As mentioned in the previous post Pottermore replied to a complaint regarding game cheats with the statement that they consider themselves foremost a digital reading experience. I've had better reading experiences on aspirin bottles. Well, okay not quite but close.
The hoopla prior to Pottermore opening the doors for the Beta testers had my son and I expecting a wondrous online journey through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I mean the whole book. We thought it would be a very enhanced online version of the book. Look at the Sony games for their Playstation, imagine that technology bringing each page of the book to life so that as you read, you see, you hear, and it feels as if you've fallen face first into the book as Harry fell into Tom Riddle's diary or into the memories held in a pensieve. This was not to be.
Right out of the gate, we found there was no actual book. Pottermore has used two or three sentences from each chapter which it calls "Moments". These "moments" are accompanied with some really nice artwork. You can zoom into the pictures a time or two to get closer looks at the art and find items to collect that are hidden in each scene. As you move through the "moments" you unlock the only really special thing about the Pottermore website, the extra content from JK Rowling that didn't make it into the books but which gave Harry's world it's realism and depth. There is information on the background of the Dursleys and some of the Hogwart's teachers, insights into where some of the author's inspiration came from, and some just downright funny phrases from this highly imaginative and intelligent writer.
Aside from our disappointment at there being little from the book to actually read, during most of the Beta period there was absolutely no sound. This, to us, was an absolutely glaring oversight. I think my first comment on one of the end of chapter comment sections was "Jo's extra material is wonderful! The site needs sound." We were asked to use the Beta button to report issues and make suggestions and "SOUND PLEASE", was one of the leading suggestions. It took them 8 months to give in and give sound. I was overjoyed. Fluffy finally growled.
Many of the items that are hidden in the chapters have absolutely no purpose. We are told to collect items like salt and pepper shakers, a chipped cup, candle, an alarm clock and chocolate frog cards. We find out fairly quickly that there is no use for these items. So why are we collecting them? So that Pottermore can say it's "interactive". I have to tell you that JK Rowling's original official site, not the revamped one, was more interactive than the Pottermore "moments" and more enjoyable. We were able to follow clues, on her old site, and unearth extra information, the titles of the books as they were released, and even the eraser on her desk had a purpose. Pottermore couldn't even be bothered to add pictures of the famous witches and wizards on the chocolate frog cards, and only recently added brief descriptions of them.
Other items, such as lavender, wolfsbane or unicorn hair, can at least be used in brewing potions, and there are a few extra galleons hidden about but those are the only useful items you find. The usefulness of these items is rather questionable when you consider that reply from Pottermore which was quoted in the preceding post.
So, what is the real "reading experience" on Pottermore? Well, it's obviously not Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. There is that wonderful extra information from JK Rowling, and some fascinating information about wands but other than that the "reading experience" seems to be the sale of the eBooks which are hardly free. If you want your youngster to have the real reading experience, I suggest you go straight to the bookstore for the books or if you really MUST buy the eBooks just make an account at the Pottermore shop. If you and your child are interested in back story, then you'll definitely enjoy unlocking that great extra content. But do not expect the "moments" to be a magical reading experience.
The Ollivanders wand quiz is brief and the Sorting Hat quiz is thought provoking, but
most people get sorted, fall face first into their common rooms and say A. Is that it?? and B. Why can't I get into Chamber of Secrets?? and the ever abundant C. Noooooo I wanted to be a Gryffindor not a Hufflepuff!!! The only thing left for them is the House Point race. The only way to earn house points is by brewing potions and dueling. Since Pottermore deems these games secondary and thus is not willing to insure a level playing field, and since Pottermore has, thus far, refused to pay sentient beings to monitor the comment areas, there really isn't much, other than Jo's content, to recommend the site. Google Books is a more substantial digital reading experience for heaven's sake.
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