from A to B in that geography without resorting to fast travel. I mean I will use fast travel sometimes, but I far prefer not doing that, as it keeps the world extant and relevant.

    If this isn't the best thing I play this year, it's going to be one hell of a year.
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    And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.


    Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman, 1906.

  21. - Top - End - #111
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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Isn't that kind of like saying anyone that writes medieval fantasy where the monarchy doesn't fall by the end of the story is a monarchist?

    I mean, you don't actually believe that Harry Potter is some kind of pro slavery tract, right? Or that anyone sane would read the books and come away with the opinion that how house elves are treated supposed to be a good thing?

  22. - Top - End - #112
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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Holy smokes. This thread has been, uhh, informative. I somewhat grew up with HP, and young me reading these books never thought, “ahh so X represents Y.” I just like… read the books and enjoyed them for what they were (or what I thought they were). Kinda gotta wonder if the X-represents-Y folks are right though.

    ANYWAY, considering getting this game (primarily for my wife, an avid HP fan). How’s the broom flying?
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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Quote Originally Posted by danzibr View Post
    Holy smokes. This thread has been, uhh, informative. I somewhat grew up with HP, and young me reading these books never thought, “ahh so X represents Y.” I just like… read the books and enjoyed them for what they were (or what I thought they were). Kinda gotta wonder if the X-represents-Y folks are right though.

    ANYWAY, considering getting this game (primarily for my wife, an avid HP fan). How’s the broom flying?
    Kind of but it's complicated. Not all coding is intentional and a big part of the visual aspect of goblins comes from the movies where you start to get a lot of cooks in the kitchen. Rowling's personally held beliefs however outside of the story are very clear and apparent.

    The brooms are wonky, not helped by the fact that you REALLY need to quickly finish the quest for the upgrades once you start it.
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  24. - Top - End - #114
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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Quote Originally Posted by danzibr View Post
    Holy smokes. This thread has been, uhh, informative. I somewhat grew up with HP, and young me reading these books never thought, “ahh so X represents Y.” I just like… read the books and enjoyed them for what they were (or what I thought they were). Kinda gotta wonder if the X-represents-Y folks are right though.
    Well, Rowling spelled out that Remus Lupin's condition represents AIDS patients. Which sounds good, since he's a positive character, until you think for a few seconds about the implications of "in these books AIDS makes you lose control and attack people, and the head AIDS patient deliberately infects children."

    {Scrubbed}
    Last edited by Pirate ninja; 2023-02-26 at 02:37 AM.

  25. - Top - End - #115
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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Quote Originally Posted by danzibr View Post
    Holy smokes. This thread has been, uhh, informative. I somewhat grew up with HP, and young me reading these books never thought, “ahh so X represents Y.” I just like… read the books and enjoyed them for what they were (or what I thought they were). Kinda gotta wonder if the X-represents-Y folks are right though.
    Depends how you mean represents. If you mean in the sense that the author genuinely hates group Y, thinks they are subhuman scum, and wants to stealthily indoctrinate their readers, no. People who harbor deep-seated conscious hatred of other groups generally aren't subtle about it. If you mean are there aspects of fantasy thing X that resemble stereotypes about real world group Y, yes. How much that bothers you is, well, up to you. I think it's fair to say not at all, or its a bit uncomfortable, or you won't touch it with a ten foot pole.

    ANYWAY, considering getting this game (primarily for my wife, an avid HP fan). How’s the broom flying?
    Broom flying is good. Not super absolutely spectacular in terms of controls, but soaring around the map is tremendous fun. Later I believe there's also a hypogriff, but I haven't got one yet.

    There's no quidditch though, just FYI. I'll bet dollars to donuts its in the sequel. (Do I know there will be sequel? No, but this is going to have made approximately all the money, so there will be a sequel.)

