Over the years, we’ve asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the most clever Harry Potter movie moments ever. Here are their amazing responses.
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The next Harry Potter video game will allow players to customise their character’s voice, body type, and gender placement for the school dormitories, taking a stride toward inclusivity after several recent controversies stemming from comments by series creator J.K. Rowling that were seen as transphobic.
Hogwarts Legacy is scheduled for 2022 release from publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer Avalanche Software. When players start up the game, they will be able to create a character that has a masculine or feminine voice no matter what their body looks like, according to people familiar with the game’s development. The people requested anonymity because they weren’t authorised to speak to the press.
Players will then get to select one of two options – “witch” or “wizard” – that will determine the dorm they get placed in at the magical school of Hogwarts and how they are addressed by other characters in the game.
Although this level of customisation has grown more common in video games and is no longer unusual, it’s noteworthy for Hogwarts Legacy. Last summer Rowling made several comments that were widely viewed as demeaning toward transgender people and denounced by many, including Harry Potter film stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson. The comments also rattled some people working on the game, Bloomberg reported. As a result, some members of the Hogwarts Legacy development team have fought to make the game as inclusive as possible, pushing for the character customisation and even for a transgender character to be added. There was resistance from management at first, the people familiar with the project said, but currently the character customisation is included in the game. A Warner Bros. spokesperson declined to comment.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is a unit of ATT and houses titles like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Mortal Kombat 1. The unit had attracted interest from several major companies last year and could have reaped $4 billion (roughly Rs. 29,220 crores), according to a report from CNBC last June. But ATT balked given the business’s growth potential, Bloomberg reported, and pulled the unit from a list of potential asset sales. Harry Potter is one of the most lucrative franchises in entertainment. The film series is the third-highest grossing of all time, with $7.7 billion (roughly Rs. 56,240 crores) in revenue, while Rowling has sold more than half a billion books, more than any individual author in history.
Last month, Hogwarts Legacy faced more controversy after gaming journalist Liam Robertson revealed that Troy Leavitt, a senior producer at Salt Lake City-based Avalanche, made dozens of YouTube videos attacking feminism and “social justice.” He also expressed support for Gamergate, a loose community of gamers who harass journalists and game developers for voicing progressive views. ResetEra, one of the largest video game forums, enacted “a total ban on threads for promotional media” around Hogwarts Legacy in the wake of that discovery and Rowling’s comments. Leavitt didn’t respond to a request for comment.
© 2021 Bloomberg LP
Is Samsung Galaxy F62 the best phone under Rs. 25,000? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can now transform photos of people into short, highly realistic animations, much like the moving pictures in the newspapers and posters of Harry Potter’s magical world.
In these AI-animated clips, faces that were once frozen in time blink, turn their heads and even smile, their movements wavering between astonishingly lifelike and deeply unsettling (and yes, downright creepy).
Genealogy website MyHeritage introduced the animation engine on Feb. 25. Developed by technology company D-ID and known as Deep Nostalgia, it enables users to animate photos via the MyHeritage website, representatives said in a blog post. D-ID designed custom algorithms that recreate the naturalistic movement of human faces digitally, applying those subtle movements to photographs and modifying facial expressions that move as human faces normally do, according to the D-ID website.
Related: Can machines be creative? Meet 9 AI ‘artists’
When AIs create original video footage, often referred to as “deepfake,” they do so using a method called generative adversarial networks, or GANs. This technique pits two AIs against each other; one produces content and the other evaluates how well that content emulates the real thing. Over time, the algorithms drive each other to become better, until the original AI content is very hard to identify as fake.
Such videos can be used in troubling ways: from showing political figures making fake speeches, to adding the faces of famous actresses to the bodies of actresses in pornographic movies, Vice reported in 2018.
However, video clips generated by Deep Nostalgia are just a few seconds long, and the training footage for the AI did not include speech, so as to prevent the creation of deepfakes, according to MyHeritage.
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Programmers trained Deep Nostalgia’s GAN with sets of “blueprint videos,” each representing different combinations of movements for eyes, mouths, eyebrows, cheeks and heads; the AI then learned how these could be applied to photos of different people to achieve an illusion of realistic motion. It assigns different suites of facial gestures to different photos, depending on their subjects’ postures and orientations, according to MyHeritage.
