Intro*eyes*
Magic Marvel idea
Magic is wonder, Magic is fantasy, its
power, its emotions, it is Hope.
Magic has become so synonymous with fantasy
that it's almost strange to see fantasy worlds without it. And yet it doesn't feel
overused or unrealistic. I aim to accurately incorporate magic into my fantasy world, and to
ensure I'm on the right track I plan to study from previous media that has inspired me.
This video I'll be going over what I think makes a good magic system and brief explanation of rules
that you can use as a guide. Take everything said here with a grain of salt as magic is heavily
opinionated. There are no hard rules or facts, there are only opinions and simply
different interpretations of it. To say one is better than another is to say
blue is better than red. I can not imagine a more senseless argument to engage in. Now with
that out of the way let's dive right in.
Ok lets start with Hard vs soft magic, Just
kidding that analogy has been done to death, and in my opinion it's far too vague to separate
magic into two categories. For those who aren't familiar with it, I envy you. The basics
are magic with clear rules and limits are considered hard. For example FullMetal Alchemist
would be considered hard as it has very clear rules and limitations. Lord of the rings would
be considered a soft magic system as we aren’t clear on what limitation any of the magic
users have. No story falls into one category; it is more akin to a scale where you lean closer
to one end of the spectrum or the other.
I think every magic system should have rules
and limits however that doesn't mean they have to be clearly explained to the readers.
Think about what role magic plays in your story. Lord of the rings Isn't about wizards
and power. Instead it is how the smallest act of good can triumph over impossible evils.
And with our main focus being on the hobbits and the flaws of men. We don't need A full
understanding of what Gandalf can or cannot do. This keeps the mysterious feeling of magic intact
without causing too many plot holes. This sort of writing is best suited towards mature writers
as without clear rules you can easily fall into the trap of using magic as a get out of jail free
card. Although not strictly magic You see this a bit with the eagles in the hobbit. If you rely too
much on mysterious powers it will take any tension and stakes. As you have created this constant
back door for your heroes to fall back on.
Now with FullMetal Alchemist the entire show
is about the Elric brothers breaking the laws of magic. Alchemy is the foundation of the story
and couldnt exists without it. When magic plays such a cursual role in your story you should take
some time to clearly understand it. Making sure to incorporate logical rules and limitations.
Alchemy is an incredibly powerful tool but the repercussions of using it incorrectly are just
as severe if not worse. We are familiar with what Edward can and can't do. This way it is
clear for us to tell the tension of a scene, to know when he has the upper hand or when
Edwards life is on the line. Personally I love both ways of seeing magic however I tend
to lean more towards magic with limits.
There are no clear rules to follow,
limitations can be as small as having to use a wand or magic reacquiring stamina.
They can be as crippling as having to require vast amounts of resources and casting times
that span over many days. I think the key is balance. Accurately assess your story to know what
would enhance it and what would break it.
Another point would be to focus on how magic
impacts your world. There is not a single part of normal life that magic wouldn’t change.
How do mages and non mages treat one another? Is there a class divide? What prejudices
there are? The world can barely get along with different cultures and languages. Now
imagine throwing magic into that mix.
Next is the Military, how weaponizable is magic?
Can it determine the outcomes of conflicts, are mages weapons. Do mages protect
civilizations or raze cities that dare oppose them? Magic is knowledge. And
any military is well aware of the impact knowledge can have in a war.
And lastly are the small things. How does magic affect day to day tasks? Could
magic replace electricity, transportation, are magical ingredients the main currency of a
land. What is the relationship between magic and religion? The more time you spend integrating
magic into the laws and history of your world the more believable and authentic it will be.
Pick the right magic for the story you want to tell.
*Part 2*
Now for the next half of the video I just want to
go over some examples of magic. Noting down all the parts I like and dislike
*Harry Potter*
I feel when discussing magic it's next to
impossible to not mention Harry Potter. The world definitely feels entwined with magic. Everything
is built around magic. I like the use of wands as conduits for controlling magic but it's not
the source of it. However I wish they went into more detail of how or why some wizards can
cast without wands. There is a brief explanation of why but I’d like to see it mentioned a bit
more. Giving spells names and techniques helps the viewers clearly understand the stakes of the
current conflict. Knowing whether or not they just dodge a lethal or harmless spell during a duel.
My only real problem is, other than raw talent, what determines a wizard's potential and
total power. Yes Knowledge of spells is a clear advantage but Why are some wizards
vastly superior casters to others?
*Star Wars*
I really enjoy Star wars. The vast lore, detailed history and expanded universe are
underappreciated. But I'm not blind to its many flaws and mishaps. The Force. Although its
limits are never clearly defined we get a pretty good sense of what force wielders are capable
of. I like the variety of its magic system. It has jedis, Siths, gray jedis, temples and
force sensitive entities. The dedication and skills required to master the force is clearly
stated. A Jedi’s abilities never feel cheap or underserved; it's very well balanced.
But my favorite part must be the force's relationship to religion.
Although they all use the force their views of it are incredibly different.
The force is an integral part of Star Wars and I feel like disney's lack of understanding it has
led to some poor content choices. But they gave us Rogue One and Andor so they are capable of good
writing. Honestly I could speak for hours on star wars but that's plenty for this video.
