Hi there, I'm interested in starting a discussion with particular focus on magic in an action rpg game.

To give you some background as to why I'm cooking this up:

I'm currently working on the development of a game (still in a very early phase - game engine design) and creating an RPG is the direction I'm headed towards, once the engine is finished and a few simpler games have been built upon it in order for the engine itself to mature.

To that effect, I've always pondered on the concept of creating a magic system which makes sense, is practical, and empowers the player to a point of making them feel like a true sorceror/ess.

The closest system I've laid my eyes upon that succeeded in this was Magicka.  The mechanics of it was truly genial, however it felt shallow from a story/lore point of view (of course done on purpose by the devs).  No reason as to why you had those spells specifically, and why only 5 could be mixed together.  No explanation or demonstration of the "big picture" of magic and how it worked.

To that effect, I'm seeking to implement a system which would allow the player to feel like a sorceror as they build magic and unleash them, as well as have a solid background from which the magic system itself stems.  Why it does what it does, and what's the history behind each spell, if any.

The system I've currently setup to think of was as follows:

Magic is a force of energy with volume and intensity (think of electricity - current and voltage) present in this world both surrounding the player externally, as well as in the core chambers of the players themselves, internally.

The creation of magic itself comes from 3 core factors, 2 of which are necessary, the other factor, when present and practiced properly separates weak spells from stronger ones.

• Base: The base is, during the early stages of wizardry composed of only 1 out of 4 possible elements (Fire, Water, Air, Earth).  Each having a different effect on the spell, dictating the intent and rank of power of the spell.
• Focus: The focus is the medium through which magic will be expelled, four options are available, two of which are Wands and Staffs.
• Attunement: The final form of a basic spell is achieved through an attunement.  Attunements provide the spell with an acting component.  E.g. Regeneration or Disintegration.

To create a few examples:

A wand (focus) wielding Sorceror could build a base of Fire (Indicating Fury, the intent to harm) with the attunement of Regeneration, causing the fire effect to regenerate itself, prolonging the burning time it will last.

If the base was changed to Water (Peace, intent to help), and everything else was kept the same, the spell would become a long lasting healing spell which steadily mends the target.

If this last spell had its attunement changed to Disintegration, the healing spell would quickly consume itself, providing less total healing but over a much shorter period of time.

I would be interested in hearing various theories that could apply to this, especially if they could be backed up by some form of lore or history that would fit pieces together.  Think of it as creating your own magic system, how would it work, what was it like in the early days, and what caused it to evolve?  What are best practices and common pitfalls?

Finally there's the practical side of employing this in a video game of course.  Too complex/clunky a system immediately takes away from the fun, too simple/shallow would make players look straight past it.

Lupo.

You could check out AO(Alpha Omega)  while the system is dead, the magic theory behind it is quite good(it is post-apoc).

It allows you to build the spell from the ground up, adjusting on the fly if you want it as an AoE, single target, range, DoT or instant, etc.

Appreciate the reply and the reference link.  In addition to that however, I'm also interested in discussion of rpg players such as ones who dwell in these forums for their own thoughts and visions towards a magic system!

Even if it's of no use to me, I guess it would still be nice to throw in some ideas, juggle them around, never know who it might help!