The '15 Second Rule' Behind Hogwarts Legacy's World...

[@LukeStephensTV]

Join my stream or I'll punch a watermelon: www.youtube.com/@LukeStephensLive

[@adamtabor8628]

Not gonna lie, kinda want to watch you punch a watermelon lol

[@loopymcloopyface9977]

Avalanche also did Mad Max from a few years back. Beautiful open world and fun gameplay, but could get a bit repetitive. Hogwarts has way more mission diversity. Cool to see how far the Devs have come.

[@mistermelancholy7698]

I like this analysis I realy notice this innbethesda games, I feel however sometime they and even you in this video spend too much time considering this, because sometime they just need to play the game more or have new people test because the actual feel and way you interact is hard to know when just making it

[@raphapiki]

Cool, i got curious about elden ring

[@canadianGuitatist]

Hey, not sure if this would help with views or not but maybe include "spoilers/no spoilers" in the title or thumbnail? Im about to watch/listen but im hoping few spoilers lol

[@pac0113]

As great as the open world is, I have spent HOURS exploring and getting lost in Hogwarts castle itself. The interconnectivity of it’s structure and INSANE attention to detail continue to blow me away. This game made me feel like a kid again.

[@chrissennfelder7249]

Yeah, I haven't had this much fun exploring since The Witcher 3. Getting lost in the castle is so cool. I've had so many "oh, so THIS is where this leads" moments. And it gets ever better when you randomly stumble into a cool room. One of the coolest moments for me was when I decided to go down on the large staircase. You end up in a place that looks like it's being mostly used by house elves. So cool.

[@ralphengland8559]

I wasn't a kid when I read the books, but this game absolutely reminded me why I enjoyed them.

[@mihai10stoica]

@@chrissennfelder7249 Yeah, I had a similar experience with the ghost party room.

[@mrchrisliddell]

After 40+ hours I'm STILL discovering Hogwarts rooms and passageways 🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@aaronhumphrey3514]

Honestly I think it’s more impressive than the open world.

[@joec.1766]

I like how the leveling system is tied to actually exploring stuff. Hate open worlds that doesn't make exploration a major focus.

[@menamgamg]

I feel like BotW inspired/allowed other devs to go back to this way of making open worlds, maybe because it showed that an open world game that doesn't hold your hand can still pull a massive audience.

[@NemoTheGlover]

The eye ball chest too Making it easy for you to get easy coins but also giving you quest which need you to have coins Forcing you to either go loot or go open up the chest Explore

[@number-kg3ul]

​@@menamgamgunlike ubisoft open world

[@Void6-]

To get to level 40 you pretty much need to do everything in the game. Every challenge has to be done (except one I believe)

[@ExileTwilight]

@@Void6- I've one bugged quest (locked cage that I lockpicked before the quest.. common issue apparently) that keeps me from getting to level 40. Apparently something they are working on though, but yeah, you need to do all challenges to get to level 40 it seems (other than main story perhaps since otherwise you can't be max level for the final quest which would seem odd)

[@dignam8943]

It's pretty immersive right now but they could also include some cozy features which would really add something to the vibe. Like a sleeping mechanic in dorm rooms, being able to sit on some furniture within iconic places and more activities and interactions within the common rooms.

[@azarian6154]

My biggest hope is that the game is so successful that Avalanch continues to support it and add features like that. What you're describing is my biggest letdown that they didn't include (dont get me wrong, I love the game so far). Like the chores and meals around camp from RDR2, adding some more RPing as a student from hogwarts would definitely add so much by doing so little

[@-Cipher--]

@@azarian6154 If you noticed, if you roam hogwarts at night, its pretty empty as it should be, but the beds in the dorms are also empty. The game is great, but you can see where they cut corners on the immersion.

[@YoutubeDictatorship2024]

@@-Cipher--corners? They cut whole walls out of this game, let alone corners

[@GeorgeThoughts]

There's the usual console caviat of course but I guarantee the modders will get right on this. Look at Skyrim! Sure, that has an official mod tool. But there's already mods for HL out and as modders get used to the new game, it'll get easier. Skyrim is full of "immersive" category mods doing everything from simple to complex additions. I guarantee someone will make all chairs and beds useable in the years to come.

[@theburntcrumpet8371]

You're crazy. You'll have to wait for the sequel if you want to sit in a chair!

[@tubebubereboot6873]

The 40 second rule reminded me of something I learned in a writing class that was taught by a NYT bestselling author. Generally books with really long chapters tend to take longer to read than books with shorter chapters, even if the books themselves are equal in length. The reason is the reader becomes fatigued if they don't hit a chapter break every few minutes. Obviously slower readers take longer, and faster readers shorter times to reach them, but it's a pretty consistent rule of thumb that authors who are at least somewhat aware of this rule and follow it, tend to sell more copies because the readers finish their books faster. It gives them an almost addictive quality.

[@furthings]

This deserves several thousand likes/upvotes/whatever. People need to see this comment. This is priceless info omg Thank you for sharing this!! I can imagine a similar rule explains why it's more appealing me to marathon all the episodes of a TV show than it is to marathon, say, the Harry Potter movies, even if the series is just as long as several movies.

[@bytesback.]

And as there is always an exception to the rule, Terry Pratchett's disc world books used no chapters at all.

[@mysticflow467]

@@bytesback. what? how does that prove that people read terry pratchett disc's equally fast as short chapter books?

[@bytesback.]

@@mysticflow467It doesn't. I never said it did, I just said there were no chapters.

[@mysticflow467]

@@bytesback. you said " there is always an exception to the rule " so you just decided to put this comment in here that has no relation to the original comment? OP never mentioned anything about books having to have chapters, or having chapters being a rule...

[@vilwitz]

It's absolutely insane how much content they packed into this game. Not just the world itself, but a full- on base builder, brewing, gardening, collecting beasts, the absurd scale, density and attention to detail inside Hogwarts alone ...with an entire open world on top of that with the Korok Seed- esque Merlin Trials, astronomy, creatures, camps and massive pile of dungeons, both large and small. And not just that, but the details that went into each of the four houses throughout, that you can choose the one you want and that it actually affects things throughout. It's simply glorious and I'm absolutely blown away by what a former Cars 3 tie- in developer has accomplished here. Thre are some bugs, but I can't even remember the last time a AAA game was this polished on release. Warner Bros. clearly spent a fair bit on this masterpiece and I couldn't be happier.

