Sunday, 4 July 2001
Zaboru was sitting casually inside his private workshop ZAGE Tower 51th floor, working on several ideas at once while the YaDo subscription television played quietly behind him. Documents, game notes, design sketches, and several half-finished development folders covered the desk in front of him, though the room still looked far more organized than it usually did whenever he entered one of his intense creative moods.
On television, one of the most popular anime series in the world was currently airing.
Harry Potter.
The series had become especially successful in Japan, England, and the United States. Children loved the magic, creatures, school rivalries, and strange daily life inside Hogwarts, while older viewers became invested in the mysteries surrounding Harry, Voldemort, and the darker history of the magical world.
Unlike in Zaboru's previous life, however, Harry Potter had begun as an anime series in this world.
The first season had started airing in 1998 and followed Harry's first year at Hogwarts. It adapted most of the important events Zaboru remembered from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, though the anime version was far longer and more detailed than the movie from his previous world and now it's already on Second Season..
Each season contained around thirty-five episodes.
That gave the writers enough time to explore things the films had rushed through or barely shown at all.
There were episodes focused almost entirely on Hogwarts classes, school clubs, dormitory life, Quidditch practice, magical creatures, and the strange traditions of wizarding society. Harry remained the central protagonist, but the anime did not treat Ron, Hermione, Neville, Draco, Ginny, or the other students as background decorations waiting for Harry to enter the room.
They had their own stories.
Some episodes followed Hermione struggling to balance her studies with the growing pressure of being a talented Muggle-born witch. Others focused on Ron's family, his insecurity about money, and the difficulty of growing up surrounded by successful older brothers. Neville received several episodes showing his fear of failure and his slow attempts to become more confident. Even Draco was given more depth, with scenes showing the pressure placed on him by the Malfoy family and the beliefs he had inherited without fully understanding them.
Because of that, the anime had gradually become a strange mixture of magical adventure, mystery, drama, comedy, and slice-of-life storytelling.
One week, Harry and his friends might investigate a hidden corridor beneath the castle.
The next week, an entire episode might focus on a disastrous potion lesson, a school festival, or students attempting to sneak food into their dormitories after curfew.
Zaboru had added many original concepts as well.
The anime mentioned several magical schools outside Britain far earlier than the original stories had. There were references to institutions in France, Germany, Japan, China, India, Africa, Russia, and the Americas. Some schools focused on traditional wand magic, while others taught magic through charms, symbols, music, martial arts, spiritual contracts, alchemy, or magical technology.
Hogwarts remained the heart of the story, but the magical world no longer felt as though it ended at the British coastline.
Zaboru had always found that limitation strange in his previous life. If magic truly existed across the world, then every culture should have developed its own traditions, methods, creatures, and beliefs. Britain could not possibly be the only country with interesting magical history.
So he expanded it.
There were Japanese onmyoji families who treated wand magic as a foreign method. Chinese magical schools placed greater emphasis on talismans, spiritual beasts, and internal energy. Some African communities practiced magic through ancestral contracts and enchanted instruments. Certain American magical institutions experimented with combining enchantments and modern technology, much to the disgust of traditional European wizards.
None of these concepts had become the main focus of the anime yet, but they appeared through books, visiting students, newspaper reports, dialogue, and occasional side stories.
The audience loved it.
Fans constantly argued about which magical school was the strongest, which country had the most dangerous magical creatures, and whether Hogwarts students would survive attending a school that allowed dueling as a normal physical-education class.
The second season, titled Chamber of Secrets, had begun airing in the middle of 2000 and was now approaching its final episodes.
On the television behind Zaboru, Harry and Ron were currently moving through one of Hogwarts' darker corridors while the atmosphere slowly became more ominous. The animation shifted beautifully between warm school-life scenes and frightening mystery sequences, which had become one of the series' greatest strengths.
Zaboru glanced over his shoulder for a moment.
Then he smiled.
The anime had become far larger than he originally expected.
The funny part was that Zaboru had never actually read the Harry Potter books in his previous life.
He knew the movies extremely well. He remembered many scenes, characters, spells, locations, and major events because he had watched the films several times. With Deep Memory Dive, he could recall almost every detail he had personally seen.
But the ability could not create knowledge he had never possessed.
If he had never read a certain chapter, then there was nothing inside his memory to recover.
That meant Zaboru had been forced to build this version of Harry Potter from the films, general information he remembered from the internet, and his own original ideas.
At first, that had worried him.
Eventually, it became an advantage.
Instead of becoming trapped by details from the original novels, the writers had more freedom to expand the world. The anime still respected the major story Zaboru remembered, but it was no longer only a direct recreation. It had developed its own continuity, tone, side characters, school systems, magical traditions, and history.
Naturally, Zaboru still planned to create live-action movies based on the series eventually. A story like Harry Potter almost demanded large cinematic adaptations. The castle, creatures, duels, Quidditch matches, and darker later storylines would look incredible on the big screen.
