Book of Potions
A potioneering adventure through an enchanted book.
In 2013, London Studio created Book of Potions, an augmented reality game for the PlayStation 3 that Sony Computer Entertainment published. Tied to the Harry Potter universe, this Wonderbook title followed the 2012 release Book of Spells. It launched in North America on November 12, 2013, and in Europe on November 15, 2013, at the same time as Diggs Nightcrawler and Walking with Dinosaurs.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- London Studio
- Series
- Wizarding World
- Publisher
- Sony Computer Entertainment
- Platforms
- PlayStation 3
- Released
- 12 November 2013 (NA); 15 November 2013 (EU)
- Genre
- Augmented reality
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Story
The Book of Potions was written in the 16th century by Zygmunt Budge, a talented potioneer who left Hogwarts at age 14 and moved to the Outer Hebridean island of Hermetray, where he lived alone and continued his studies. About 500 years after his death, a Hogwarts student comes into possession of the book and finds that some of Zygmunt's personality lives on within its pages. Under his tutelage, the student begins mastering potioneering. After brewing an introductory boil-curing potion for Zygmunt's house elf, the student discovers they have been entered into the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship, a septennial contest between students from magic schools worldwide. With Zygmunt's help, the student brews various potions to overcome obstacles and obtain the Golden Cauldron, which they achieve after brewing and drinking Felix Felicis. The student then earns the right to use the cauldron to create their own potion, the Potion of All Potential, which enables its drinker to reach their highest capability. Zygmunt initially appears warped and obsessed with the Golden Cauldron, but as the student's skills improve, he warms to them and reveals why he left Hogwarts: he was denied entry to the Championship due to being three years below the minimum age, and he left the school in protest. After the student wins the cauldron, Zygmunt's spirit finds peace, congratulates them, and departs.
Gameplay
Book of Potions is almost identical to Book of Spells in gameplay. The PlayStation Eye renders the book and its effects while the PlayStation Move controller acts as a wand, as well as other instruments such as a knife for chopping ingredients and a spoon for stirring a cauldron. The player begins by choosing one of the four Hogwarts houses and one of three wands, or they can log into a Pottermore account to have those choices made automatically. The game consists of seven chapters, each focusing on a particular potion. Each chapter follows a similar structure: an introduction to the potion, gathering ingredients, brewing the potion, a short story with multiple-choice fill-in-the-blank interactivity, and using the potion to advance in the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship. Finding hidden creatures during ingredient gathering unlocks those ingredients in Concoctions mode, where the player can freely experiment and create custom potions by combining up to four ingredients.
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