{"id":395,"date":"2013-10-10T16:38:42","date_gmt":"2013-10-10T21:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/systems-of-magic-part-1\/"},"modified":"2024-12-02T13:31:57","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T19:31:57","slug":"systems-of-magic-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/systems-of-magic-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Systems of Magic – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m\u00a0Rob Lockhart<\/a>, the Creative Director of\u00a0Important Little Games<\/a>.\u00a0 If you were to follow me on\u00a0twitter<\/a>, I’d be grateful.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<(\u256f\u00b0\u25a1\u00b0\uff09\u256f\u00b7._.\u00b7\u00b4\u00af)\u00b7._.\u00b7\u00b4\u00af)<\/p>\n

I’m working on a game<\/a> that involves magic and magical epistemology. \u00a0Consequently, I’ve been doing a lot of research about magical systems. \u00a0I’d like to describe a few here, for those of you interested in incorporating magic into your games. \u00a0One of the things I think games is best suited to, is to give a person the feeling of being able to do something impossible. \u00a0What could be more impossible, or more satisfying, than the ability to use magic? \u00a0I hope that this post will inspire you to create interactive systems of magic that are amusingly unique and uniquely amusing.<\/p>\n

\"Magic_1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Harry Potter<\/a> & The Lord of the Rings<\/a>\u00a0(&\u00a0Naruto<\/a>)<\/p>\n

I love Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings series both, but they share a sloppy dismissive view of magic. \u00a0If I were going to try to attempt to answer questions about how magic works in the universes these works of fiction take place, I’d be hard pressed for a place to start. \u00a0There seem to be spells for all kinds of things available in various arcane languages, but with very little discernible pattern as to how the spells are constructed. \u00a0Magical items, too, might answer to any description, and can have arbitrary powers.<\/p>\n

J.R.R. Tolkien<\/a>, J.K. Rowing<\/a>\u00a0and Masashi Kishimoto<\/a>\u00a0are great writers, so they don’t use spells or items as deus-ex-machina. \u00a0Every spell or item is well introduced to the reader before it can have an impact on the plot. \u00a0Nonetheless, the lack of a coherent mythology which explains the workings of magic invites this kind of abuse of narrative form, and less skilled writers who try to emulate these authors or who work in a similar milieu have trouble pulling out a previously unheard-of magical trick when it is convenient for the story.<\/p>\n

In a way, it is unfortunate that J.R.R. Tolkien was so influential to Gary Gygax<\/a>, and that Gary Gygax has had such a huge impact on video games. \u00a0This kind of disordered free-for-all view of magic makes the enjoyment of many games (such as WoW<\/a>) dependent upon memorization (or constant reference), in some measure, for their full enjoyment.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell<\/a><\/p>\n

In this novel, magic was an art lost to time, except for a few obscure references scattered across a few hundred rare and otherwise un-entertaining books, so it would be excusable for the magic to be just as chaotic as in LOTR, since the characters only have a small piece of an established body of knowledge. \u00a0In fact, it does seem this way for most of the novel’s length.<\/p>\n

Near the end, however, a bit of coherence is added when Mr. Strange is granted nearly limitless power. \u00a0He merely speaks to the objects in nature in their own language, and they obey. \u00a0This is an element of magical fiction I like to call the “Language of Nature<\/em>.” \u00a0While not being a perfect explanation for how magic is allowed to influence the world within the fiction, it at least provides a distinct path to mastery — to learn magic, you must learn this language. \u00a0This also implies that the elements of nature have a a degree of consciousness; at least enough to understand a (presumably unconstructed, aka natural) language, and obey.<\/p>\n

This also helps one of the important narrative conundrum in any fictional universe that includes magic: ‘why can’t everyone use magic all the time?’ \u00a0In this case, the answer is that the language is largely forgotten, or (even better) it is extraordinarily difficult to master.<\/p>\n

This brings to mind the general principle, shared by many conceptions of magic, that symbols can have a direct influence on the world<\/strong> (other than via the human mind). \u00a0In truth, it seems that the ‘language of nature’ seems to be Mathematics, but it’s a language nature only speaks but doesn’t understand. \u00a0This must have frustrated even the earliest people making systematic observations of nature. \u00a0While numeracy and symbols have so much explanatory power, they have no power whatsoever to influence the things they describe. \u00a0But what if…<\/p>\n