However, the movies could wait.
Right now, his mind was focused on something else.
Zaboru turned away from the television and looked at the words he had just typed into the computer.
Harry Potter — ZEPS 4 Game
His fingers stopped above the keyboard.
Then his grin slowly widened.
"Hehehe... this will be the first Hogwarts Legacy."
In his previous life, Zaboru had played Hogwarts Legacy. He did not think it was a bad game. In many ways, it was impressive. Exploring Hogwarts was enjoyable, flying on a broom felt satisfying, the environments looked beautiful, and simply existing inside a large magical school fulfilled a fantasy many fans had carried for years.
But the game had also disappointed him in several areas.
For a world built around magic, the actual magical systems often felt too limited.
The combat looked flashy, but many spells functioned like different-colored attacks rather than truly flexible magical tools. The world reacted very little to the player's behavior. Students and teachers barely cared if the protagonist behaved like a complete lunatic, entered restricted rooms, attacked dangerous creatures, or casually used forbidden curses.
Zaboru still remembered using all three Unforgivable Curses during ordinary encounters while nearby characters reacted with less concern than someone watching a student arrive late for class.
The memory made him laugh.
"Avada Kedavra in front of half the school, and everyone just continues walking. Hahaha!"
He shook his head.
That was exactly the kind of thing he wanted to improve.
The game he imagined would not possess graphics as advanced as Hogwarts Legacy from his previous life. Even with ZEPS 4's terrifying specifications, Zaboru was still working with technology closer to the late 2000s rather than the 2020s.
But graphical realism was not the most important thing.
He wanted the world to react.
He wanted Hogwarts to feel bizarre, alive, dangerous, and unpredictable.
The player should not simply walk through beautiful corridors filled with motionless decorations. Paintings should gossip about them. Ghosts should remember previous encounters. Students should react differently depending on the player's house, reputation, magical talent, friendships, behavior, and family background.
Teachers should remember if a student repeatedly broke rules.
Prefects should become suspicious.
Rival students could spread rumors.
Some professors might quietly respect a clever troublemaker, while others would punish them more harshly.
If the player used forbidden magic publicly, the consequences should be serious.
They might be reported.
Friends could become frightened or fascinated.
Teachers could investigate.
The Ministry of Magic might become involved.
Certain dark-wizard groups could even become interested in recruiting the player.
Zaboru leaned closer to the screen and began typing rapidly.
The game would take place long before Harry Potter was born.
That decision immediately gave him more freedom.
He would not need to worry constantly about contradicting Harry's established story. Hogwarts could still feel familiar, but the characters, political conflicts, and central mystery would belong entirely to the game.
The timeline could be placed one or two centuries earlier, during a period when magical society was experiencing major changes. Old pure-blood families would still possess enormous authority, new magical inventions would be appearing, and conflict between traditionalists and reformers could shape the story.
Hogwarts itself would remain the main location.
But it would not be the only location.
Players could explore the school grounds, the Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade, hidden magical villages, abandoned ruins, secret tunnels, Ministry locations, and perhaps limited areas connected to other magical schools.
The world did not need to be completely open from the beginning.
Zaboru preferred carefully designed regions over a giant empty map for sequel if it's possible.
He typed another heading.
MAGIC SYSTEM
This would become the game's most important feature.
The player should learn a large number of spells, but Zaboru did not want them to function only as combat buttons. Magic needed practical uses.
Fire spells could light dark areas, melt ice, burn obstacles, warm freezing characters, or accidentally start fires if used carelessly.
Water spells could extinguish flames, reveal hidden markings, grow magical plants, or interact with certain creatures.
Transformation magic could change objects into tools, weapons, animals, or temporary platforms.
Levitation could solve puzzles, move furniture, rescue falling characters, or throw objects during combat.
Illusions could distract enemies, hide the player, alter appearances, or manipulate witnesses.
Enchantments could be placed on clothing, weapons, tools, rooms, and even other spells.
Zaboru became more excited as he wrote.
Players should also be able to experiment with creating their own magic.
Not complete freedom, of course. That would be almost impossible to balance. But the game could include a modular spell-creation system.
A spell might be created using several components:
Purpose.
Element.
Movement.
Range.
Duration.
Power.
Special effect.
A player could combine a fire element with a tracking movement pattern and a short duration to create a small homing flame. Another player could combine wind, area range, and defensive purpose to create a temporary barrier. More advanced students could create unusual spells by combining incompatible magical concepts, though failure might cause explosions, curses, mutations, or other disasters.
Zaboru laughed quietly.
"Students accidentally destroying classrooms while creating magic... yeah, that sounds like Hogwarts."
The crafting system would also go far beyond ordinary potions.
Players could create magical tools, enchanted clothing, strange artifacts, broom modifications, familiar habitats, portable storage objects, and experimental devices combining magic with technology.
Certain inventions could become illegal.
Others could attract attention from teachers or government officials.
