Tales From Earth:DVD Games

This is part of the compilation created for the book Tales From The Third Planet, created by the Cubehunters on Earth, and printed by Lulu. Anyone can buy it here, with proceeds to go to unfiction! :)

There are two main areas of Stefan’s life in which he has grown accustomed to throughout his short lifetime as a teenager on Earth, and these are: A) his appreciation for the media, especially DVD’s and B) J.K. Rowling’s success in creating the Harry Potter phenomenon

To many citizens of Earth the concept of a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) is very familiar, however to Perplexians this may not necessarily be the case; because of this a standard definition of a DVD can be seen below:

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format that is used for playback of movies with high video and sound quality and for storing data

DVD’s are being used on Earth today for various reasons, however they are mainly being used in order to improve one’s acknowledgement of various forms of media, while to also improve the quality of one’s recreational time. In saying this the attraction of using DVD’s in games is starting to emerge throughout different marketing companies and is consequently becoming increasingly popular with consumers and games such as the Scene It? series and the Trivial Pursuit series are illustrations which can convey this fandom to Perplexians.

Another vast-growing popularity among Earthlings is the concept of the Harry Potter phenomenon which was created by the author J.K. Rowling. To Perplexians the adventures of Harry Potter may not be a topic of great discussion, due to the limited knowledge of the novels at hand, however a standard definition of the Harry Potter phenomenon can be seen below:

Harry James Potter (born July 31, 1980) is a fictional young wizard who is the protagonist in a series of fantasy and wizardry novels by J. K. Rowling and the movies based on them.

The actual meaning of this essay should be made more simpler for you now, since you have been given some prior knowledge which is located above, as well as the title of this essay which should again be self-explanatory. If you still have not guessed where this is going, then let me tell you. Stefan is going to review his favourite game, a DVD-related game entitled Harry Potter Scene It? which has been created by the well-known Mattel company.

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Harry Potter Scene It? is a successful variation to Mattel’s Scene It? series of games, which enables players to gain insight into the continuing adventures of Harry Potter, Hogwart’s most renowned pupil. The game comprises of an original "twist," since there is the inclusion of a DVD, which challenges players on various Harry Potter challenges relating to the four Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The whole concept of the game will be sure enough to highlight who amongst you are great wizards and who are merely muggles! (non-magical beings)

Harry Potter Scene It? is a game of remarkable yet simple premise and at heart is similar to Trivial Pursuit, due to the fact that players must move their tokens around a board answering questions as they proceed, demonstrating their knowledge on trivia to try and be successful in winning the game. Harry Potter Scene It? demonstrates this factor, but also includes 160 question cards based on three different subjects, the first being the world of Hogwarts and life associated at Hogwarts, the second being the Wizarding World and life associated outside of Hogwarts and last but not least the world of muggles and questions relating to the non-magical world such as with the Harry Potter actors and actresses. This followed by the inclusion of "House Points" cards, which are similar to Monopoly’s "Community Chest," the DVD which brings players a great deal of challenges such as Guess Who The Character Is? and different Harry Potter puzzlers like anagrams are sure enough to entertain the whole family for hours on end!

Once the game has begun the adventure really starts to progress, since there are two dices: one which allows the player to advance forward, while the other selects a category for the player to answer when landing there. There are various categories based in the Harry Potter Scene It? game such as:

My Play Challenge: This allows the player rolling the dice to answer a Harry Potter related question from the DVD; an example of this type of challenge relates to viewing a clip from one of the first three Harry Potter movies and answering a question based on the clip.

All Play Challenge: This allows all of the players to answer a Harry Potter related question from the DVD; an example of this type of challenge relates to deciphering the name of a Harry Potter character from listening to a voice clip from one of the Harry Potter movies.

Players Choice: This allows the player rolling the dice to select either to answer a question from one of the question cards, select a “House Points” card or to answer a question from the DVD using the "My Play" option.

The Harry Potter Scene It? game is very user-friendly, since it displays the instructions of how to play the game not only on paper, but on the DVD, which can be seen as very useful for people whom prefer to learn using visual tactics opposed to reading tactics. The game also allows players to gain a great deal of flexibility, since one has the option of selecting how long the "timer" for each question will last for; this can be set to 10, 20 or 30 seconds, which could be decided depending on the age range or the extent of the Harry Potter knowledge of the players at hand. It is stated on the box of the Harry Potter Scene It? game that it is intended for players of age range 8-adult and this is very much the case, since a child is as likely to get the question correct as much as an adult, depending on their knowledge of the Harry Potter phenomenon.

The ending to this game is very thrill seeking, since there is a "Winner Takes All" scenario, which can lead to one player winning the game by landing on the space labelled "Stop" and answering one Harry Potter related question first, before any other of the players have a chance to do so. If this fails then the same player does have the attempt to win on their next round using the "Final Cut" scenario, which allows the player to answer one to three Harry Potter related questions on their own, depending on their position on the "Final Cut Circle" which ranges from the rings three, to two and finally one, in order to land on the glorious winning spot, which is located at ring one to eventually be glorified as the winning champion and the almighty wizard of the game!

This game has been created with the players mind at heart, as there are two ways to play the game, one of which is the "normal" version and takes account of the whole board, but the other is a “shortened” version and allows players to fold up the board in half, so that a game can still occur, but is shorter for those whom have a limited time frame. Furthermore this game accounts for different scenarios of players since there is also the option to use the game at parties, due to the fact of the "Party Play" option which allows the Harry Potter Scene It? DVD to be used as entertainment at parties, preferably at parties that are either related to Harry Potter or the people at the party have the knowledge of the Harry Potter world in the first place!

The possible downside to this game is that it could eventually become quite repetitive; however the inclusion of the "Pre-Set Game Play" option tries to minimize this by shuffling the DVD after every game play, so that in another game the questions which are presented to the players in one game are not the same ones as before. In saying this the game may also be a disadvantage to younger players, as from experience with my brother whom is only 8, younger children may enjoy the clips which are shown, but have trouble reading the questions which are presented to them and stating a response within the time limit, even if it is the full allowance of 30 seconds. In addition to this the various challenges relating to word games may also hinder young children’s opportunities to fully participate with the game, however as the answers are displayed gradually with hints, for example with the anagrams then this may be suffice for the young players to actively play the game without any difficulties

To conclude the Harry Potter Scene It? game is an excellent product which is much more liberating and social than many other games, as players not only compete with each other, but also with the DVD in order to answer it’s questions correctly to eventually try and win the game. The game is presented in an attractive and excellent packaging, while the game pieces are made of metal and have great artistic detail on; I feel that one must consider the great extent in regards to the quality that Mattel has made this game to be. Harry Potter Scene It? is a game which has been established for people of all ages, from the minimum of two players to the whole entire family; I believe that Mattel has produced another successful Scene It? game to it’s current series and this game would make an excellent present for Harry Potter fans and Perplexians*!

*When we can eventually find a way of transporting goods between Earth and Perplex City.

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