[@MattyP650]

What a delusional comment. The base building is awful, there are hundreds of better games. Brewing and gardening? You mean like a handful of useless plants and potions? 😂😂 this game is outdated and boring, only good for Harry Potter fans

[@missyq8765]

@@MattyP650 just because you hate the game doesn't mean other people felt the same way and like you said it was meant for Harry Potter fan so maybe that's why you felt bored, which is understandable. I am a harry potter fan so get to brew potions, taking care of beast, killing mobs etc are super fun and exciting for me

[@gonaye1]

Couldn't agree more about the amazing attention to detail in this game. I'm only 30% complete quest-wise (just turned to Autumn in my game), and I am genuinely in love. It's like it was perfectly created for the Potter fan inside me. Yes there are flaws and areas for improvement, but this game is truly something special.

[@cjjams7930]

It's like Skyrim with God of war combat mechanics hahah shits too good

[@jackdurham7134]

​@Matt P sounds like someone is upset, need a hug? It's OK we all get upset. Just breathe no one wants to upset you.

[@jasonarnold1990]

The world itself is so unbelievably well done. That's not even including how ridiculously detailed and amazing Hogwarts itself is. This game is simply incredible.

[@Great.Milenko]

i found the world to be a little lacklustre, not bad, but not great. that castle though... thats a different story.

[@KainZC]

Have to factor in that inside hogwarts itself it's even more packed and dense, with a vast and deep story background to back it up, this game has a very high starting point than any game to begin with

[@Grekinski]

I've the complete set of pages for Hogsmade and the other areas and I'm only missing more than 20 pages for Hogwarts, its way too packed with many secret areas, which is fun

[@Ken_Jones]

Yet, choices don’t impact story. Casting unforgivable curses doesn’t impact anything. There is only one linear story no matter what you do. In a game like Elden Ring that is no problem, yet choices there do impact the game. In a game like The Witcher 3 different outcomes/relationships is kinda expected. I also expected it in Hogwarts Legacy where the story leans a lot towards different morality paths. That is my only complaint. I do want to start up the game every time I can. I enjoy it a lot.

[@Pixie1001.]

@@Ken_Jones Yeah, I agree that that's probably its greatest weakness. It's ok with adding extra voice lines in to preserve continuity when you do a quest in a weird order, but it definitely over promised a bit on the RPG aspects. There's really no consequences or reactivity in the game at all and whilst I haven't finished the main story yet, I'm not entirely surprised to hear that there isn't different endings. When viewed as 'breath of the wild, but Harry Potter' it's still a great game though.

[@Ken_Jones]

@@Pixie1001. It's absolutely a great game. I'm just gonna take it for what it is and enjoy it.

[@ChristmasLore]

Very true, Watoto🪄

[@ellenripley4837]

The way they get you to do exploration and not make it grindy is brilliant. I also think the verticality the broom flight adds to the game is so darn fun.

[@MattyP650]

What verticality??? Seriously, genuine question. You can’t land anywhere on the school.

[@TheZobie21]

@@MattyP650actually, you can force your way to land on the stairs leading up to blacks office. You have to fast travel away, but if you have alohomora 2 and 3 you can explore his office fairly early

[@Healcraft]

@@MattyP650 yeah the flying around the school is very boring lol, im reminded why invisible walls exist in other games

[@brotleibinger]

@@TheZobie21 You can fly away from there too. Close to the lower door. The game really does a poor job from blocking flight. There's a lot of places (mostly ruins) where you get the "you can't enter here flying" notification and if you try a bit, it works after all.

[@Codraroll]

@@MattyP650 You can land on the bridge between the DADA Tower and the Faculty Tower, which is a great shortcut between many areas of interest. Also, if you're in Ravenclaw, you can land on the roof terrace of your common room.

[@NoMadKid]

I wish more movie/books IP are created with much love like this. For example, Game of thrones’s lore could be easily expanded with a game like this.

[@FrarmerFrank]

I can can only count extreme world building authors on 1 hand,though According to that movie Harry Potters World is based on playing as a kid and the World building existed long before Harry Potter lived in it

[@NoMadKid]

@@FrarmerFrank what I meant is for example: in GOT they had a whole story called Dunk and Egg that could adapted into a game, or a comic book that is difficult for a movie and easily adaptable as a game.

[@thatdude1528]

@@NoMadKid fr a GOT rpg would have so many themes to draw from like the Targaryen era, being a nights watch member, and war modes with being a commander and soilder

[@CidTheNadie]

That's kinda where Elden Ring came from -- GRRM worked on that

[@heartless4163]

Me and my friend spoke on this topic last night we want a very long detailed immersive lord of the rings gane but on current gen but if it’s lotrs I’d expect it be multiplayer possibly

[@CynicallyObnoxious]

One thing I noticed I enjoy doing side quests not just for rewards but some of the NPCs are just down right hilarious and entertaning

[@coreymiller6717]

I hate side quests. I couldn't get enough of them in hogwarts legacy last night! Lol, 5 hours gone before I realized I completed all the side quests I had in my journal. This game is amazing!

[@GJBedrin]

Really? I feel the side quests are a weak point in this game. Most of them are just so full I found myself skipping through dialogue and not asking any follow up questions because I just couldn't care enough

[@NamelessViking01]

​@George Bedrin I felt the same way. Side quest sucked in this game. It's either adds nothing to the game or its just annoying or repetitive.

[@MRMOON-jk1cs]

@@NamelessViking01 Except Sebastian, Natty and Poppy's quests, especially Sebastian's are amazing

[@chimerakait]

The moment I saw the open world map wasn't a giant empty square, I smiled. It's a small hand crafted world with distractions and interest. Something is always fun on the horizon. Even the dead zones with no pings have random camps, balloons to pop, random events or enemies to fight. The map itself it a bit unwieldy to work with, but it's serviceable.

[@morbidgull8922]

Its harry potter assassins creed lol

[@HaplessOne]

@@morbidgull8922 especially if you spec into stealth lol. Stealth is actually op in this game.