The player's talent and choices would shape which opportunities appeared.
A brilliant potion student might receive private training from a professor.
A skilled duelist could join underground competitions.
A player obsessed with magical creatures might discover rare species or learn to form contracts with them.
Someone interested in dark magic could uncover forbidden libraries and hidden societies.
Another player might spend most of the game creating enchanted furniture and become famous for inventing a chair that insults anyone who sits on it incorrectly.
Zaboru smiled.
That last one was definitely going into the game.
He created another section.
COMBAT
Combat needed to feel magical rather than becoming ordinary shooting with wands.
Positioning, preparation, and creativity should matter.
Some spells would require spoken incantations, while advanced characters could eventually cast certain magic silently. Wand movements could influence accuracy and power. Defensive spells might block specific types of attacks but fail against others.
Magical creatures would require different approaches.
A troll should not be defeated the same way as a ghost.
A cursed suit of armor should react differently from a living wizard.
Some enemies could reflect spells, steal magic, transform, hide inside objects, manipulate gravity, or change the environment during battle.
Players should also be allowed to avoid combat through negotiation, stealth, illusions, bribery, magical creatures, or clever use of the environment.
Zaboru did not want every problem solved by attacking it.
After all, the best part of a magical world was the possibility that almost anything could have a strange solution.
Then he typed another heading.
HOGWARTS LIFE
This part mattered just as much as the main adventure.
The game should allow the player to attend lessons, join clubs, build friendships, develop rivalries, participate in house competitions, explore during curfew, play magical games, and experience school events.
The four houses would affect more than the color of the player's uniform.
Gryffindor students might receive easier access to bold or heroic quests.
Slytherin students could become involved with influential families, political schemes, and secret societies.
Ravenclaw students might receive additional research opportunities, spell experimentation, and hidden academic challenges.
Hufflepuff students could develop stronger community relationships, creature bonds, and support-based magic.
But Zaboru did not want houses to become personality prisons.
A cowardly Gryffindor could exist.
An honorable Slytherin could exist.
A selfish Hufflepuff could exist.
A completely foolish Ravenclaw could absolutely exist.
The house would create opportunities and expectations, not decide the player's entire identity.
Friendships would also matter.
Characters should remember promises, betrayals, gifts, shared adventures, and arguments. Some companions could become close friends, romantic interests, rivals, or enemies. Their relationships could influence missions, combat support, secrets, and endings.
If the player repeatedly behaved cruelly, friends should not simply stand beside them forever because the quest system required it.
Some would leave.
Some would confront the player.
Others might become worse alongside them.
Zaboru leaned back for a moment and stared at the growing document.
This was already becoming much larger than he originally intended.
But that was normal.
Almost every Zaboru project began with a simple sentence and ended as a development folder heavy enough to injure someone.
He looked back toward the television.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were now arguing inside the Gryffindor common room. The scene was not connected to the central mystery at all. It was simply a quiet conversation about schoolwork, fear, and friendship.
Zaboru smiled.
That was what the game needed too.
Not every moment had to involve ancient evil.
Sometimes the player should be allowed to sit with friends, complain about homework, sneak into the kitchen, attend a school celebration, or waste an afternoon experimenting with useless magic.
Those smaller moments would make the dangerous ones matter more.
He typed another sentence at the top of the concept page.
The game must make players feel like they lived at Hogwarts, not merely visited it.
Zaboru stared at the sentence for a few seconds.
Then he nodded.
"Yeah. That's the heart of it."
For now, he planned to call the project simply Hogwarts.
It was direct, memorable, and large enough to represent the school itself rather than tying the game to one specific character.
The title might change later.
The project was still only a plan and now the idea's sound grand but the first Final products might not be able to achieve all that..
That would make development more complicated, but a project this ambitious could not be handled carelessly.
Zaboru started building the development folder.
World overview.
Timeline.
Main story.
Character concepts.
House systems.
Magic rules.
Spell creation.
Combat design.
Hogwarts schedule.
Quest structure.
Companion relationships.
Creature systems.
Moral consequences.
He had barely started, yet the document already contained dozens of pages.
Zaborn's voice eventually echoed from inside the Emulator Mind.
"You do realize you're leaving for Brazil tomorrow, right?"
Zaboru's fingers stopped and chuckled "Don't worry i'll remember… you really quiet these days Zaborn what's wrong? Ready to talk now?" Zaborn only said "Not yet still need a lot of time to think" Zaboru chuckled "Take your time then." as he prepare for tomorrow
Zaboru grinned.
Tomorrow, he would leave Japan and travel to Brazil for several meetings connected to B.E.A.K., the ZAGE Foundation, regional distribution, and ZAGE's growing presence throughout Latin America.
There was still plenty of work to finish before departure. Zaboru sighed "Well one thing at the time…. Hehehehe Harry Potter game that good hopefully this works"
Then he finally closed the document and began preparing for Brazil.
To be continued.
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