Character sheet #23 – Hogwarts, the school of wizards

Character sheet is a section in which we draw the portrait of video game players, real or fictional, who weigh or have weighed on the industry. Today, small change. On the occasion of the imminent release ofHogwarts Legacywe are not stopping on a character, but on one of the places which contributed to the success of the Harry Potter work, the Hogwarts school of magic.

Hogwarts Legacy is approaching. From February 7, players who have fallen for the deluxe edition will be able to enjoy the game in early access. For the others, you will have to wait a few more days, until February 10. In Hogwarts Legacy, you will play as a young witch or wizard, studying at the famous Scottish school of magic, Hogwarts. In view of the many trailers, images and trailers already published by Warner Bros, the game looks magnificent and full of surprises. NOTWe decided to take an interest in the one who will be the other heroine of the game, the one who gave her name, the Hogwarts school.

From literature to cinema

Straight out of the fertile imagination of JK Rowling, Hogwarts, Hogwarts in VO, is the main location of the adventures of the Harry Potter saga. For good reason, it is the school where young Harry finds himself enrolled on his eleventh birthday, in the first volume, Harry Potter at the Sorcerer’s Stone, released in 1997. He will spend six years there, far from be at rest. Whether JK Rowling is not stingy with descriptions during the seven books that make up the saga, it is however difficult to imagine what Hogwarts could look like in the head of the author. She has often said that she was inspired by many real castles to create the school, including Edinburgh Castle, the city in which she lived, but none of these castles really corresponded to her idea of ​​Hogwarts.

“I have not drawn up a plan of the floors of Hogwarts and it would be difficult for the most qualified architect to draw one, since stairs and rooms are constantly moving. However, I have a very clear mental picture of what he looks like. » JK Rowling

It was in 2001, with the release of the first film, that Hogwarts was finally able to come to life before our eyes. Stuart Craig, production designer for the entire film saga, spends whole days highlighting the smallest sentence evoking the school in the first two novels, before embarking on the search for the place that would become Hogwarts for the cinema. In the end, with Chris Columbus, the director, they chose Anwick Castle and Gloucester Cathedral to shoot some interior scenes for the first two films. But the exterior Hogwarts that we know, this magnificent castle and its splendid pointed towers, does not exist. After discussions with JK Rowling and many graphic designers, the decision was made to work from an ultra-detailed model 25 meters widewhich it would be possible to recreate digitally, to add all the necessary special effects.

A lively school full of history.

In the books as in the films, Hogwarts is not just a school. It is a real place of life welcoming hundreds of wizards, witches and other creatures for months, almost behind closed doors. More than just a building, JK Rowling wanted to make him a character in his own right, always on the move, and full of secrets. From tableaux vivants to moving stairs, through invisible rooms and even ghosts that have haunted the place for centuries, Hogwarts is endless. Sometimes mysterious, sometimes dangerous, the school is emblematic of the world of Harry Potter, and it is not for nothing that the new game from Warner Bros uses the name of Hogwarts in its title. Like Star Wars, where it seems almost impossible not to be related to the Skywalker family, in the wizarding world, it seems almost impossible not to have passed through Hogwarts.

JK Rowling was able to imagine a gigantic extended universe around the school, telling the story of centuries of life at Hogwarts, long before the birth of Harry Potter. Created over a thousand years ago by four wizards, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin, the school has since been split into four houses, each bearing the name of one of the founders. Depending on their values ​​and motivations, each sorcerer student will be directed to one of their houses for the duration of their schooling. The strength of this division into houses is the permanent feeling of animosity and mystery that reigns in the school. The most famous wizards have passed through Hogwarts, some choosing the path of good, others that of evil…

Some emblematic places of Hogwarts

In view of the latest trailers for Hogwarts Legacy, it appears that the Hogwarts of the game will be close to that of the films. Even though the events of Hogwarts Legacy will take place hundreds of years before the adventures of Harry Potter, the game is expected to feature many locations introduced in the literary saga. Here are five iconic school locations we’d like to see in the future game. If we are sure that some will be there, because their presence has already been announced, for the others, it remains only to cross our fingers.

How not to immediately think about the large common room when you think of Hogwarts? Transformable at will, it can become in a snap of the fingers (or a wave of the wand), ballroom, examination room, or even refectory. Undoubtedly the most emblematic place of the school, it marked the spirits by its bombast. Many mythical scenes from the saga take place in this room, and it seems unlikely that it does not have an important place in Hogwarts Legacy.

Already announced as part of the game, we are curious to know the treatment that will have been made of the room on demand. This invisible room, supposed to open only when the person standing in front of it really needs it, revealing what they want, is a crucial place in the adventures of Harry Potter. Several characters use it in the saga, for various needs, ranging from the simple hiding place to the preparation of action plans in groups. Will it be possible to use it for multiple purposes in the game? A few more days of patience.

The events of Hogwarts Legacy being long before those of Harry Potter, we should not know the teachers who will practice in the game. Avalanche Software has however announced that magic lessons should occupy an important place in the adventure. We can therefore expect to discover colorful places that are the classrooms. We can’t wait to see what the Divination, Potions, or Defense Against the Dark Arts rooms looked like before the arrival of Professors Trelawney, Snape, and the like.

A real institution at Hogwarts, quidditch is the sport of wizards. Perched on their broomsticks, the members of a team must score more points than their opponents, by sending the quaffle into large golden circles representing the goals, while avoiding the bludgers, a kind of homing balls wishing to throw them off balance . Meanwhile, the Seeker, the most skilled of broom handlers, is on a mission to catch the Snitch to end the match. Will Hogwarts Legacy offer us to represent our house in high-flying meetings?

Finally, we would like to be able to take advantage of the Hogsmeade village. This is where students arrive when they take the famous Hogwarts Express to reach the school. If the village does not belong to Hogwarts strictly speaking, it is very close to it, and should be included in the game. In this village, only inhabited by wizards, we can find a tavern, dwellings, and also the Shrieking Shack , recognized as the most haunted house in Britain. Something to make us shiver a little during our adventure?

Two more weeks before getting your hands on Hogwarts Legacy. Whether you are a fan of the world of Harry Potter, or a simple video game fan, you cannot miss the phenomenon. With more than 35 hours of play planned, let’s hope that Hogwarts still has many surprises to offer us in its video game version, after having made us dream so much in books and films.