[@morbidgull8922]

@@HaplessOne to much creeping around for me I just throw out plants and chug a thunder brew and iron skin lol. You don’t even have to move or cast anything and everything will die in a few seconds, usually faster than spells take to come off CD.

[@tyler-hp7oq]

The map is still a square. You just can't reach the limits of the square. The gaming community used to hate those invisible barriers that blocked off the rest of the map. I guess we like them now lol.

[@BGIANAKy]

@@HaplessOne ? The stealth talents are arguably the worst talents.

[@marcus4424]

That large space where you said "you get the best view of Hogwarts" it also serves to give the player a break as to not overwhelm them, you move from the most densely packed to a very open and relaxed space.

[@TheMagicShow_]

In addition to the 15 second rule, they've also mastered the art of 'incentives' to play. 9 times out of 10, I seldom check the "challenges" (or equivalent) pages when I'm notified nor search to the ends of a map to find collectibles for video games. However, the excitement i feel when lockpicking every door for that final Moon to upgrade Alohamora, or scrambling to check my challenges pages to see if I unlocked a new piece of gear or furniture for my home, makes everything feel so cohesive. Often times, collectibles are a pass time that may offer 'some" insight on the lore of the game. But the fact that there is a true incentive to search for something, or encounter a certain type of enemy a certain number of times - because you may be rewarded for it, now makes sense to do almost EVERYTHING in the Hogwarts. So its not just 15 seconds of mindless clutter, outposts, or towers - its 15 seconds until your next upgrade, new fancy jacket, or that couch you didnt know you needed for your baby Hippogriff. The games continues to stay relevant in every way, never TRULY veering off from the main path of being a living, breathing, Hogwarts student.

[@noneofyourbusiness3096]

Wait, would a Hippogriff sit on a couch that you place for it? If so, this is a game changer lol

[@TheMagicShow_]

@@noneofyourbusiness3096 lmaooo nah I wish, was just pulling words outta my ass but you get the point 😅

[@noneofyourbusiness3096]

@@TheMagicShow_ Ahhhh, I'm so disappointed 🥲 I haven't been able to play the game yet since I'm on PS4, but that would've been a nice feature to see

[@turttlehp]

This is a perfect summary of the game

[@nihalkay8407]

Wait ! There is a couch for your Hippograph available ? Wtf I need this.

[@maverickbonato8164]

I'm still here thinking about playing Harry Potter on PS1, entering Hogwarts you had basically nothing to do, everything was locked off and it was soooooo small and plain. Somehow still felt magical and fun to explore that little bit of nothing you had and now? Now we have this. I'm not that much of a fan of the series but damn this is cool, I love the contrast lel

[@iCeeYa_PSN]

PS1 game was great as a kid!

[@NoMansLand98]

I mean, the first hour alone is better than the first 6 hours of Forspoken...

[@Crystar500]

True, but Hogwarts has a very boring opening sequence until about after you get to Hogsmeade for the first time

[@notsocube8452]

I hate these bots

[@NoMansLand98]

@NotSoCube845 lol, yep, seeing a lot of these nowadays. Before it was to claim your free prize by following a link, now it's about some sort of investment on crypto...

[@MemeSportsAi]

@@Crystar500Boring opening? The opening was amazing

[@MichaelOdendaal]

The game is so immersive and impressive. I have honestly been having a blast. Haven’t had a game make me smile this much in a long time. Just so fun.

[@TheLazarusOperation]

I agree with you, except the smiling part. I had a massive nostalgic grin playing through that new SpongeBob game

[@lahnex27]

I smile while playing any game causes it all entertainment to me

[@TheLazarusOperation]

@@lahnex27 I just meant this is the second game this year to give me an absolute pure grin/smile this year

[@1990rable]

will it hook me to the fullest? iam about to buy and play it :D

[@TheLazarusOperation]

@@1990rable Buy it. It's immersive, fun, and honestly graphically sound. If you're a fan, itll hook ya. I read Deathly Hallows in 6th grade and it captures that nostalgia amazijgly

[@SfinxVid]

I think Avalanche Software just put itself on the map for amazing IP games with Hogwarts Legacy. You can tell that the devs have a lot of passion for the Wizarding World so this doesn’t automatically mean that if they would make a game on this scale for another IP it will be amazing too, but they have the potential and I think that if the studio wants to make more IP games, they can definitely get the assignments to do so. They immediately got up next to CDPR as my favorite game studio in the business right now

[@ka-san5613]

They did an amazing job but I think they had a lot of tools to work with from WB's shadow of war. The games are nearly identical in allot of ways. I noticed that the mechanics that were not in shadow of war but are in HL are not as well executed if not a bit janky. So no telling how HL would have fared without those tools and guidelines. It seems like they gave an excellent existing frame work to excellent artists and that choice paid off.

[@BeLikeNexus]

@@ka-san5613 warner bros was just the publisher of shadow of war. They don’t own the code base, and there’s no way the actual developers of that game, Monolith productions would have given up the code or rights to it.

[@ka-san5613]

@@BeLikeNexus Monolith is a subsidiary of WB, a daughter company since 2004. They're sortoff the same company. Avalanche is a daughter company aswell. Business daddy can share what it wants :P

[@raider_reaper_4194]

Ubisoft should hand over the Avatar game to them for development

[@AgentExeider]

Well given that Avalanche now has invented alot of the open world tech, and it's actually good tech, I dont see any reason why if they do this with another IP it's not as detailed if not more. Usually the FIRST game in a genre for your company is the hardest because you have to invent all the engine components, everything from physics, water, grass. And design philosophies such as AI, pathing, Minigames, and general world building and gameplay construction. But once you have done it the first time, and especially if people think what you did was pretty great. There are alot of things you don't have to reinvent, just reuse. WHICH generally allows you to either A) do it again but faster (not necessarily a good choice.) or B) allow you to put more time in the areas of the next game you think need more attention or refine processes and assets that were okay or good but not great as well as put the attention to detail in the story, world building or lore (whether it be preexisting or not.)

[@checkyoursixgaming]

The Floo chutes for fast travel makes sense along with the flying for travel. That makes the place seem very alive. Speaking of which, there are two other factors that make an open game more immersive. Varying topography and sounds. Sounds are huge though. Random poachers talking, monsters squawking, and trains moving make the world feel lived in by the the npcs.

