Site News, aka. the Not-So-Daily Prophet
Future Updates:
The single player games are being rebuilt and will come back one at a time.
Recent News:
November 7, 2026
New game: Flight from Privet Drive, back on the Games List. Now it is you who flies beside Harry as he leaves Privet Drive, knocking the Death Eaters off their broomsticks.
November 6, 2026
New games: Forest Fall and Escape from Gringotts, back on the Games List. Now it is you who climbs down the tree with Hagrid and rides the dragon out of Gringotts, whose caves no longer wander off the screen.
November 6, 2026
New games: Hang Harry and Nagini's Revenge, back on the Games List. In Hang Harry you stand at the gallows with Ron and Snape again, and every phrase now fits on the screen.
November 6, 2026
New game: Dodge the Death Eaters, the first of the single player games back on the Games List, with its top scores and ratings. A score earns xp, sickles, presents and house points again.
November 6, 2026
Brooms Online is back, ported from Flash to the modern web, and your old account, character and items are waiting for you.
Unique Item Event: October 27, 2009
During the month of November you can win Dumbledore's Pensieve: a unique item owned by nobody else on the whole website! The player with the coolest Dumbledore's Day Off Map will win this unique item. To see a list of player created Dumbledore's Day Off maps, click visit the DDO Artwork Page. The winner will be announced during late November. There will be only one winner, but the runner-up's will receive a badge for their quidditch team, so make sure someone from your quidditch team plays! The player who gets to judge for this contest will be announced before that! Discuss this event on this discussion board thread! Read more about unique items on the Unique Items Page.
October 27, 2009
New game: Nagini's Revenge. Sorry I have not been doing regular updates the last few months, I am getting more and more busy and have shifted my focus to other projects. But I will still be around in sorts to take care of the site and make sure nothing is going wrong, so play on! Also new teams are no longer going to get an Early Team Creation badge. I will start handing out some other badges soon, such as the Dumbledore's Day Off Contest Participation Badge.
August 23, 2009
I have been forgetting to update the news, despite making changes to the site. Oops. Most changes have been small fixes for glitches across the site and games, so no biggie. I have added a new drawing game, Dumbledore's Day Off, and with it an art page deticated to player-saved art from this new game. Have fun! Also in each players public profile, players 'favorite game' is chosen for them. It is based off of their game ratings (and in tie-breakers, the ones with the highest highscore win).
August 16, 2009
Updated Horcrux Hunting to have better physics.
August 7, 2009
Since now I will be working on more visible parts of the quidditch game, you can visit the incomplete game (its labeled 'future quidditch game') to see my progress. Come back every few days and see what I've added to it! Also, I noticed that there is a hugely disproportionate amount of Gryffindors, something I expected to happen. I will give bonuses to the houses whom have the least amount of players in, which is right now Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Added a new broomstick, the Clean Sweep Eleven. Made of Spanisk oak. This broom is the same broom that Ron Weasley was given in his 6th year. The broom is worth 300 sickles and is a present of type 'Broom'. Also added Omnioculars. Like binoculars, Omnioculars can help a wizard see far distances. They can also slow down and replay actions, very unlike binoculars. They are a type of artifact. Also added the Crystal Ball. Depending on who you ask, this is a a crystal sphere which Seers gaze into for the purpose of divination. Of course, Hermione would beg to differ.
August 6, 2009
Fixed glitch 'Cannot choose colors for presents'. I finally got the networking class to work, so now I can get started on the real part of the multiplayer quidditch game. It will still take a while but at least now I am at the part that I understand... The networking code is pretty confusing for me to work with so I am glad to be finished with it.
August 4, 2009
Fixed the 'Makeover page gives you a free scarf and doesnt save properly' glitch. Started with the choosing color system but it still isnt working.
August 3, 2009
The first two unique items are here! On the player marketplace, Godric Gryffindor's Sword was for sale, but was bought by the player Jeanmarc. Also, Dobby's Sock is Hiding somewhere on the site! I suppose he lost it before his brave exploits in Malfoy Manor. Browse through all the links on the site and see if you can find his lost sock. Start clicking... It's hiding somewhere, I promise! I bet you wish you had a sock-loving niffler right now, huh? Visit the Unique Items page for more information about unique items, and stay tuned to the site for new unique items.
August 1, 2009
Fixed a glitch with the Wardrobe that was preventing some internet browsers from loading it. Added a new banner, which can be seen at the bottom of the Banners Page. Added an announcement system that is incorporated into the top banner on the page, and also put the first unique item in the game up for sale, Godric Gryffindor's Sword. Also Dobby's Sock is hiding somewhere on the site, see if you can find it!
July 31, 2009
Added Level 4 to Horcrux Hunting game.
July 30, 2009
Fixed a serious glitch with the Marketplace. Fixed a glitch with online quidditch game.
July 29, 2009
Added a banners page and fixed a serious glitch relating to the old quidditch game.
July 28, 2009
Fixed up house cup system a bit, added Community Hub page to help organize the site, and fixed glitch keeping Horcrux Hunting from saving to highscores list.