\"click<\/a>

click the image for artist’s page<\/p><\/div>\n

A\u00a0Wizard of Earthsea<\/a><\/p>\n

‘A Wizard of Earthsea’ and its follow-up novels have a similar conceit. \u00a0In order to command the forces of nature, one must know the true name of the thing one is trying to command. \u00a0That name, such as the name referring to the wind, can also change regionally, so a wind over the Pacific might have a different name than the winds over the Atlantic. \u00a0Simply knowing the name seems to be enough to summon a thing, like summoning a hawk out of the sky, one of the earliest bits of magic the main character, Ged, is able to accomplish.<\/p>\n

The Name of the Wind<\/a><\/p>\n

This book, as the title suggests, also includes the concept of the power of names. \u00a0It also includes descriptions of a lesser form of magic known as Sympathy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In sympathy, the magic user must form the firm belief that two entities are linked, and then they become so. \u00a0This is another theme quite common in magical mythology: mind over matter<\/strong>. \u00a0One’s state of mind is an important component of many magical practices, whether it be perfectly calm, fiercely effortful, or, in this case, utterly credulous.<\/p>\n

Once linked, entities may have a sort of positional entanglement, or may be able to transfer heat at a distance, or change heat from one into kinetic energy in the other, etc. \u00a0Sympathy also introduces the idea that a sympathetic link’s efficiency depends on the similarity and provenance of the two linked entities. \u00a0For example, two apparently identical coins will be easier to link than two coins of different denominations. \u00a0Personally, I think this is a very clever concept, which puts firm limitations on the performance of this kind of magic, while still allowing miraculous things.<\/p>\n

Sympathy has its own explanations for why magic is uncommon. \u00a0Here, creating this unshakable belief of a known falsehood is a near-impossible mental exercise. \u00a0In addition, performing most useful magic involves a Rube Goldberg-esque set of complex interconnections between various things.<\/p>\n

Sympathy also preserves quite a lot of laws of nature, including conservation of energy. \u00a0For instance, a character might light a candle by linking the wick to her own body, drawing heat from herself, but this will make her very cold very fast.<\/p>\n

Fullmetal Alchemist<\/a><\/p>\n

This manga and anime series also preserves quite a lot of laws of nature – notably conservation of mass<\/em>. \u00a0This is known in the lore of this series as the “Law of Equivalent Exchange.” \u00a0It also states that you can’t transmute something from one material to another. \u00a0However, alchemists who know the proper runes and transmutation circles are able to alter the form of physical matter however they see fit.<\/p>\n

There is also an exception to the Law of Equivalent Exchange. \u00a0If an alchemist is in physical contact with a crystalline material known as a Philosopher’s Stone (which can only be crafted using the blood of thousands of dead people), their transmutations need not obey Equivalent Exchange. \u00a0This makes Philosopher’s Stones so valuable that people are routinely willing to commit mass murder to obtain them.<\/p>\n

Here is another concept common to many ideas of magic: physical contact<\/strong>. \u00a0In real-world physics, physical contact has no real definition. \u00a0At the scale of fundamental particles, messenger particles are being exchanged in order to repel clouds of electrons from one another. \u00a0The same is true for every set of two materials, and even within materials – there is little difference in the process of atoms nearing one another. \u00a0The idea of a discrete ‘object’ or of ‘touching’ that object are telltale signs of a pre-20th century model of nature. \u00a0Nonetheless, from a commonsense perspective, the idea of losing or gaining some ability while touching or holding a special object still has rhetorical power.<\/p>\n

Mistborn<\/a><\/p>\n

Brandon Sanderson’s novels introduce a fascinating form of magic. \u00a0In his universe, there exist three forms of magic, but the one I’ll describe here is the most ingeniously crafted, and clearly the basis for the rest. \u00a0Allomancy is the rare genetic ability to ‘burn’ metals in order to gain specific powers. \u00a0Most allomancers can only burn one kind of metal, granting them one supernatural power. \u00a0A few, called Mistborn, can burn all the allomantic metals. \u00a0An appendix in the back of each of the books explain the workings of each of the metals:<\/p>\n

\"Allomancy\"<\/a>

Twelve of the 16 metals.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0This power comes with a lot of limitations (assuming you possess it at all). \u00a0You must ingest the correct metal, which means you have a finite supply. \u00a0Someone burning bronze can locate other allomancers, unless they or someone nearby is burning copper.<\/p>\n

