Research: What magic spell would you want?

Hello!

I am doing some research.

If you could have any one magic spell, what would it be? Why choose that spell? Where did you see this spell used(what game/book/other source of inspiration?) It can be a spell you completely make up if you like! Be creative! We are using the term magic very loosely.

**If this is posted in the wrong location, I apologize and will be happy to move it. This seemed the most logical decision.**

 

The Game Design forum might be a better place.

What about a spell that manipulates the game world -- raising mountains, blasting tunnels through the ground, etc.

 

I'd love something like two of the three unforgivable curses in the Harry Potter books! The one which causes unimaginable pain but doesn't kill the person or thing, or my favorite: the one which forces the person or thing to do whatever the spell caster says, including things which might bring harm to themselves or others, or just do silly things!

I don't think these are cool because I just like really dark and sick things, I just think the implications of such spells are incredibly interesting and plentiful.Honestly I applaud whatever project you're working on because too many games today focus on just one aspect of the spell casting thing. Spells and magic are meant to be applied to anything, love, manipulation, performance, ability, etc. instead these games focus on the "damage spell" and its so overdone there's nothing interesting about it anymore! I'd almost forgotten the concept of magic, because these games are so narrowly focused!

 

This question is kind of meaningless without some context. Is the world filled with goblins and orcs who want to kill me? I'd choose a fireball. Is the world filled with unicorns and pints that fly? I'd probably choose some sort of magic growth elixir.

 

This sounds like a job for the Encyclopedia Magica Or like a thread that asks you what super power you want. I want the power to create anything from my imagination and have it exist in reality, without all that fussy work and practice

 

This just sounds like you're trying to make a disguised make-my-MMO button...

 

I think mind control spells or "reanimate dead" spells are pretty cool (Inspired from skyrim)

 

The most exciting name for that kind of spell is geomancy.

Joke answer: Rinnegon (includes an ability that allows you to make your imagination real... probably too much for a game that isn't D&D)

Real answer: I love playing a summoner when it's done right. Hint - 1 creature at a time is hardly a summoner.

 

It depends what the game is, objectives, single or multiplayer etc. I can envision a lot of funny videos being listed if there was a spell that let you take over another players movement for 10 seconds (block the other player from dumping equipment, killing them etc to limit trolling) & while you control them they are partially rag dolled so they stagger & loll around. To balance it your own character would have to be defenceless so the other persons friends/allies can visit some whoop arse on you while you are doing it.

 

mind control.
nuff said

 

Ok so I am seeing a lot of people asking for context or questioning situationally. The question isnt far from a "what superpower would you pick" question. A lot of video games now-a-days are the same. I mean, water beats fire, fire beats grass, etc. Fireball is almost always the go-to destructive spell to start a game with. It is just all more of the same. What if video game magic really had the power to wipe a town off the map, to control npc enemies, or to even change the laws of physics within a game??

This is a big part of the game I'm working on. So I thought I would ask the community what kind of spells they like to see.

 

That could be a fun way to commit genocide, sure. I think people are attracted to fire because it's pure destructiveness. You only need to create a little and then it can spread on its own consuming everything. And on a smaller level, the way fire works is creepy. It liquifies things and ignites the fumes of the evaporating liquids

I plan to make a handful of games like that when Sixense finally releases the STEM. "Destroy everything" is a gimmick with a weak story. It needs to be really mechanically fun or innovative to be, as you said, the same as every attempt before it to make the same game... just more of the same. With the STEM system users can feel more like they have a hand in what's going on. Not sure if that's a pun or an accurate description of the technology.

If you go big you might have an easier time wowing the crowds. Don't just puff out little fire bursts, make the protagonist capable of flooding an area with an endless river of flame that leaves no landmarks behind save for a new scar upon the lands.

 

Spells that can potentially have multiple ways to use them are fun. A gravity manipulating spell could be used for quite a lot of things including hurling projectiles (ie boulders) and getting past obstacles (ie walking along the ceiling or walls).

 

snapping fingers materializes hot chicks lol... or money.

umm.. like, charm person .. just makes people non-hostile is the idea i guess

being able to fast-forward time while still accomplishing things.. like gamedevving, just fastforward thru the work, but the work is still done lol .. and you dont really consciously experience it (you dont get fatigued or have the strain of work), but your brain, your self, still benefits from the experiences.

or like being able to automatically read books, just touch something and zap you get all the knowledge.

