Magic or other in futuristic genre? Options

[Skurge]

I'm having a slight problem deciding if i should allow magic users, or things like "phycic" users in my game.


Firstly it's a futuristic GTA/Oblivion mix of a game where cars, guns and lasers do exist. But I'm having trouble with skills.
In alot of other games characters have there normal abilities and weapon techniques and there magic and summoning spells.
But what would suit for a futuristic game? I guess magic could work because it certainly did well for Shadowrun.

Any ideas?

[Holder]

Possibilities are endless really for a futuristic theme, I'd say make the most of it and use something which would give your game a more unique feel.
Gems, charge capsuals or photon energy could be some of many that can be used. Even with that linking those to weapons and elements to show technology advancement would give your theme choice a more realistic feel.

Sometimes it does help if you splash everything down on paper that you can think of and get rid of ideas that wouldn't work together, and you should end up with a selection of ideas that you can link together so nothing seems out of place.
Hope this helps in your choice.

[Skurge]

So your saying if I make an object like for example " Bracelet of static" it will give the user the ability to cast electric damage as if it where a magical item?



Well...for some enemies which mainly have guns and all use skills which represent there gun fire ( RPG 2003 does not give you customized normal attacks for enemies ), normal attack is melee fighting, some guns however to things like stun and "bleed" (which is actually just poision)

[LockeZ]

In fantasy you can often get away with just including magic and not explaining it. A lot of people don't mind just taking for granted that your fictional world has unexplained magic in it and that none of the characters think it's worth mentioning.

In a futuristic setting that doesn't work. If you want to include fantastical elements, the expectation is that you explain them. People expect anything in a futuristic setting to be developed with at least a token amount of science fiction mentality. If you have psychics, people will expect that the story will explain that they are the result of controversial research into psionic implants and that eventually your heroes will confront the creators of it, or something like that. Even in the original Star Wars trilogy, where the Force is unexplained and mysterious, a great deal of the story is devoted to it. It's not taken for granted, it's a major plot element. And even though it never is explained in the end (shut up there are no mitichlorians), Luke learns a great deal about it and comes to terms with what it means.

[heisenman]

futuristic

GTA

Oblivion

lol

Ok, aside this mish mash of styles, what we know as magic, doesn't have to actually be magic in nature.
In the future, humans could mutate/evolve in different "races" with different attributes.
Some could develop the ability to control magnetic fields inside and outside their bodies, using electrical and paralyzing skills for example.

[Skurge]

Yeah, the interesting thing about my game is it's free-roam, it has a police force that actually acts on crime reported or sighted. And it has cars, boats and copters for travel. So it's kinda Elder scolls and GTA mixed together, funny isn't it?


On the subject matter
It's more clear to me that magic in fantasy it is to be expected, but in the more believable genre "modern, future etc" it needs explanation.

I quite like the idea of implants allowing characters to use "magic" like abilities, even mutated/evolved or just plain simple traits of the race works.
For example my game is based in a universe where there was a powerful alien empire called "The Voltor empire" there warlord had a specialised weapon that allowed him to shape shift himself into many forms/weapons.

In the city Los Archtross it was once taken over by this Empire but it was soon taken back from the good guys.
This could give me enough backstory to provide left behind alien technology/implants/weapons.

But instead of Magic/Magik or Mana. What would be an ideal name for this power?

[elliott20]

In fantasy you can often get away with just including magic and not explaining it. A lot of people don't mind just taking for granted that your fictional world has unexplained magic in it and that none of the characters think it's worth mentioning.

In a futuristic setting that doesn't work. If you want to include fantastical elements, the expectation is that you explain them. People expect anything in a futuristic setting to be developed with at least a token amount of science fiction mentality. If you have psychics, people will expect that the story will explain that they are the result of controversial research into psionic implants and that eventually your heroes will confront the creators of it, or something like that. Even in the original Star Wars trilogy, where the Force is unexplained and mysterious, a great deal of the story is devoted to it. It's not taken for granted, it's a major plot element. And even though it never is explained in the end (shut up there are no mitichlorians), Luke learns a great deal about it and comes to terms with what it means.

Arthur Clarke's Third Law of prediction: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Most futuristic sci-fi pretty much approaches the point of fantasy anyway. It's all just dressing really.

The important thing is that you must define exactly what is causing and maintaining this uber futuristic world. If magic and technology coexists, you have to define their relationship with one another. Here are a couple useful questions to ask:

1. does magic exist?
2. how widespread is it? Is it just EVERYWHERE?
3. how accessible is it? Be it the items or the spells, is it available only to a few people or to a lot of people? Does it take special talent/genes or is it just a matter of training?
4. how powerful is the stuff?
5. what is the relationship between this and other forces at work? i.e. maybe in one world, magic is basically just another field of science that people explore, and some might even have found ways to merge the two together like rifles that is powered by magical energy.

repeat these questions for every driving force you have.

[Zeoinx]

If you want magic, or "physic" powers, go for it, there is a famous series that has those two things combined already, Phantasy Star, created by Sonic Team, and the genre works out very well, also play Phantasy Star 4, it starts off feeling rather fantasy styled but its only because technology is servery limited on the starting area. Later on it progresses to be a sci fi epic journey.

[elliott20]

oh yeah, and I think you mean "psychic", not physics.

[Skurge]

Yes, I meant Psychic....couldn't figure it lol.

Well now it seems I am coming to a conclusion that only people with implants of technology or because of some strange mysterious reason
the current 3rd age of the Sprite universe has power users.

Much like the many magics I am considering having:

Dark matter ( Unknown origin of Voltor Technology )
(more to be written) NeT IS low!

[elliott20]

Don't worry TOO much about it. From what I'm reading, you're definitely going for soft sci-fi, which tends to be more fantasy like anyway. So yeah, if you need to invent a new energy or science to make it all hang together, go for it. Once you've done that, just treat it like magic.

[LDanarkos]

In Star Wars, they had the force. You could just... copy that.