[@pac0113]

YES. Those last two points! I think Topography and Sound are essential for the 15 second rule to work in making the world feel interesting and lived in.

[@NotAGoodUsername360]

Probably should've made it so you have to go to a Floo Chute to use one since the system in game works more like Apparition... but I'll just assume that's what the PC is doing offscreen.

[@Xephorian]

My only wish is to see random groups of students/wizards flying by on brooms or something every so often in the open world

[@shigarumo121]

@@Xephorian At least they do it around Hogwarts. Like on top of the astronomy tower, sometimes a few students pass by on brooms. Outside I only saw a few carriages next to your usual wandering npcs, but that's it.

[@s2wuolf508]

The fact that multiple characters will acknowledge what you did throughout the game world was so refreshing

[@RetroRaconteur]

Super interesting, Luke! This is one of the reasons I put less importance on the "how big is the map?" question people always want answered with open world games. Just from my own experience, it really felt like a densely packed world in Hogwarts Legacy. Even so, I don't think I would have guessed it to be as low as what your numbers ended up showing! Really impressive job here by the folks at Avalanche.

[@jakeling7794]

Hogwarts legacy had such a unique challenge where it’s a world fans have fantasied about for years as well so to make it engaging and immersive is in my opinion even more impressive

[@TmOnlineMapper]

Another thing to note is that they took flying vs walking into account. Even if you're walking there's practically never more than 15 seconds between things to do. Be it collectibles, random spawns or actual points of interest. Like even in an area that you've cleared, it's never boring walking through it if you chose to be engaged.

[@fir3fight176]

These kind of videos which actually go into the science and math that is put into game design, are so interesting, as a lot of times people forget how extremly professional some studios operate on this kind of AAA Game-scale and how much actuall math goes into making these kind of products. Apparently the developers either had some seriously smart people on their team or some indsutry veterans who knew exactly how to build an compelling open world (or both).

[@wwerdo4]

This is the first game I’ve wanted to sit down and complete in a long time. Hogwarts legacy is out early in the year and I already consider it game of the year material. It feels like a complete game without a ham fisted need for some dlc. I look forward to any DLC that may come out, but I feel like I got a complete and worthwhile game without it. I’m unbelievably impressed with this game!

[@phoqueme]

I know how divided gamers get between "leveled areas" and we love to go everywhere as soon as possible, but idk how Avalanche did SUCH A GOOD JOB at making us satisfied with the beginning area of the game. I kept forgetting that there was an entire new section of the map to the south and only went there when i was level 25+ due to the main quest.

[@guitarman0365]

Because they balanced it out by having so much xp earned at the start before the open world is available all through field map pages. The game is designed with the intent players are to explore every inch of that place to live their childhood dream of over a decade of walking around this place. By the time you actually head to hogsmede you are far beyond what ever level you need for the story and side missions you are going to come across. I can't imagine anyone only going mission to mission and ignoring literally everything around them like a weirdo. Then maybe you get level locked a bit but the majority of people just aren't going to face that problem because the castle offers so much leveling opportunity. to me so far it doesn't even feel like a level based game at all. I haven't gotten one hit killed by anything or come across wand sponges but neither do they get killed in one tap despite being 10 levels above the quest. So it all just feels balanced so well. They didn't get greedy with xp gains incentivising any grinding or paying money for boosters. That's when level games become an issue but if leveling is easy enough it barely is a noticeable issue if you aren't a speed runner hopping from point to point.

[@deadlyydude5522]

Man I’m level 30 and still haven’t touched the southeast part of the map

[@epRivera]

​@@guitarman0365 Trolls are definitely wand sponges (until you get AK)

[@hugovaldez9301]

It’s cool that you can literally just do anything you run in to cause it’s entertaining and actually will be beneficial for you anyways. I’ll be like ok time to actually do these damn Merlin trials but then get distracted for like 2 hours doing other things 😂

[@laurenschmitt451]

😅 same! Haha

[@lucasreynolds5264]

I had a blast with the Melvin trials!

[@CrimsonTear1996]

Ive taken a video game class before and I can say with confidence this will be a part of multiple lectures in the future and I am here for it 👏🏻

[@ramilradulim9869]

The other reason why Hogwarts Surroundings are less dense is that while you constantly flying without dismounting - the area feels larger in contrast to when you are constantly dismounting from your broom and thinking how everything is near each other. And the area between Hogwarts and other villages is supposed to be pretty large.

[@tylergable2445]

Dude i have no clue how to comprehend what you’re even trying to say… and you still got over 60 likes.. wtf? 😂

[@onurdegirmencitv]

@@tylergable2445 Not saying it is, but what if it's just you?

[@freddy7694]

Bro your comment makes literally no sense 💀

[@tombrandis]

I get them. The open space makes the distance from travel from hogwards to hogsmead feel like really travelling, reinforcing the idea that you are going somewhere and that you are away from the castle. If it was all dense with objects all the way from the castle to hogsmead, not only would it be boring but it would feel like they flowed into each other, which is not the impression the game developers want to create.

[@tylergable2445]

@@freddy7694 and he still gets a ton of likes!! 😂 funniest part.

[@Rage-_-Quit]

Especially the castle itself kinda reminded me of those old point and click adventures like Indiana Jones 3, dott etc. I didn't feel like rushing just to knock out collectibles like in most modern games, I was actually taking my time to look at everything and figuring stuff out at a relaxed pace, so much fun.

[@votequian]

This is one of my favourite videos of yours. So often we talk about coders and artists who create the micro of development that form the foundation of a good game. However what they do doesn't work without the designers on the macro level putting it all together in a way that's consistently fun and engaging while still helping the world feel natural and lived in. I hope to see more and more design focused videos from you 😁

[@dlaroc]

Skyrim felt like it had something like this in place too. I remember first playing it and being surprised how much was happening in the open world

[@yozza4978]

Lol thats funny, i started playing skyrim for the first time a few months ago, im around level 25 i think, then i took a break to play hogwarts legacy, but they do feel very alike in some ways...and i am definitely looking forward to getting back to skyrim once I've finished legacy.