July 27, 2009
Added new game 'hang harry'. It is almost done. I need to make it so its replayable, add more words to it, add highscores, and also other characters to make it more fun. You can now choose a school house for your character. Also added house cup system, where players compete for the house cup.
July 25, 2009
I created another game. Wow, this one I was able to create extremely fast. The game is called 'Dodge the Death Eaters' Almost to the point where I feel guilty. But really, it is incredibly addictive. My best friend Andrew drew the castle I put in the background, he drew it like 8 years ago haha. here is the original animation he created that I took it from. I am excited to say that I am starting to look at creating the Quidditch game, the flagship game for the site. It will be multiplayer, much like the older quidditch game. This time I will be focusing on optimizing the game so there is -no- network lag and -no- slow frame rates. Its going to be hard but I am confident. :-)
July 23, 2009
Finished the first new game, 100% done: Flight from Privet Drive. Try it! Also I added level, a winter level, to the Horcrux Hunting game. I am thinking about moving the Dumbledores Army game over to the new site as-is (you will be assigned a random character though, because it will not be scripted with the new character system, sadly). However, the quidditch game, the last game to transfer to the new site, will not be done for some time. I will be re-scripting this game entirely. I am planning to work on this game really hard, and make it 100% quality, better than any other game I have ever made. Haha, okay that sounds cheesy. Anyways, I have also brought the new site to its final home at potter-bo.net. Hope you like it! I have a new idea for House vs House. Each player will choose a house from the 4 Hogwarts houses, and when that player plays a game their score from the game is saved to their house. The house who has the most points in that game 'owns' the game. The house who owns the most games wins the House Cup. :-)
July 21, 2009
Worked on the first sidescrolling game, Horcrux Hunting. I will be finishing this game during the end of July! The market page is finally completely done.
July 19, 2009
Fixed glitch that prevented players from selling items to other players. HOWEVER, you still cannot BUY items from other players, so this is useless still.
July 18, 2009
I have carefully been refining the platform engine for the site since so many games I have planned will be using it. You can see an example field now in the games section (updated it). My girlfriend and I saw half blood prince at midnight, and the best part was we went to a release party where Melissa and John from the Leaky Cauldron were! They are the hosts of Pottercast, the best harry potter podcast ever. I am a huge fan and it was so cool to see them there and listen to the wizard rock bands. I hope everyone had fun watching the new movie! Later.
July 11, 2009
A system is almost in place that will create jpgs out of players character flash files, which is gonna be great for load times. :-) I just need to finish it with some serverside scripts. The Hogsmeade Market is almost finished, although right now you still cant post items for sale or buy items from other players. You can buy wands though. Theres still the glitches on the present system I posted yesterday, but things are looking good. Fixed the forum post notification system so now if theres been a new post since you last visited the discussion board, a notifier will appear on the left. Create a new top score system, imported a game 'Potion Sorting', and created a game system to add new games in the future. Imported 'Forest Fall' too.
July 10, 2009
Almost finished the Wardrobe page, although there is still a small glitch with brooms not always showing up correctly in the background and the 'worth' of an item not showing properly. Aside from that its looking very good. Next I will be adding color options to the present system and also giving out artifacts and broom presents that have stats (bonuses to flying or other games). After that I will finish the market system (including buying wands with stats from ollivanders). A new page with an FAQ about attributes has also been added.
July 8, 2009
The presents system now works although you cannot get presents with stats or choose a color for your presents. Done more work on wardrobe system but progress is going slow with that. View the site map for a list of all pages on the site.
July 4, 2009
I have developed a plan for a stats system where players can perform better in games by collecting items (Brooms, Wands, and Artifacts). Students in their older years will get brooms and artifacts with stats as presents. Wands must be bought from Ollivander for varyingly high prices, new wands are on display daily. This system is not yet complete. I have started work on the present system, market system, and wardrobe system. The discussion board is also being moved over but none of this is complete. Some of it is almost done, some of it has just begun. Fixed the glitch with the internet explorer.
July 1, 2009
I just realized the site looks bad on Internet Explorer (I am using firefox). I hate to have to figure out why, dang it! This is going to take forever. Anyways, today I made an NPC Creation tool that you can check out. I halfed everyones XP, so if you have less XP, that is why. Don't worry, it happened to everyone so in a very real way you have just as much XP. It will be harder to get XP in the new site. Finished account options page, character makeover page. Created a clan system (part of the account options page) that allows teams to have captains.
June 30, 2009
Heres what is finished since last post: Character creation system, Account transition from old site, Public Profiles, NPC creation system, website layout, mail system, account login/creation system. Next I will tackle the account options page, character makeover page, and open presents page. Looks like some players characters will look funny due to me changing some of the tags for character visuals, but that can be easily changed at the 'character makeover' page.
