Independent developer known as MattShadd said he is working on a fan remake of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the PC game released in 2001, and shared new gameplay snippets from the development process. The project’s short name is HP1R, and it is being rebuilt using Unreal Engine 5. The author emphasizes that this is not a simple “graphics update” but a full remake being created from scratch. This was reported by playground.rureports.
The enthusiast’s main goal is to preserve the original vibe while adding modern technology: cloth and hair physics, smooth animations, and advanced shaders. So far, he has moved static and dynamic models from the old levels into the new environment and integrated the dialogue audio recordings. In addition, a parkour system and hit/damage mechanics are already working based on UE 5.4 samples.
Visual effects and character behavior have become the most polished part of the project. New particle effects with trails and explosions have been created for spells, reminiscent of Hogwarts Legacy’s style. To prevent NPCs from freezing in a “combat stance” outside fights, separate idle animations were added. The spell-learning mini-game has also been restored: the player must trace a shape with the cursor within a set time.
To improve image quality, the author upscaled and reworked textures using neural networks, and the portraits on Hogwarts’ walls were given motion animations. On the technical side, a save system has been implemented that, when moving between levels, remembers the state of interactive objects in a way similar to Bethesda games. A dedicated system for cutscenes and dialogues was developed, and lines can be skipped as well.
Among the enemies, AI has been prepared for pixies: the flight mechanics had to be rewritten from scratch. Encounters with gnomes are also working. The main menu with graphics settings and the function to load save files are already active in the game.
The developer openly admits the project may infringe copyrights and says the remake is being created solely for entertainment and educational purposes. He also noted that he is taking into account the risk of a potential takedown by rights holders.
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