[@KingJerbear]

The best playthrough of Skyrim I ever had was when I decided to ban myself from being able to fast-travel. Then after I first got to Whiterun I (basically) rolled a dice to decide what town I wanted to start with. I ended up with Markarth, so I headed in that direction and basically ended up checking out every little cave and nook along the way. And then once I got there I explored the city head to toe and completed all the quests I could find. Made me realize just how much content there is there even if many of the caves/ruins etc and pretty simple in the grand scheme of things.

[@Pupalah]

​@Jeremy King no fast travel runs really are the best.

[@dacco9414]

I beat the main story and main-side-quests yesterday. I'm at 90% overall progress and lv38. I aim to 100% this game though, because i love it so much! Yes, things gets tedious at times, with certain puzzles and things to collect, but it's still an enjoyable experience. Anyway. I hope you all are having a blast! :)

[@tawilk]

it's all tedious af and requires 0 brain cells

[@TheGoutTrout]

Biggest problem with the game is the lack of quidditch... When they say in game that the quidditch season had been cancelled you could feel the collective global disappointment

[@BrandonGiordano]

This is one of the rare games where I turn off the quest path guider and mini map so I can appreciate the world and how much detail there is. now that I've been playing it a lot I move a bit faster but the fact that the game got me to stop and stare at multiple occasions is pretty amazing

[@gigijen6851]

@The Rotten💯 u rlly dont need the mini map in hogwarts legacy because you can just click v(on pc) and its shown right in front of u where u have to go. especially in the castle the mini map has more confused me than actually being useful so far but everyone needs to decide on their own based on their own playstyle so u should try without and see how it goes for urself

[@Elijah-Bailey]

@therotten6152 I've been playing without it the whole time, you have to learn how the castle is designed and you will get lost but that's the point, this is where the fun is. For the outside/open world you'll open the map a lot, and then you'll have some landmarks that guide you where you want to go. At least you are looking at the game, not a minimap. I did play TW3 like that also, it's fun

[@BrandonGiordano]

@The Rotten💯 nah, you get a book with all your challenges in it and if you press up on the d pad it gyides you to your next objective. So it's basicallyblike an in universe quest marker. Much more immersive than a ghiding path on your mini map. This lets you keep your eyes up at the world instead looking down at your minimap

[@BrandonGiordano]

@@Elijah-Bailey i have so much fun getting kost and discovering new areas or locks to alohamora

[@Elijah-Bailey]

@therotten6152 For TW3, I used a mod (or settings, I don't remember) so when I want to see the map, I have to be in "hunter" sight. otherwise, no map, no wayponts. The point is that I want to actually look at the game, not at the minimap and just follow a line. Red Dead 2 got the same problem : you just have to follow the line, your horse will simply follow the road for you, you don't even have to see the game ! The same for Cyberpunk 2077, just follow the map and you're ok. That's why I love bethesda rpg like tes or fallout : just a compass, nothing else. And even with that I still disable it. But there is a reason why I remember the citys and the roads of Skyrim and not them of RDR2.

[@AAGEnzee]

Nothing to do with the areas of internet, but the cosmetic/transmog system is pretty great. They did a great job on the quality of the clothing you get to wear. I just wish we had more color options for the classic wizard's hat. I wanted to be Mr. blue, representing Ravenclaw from head to toe, and the black hat sorta didn't fit but it still looks so good. I'd often just wear a school robe variant with that hat, letting my scarf be the main blue thing i see from the back, cause I thought it look so good.

[@jacknickolstine3355]

As a raven claw I would agree, I just don't have the hat on. I do wear the fancy school clothes because of the gold and blue on the black.

[@Epiousios18]

It does seem like HL went for a dense map over making it absolutely massive like AC Valhalla for instance. Good decision I would say.

[@odw32]

I think it's also the "layeredness". A game where you have only 3 types of "completables" gets stale pretty quickly -- before you know it you're like "ugh, I have to climb a lookout tower again". Hogwarts introduces a few dozen of these layers at a steady but gentle pace (Field Guide Pages, Arithmancy Doors, Merlin Trials, Eye Chests, Balloons, Beast zones, Butterflies, Ancient Magic spots, House Coins, Moon Demiguises, etc, etc), and introduces variation using puzzle elements and locked areas.

[@ImCeeJay]

Hogwarts castle is an open world in itself. Such a huge and unexpectedly awesome game. I was always hyped for it, but it blew me away even more than I could imagine.

[@hubble5755]

I might be one of the few players that's not convinced by this open world design. It's the same set of puzzles pasted all over the landscape. A puzzle may be fun at the first time, but not when you're doing it for the 10th, or 20th time. Note that there are 96 Merlin puzzles alone, which you *need* to do if you want all achievements. Also, most of the puzzles aren't challenging. They just feel like points of interest you need to work off.

[@FoxySeth]

I was expecting this game to not deliver at all! Im amazed

[@naruto00nix]

in this game, there are many points of interest but they tend to feel pretty meaningless after a short time of playing... every room you unlock without hogwarts has the same 2 types of chests within, every little cave you find in the environment has exactly the same type of design. its not like you find some cave (unless its relevant to the story) that randomly has a bunch of enemies and a boss enemy inside of it with some interesting loot. yeah the frequency of interesting events is high but its incredibly superficial and meaningless after just a few days...

[@Arniox]

This game is so deep and unbelievably addicting to play and get sucked into. That it has taken me about 15 hours JUST to get my broom from the flight class. And for a better reference frame/context, by the time I did the flight lesson mission and got my very first broom flight, I was level 22 already.

[@tyler-hp7oq]

Honestly, dense but repetitive stuff is worse than an empty open world to me. I just stopped doing the boring Merlin trials and skipped over everything but side missions.

[@jacobsims5848]

I loved this game. Flying in a broom to the top of a mountain and watching the sunset made me feel things

[@hugovaldez9301]

Gonna have to try this on the 75’ tv

[@Garrison64]

Besides the points actually labeled on the map there are random enemies to interact with and plants to pick and animals to rescue and these unmarked things are literally everywhere. It’s just such a great mix. Being able to instantly hop on a broom and zip around up to the top of a cliff or over a wall or up onto a tower also helps a ton in making the game world more accessible. Not to mention how enjoyable just flying around can be.

