I just saw a post about how what made Harry Potter so big wasn't the magic school or the setting- it was the houses. A group you are loyal to and can pretend was assigned to you for fundamental, benevolent reasons.
That's a really amazing take. I never thought about that because it's 100% not something I give a shit about, but it seems like it might explain a lot. Like a LOT.
Both behind the scenes and with the fans. It explains so damn much.
It is legitimately a "mind blown" moment where I recontextualize everything, and it obviously explains why fundamentally better, similar stories don't grab the same audience.
The sense of belonging to a house is really powerful to a certain sort, in a lot of ways. For example, kids pretending to be in Hogwarts are instantly refining their fantasy to being in a specific house in Hogwarts, and the factionalization sets in and they instantly Belong.
I am already thinking about how this contrasts with things like classes in a TTRPG.
One obvious difference is that houses compete. Classes cooperate. It's not like every school assignment in Hogwarts requires one person from each house on the team for scholastic balance.
Also comparing it to things like Sonicsonas and Spidersonas, where there's a strong theme but little organized factionalization.
Craig P