 

That gameplay sounds a little too exciting. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

I've got some plans for gravity. I don't want to give away too much right now for a multitude of reasons, of course. But I agree that the protagonist should be able to have Merlin-like powers at some point.

 

Like the portal in Portal. Incredibally simple mechanic, you just open a door through space to another location. But the amount of things that could be done with just one mechanic were stagering.

 

Regeneration/immortality. Given unlimited time, everything else will eventually come to pass.

 

Portal is an amazing example. Great point.

 

Bullet time. It's still in.

 

Localised reverse gravity so enemies are put upside down & all their gold falls out.

Super destructive fireballs that set the area on fire which in turn limits where you can safely move, or that drips fire as it shoots so it spawns mini fires (again limiting where you can move safely)

 

How about taking over someone else's body? With it, you could be immortal, jumping from person to person. Or you could do interesting things like impersonate rich and famous people, infiltrate enemy camps, cheat in high-stakes poker games by quickly assuming someone's body and seeing their cards, becoming an international spy... Hmm, lots of options here.

 

So let us change pace. What are some of the most useless spells you have seen in a game? "Useless" obviously being very relative.

 

Spells that just deal direct damage. Uncreative.

 

Wards and shields that you have to keep recasting are just annoying. Have a toggle system where you can turn a specific ward on or off and have it constantly drain mana when it's on. Nothing sucks more then having to constantly scan through active effects to make sure you armour is still on.

 

Spells that change their effects as you level up but you don't have the option of using one of the lower tier spells once you have gone past it.
E.g. You are in a world where people hate you if you do property damage. You are in a village & it is attacked. You used to have a low powered fire spell that had limited area effect & would kill the enemy but you upgraded it to a massive fireball with large area effect. That spell is now useless unless you want to destroy half the village & villagers while protecting it.

 

Probably transformation spell that allows me to transform into whatever creature or person I want, real or otherwise.

 

In the Ultima series, you had a spell called Armageddon. It killed almost everyone, excpect Lord British of course, and maybe Batlin. Made the game unplayable. Still it was interesting that you could buy it and use it.

If I recall, Lord British actually cast it in the end of Ultima 9.

 

I've had an idea for a while now involving a magic system that consists mostly if not entirely of spells that are toggles rather than one time effects. Rather than have a spell point system the game would keep track of your maximum magic potential and simply reduce the maximum based on the spells you have active. Once you stopped casting a spell the system would slowly increase your maximum back up by the amount the spell was draining.

 

More defensive, localised offensive & buffs than ranged damage dealing I'm assuming?

 

Ideally spells that are capable of being used in a wide variety of ways. A gravity manipulation spell, for example, could be used for utility (walking on the ceiling/walls) but it could also be used for offensive (hurling things at the enemy) and defensive (hurling things away from the player) purposes.

 

Sounds interesting. We'll be able to play it during the Xmas holidays?

 

Tried to PM you about this idea @Ryiah but it seems I cannot message you. Presumably you're a moderator or something. I'm still very new here. Either way, I really like that idea and think you're on to something.

 

No, I'm not a moderator. I must have switched them off at some point. Not that there is a whole lot to discuss concerning the idea though as my earlier post is about as far as I've gotten with the idea. Mostly just a desire to avoid the typical spells and spell point mechanics found in practically every single role-playing game.

 

shoot me a message some time then. I think we have some similar ideas that could work together if you're interested.

 

I don't care if it's called "Magic Fart Rays" just so long as the mechanics are compelling, diverse, and balanced.

 

There will be a hidden spell in our game called magic ray farts now. That was the most awesome name ever ha ha ha.

That's more or less what we are working on. There are a lot of video game "ideas" out there that have grown stagnant over the years. Magic as a whole is one of them. At this moment, we are looking for innovative thinking. We have ideas of our own but why not ask the people who could potentially be playing our game one day, you know? There have been mention of several ideas in here that mirror ideas we had as well. That makes us happy of course because it means we are on the right track.

Thank you everyone for your input. It will help tremendously.