Next is Anime
One thing I find anime does really well
is unique character abilities. Where different people have certain affinities which
decide what types of magic they can master.
I’ll use Frieren as an example. Almost all
the characters have different abilities but there are some common spells that all mages
rely on. There aren’t any rules to what magic each mage can or can’t use. But instead each
mage chooses to build an arsenal of spells that best fits their personality and combat
style. Allowing different types of mage craft to clash ,introduces the strategy of matching the
correct counters. Similar to a very complicated game of rock paper scissors. It prevents your
magic battles from just being simply the most powerful mage will always win. Instead a weak
water caster may be able to best an esteemed pyromancer given the right circumstances.
The book series Percy Jackson, emphasis on the Book part. Is another good example of unique magic
abilities for different characters. It's also a great source for divine magic and how gods can be
brought into a magic system. I think they’ve made a new adaptation of it, however I haven't got the
chance to check it out. Hopefully it's decent.
The benefits of unique mage craft allows you to
bind magic to personality traits and hobbies. Or have factions and affinity specific religions. A
nice simple form of this is with Avatar the last airbender. With four elemental bending practices
you get the benefits of unique magic for each character without the drawbacks of having to
create completely different magic types for each and every character. As that can get overwhelming
very quickly and the more types of magic you introduce the tougher it becomes to balance and
power scale all of them.
Using magic in a different way?
Your characters don’t always have to wield magic for your story to feel magical.
Take Pirates of the caribbean. You don’t think of wizards but between ancient curses, davy
jones and mythical beasts the world is full of magic. Can we all take a moment to appreciate
how good the CGi and set design was for these movies. You truely can see the passion and
skills of many artists in this franchise.
Mythology is also an underused way to introduce
magic into your fantasy world, it can be Egyptian gods, Norse lore or if you're brave enough you can
create your own mythology. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion are prime examples of this.
But man does it take time and skill to create your own believable mythology. Do not underestimate
how much information and planning it takes.
One of my favorite unorthodox magic ganeres
are deal makers. Making a deal with the devil to change the hand fate placed upon you.
Knowing the strings attached are going to leave you ultimately empty and longing for death.
Dracula Untold does this Vald makes a deal with an ancient evil in hopes of saving his people.
Disney’s Princess and the Frog is a light hearted take on this trope. And for better or worse
many anime choose this trop, sadly most are done poorly only used as an ego boost for a trashy OP
protagonist. However death note comes to mind as one of the good ones. Although not strictly a deal
I would still say Light and Ryuks relationship fit this category. Death note is a great example of
how a deal can not only change the user's world but their psychology as well. Light is a Just,
logically thinking and intelligent person. If anyone had a chance to resist power it would
be him. But instead we see him spiral out of control falling victim to greed, his god complex,
pettiness and sporadic psychopathic behavior.
Gaining power is almost akin to winning the
lottery. It might not change some but more often than not your character’s personality
is going to drastically change.
With all these examples the main
points I would focus on Is:
1. What role does magic play in your story
2. Logically incorporate magic into daily life and your worlds history
3. What mood does your magic hold? wonder or power
4. Understand how your magic works even if the reader doesn't need to know
5. What makes your magic unique?
I think that's it for a brief
explanation.
As for my world I recently redesigned some of
my characters, stepping closer to realistic proportions. I still want to keep the simplistic
faces. I’m not completely satisfied with the current design however until I Figure out
what's missing this style will have to do.
I quickly made some character info sheets to get
a clearer vision on my characters. The info is a little basic but I want to avoid doing lore dumps
or trying to cram a whole character's back story into a single paragraph. For the magic visual
effects I stuck to drawing techniques that I can easily animate and draw repeatedly. This entire
task of visualizing magic was way harder than I thought. I now know why so many shows just have a
character screaming while an invisible power takes place. Magic Like electricity and Fire are easy
to visualize but what does the flow of Mana Look like, What do enchantments look like. The more
unique mage craft the tougher it was to create a consistent symbol for it. I’ve got to do some
serious studies and research If i want to improve my skills in this area.
As for my worlds Magic:
Magic is a gift bestowed upon birth; it is
a rare occurrence. Each mage is given an affinity that binds and limits their abilities.
However magic is not endless it requires focus and stamina as well as being limited by your
own capabilities I call that limit ramus.
Ramus - Deriving from the latin word branch,
a branch can spread into infinite shapes and patterns, however its leaves are
limited by the capacity of the branch.
It is the strength a creature's life
contains although not directly related to size you would expect a dragon to have
more than a dove. All living things contain ramus plants and animals alike.
We can imbue objects with ramus to improve their function or we can store
it.The quality of the vessel will determine its capacity and efficiency.
This is still in its early stage and an oversimplified view, I’m hoping by giving each
of my characters a unique type of mage craft. It will become a fertile soil for creativity
and interesting use cases down the line.
And to prevent me from waffling on, I
think I'll end the video here. What awesome magic systems have inspired you?
What magic trop are you a complete
+ sucker for? Please let me Know.
I do read all comments and try to reply to every new comment. With that being said, can we
try to avoid asking the same question as others? First check the description and other comments
your answer may just be there instead.
Thanks for Watch
Now go out and create awesome stuff.