    In general, if you/your wife likes HP, this is a super easy recommendation. The game is very good on its own merits, but you get to do tons of fun HP stuff, and it is translated extremely well to game form. Go wand shopping, brew potions, deal with strangely homicidal plants, explore the castle - which is everything an enchanted castle should be - its all here and its great.

    Importantly it feels like good Harry Potter stuff. By which I mean the better movies and the books, but not those gawdawful Enchanted Beasts films. So stuff is fun and whimsical and a bit silly and sorta mostly consistent in the important bits if you don't poke too hard, but it isn't dour and stupid and falling apart scene to scene.

    There's some stuff I wish they had managed to do, like quidditch and more interactions with students - a Draco type rival would be excellent - but the amount of content the devs have packed in is kinda jaw dropping, and it all works together really well. I'm kinda gushing I know, but the game is honestly just a joy.
    Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
    When they shot him down on the highway,
    Down like a dog on the highway,
    And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.


    Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman, 1906.

  26. - Top - End - #116
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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Quote Originally Posted by warty goblin View Post
    Broom flying is good. Not super absolutely spectacular in terms of controls, but soaring around the map is tremendous fun. Later I believe there's also a hypogriff, but I haven't got one yet.
    Yeah, there's flying mounts later. That's not really a spoiler since the pre-order bonus for the game was "Here's a black hippogriff" and the deluxe edition comes with a death-horse thingie I don't remember the name of. They're slower than the broom but more stable and I think (?) they can fly higher since they don't have the same wind shake that the brooms get when you're too high up. Mostly though, it's just cool to ride a big flappy beast.

    I remapped my flight controls on PC to be M1/M2 make the broom/beast go up/down and the thumb button does the speed boost. That made it feel much better to me than the original controls. It's still not amazing but at least it's playable and I can do the races.

  27. - Top - End - #117
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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    A few general thoughts:

    1. Buying and playing Hogwarts Legacy sends a certain message, whether you intend to send that message or not.
    2. Any guilt you may feel over sending that message is not the fault of the people who notice you are sending that message.
    3. If your sole motivation is to avoid feelings of guilt, playing a different game is probably going to be easier and more effective than arguing on the internet about why your sending of that message doesn't count.

  28. - Top - End - #118
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    Quote Originally Posted by theNater View Post
    A few general thoughts:

    1. Buying and playing Hogwarts Legacy sends a certain message, whether you intend to send that message or not.
    Not really. Nobody buying and playing the game is responsible for what others believe it means.

    Any guilt you may feel over sending that message is not the fault of the people who notice you are sending that message.
    You mean aside from the people going about how "you're a terrible person if you buy/play HL"?
    Quote Originally Posted by Pickford View Post
    I don't understand your point. Why does it matter what I said?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kish View Post
    *scrub the post, scrub the quote*
    Not even that - the early films in the series used a lot of location filming, and those are real decorations in the building they used for the bank (Australia House in London).
    Last edited by flat_footed; 2023-02-26 at 04:06 AM.

  30. - Top - End - #120
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    Default Re: Hogwarts Legacy

    Quote Originally Posted by theNater View Post
    A few general thoughts:

    1. Buying and playing Hogwarts Legacy sends a certain message, whether you intend to send that message or not.
    2. Any guilt you may feel over sending that message is not the fault of the people who notice you are sending that message.
    3. If your sole motivation is to avoid feelings of guilt, playing a different game is probably going to be easier and more effective than arguing on the internet about why your sending of that message doesn't count.
    The main message people send by buying and playing Hogwarts Legacy is that they are interested in playing Hogwarts Legacy.
    My best friend is currently avidly playing the game and loves it. He's not even aware about the controversy surrounding JKR, because he doesn't frequent places like twitter and tumblr, where that controversy is mainly discussed.
    Buying the game is not automatically the same as siding with a bigot. People can enjoy work within an IP without buying into whatever nonsense the artist is spouting. They are not even required to know or research whatever nonsense that artist might have been spouting in the past.
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