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Magic in a Modern Game
Due to the socially acceptable methods of introducing magic into RPGs, many makers have not stopped to think about the adjustments that would have to be made to introduce that same concept into a modern time period RPG.
In history, the medieval times bred an extremely ignorant lower and middle class thus giving rise to the theory of magic spawning from fanciful tales told to children and held as constant throughout generations. In todays world, the genre of fantasy has traditionally used magic to add flair to a story and add a method by which a weak person can become powerful. With the dawn of RPGs, the fundamentals of magic have carried over into game development. In most game making environments, magic is a concept that can simply be "just there" with little or no explanation to its origin. While it has always aggravated me to a large extent the unexplainable essence of magic, that is a topic for another article.
When designing a game based in a modern time period, magic evolves into a totally different metaphysical animal. In medieval times, technology would have been hindered by the advent of magic, but in modern times that magic, unless only recently discovered in the game's backstory, would have a far more profound effect on the society that is created in game.
As an example, picture an angle in space. Now then, picture its vertex as the point in time when magic is discovered. We will assign a degree of 1 to this angle. one of the rays is the world with magic and the otehr is the world with magic. The distance between two points equidistant from the vertex is the difference between the two worlds. In the beginning, the differences are negligable, but in...say...one thousand years, the differences would be radical. Even in some of the most basic instances such as a lightbulb. If magic had been around for a millenium, lightbulbs may be powered by magic or perhaps not even exist. When designing an RPG in the future, the effects may be even more drastic.
So what can producers do to make things more realistic? It takes some thought and effort as with all aspects of a good story. Instead of a punk-future of pollution and dingy cities with destitution and poverty as seen in games such as A Blurred Line, you might think about a future of white buildings and devices powered by magic. Thats not to say your whole concept of, perhaps a rebellion against society, would have to change. Instead of hating the government for casting its citizens into poverty, a main character may object to the perfection that society presses upon its members. For any who have read "The Thran" by J. Robert King, the capitol of the Thran, a city that floats in the sky by powerstones that provide limitless magical energy. All devices in the city draw energy from powerstones and do wonderous things like power floating carriages and powerful healing instruments.
Another option is an Orwellian setting of perfection built upon a savage system of opression underneath it all. In "1984," George Orwell painted a scene of no past and no future, only an endless present stretching on back and forward. What is always was and always will be. The Government is infallable, and all records that would prove otherwise are destroyed.
You could also combine the two and create a society where an upper class of magic users persecutes the nonmagic users and enslaves them. A punk-future setting could be used for the lower class while the upper class lives in perfection and comfort. All of these examples provide a great setting and conflict for a story and life to evolve within a game. The most important thing to understand is that with the introduction of magic, technology will evolve in a radically different way. As with all setings and events, there is a limitless possibility for stories to be created. Limitless is not to say without rules, but limitless is still infinite. Magic cannot simply exist with no effect on the environment and its occupants.
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Magic in a Modern Game |
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Date Listed:
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2008-06-22 |
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Author:
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Jeff
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Total Hits:
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2390 |
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