Results in the animations can vary, depending on the quality of the original image and how the person in the photo posed. The illusion tends to be most effective when the subject is facing the camera, and the end result can be less convincing when the algorithm has to create digital information to represent something that was missing in the original picture, “such as teeth or ears,” MyHeritage representatives said.
Deep Nostalgia may also struggle to realistically incorporate accessories such as hats or glasses, which can obscure parts of the face and head. In those cases, “sometimes the simulated movement works well — and other times it does not,” according to the site.
While MyHeritage encouraged users to test Deep Nostalgia with family photos, Twitter users shared examples of some famous faces from the past, such as the poet Emily Dickinson; chemist and X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin; and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
Frederick Douglass, the mighty abolitionist, was the single most photographed person in the United States during the nineteenth century. Here’s how he might’ve looked in motion. Brace yourself and press play. pic.twitter.com/HOxDK7jGyhFebruary 28, 2021
Originally published on Live Science.
“People are worried about planning a holiday and then having it ripped out from beneath them,” the owner of the Julia-Anna Inn said.
Tourism Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond said consumers were booking their holidays at the very last minute in the hope of avoiding border closures. She had also noticed a resurgence in the road trip which has, she said, been a “big holiday trend”.
Victorians enjoying the sites and tourist towns of their own state after months of tough lockdown restrictions.
Credit:Justin McManus
Tourism in capital cities across Australia was hit harder by the pandemic than regional areas, with overnight trips falling by 52 per cent, according to Tourism Research Australia.
While some operators have struggled to attract as many interstate visitors as they would have liked, Melburnians have flocked to regional destinations.
Ours is a government of many plans. Indeed, such is the profusion of plans, so vast is their coverage and so thick and fast their arrival one almost suspects deliberate obfuscation. (I’m reminded of that scene in Harry Potter where a conspiracy of owls sends a million letters into the muggle house’s every orifice). In all this multiplicity, though, all this rampant “building Sydney’s future”, there’s just one discernible idea. Innovation.
Tech-hubs have deluged inner Sydney, designating everything from Eveleigh through Central to White Bay an “innovation corridor”. But if western Sydney was feeling any FOMO in the innovation department, it shouldn’t worry. Pretty soon, if the plans are to be believed, and just upriver from the new flood-prone Powerhouse-to-be, Parramatta will have its own 250-hectare “health and innovation district”.
Cumberland Hospital, which gets swallowed whole in the Westmead Place StrategyCredit:Tony Walters
It’s all set out in the 81-page draft Westmead Place Strategy. The name makes it sound harmless, a collection of landscape fixes for that woebegone hospital campus. Be not fooled. It’s not about place, it’s not strategic and it’s certainly not harmless, less concerned to fix the hospital than expand it to 10 times its already considerable size. It’s not even innovative. Far from it. This is grubby old business as usual.
What it really is, this Place Strategy, is a cloak for stuffing as much development as possible into the fragile, treasured and partly world heritage-listed Cumberland Hospital precinct.
Nagini, Moody, and Wormtail
Who wasn’t in a Harry Potter movie?
Hogwarts Legacy, the Harry Potter RPG, takes place in the Hogwarts of yesteryear. And it lets you create your own legacy at the school for “witchcraft and wizardry,” as a new student with all sorts of decisions to make.
This game takes place a long time ago, so you may not see as many familiar faces as you’d like. But who needs them when you’ve got a trip to the sorting hat, classes and much more? There even seem to be masked baddies. Unfortunately, the game’s not getting the best publicity right now, as a new controversy about someone behind the title has emerged.
Here’s everything we know about the Harry Potter RPG, including release date window and its trailer.
It turns out we muggles will have to wait a little longer for our own Hogwarts Legacy to begin. As shared from the official Hogwarts Legacy twitter account, the game will now come out in 2022, so that the studio can give “the game the time it needs.”
That’s industry talk for “we need to make sure it’s not a buggy mess, where the jokes about how unstable it is become bigger than the game itself,” as happened with Cyberpunk 2077.
pic.twitter.com/9zqii6DZLmJanuary 13, 2021
Originally, as we learned from the first trailer at the Sony PS5 event confirmed what was already reported by Bloomberg, Hogwarts Legacy was to come out in 2021 (Bloomberg specified as late 2021). The game was expected to make its public debut in summer 2020 at E3, but that event was cancelled.