The whole system is very balanced and rational, which is part of what makes this series so thrilling. \u00a0Grasping the full extent of the powers available takes very little time, so it becomes a game of how to use and combine these skills in novel ways.<\/p>\n

The Last Airbender<\/a><\/p>\n

In the Nickelodeon cartoon series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” magic is a unique skill which is randomly granted to a small percentage of the population. \u00a0Furthermore, the world is ethnically and geopolitically divided into four parts: Earth, Air, Water and Fire. \u00a0Likewise, the magical system is divided: Earthbending, Airbending, Waterbending and Firebending. \u00a0People from the Fire Nation, for instance, are only granted the ability to Firebend, if any.<\/p>\n

All these types of ‘bending’ require a source of the material in question, so waterbenders are powerless in the desert (unless they bring their own water, which would be wise). \u00a0And manipulation of the material is done through special gestures, as well as a little mind over matter. \u00a0This introduces the new concept of body motions as magical symbols<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In this lore, only one person in the world can do more than one kind of bending — the Avatar, who must master all four.<\/p>\n

Sabriel<\/a><\/p>\n

In the Abhorsen trilogy, there are a few kinds of magic. \u00a0The most common is Charter magic, which involves bringing your conciousness into another plane with runes that flow like a river through it. \u00a0Practitioners of charter magic, called ‘charter mages’ must pluck these runes from the flow and bring them into the material world, where they assemble spells like recipes. \u00a0This brings up the interesting notion of symbols taking physical form<\/strong>. \u00a0This is common in many supernatural anime, such as Fairy Tail<\/a>\u00a0and Strait Jacket<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There is also free magic, which has a sort of wildness and unpredictability to it. \u00a0Necromancers command one form of free magic which has its own schema involving seven bells<\/a>. \u00a0The bells can be used in life, but are most effective when traveling into the seven precincts of death – a process which, from the outside, looks like someone voluntarily going into a coma or trance. \u00a0Here, sounds are symbols<\/strong>, and even sometimes have a rough equivalency to charter runes.<\/p>\n

\"Top_Image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Codemancer<\/a><\/p>\n

Codemancer is a fantasy video game I’m working on in which magic is code. \u00a0Players write ‘spells’ (programs) and then ‘cast’ (run) them. \u00a0This is a variation on the “Language of Nature” with a hint of mind over matter. \u00a0In this case, the language of nature is so specifically defined that it doesn’t require a human-level of intelligence to understand it, just a simple computer-level intelligence.<\/p>\n

You can see a bit about how the magic works in this youtube video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As game developers, my opinion is: the more logical the magical systems in our games, the better. \u00a0A logical magical system drastically decreases the learning curve of the game, and may decrease development time as well. \u00a0I’ve found that it’s especially satisfying if players can stack or combine a few abilities in novel ways, and to master these combinations, before new ones are introduced. \u00a0If enemies abilities fall within the same logical system, then so much the better. \u00a0Enemies who must act within the same constraints (even if given more power to work with) increases our sense of fair play, which is a fragile thing.<\/p>\n

I hope you’ve enjoyed this first round of magical systems. \u00a0Stay tuned for part 2!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m\u00a0Rob Lockhart, the Creative Director of\u00a0Important Little Games.\u00a0 If you were to follow me on\u00a0twitter, I’d be grateful. <(\u256f\u00b0\u25a1\u00b0\uff09\u256f\u00b7._.\u00b7\u00b4\u00af)\u00b7._.\u00b7\u00b4\u00af) I’m working on a game that involves magic and magical epistemology. \u00a0Consequently, I’ve been doing a lot of research about magical systems. \u00a0I’d like to describe a few here, for those of you interested in incorporating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Systems of Magic - Part 1 - Bobby Lockhart","description":"I'm\u00a0 Rob Lockhart , the Creative Director of\u00a0 Important Little Games .\u00a0 If you were to follow me on\u00a0 twitter , I'd be grateful. <(\u256f\u00b0\u25a1\u00b0\uff09\u256f\u00b7._.\u00b7\u00b4\u00af)\u00b7._.\u00b7\u00b4\u00af) I'm"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":400,"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395\/revisions\/400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobbylox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}