tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post1753228050770595332..comments2023-08-11T05:49:23.366-04:00Comments on Exploring Believability: Grounding fantasyJ. Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10652255892382558843noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-34926906936115382562011-02-03T13:45:53.044-05:002011-02-03T13:45:53.044-05:00Yes, it's really a twofold issue:
1) "Ex...Yes, it's really a twofold issue:<br /><br />1) "Explained" magic allows the player to understand what makes magic different from normal things and understand why there are still "normal humans" around. It provides a direct source for where it comes from, even if the explanation past that is essentially a handwave.<br /><br />2) "Logical" magic functions as a tool, and like the example you just gave with Eternal Darkness, understanding how to use tools is a major part of playing a game. I thought Magicka was pretty good for this, because you can logically figure out how each spell connects to the other (although it also had more abstract spells in the form of the pre-made combos).J. Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10652255892382558843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-72754415730078929612011-02-03T12:32:44.976-05:002011-02-03T12:32:44.976-05:00It does seem that Warhammer and 40k get a lot righ...It does seem that Warhammer and 40k get a lot right in this respect. The addition of chaos/warp as an explanation makes the whole idea of magic far more interesting because of all the new possibilities that it entails (magical mishaps, possession by warp beast, the strength of winds of magic in a certain place ect). With a bit of thought you could make some pretty novel game-play mechanics out of these, and I think the experience would be much more interesting and memorable as a result.<br /><br />Taking your point about wanting to see more to than just throwing fireballs, one magic system I liked was the one in Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. If you haven’t played it, basically, the magic revolves around runes which the player collects, and to cast a spell the player selects a ‘power’ rune (there’s a kinda rock paper scissors arrangement), a ‘verb’ rune and a ‘noun’ rune. For example, the restore health spell required the related power rune, the ‘absorb’ rune, and the ‘self’ rune.<br /><br /> It was a pretty neat system, because not only did it reward the player for having a brain and working out new spells before you were given the ‘recipe,’ but also because it allowed you to form a connection with the magic as presented, because it worked off such a logical principle. Well, it was far more engaging than popping down to the local magic emporium and buying the ‘chain lightning +44 damage upgrade’ anyway.<br /><br />Playing a mage should feel different that playing a warrior or thief, but in most games it just feels too similar. A system like this included in any RPG would create this distinction, and probably a far better game.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15429998774726728759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-16738563010322521202011-02-03T07:34:51.526-05:002011-02-03T07:34:51.526-05:00I've become really interested in this kind of ...I've become really interested in this kind of "real magic" recently, mostly as part of thinking about an idea for a RPG. Have you ever read any of Tim Power's books? He takes a specific time period for each book and weaves supernatural explanations for the unexplained events of history. His magic is basically my benchmark for believable fantasy - particularly the Voodoo in On Stranger Tides. He even manages to explain why it was wiped out by the encroachment of technology.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13576384742168685922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-24901947953688653182011-02-02T20:14:16.421-05:002011-02-02T20:14:16.421-05:00Yeah, I agree. It's more interesting, to me, i...Yeah, I agree. It's more interesting, to me, if there's some reason that things are different, explaining how humans can learn to do magic or why they can or what effects it has other than "throw fireballs".<br /><br />Some settings try to do this:<br />Souls in Demon's Souls<br />Chaos / The Warp in Warhammer Fantasy / 40k.<br />The Mist in FF9/FF12<br /><br />It's not always successful, but at least it tries to be consistent about what makes magic happen instead of "well, whatever, there's magic".J. Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10652255892382558843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-52037206137931432122011-02-02T19:29:54.825-05:002011-02-02T19:29:54.825-05:00The one thing that’s always bothered me about the ...The one thing that’s always bothered me about the portrayal of magic and wizards is that it’s never really explained. In RPG’s particularly, the other magic users present seem to know a lot more about the nature of the stuff than the player does, leading to the situation were the player isn’t really playing a ‘wizard,’ (as you have no idea what this entails) you’re just some dude whose attacks happen to be ranged and deal some form of elemental damage.<br /><br />It seems to me that if you were to make magic more believable, you’d have to go some way to explaining its nature. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that game developers have to come up with some extensive scientific explanation as to how you can conjure fire from your fingertips (but I imagine Bioware would try); but, I wouldn’t mind at least some explanation rather than it being arbitrarily tacked on just because it’s fantasy.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15429998774726728759noreply@blogger.com