[@wizzle-]

This is really fascinating. Eyes wide open and makes me appreciate this game even more. 🙏

[@markarato8034]

Great video! I actually like the varied density of HW Legacy, as having too consistent maps would just make the game boring and less immersive imo. Edit: The game and the world is amazing, hats off to the devs for giving us what was a literal dream for many people. The amount of love poured into the game really shines through.

[@Happyfoam-lw3yt]

I'll tell you what man, this game was totally out of left field. I knew there was an "open world Harry Potter" game in the works, but I kinda just brushed it off because I was expecting more AAA vomit. I even looked up the developers and saw all their Disney games and stuff. All I could think was "well, I think I'll have to set the bar pretty low for this one". Then outta NOWHERE with the RKO, Avalanche just shattered my expectations. Never in a million years would I have guessed THAT company would produce something of THIS quality. Absolutely boggles the mind. I'll be passing attention to Avalanche with a close eye now.

[@zero3556]

I think the fact that we all know the grounds of hogwarts from our childhoods and want to go to check out specific points of interests has also a huge impact in this game's ability to keep the player engaged. A foreign 0815/fantasy world with no basing in literature like genshin has to put in wayyyyyy more dense clusters of interactions to keep the palyers hooked

[@thetoadprince7867]

I can’t explain how much thought was put into this game. The details of castle and the combat system that’s so intuitive that if you disarm a dark wizard mid spell it misfires and causes the caster damage. It’s just amazing. Truly a GOTY contender in a huge way. Congrats to the developers for making a Potter game for the fans.

[@ezzelofficial7563]

I'm so happy it wasn't just hype and that it actually delivered what fans were expecting

[@Viper-dz2kw]

I feel so bad that the majority of my friends boycotted the game and tried to pressure me into doing so, game’s amazing, they’re gonna be real pissed when it’s nominated for GOTY

[@Rage-_-Quit]

Also little stuff like your character whispering spells when you're invisible

[@joshc5309]

Something I'm noticing in the way you're going after this kind of logic is that you seem to be focused on map markers, which... yeah, it makes sense, but it's not really what plays. It's not just mapped content, but unmarked content as well. It's wandering over that mountain and finding the tea party, it's an interesting piece of architecture that kinda looks like it might be hiding something. It's that sudden stag that just appears at the top of the hill in the Forgotten Forest with nothing but light behind it that you could *swear* was scripted for effect.

[@Roecky]

To be fair, ALOT Points of interest are just garbage. 80 % of the cave symbols is just the same cave copy pasted with a chest at the end. No enemies, nothing really to explore - just uninteresting. Same for merlins trials. All i can say is, i prefer quality over quantity and i really hope there will be another game in this universe, just more interesting.

[@SoraRaida]

True, while most caves are mostly the same, there are some caves that have you play a simple version of Wizard's Chess in it. I freaking love those

[@martymcfly88mph35]

The loot is absolutely garbage too. So there's almost no point to finish any caves. At the end of the trials, the big loot chests, they can give you GREEN LOOT. That's ridiculous.

[@Roecky]

@@martymcfly88mph35 Sadly true. I think the devs did a decent job BUT the loot, POIs and quests were disappointing. Still the world has great potential. They just need to figure out what to do better next time. Cause the exploring itself feels unrewarded AF. Yes you find chests (99% useless), yes you find plants - also useless if you're not into potion making - still would rather buy the ingredients. My point is, i don't think i have found any personal point of interests. Like i think they should include useful stuff not just random chests with garbage loot. Like unique wands, cosmetics or even permanent buffs (or curses) - even tho you're character is pretty much OP from the start on. Fighting is fun but a joke. Protego & stupify is MVP. You actually don't need much more.

[@Parable_One]

"Immersive open world!" Can't sleep in your own bed to pass the time

[@HFBeal]

PSA: if you can avoid the “completionist checklist” mindset then do it. Treat the trials, animal dens and treasure caves like things you can always come back later to. they’re not essential to progression and can burn you out real quick. Most of the fun combat is in the bandit camps, infamous foes and side quests from hamlets. And main quest missions too!

[@dmonsterlove]

The Merlin trials should be done asap though, because you need gear space

[@pixielst]

This actually. I can ignore side activity, only doing some I find interesting and when I feel like exploring. The game was 9/10 when I was doing that. After finishing the game and starting to go full completionist, the game became 7/10 for me.

[@tj3603]

It's not only amount of stuff to do, it's also a variety of stuff to do. It's either puzzle (couple dozen difrent variations), or collectable (also a bunch of variations - chests, fg pages, herbs, animals), or fight, or some interactible thing (conversation with npc, a cat to pet, globe to turn, vendors), or simply interesting animations or conversations, or music to absorb. I often find myself just watching ghost doing something. There is a secret ghost party in dungeons, and various ghost duels happening in difrent corridors, and one couple dancing over the water, and another couple fighting over their drowned bodies. Once you get bored with one mechanic, you can immediately switch to something else. They done really great job.

[@dylanstephenson3892]

The giddy laugh whenever Luke says "Assassin's Creed Vallahaw" brings me so much joy

[@edrueter9]

I think the best thing about the open world in this game is how you use your spells and skills to interact with the world. First, it makes you excited to go back to an area when you realize you don't have the spell to access a hidden chest or cave at the moment. Also, most other games use your spells and skills as difficulty gateways. I.e. if your spells aren't strong, you'll get stomped out. This game, however, reminds me more of Zelda games where the spells you learn actually have you engaging with the world.

[@aspiringartist3949]

It also helps that casting Revelio while on your broom highlights point of interest icons in the world. There have been times where I don't know what to go for next, and send out a Revelio to see what's nearby. I don't remember if the game tells you about it outright though

[@lafidala.1726]

Thanks for the tip!

[@akhil108]

We do know about Revelio but casting it on a broom expands the range ridiculously

[@jeanpitre5789]

It doesn't you just kinda figure it out which I like. I hate when games hand feed you everything

[@Percival-ig2ye]

If only the POI were more interesting than a single corridor leading to a room with a chest with a throwaway randomly generated item. I know this was never meant to be "bethesda style rpg set in the wizarding world" but i can't help wanting it.