June 28, 2009
I spent way too long playing with the top banner of the site today. You can now drag around the words 'Brooms Online' and itll bounce back and forth the more you move your mouse near it. Haha. *waste of time!*
June 26, 2009
Started working on new character system and website layout. This will take a while. :-)
March 23, 2008
Fixed the following glitches: Loading screen gets stuck at hogsmeade (shopping). Logging out does not log you out all the way. A no-named player shows on the visitor list. I am going to attempt to improve hogsmeade area seriously today. I might have to redo most of the scripts I am not sure yet and I do not know when it will be completed. Added Retro Quidditch as a playable game. Made player icons on discussion board an optional feature, defaulted to be off. This is sad but I had to do it because some players were experiencing slowdown while on boards.
December 17, 2008
I have fixed the present system, you can now receieve presents. Earn presents by playing the single player games and posting on the discussion board. Buy a shop and sell your presents to other players!
June 26, 2008
I have some plans to work on Brooms Online during the summer. Nothing yet, but you can visit the discussion board where I posted my plans and you can suggest game ideas!
December 22, 2007
As proof that I am still alive, I have fixed the major glitches that were keeping my old mario game from working. Visit http://lysle.net/mario to try it out. I wont get more free time for a while though so I probably wont be working on BO for a while still! Sorry!
December 6, 2007
Just wanted to post that I havent abandoned BO, I am just occupied with other things at the moment. I definitely want to continue working on the site when the opportunity arises. :-)
November 10, 2007
Fixes for the issues with housing will come soon, and the presents too. Sorry for putting them half way in and then skimping out for a week. Everyone please visit Free Rice, a game by the UN, where playing helps to donate rice to disadvantaged peoples.
November 2, 2007
You can now buy houses. Buy at the new shop and click on the 'for sale' sign to plot the equipped house. You can drag items into the house's shop, but when you sell items to other players I dont think the money will go to you yet, I still need to fix a few glitches with it.
October 29, 2007
Added some new items today... Buy brooms, wands, and yes, even a motorbike!
October 29, 2007
Some new interesting items are up for grabs at the shops, and I am taking requests for items if anyone is interested. Kristin is helping tons with encouraging site traffic as well as her suggestions for items, thanks Kristin! Time Turners is still not done, it is a difficult game to make due to its puzzle-nature. You can try out the first level of it here though, and I will try to complete it this week. I created some banners for the site, put them up on your website or myspace! They can be found in the links section.
October 26, 2007
I did some bug fixing for the quidditch game and added a count down timer which ends the quidditch match after 5 minutes of play and declares a winner. There is still no snitch, however. I am working on a new side scroller puzzle game called 'Time Turners'. I am considering going through each game and adding sound effects soon.
October 18, 2007
Coming out of my short break away from BO I have put up a new game called Dumbledore's Army. It's a multiple player game, there are no NPC's so make sure you invite a friend to play. This new game still needs polish but it is pretty decent already. I hope to add sound to it as well as some of the other games, and also fix the glitches in the quidditch game.
September 24, 2007
Time has really flew by whilst not working on BO. I have a big update to the shops coming but after that theres going to be another dry period. Sorry! Been very busy with other things. :-(
September 13, 2007
I'm continuing work on the chat and shopping. I officially don't have as much time to work on BO as before but don't worry, I'm not stopping. :-)
September 7, 2007
New game up today. Still some more details I want to add to it, but its mostly done. Try out Potions Class. :-D Its a pretty classic puzzle game. The next mini-game will probably be puzzle too. I've also performed minor bug fixes to Multiplayer Quidditch and added jumping to Forest Fall.
Madeleine L'Engle died today, the author of A Wrinkle in Time. I used to be a huge fan of A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels. I've never really had favourite authors die before Kurt Vonnegut, so its sorta weird. I hope Piers Anthony and Jo Rowling arent next O:-)
September 6, 2007
Theres still a lot of work to do on the shopping stuff but now you can shop a little. I put some items up on a few shops and I'll keep adding items. In the future I am going to reward players with items for playing mini-games, including a mini-game where you can dye your clothing different colors. Also I will allow players to buy houses and sell items from the house. At that point I'll be finished with the shopping stuff. :-)
August 30, 2007
Haha I hope you enjoyed the site for the past day, I accidently uploaded another website over the brooms online main index page. :-p
August 27, 2007
I put up 'escape from gringotts' today. It still needs polishing, as does the other games. I will probably be focusing on shopping now, and then sound effects and graphics for the existing games before starting another one.
August 26, 2007
I added a recent high scores list to 'forest fall'. Many glitch fixes today, and I also started a new mini game which will probably be done sometime this week. Shopping probably will not be complete until next month, as well as the snitch in the quidditch game.
August 20, 2007
Back from Ohio. Move to new webhost is nearly done... Registration page and login pages mostly done. I'm considering working on another mini-game before doing the shop, we'll see what comes next. :-)
August 13, 2007
I've been working on the move to the new webhost, trying to get all my webpages working on the new host and everything set up, including the game servers. the new hosts means improvements in load time and lag issues for Brooms Online! I've also started taking a look at the shopping feature, but theres so much to do before this site is ready for launch that I'm not sure what to work on.
August 10, 2007
Write now I'm structuring the entire website so that Brooms Online can be essentially a collection of harry potter games instead of only a few. When it is done, you will be able to chat from within any game, even single playered ones, and use the points you aquire from the games to make your character look cooler.
