Martin Griffiths, an engine programmer for Hello Games, recently shared early development footage of the first open-world Harry Potter game, revealing its historical link to the Quake series. Griffiths, who spent eight years working on the engine for the Harry Potter games, highlighted the 2006 adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as a pivotal project. This game was notable for being the first fully streamed, open-world title developed by his team.
The footage Griffiths released shows a prototype version of Hogwarts from the game, found on an old SD card. Although this footage is not as refined as Hogwarts Legacy and includes unfinished elements like a t-posing Dumbledore, it offers an interesting look at the early development of the game. Fans of the Harry Potter series may recognize the early version of Hogwarts depicted in the footage.
In addition to the Harry Potter reveal, Griffiths pointed out a fascinating connection between the technology used in this early version of Hogwarts and the Quake series.
He disclosed that an earlier version of the engine used for the Harry Potter games was also employed to bring Quake 3 to the PlayStation 2. Griffiths cherished this achievement, particularly noting the technical challenge of implementing four-way split-screen rendering given the PS2’s limited GPU memory.
Griffiths elaborated that due to the PS2’s constraints, the engine had to draw mesh in sequence for each of the four viewports instead of reloading textures. This approach helped manage the limited GPU memory, showcasing Griffiths’ ability to overcome hardware limitations. This technical achievement was one of his favorite aspects of working on the Quake 3 port.
Currently, Griffiths is focused on No Man’s Sky and Light No Fire, continuing to advance gaming technology. Earlier this year, he demonstrated the impressive galaxy-hopping capabilities of the No Man’s Sky engine, highlighting its powerful features. Griffiths’ ongoing work illustrates his significant contributions to the gaming industry, blending his past experiences with current innovations.