It’s finally official: Hogwarts Legacy, 2021 pic.twitter.com/ezXDQUvR0HSeptember 16, 2020
In that Bloomberg story, Jason Schreier confirmed the Harry Potter RPG’s existence with two people currently working on the game — which is being developed by Avalanche Software, a Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment-owned studio.
While the Hogwarts Legacy trailer does not confirm if the game is a PS5 exclusive, it does show off how you’ll be engaging with all of the magical beasts you can point a wand at, take classes, cast spells and engage in your own drama with other students. It even appears that there’s a masked student up to no good, or it could be a mean-spirited clique.
Live the unwritten in #HogwartsLegacy. pic.twitter.com/t4bAzEOOAwSeptember 16, 2020
We didn’t see any gameplay today, but we have some details from the original rumors of the Harry Potter game. These may have changed, as they date back to 2018, when (since-taken-down) video of a very early version of the game was posted to Reddit. According to Variety, the clip included a character creation scene, and visuals of your young wizard exploring Hogwarts’ Great Hall.
There was also standard RPG fare, including creating potions and casting spells. Players can also choose their alignment — good or evil — which likely affects your abilities or list of available spells.
Back when that footage spilled out onto the internet, BBC writer Lizo Mzimba said that the game was going to be called “Harry Potter” Magic Awakened,” and that “Harry Potter: Magic Forever” was also considered.
Am told this is from a yet to be announced RPG currently titled Harry Potter Magic Awakened, although other titles including Magic Forever are also in the mix. Other Potter games are also thought to be on the way @TomPhillipsEG @ComicBook #HarryPotterMagicAwakened #HarryPotter https://t.co/bgXliE0HmeOctober 2, 2018
The Bloomberg report claimed that the Harry Potter game is being developed for multiple platforms, including the PS5 and Xbox Series X. It sounds like other consoles (such as the current generation PS4 and Xbox One) or the PC are the other possible places where Mr. Potter’s broomstick may land.
While Hogwarts Legacy’s troubles started with having to explain J.K. Rowling wasn’t a part of the game’s production (more on that below), things got even worse for fans excited for the game. Journalist Liam Robinson posted a Twitter thread explaining that Hogwarts Legacy’s lead designer used to run a YouTube channel dedicated to far-right content. One video is entitled “In Praise of Cultural Appropriation” and another is focused on the “Social Justice Ten Commandments.”
According to the Bloomberg report that confirmed the Harry Potter RPG’s existence, there is some discomfort within the studio over the public stances taken by Potter author J.K. Rowling. The writer’s gotten in hot water for a lot of her online comments regarding transgender men and women, including last December when she voiced support for Maya Forstater, a tax specialist who was fired for transphobic language.
If you haven’t seen them for yourself on Twitter, Rowling’s comments have infuriated many in the transgender community. These statements have led Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson to publicly explain they disagree with the author.
According to Schreier, “The situation made some members of the team uncomfortable and sparked private discussions among staff over the pandemic water cooler, the workplace communication app Slack.”
This could, the article notes, dampen the potential success of the game, as fans have voiced an intent to no longer support all things Harry Potter or anything connected to Rowling. The Bloomberg article notes that Rowling has “very little direct involvement” with the game.
More recently, what appears to be an olive branch was leaked. A Bloomberg report stated that gamers will be able to adjust the body type and voice of their character, to make the game more trans-inclusive. An NBC News report shows that some trans gamers think this is barely enough to make amends.
Jam City and Portkey Games have announced a special Christmas Countdown event for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery – an eight-day extravaganza running from today through to December 25th.
The cheerful Christmas Countdown campaign will treat fans to social media giveaways and in-game prizes such as notebooks, Christmas sweaters and decor, as well as coins and energy. Players will also be able to enjoy Quidditch, House Pride and Duelling events.
In a new time-limited sidequest, players who have progressed to Year 3 Chapter 4 will also find that their hopes to relax at Hogwarts during the holiday break don’t go according to plan after Charlie Weasley is injured and enlists your help to repay a debt. Along with discovering Professor Snape’s plans for the break, Hagrid and Charlie help create a unique Boxing Day surprise.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is available to download now on Android and iOS. For more info, visit the official website here.
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Hogwarts Legacy, the Harry Potter RPG, takes place in the Hogwarts of yesteryear. And it lets you create your own legacy at the school for “witchcraft and wizardry,” as a new student with all sorts of decisions to make.
