From the beloved books to the blockbuster movies, the universe of Harry Potter has seen it's fair share of venues and exploits. Needless to say however that the video game franchise of this Wizarding cash cow has been lackluster and down right boring. With the final chapter in the Harry Potter film saga on the horizon I can see no better way to send off our freind Harry than with a good old questing, spell-casting, adventuring RPG.

Now before you gawk at the absurdness of such an idea, allow me to first tell you how this thing would go down.

First, setting the scene and the mood. This game would span quite a few years as far the Potterverse is concerned, in fact it would start far before our dear friend Mr. Potter is even born. Rather than go for a familiar time in Harry's world I believe the game would best start in the years during the rise of the dark lord Voldimort. Players would begin as students at Hogwarts that would serve much like the vault dwelling prelude used in Fallout 3. Players would design their character, recieve a wand, a pet, a broom, be sorted into a house and decide their magical skill sets including skills such as charms, transfiguration, potions, dark arts, defense against the dark arts, divination, care of magical creatures, herbology and so forth. Most importantly though, is that players will decide their magical allignments here. Since the story takes place during the rise of Voldimort, players will be able to choose which path to follow. Do you choose the side of good and become a dark wizard hunting Auror under the Order of the Pheonix? Or do you side with the dark lord himself and become a Death Eater? Or perhaps you choose neither and simply become a wandering wizard always on the lookout for some fresh new spells or hidden Herbology ingredients to sell for a premium. Each thing you choose here will ultimately determine the way people look at you. Slitherins will still hate Gryffindors, Ravenclaws will still be the high and mighty smarty pants' they are and Hufflepuffs will still be as...Hufflepuffy as ever. Your class will also give you perks to help you advance in a particular direction. For example Slitherens will be better at casting dark arts while Gryffindors will be better at Dark Defense. The choice and all it's consiquences is yours.

Join these iconic chacacters as a member of the order of the Pheonix?

Second, gameplay and character development. I imagine the game working in a way very much similair to the first person/third person toggle used in Oblivion and Fallout. Skills trees will be used to manage your powers and branch off to unlock certain spells within each skill alignment. For example within the dark arts allignment you may begin with a simple ability to summon a pixie to your aid, with hard work and progression though you would be able to summon a Dementor or Inferi to your aid. Along with progressing skills your character will be able to employ powerful artifacts strait from the Potter world to be used in combat or in negotiations with NPCs. Use an Invisibilty cloak for stealth, new wands to increase your spellcasting power, potions to unhance certain skills or even change your form briefly through the use of polyjuice, use your care of magical creatures skills to take down tough mythical beasts or enlist them to your cause. Imagine being able to call down a Hungarian Horntail to blast away a whole army of Death Eaters. Now that's what I'm talking about. Along with skills your character will manage equipment like different cloaks that can be enchanted to perform a myriad of different functions. Along with all this my favorite idea for use would be the ability to flay on your own broomstick as a way of traveling around the game world. Buy new brooms or give your broom a special ability to shoot fire from it's tail to ignite hostile persuers. The idea of adding aerial combat to a wizarding game would be one hell-of-a feature if you ask me. 

Third, missions and your interactions with the world. The potter universe is one steeped in lore and inventive imagination. The potter world that I see goes far beyond that of Hogwarts. Perhaps you might take up a mission as a Death Eater to assassinate a high profile Ministry Wizard hiding out in the Black Mountains of Romania. Or hunt down a dangerous dark wizard terrorizing muggles across northern England. Travel through mysterious dungeons and catacombs to hunt for treasure or enhance your skills. Each side quest will come with it's own story and characters unique to the world of Harry Potter and each main quest will give suprising revelations to players that may not have been revealed in the films or books. Take a inside look at the workings of the Death Eaters or be there for the finding of the Order of the Pheonix. Meet with iconic characters such as Dumbledore and Lord Voldimort. Gain companions to aid you in your quests. Find love and romance, raise a family and create your own wizarding dynasty. Be there for the climactic battle between the Dark Lord and the Boy Who Lived and decide the fate of the wizarding world forever. Each action will bear a consiquence and each consiquence will be what builds your adventures through the wold of Harry Potter.

As a gamer and Harry Potter lover I must say I'm sad to see the series come to an end. Perhaps this is what has driven me to this idea. A Potter world without end. Lend a hand to this cause and state your own ideas in the comments, what would you like to see most in your Harry Potter RPG experience? What adventures would you hope to experience and what outcomes would you like to see the most? After all this is Harry Potter, let your imagination go wild.

Thanks for the run Harry, we've all had our fair share of thills, spills, tears and fun and I hope this game does you proud =).