[@jimbeaux89]

I love this game. I just absolutely love it. I’ve been gaming all of my 33 years of life, here on earth. This game is definitely on my top 10 all time favorites, if not too 5. These guys absolutely killed it!

[@joshuatealeaves]

You gamed as a baby?

[@joshuatealeaves]

Goo goo ga ga?

[@freddy7694]

Video games are for kids

[@joshuatealeaves]

@@freddy7694 Worst bait I’ve seen in a good minute. Wishing you better hunting in your future

[@CinobiteReacts]

Very interesting - and explains how I went to turn off The Division 2 at 12:30am and when I looked at the clock as I walked out of the door it was 6am :P

[@CorruptShark]

I haven't watched any of the movies or read any of the books but now I really want to play this game

[@thekillerprawn]

If you play this game first you will enjoy the films even more. Personally I'd never read the books

[@CorruptShark]

@@thekillerprawn I'm definitely going to see if I can get it used at some point

[@GhostyGhost708]

Im the same way and it’s actually really fun. I haven’t had too much time to play since it came out but I’ve enjoyed the time I can play

[@joewhiting]

This was an extremely well researched video that’s not only entertaining but also adds a lot value for the viewer. You’ve earned my like/subscription. Well done! 👍🏼

[@MrHeretrix]

Hogwarts should be on every GOTY list this year, it's amazing.

[@xRef1eXo]

I really like how Witcher3 did the open-world exploration. During the campaign your home-town shifts to another and you are free to explore your new area right near it, rdr2 did the same thing, also the legendary gothic. Its simple but unique in a way.

[@Gwyn1stborn]

There was a lot of effort and love put into this and I'm glad they didn't let all the trolling stop them

[@Cheemma]

People like that literally spoiled the story for me before I bought the game. They put huge spoilers in a seemingly unrelated meme. It didn’t stop me from playing it because there’s so much more to the game than two plot points

[@dylansies9943]

Totally baffled to see HL compared to the likes of RDR2, BOTW, and Witcher 3. I found the world outside of Hogwarts completely shallow and tacked on. To each their own I suppose.

[@jinsakai409]

This game is so good that I am having to force myself to not play. When I'm not playing it is fine and I don't feel an urge to play. But the moment I jump into the world it is hard to put down. Next thing I know I've played for 14 hours and haven't gotten anywhere in the story. This game is a true Isekai experience for the player lol.

[@prod.kidmizu]

Seriously I got this game early and already have 90 hours in it. I've NEVER gotten that many hours that quickly before in a game. I'm almost confused on how I managed to do it

[@Shay416]

Reminds me of playing Sims as a teen. I would always do homework early so I could spent 8+ hours gaming lol.

[@Omilogic]

To me I have open worlds broken into 2 categories. There is the “Ubisoft” design where they create massive open worlds but only fill them with mindless collectible grabbing and that’s really about it. And then there is the “Rockstar” Design which has an open world that isn’t as big as the previous, but it’s more lived in and active, there are random events that catch your attention and it’s a beautifully crafted world like Hogwarts Legacy, Red Dead Redemption 2 and the Witcher 3. Personally I think Hogwarts Legacy fits into the “Rockstar” category.

[@nikvee6330]

Agreed!

[@gsxrsquid]

after a minute and a half of yammering with no 15 second rule I bailed.

[@leftyzappa]

I am totally blown away at how cool this game is 🤓

[@broark88]

The Merlin Trials are so repetitive as to be immersion breaking. It would've been better if there were only like 12 of them total and each one a more significant, unique trial.

[@stevesmith5883]

All in all it is very fun to explore, I do however think there are too many Merlin Trials, why does there need to be 90ish of them in the game, sometimes basically on top of each other, where I was casting upgraded revelio and seeing items for another Merlin trails next to the one I was already doing!

[@itsoldtyde]

The last few in the southern area, especially the one where you have you cast depuslo on a sphere, continuously up a winding hill, then up and over the mountain ledge to drop the sphere into its spot... was not needed, and just tedious. One time it bugged out, when I cast depulso and the sphere hit a moonstone, it got launched into space.. went back later got it done.

[@AveryHyena]

Because they looked at BOTW and thought "huh! We should do korok seeds too!"

[@AveryHyena]

@@itsoldtyde You can use wingardium leviosa on spheres

[@jedrieke7751]

Great video! I agree. The to-do items are rapid fire and it is so easy to get lost in endless chest and item gathering only to get snapped out of it by a full inventory. Then, I remember to move the story a bit and get lost again. They did a fantastic job on the graphics and the items

[@konstantinerigogiannis4460]

Every cave has basically the same lay out and only leads to a chest at the

[@jitsehoflack7540]

hi, the reason there is less stuff to do is because the developers expect you to unlock faster methods of travel, (broom upgrades, flying mounts, graphorn) this means there is this abot the same amount of time in between POI's but they are spread farther apart because you simply go faster

[@jitsehoflack7540]

edit: i just paused to write this comment before he explained this himself

[@properconciete14]

Yes! I also want to note that the pacing of their quests and level up and gear/loot acquisitions are very well paced.

[@The_Rude_French_Canadian]

What’s missing in Hogwarts is a goddamn photo mode! Either the devs forgot or I’m blind and can’t find it 😂

[@KEE_Wii]

This makes a ton of sense much like pacing in a movie or tv show. Without consistent engagement especially when your phone is directly next to games would have users losing interest fairly easily. I do wonder if you would hit an overload time where the amount of options or items of interest just overwhelm the user.

[@ThundaFuzz]

I think one of the main reasons it's fun to explore is it's populated with many of the same "type" of puzzles (merlin trials, treasure caves, etc.) but they have enough variety to them so they don't feel repetitive so the player will ultimately try to solve them rather than skipping over them.

[@TacticalCastle]

Gotta say... I really do get a weird flash back from Fable on this game. They did really well. I really really wish this was multiplayer open, and cross platform... but man is it beautiful. This is such an epic game!

[@alexzhang6530]

excellent video. The journalistic professionalism was truly displayed here, and one of the few content creators who clearly showed dedication and thoughtfulness in their efforts

[@mrman-yj3bn]

Anyone else think the merlin puzzles are only in the game to fill up the open world? Most of them take 10 seconds to figure out but 1 minute to complete.

