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Protego.cz - fullstack development & game design
The task was to create a fully functional platform for a text-based RPG game on the Harry Potter theme. As part of this, in coordination with other members of the project, we were expected not only to develop the full-stack web interface on which the game was to take place, but also to set up game mechanisms, create a visual identity and identify what is a unique selling point compared to projects that already existed on the Czech market.
Research and introduction to a new story line
Based on the analysis and knowledge of competing projects, we found a thematically uncovered area in Harry Potter text RPG games. Competition in the Czech market takes place in the Hogwarts environment. We've counted eight tRPG projects from the world of Harry Potter, all of which deal with the life of young wizards studying at Hogwarts. The exception was two projects, one to simulate Hogwarts on the WoW platform and the other as a desktop game for the Windows operating system.
For that reason, we decided to take an alternative step and designed game mechanics from the world of adult wizards and witches who would move in both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds and set the story in the time of the First Wizarding War.
Administration system, real-time game rooms, spells, interactive items and many more!
For that reason, we decided to take an alternative step and designed game mechanics from the world of adult wizards and witches who would move in both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds and set the story in the time of the First Wizarding War.
Our technical solution of the project was based on PHP and MySQL. It provided a comprehensive spell system, real-time chat rooms, a secure registration system, and other necessities that were required for a full-fledged and enjoyable game. Other things to mention are specific spell packs that you unlock the more you play and are different for each faction. Thus, an Auror cannot learn the same spells as a Death Eater, just as a member of the Order of the Phoenix will not have the same abilities as members of other factions.
It is then a matter of course to use interactive items that you can buy with in-game currency (however, this is not a freemium model of the game), which give you extra extra benefits - or getting a pet that you can also play as.
Design and brand building
Building the brand and visual identity of the project from the world of Harry Potter was not easy at all. In the research part, when we looked at other projects with the same thematic focus, we found out that they do not correspond to the current standards of graphic design, are not responsive and even in a large part of cases do not even evoke that wondrous atmosphere of a magical world. It took us all day just to come up with a suitable name.
However, we realized that we were creating a world of adult wizards. We needed to get rid of any ideas or connotations that would link the project explicitly to Hogwarts or the character of Harry Potter himself. And then it came to us - Protego. The storyline is happening at the beginning of the first Wizarding War. What could be more suitable, that a defence spell? From that point, more conceptual things became much clearer. We needed to resort to a design that wasn't tabular and had all kinds of fancy graphics that would take forever to load. The main story takes place in the Ministry of Magic, which we also adapted to the colour selection, layout of elements and overall darker, but modern-looking, yet a bit rigid appearance of the site.
Logo evolution
When it came to designing the logo, we worked with two variants. The first variant (which you see on the left) was crooked wands with the name of the project in Argent font. At first, this concept seemed satisfactory to us, it symbolized dynamism and combativeness, which would also refer to the very name of the project and its storyline. With the first version of the logo, the project worked for the first few months before we decided that this was not the way the project should go. And so we communicated the change with the leadership team. The Harry Potter font in a muted gold color on an almost red textured background turned out to be the right choice. It evokes a sufficient sense of nostalgia even for players who prefer projects that take place in Hogwarts and, in addition, points to the fact that not all battles take place directly. That mystifying element of mystery was much more in line with the way the story line was handled and written by the project leaders.
Graphic design templates
As part of our project, among other things, we developed editable templates for posts both on bulletin boards within the web interface and on social networks. We attach a sample of them below.
Technicalities, data and fun facts
Fun facts about the beginnings
Within the first quarter of a year since the launch of the Protego project, 170 registered unique accounts were obtained, purely from organic reach, without paid promotion
The players managed to develop and complete 134 assigned tasks
They have posted to 10,000 chat posts and earned a total of 11,733 influence points (which are one of the commodities that power up their game character and unlock new spells)
And most importantly, they spent 103,680 hours of their time with Protego and built a friendly community between them
Programming languages in which the project was developed
HTML | CSS | PHP | MySQL | JavaScript | jQeury
The software was developed using the agile scrum technique, with flexible modifications and implementations of individual requirements
What is with Protego.cz now?
Since its launch in 2020, the project has gained over 1,000 unique registered accounts and 110,000 game posts have been submitted in game rooms. And even though the trend is the decline of text-based RPG games, it seems that Protego is still successfully resisting this trend.