This game takes place a long time ago, so you may not see as many familiar faces as you’d like. But who needs them when you’ve got a trip to the sorting hat, classes and much more? There even seem to be masked baddies. Unfortunately, the game’s not getting the best publicity right now, as a new controversy about someone behind the title has emerged.
Here’s everything we know about the Harry Potter RPG, including release date window and its trailer.
It turns out we muggles will have to wait a little longer for our own Hogwarts Legacy to begin. As shared from the official Hogwarts Legacy twitter account, the game will now come out in 2022, so that the studio can give “the game the time it needs.”
That’s industry talk for “we need to make sure it’s not a buggy mess, where the jokes about how unstable it is become bigger than the game itself,” as happened with Cyberpunk 2077.
pic.twitter.com/9zqii6DZLmJanuary 13, 2021
Originally, as we learned from the first trailer at the Sony PS5 event confirmed what was already reported by Bloomberg, Hogwarts Legacy was to come out in 2021 (Bloomberg specified as late 2021). The game was expected to make its public debut in summer 2020 at E3, but that event was cancelled.
It’s finally official: Hogwarts Legacy, 2021 pic.twitter.com/ezXDQUvR0HSeptember 16, 2020
In that Bloomberg story, Jason Schreier confirmed the Harry Potter RPG’s existence with two people currently working on the game — which is being developed by Avalanche Software, a Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment-owned studio.
While the Hogwarts Legacy trailer does not confirm if the game is a PS5 exclusive, it does show off how you’ll be engaging with all of the magical beasts you can point a wand at, take classes, cast spells and engage in your own drama with other students. It even appears that there’s a masked student up to no good, or it could be a mean-spirited clique.
Live the unwritten in #HogwartsLegacy. pic.twitter.com/t4bAzEOOAwSeptember 16, 2020
We didn’t see any gameplay today, but we have some details from the original rumors of the Harry Potter game. These may have changed, as they date back to 2018, when (since-taken-down) video of a very early version of the game was posted to Reddit. According to Variety, the clip included a character creation scene, and visuals of your young wizard exploring Hogwarts’ Great Hall.
There was also standard RPG fare, including creating potions and casting spells. Players can also choose their alignment — good or evil — which likely affects your abilities or list of available spells.
Back when that footage spilled out onto the internet, BBC writer Lizo Mzimba said that the game was going to be called “Harry Potter” Magic Awakened,” and that “Harry Potter: Magic Forever” was also considered.
Am told this is from a yet to be announced RPG currently titled Harry Potter Magic Awakened, although other titles including Magic Forever are also in the mix. Other Potter games are also thought to be on the way @TomPhillipsEG @ComicBook #HarryPotterMagicAwakened #HarryPotter https://t.co/bgXliE0HmeOctober 2, 2018
The Bloomberg report claimed that the Harry Potter game is being developed for multiple platforms, including the PS5 and Xbox Series X. It sounds like other consoles (such as the current generation PS4 and Xbox One) or the PC are the other possible places where Mr. Potter’s broomstick may land.
While Hogwarts Legacy’s troubles started with having to explain J.K. Rowling wasn’t a part of the game’s production (more on that below), things got even worse for fans excited for the game. Journalist Liam Robinson posted a Twitter thread explaining that Hogwarts Legacy’s lead designer used to run a YouTube channel dedicated to far-right content. One video is entitled “In Praise of Cultural Appropriation” and another is focused on the “Social Justice Ten Commandments.”
According to the Bloomberg report that confirmed the Harry Potter RPG’s existence, there is some discomfort within the studio over the public stances taken by Potter author J.K. Rowling. The writer’s gotten in hot water for a lot of her online comments regarding transgender men and women, including last December when she voiced support for Maya Forstater, a tax specialist who was fired for transphobic language.
If you haven’t seen them for yourself on Twitter, Rowling’s comments have infuriated many in the transgender community. These statements have led Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson to publicly explain they disagree with the author.
According to Schreier, “The situation made some members of the team uncomfortable and sparked private discussions among staff over the pandemic water cooler, the workplace communication app Slack.”
This could, the article notes, dampen the potential success of the game, as fans have voiced an intent to no longer support all things Harry Potter or anything connected to Rowling. The Bloomberg article notes that Rowling has “very little direct involvement” with the game.
More recently, what appears to be an olive branch was leaked. A Bloomberg report stated that gamers will be able to adjust the body type and voice of their character, to make the game more trans-inclusive. An NBC News report shows that some trans gamers think this is barely enough to make amends.