[@Iluvantir]

Even in the "empty areas" there are things to do. Stop, take in the sights, pick 'shrooms and daisies, random unmarked camps or enemy npcs. But yeah, I did notice that south of Hogsmead and East of the Castle there was little to do... other than hover there on your broom for a bit and grin to yourself, remembering how you imagined this when first reading the books. "I'm a wizard, and damnit, I'm actually here" was a quick thought I had a few hours in when I first got my own broom. Flying down from Hogsmead, over the lake, a quick flight over the station, then due west to the castle at sunset... looked great. No complaints from me so far. This game is right up there as one I'll revisit often (but I HAVE to play as each of the other three houses once this playthrough is done, so this will be played to death over the next few weeks.)

[@Shay416]

I literally fly around just taking in the sights saying to myself “damn” look at this ❤

[@medea27]

A great peek behind the psychology of design of open world games... I wonder whether the average time between points of interest in a game has been reducing over time, in line with the shrinking of attention spans & instant gratification expected with new games (ie. 'pay to win'). And you clearly have a budding game designer in the family @ 17:53 ... the blue Horseman has always been my personal favourite. 💙

[@NoonMight]

I’m one of the few people that loved Vallaha, i love Vikings, i love open worlds, and i loved assassins creed, so boom boom boom, it checked all my boxes

[@sarahselzer1459]

From what I've found the major major clusters are around larger bases or areas of power. If I find ruins with rooms vs. rubble it seems those areas usually have more packed in as well as they are places of power. I feel this is so stopping for the power spot is more enticing as you can also get a Merlin Puzzle, get a beast, step away into a treasure cave and get to fight either spiders or dark wizards. For the bases those are where more side quests lead you and since you will be in that area for a quest then why not also be able to revelio a field guide page, get treasure, and solve more Merlin Puzzles.

[@TrySomeCG]

im a game developer myself and you have no idea how much this info helped me, i've never heard of that article until today

[@NickGuelker]

One of the things I've noticed, you're not meant to discover everything. If you play naturally, and discover as you come across things, you never need to grind things out. There are more points of interest than challenges in your field guide. I think they were going for a "oh, hey look, a Merlin puzzle. I'll go do it real quick" while you're doing something else approach. Same thing in the castle, you complete your field guide way before you discover everything. So you don't need to grind it out. You will progress naturally by getting things done on the way.

[@riskyanalysis5479]

Have you thought about the movement transition in relation to progression and clusters of interest? Walking to Running to Floo Flame to Flying. It would be interesting to see that kind of a break down as well.

[@bloodglacier]

One of the best parts of this games world is the incredible use of verticality, it makes these densely packed places feel large even when they are not. Its an incredible use of level design and has made exploration feel fantastic.

[@racetrackalexander381]

Honestly an amazing well thought out video. I like how you were able to measure out the world and show how the open world is processed. Very intelligent on behalf of the devs for giving the 15-20 second views of Hogwarts. It is truly an amazing well developed game.

[@bigmanspook]

My mans Luke has a keyboard _behind_ his other keyboard. Gotdamn

[@1DJRikkiBee]

This game is also really good at feeding you information without UI elements. I play the game with ALL the UI off, except for object highlighting (mainly for aiming reasons), and I was easily able to complete my entire first playthrough this way with no issue. It makes it really easy to get immersed into the world and have memorable moments of random interactions that you might otherwise miss staring at a minimap. Plus it makes combat feel a bit more realistic to me. Fumbling around trying to remember which spells I know that would be helpful in the fight or good to use in a combo and what exact combination of buttons I'd have to press to use them in the first few fights I made me feel a little bit of the combat anxiety that the player displays. Then obviously, once you get used to everything and start preparing more, it makes you feel quite powerful handily defeating multiple enemies without all the on screen hints and prompts.

[@cody8538]

One of my favorite features in Hogwarts is the duelling feats for combat. They encourage you to try different things you may not normally think to try, and even if some fights reward you with little to no XP, the duelling feats, along with combat challenges provide further incentive to throw fisticuffs. Simple but great design. Not to mention the great trickle of mechanics as you play through the story, the great world exploration, I’m just genuinely very impressed with the devs efforts put into this game, it really has been a magical experience for me so far.

[@DKannji]

The distance between the same experience is also spaced out much better than the lesser farcrys. Going from Merlin challenge to poacher camp to flying challenge... You're not really jumping from one Merlin challenge to the next in less than 30 seconds(15 on broom) unless you're actively seeking them out, and even then you have the occasional pathing where you need to fly over 1-3 you've already completed to get to the next. In farcry I'd become quite exhausted when coming across the 5th band of enemies in a minute. Fling a steak move on to the next.

[@darthrizzen9349]

Interesting, nice analysis. I had indeed noticed the clusters and the fact there's always something to do on the world map. The activities tend to be relatively varied as well (Merlin's puzzles, caves, ancient magic ruins, balloons to pop). Avalanche put in a lot of attention to detail. I'd say the southeasternmost part of the map is more sparse because it's a late game area, including an optional lvl 37 quest with a lot of lvl 30 Dark Wizard jobbers and a rather destructive boss. Funny thing is, this area and the corresponding quest can be accessed early, practically as soon as you get the broom and disillusionment spell. Many optional dungeons can also be accessed and cleared at any time, which can lead to a few silly situations like a supposedly tense rescue mission where all the guards were gone as I had already cleared up the place hours before. I find it all very satisfying.

[@The_Worst_Warlock]

This is honestly really interesting as a game design student. Great video!!

[@necrolicious]

I don't know if you mention it in the video, but the fact the "points of interest" are clustered or paired could be to multiply the effect you are talking about. If you notice it's generally not two of the same thing together, it's a cave and a plant, or a monster lair and a cave. So, when you are investigating a monster lair, the cave pops up on your map so you search there right after, or as you are entering the cave you see the plant pop up and it reminds you about making potions, and so on from there multiplicatively.

[@zapalblizh]

the quest to get your own shop literally flips your view and has a continuous change of environment like all the time through the quest, which is just impressive and then the easter egg of the moving manequins