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Hello everyone! I make posts that start like that a lot! Yay consistency! Anyway, today I am here to talk a bit about something that I've been digging into a fair bit recently: Sanderson's Laws of Magic. For those who don't know what I am talking about, here is a quick breakdown.
Zero - Magic should be awesome!
This is an optional non-rule, more a personal opinion of Sanderson, one I hold to, which is magic doesn't feel magical unless it is awe inspiring. It should be impressive, and amazing.
One - An author's ability to solve conflict satisfyingly with magic is directly proportionate to how well the reader understands the magic.
Essentially, if the reader- or in this case player- does not understand the mechanics and physics behind the magic, then it feels flat and stupid when used to resolve plot. IE Deus Ex Machina.
Two - Limitations to a magic system are more interesting than it's power.
Essentially, a magic system without clearly defined limits, about what it can and can not do, weaknesses this magic brings, and consequences, is not interesting, because the magic can then essentially solve any problem without worry.
Three - Expand on what you already have before adding something new.
The best magic system is not made up of thousands of spells. It consists of maybe a dozen, very well thought out and deeply detailed spells. How does this magic effect the world around it? If you can teleport anywhere, what effect does this have on military tactics, or flow of information? Etc. How does one aspect of magic effect another. How can these spells be used together for new effects?
In relation to Massivecraft, I think the current magic system does good with rule Zero and rule Two. Rule One and Rule Three are where I think the "old" (current) magic system falters.
All we know about magic is that it draws energy from one of two realms: The Exist and The Void. But how does some of it work? Why does this energy let some make fire and others literally control objects with their mind? Or heal with your hands? Or turn into a demon-thing? It just happens because Reasons.
The biggest offending area for this has to be Artificaurorum and Evocarorum, and the other relation devices. Specifically I'll be talking about two: The Shield, and The Canon. The Shield is in reference to the device that created the protective barrier around Regalia during the Bone Horror Crisis. The Canon is referring to the Starlight Laser used during the Lo Occupation.
The Shield was a mysterious machine, of unknown origin and make, that was coincidentally activated by someone and happened to solve all issues at once. It not only made a shield to block a meteor and the Bone Horrors both somehow, but it was also later used to drain the energy from all Silveirall in the world apparently. This is an excellent example of Deus Ex Machina. We have no idea how the machine works, why it works, its abilities are inconsistent and its used for multiple unrelated things. If it was created as a shield to stop big rocks, it should be limited to preventing large masses of matter from entering. If it was made to stop foreign magical energies like the Bone Horrors, it should be limited to stopping those. If it was made to drain the energy from all Silveirall, then it should have been limited to that and would have had a multitude of effects on other magics in the city, given Silveirall powers and all magic in general comes from the same sources.
This inconsistency and randomness, combined with out lack of information on how any of this even works, led to these story events feeling stupid and shoehorned.
Then we have the Canon. The Canon is a slightly better example of magical devices, given we do actually have some, albeit vague, idea of how it works. Given that beings possessed by Attribates are catalysts for Void/Exist energy, it can be explained that the Canon probably uses this energy and channels it through the Foci for various effects. Where this becomes less clear is because we still have little understanding of how Foci and Attribates work. We theorize they can be used to harness massive amounts of energy from the Realms, but this isnt really set in stone. Foci are also a gray area. That being said though, the Canon was much more understandable, and felt much better than the Shield.
Now, on to Rule Three. Expanding on what you have before adding something new. I should not have to explain this too much, given how bloated the Magic section is currently, with TWENTY THREE different magics. TWENTY THREE. This issue is being rectified it seems with the new rewrite, but this is still a huge issue. Instead of expanding on existing magics, whenever magic was expanded it was with a new form instead of expanding on what we already had. On top of this a lot of the magic was wildly different and felt off.
I would like to hear what you all think of this, this was just my overview / thoughts on the issue and how it related to Massivecraft.
If you want to delve a bit deeper I would suggest watching this video, and Googling it.
Zero - Magic should be awesome!
This is an optional non-rule, more a personal opinion of Sanderson, one I hold to, which is magic doesn't feel magical unless it is awe inspiring. It should be impressive, and amazing.
One - An author's ability to solve conflict satisfyingly with magic is directly proportionate to how well the reader understands the magic.
Essentially, if the reader- or in this case player- does not understand the mechanics and physics behind the magic, then it feels flat and stupid when used to resolve plot. IE Deus Ex Machina.
Two - Limitations to a magic system are more interesting than it's power.
Essentially, a magic system without clearly defined limits, about what it can and can not do, weaknesses this magic brings, and consequences, is not interesting, because the magic can then essentially solve any problem without worry.
Three - Expand on what you already have before adding something new.
The best magic system is not made up of thousands of spells. It consists of maybe a dozen, very well thought out and deeply detailed spells. How does this magic effect the world around it? If you can teleport anywhere, what effect does this have on military tactics, or flow of information? Etc. How does one aspect of magic effect another. How can these spells be used together for new effects?
All we know about magic is that it draws energy from one of two realms: The Exist and The Void. But how does some of it work? Why does this energy let some make fire and others literally control objects with their mind? Or heal with your hands? Or turn into a demon-thing? It just happens because Reasons.
The biggest offending area for this has to be Artificaurorum and Evocarorum, and the other relation devices. Specifically I'll be talking about two: The Shield, and The Canon. The Shield is in reference to the device that created the protective barrier around Regalia during the Bone Horror Crisis. The Canon is referring to the Starlight Laser used during the Lo Occupation.
The Shield was a mysterious machine, of unknown origin and make, that was coincidentally activated by someone and happened to solve all issues at once. It not only made a shield to block a meteor and the Bone Horrors both somehow, but it was also later used to drain the energy from all Silveirall in the world apparently. This is an excellent example of Deus Ex Machina. We have no idea how the machine works, why it works, its abilities are inconsistent and its used for multiple unrelated things. If it was created as a shield to stop big rocks, it should be limited to preventing large masses of matter from entering. If it was made to stop foreign magical energies like the Bone Horrors, it should be limited to stopping those. If it was made to drain the energy from all Silveirall, then it should have been limited to that and would have had a multitude of effects on other magics in the city, given Silveirall powers and all magic in general comes from the same sources.
This inconsistency and randomness, combined with out lack of information on how any of this even works, led to these story events feeling stupid and shoehorned.
Then we have the Canon. The Canon is a slightly better example of magical devices, given we do actually have some, albeit vague, idea of how it works. Given that beings possessed by Attribates are catalysts for Void/Exist energy, it can be explained that the Canon probably uses this energy and channels it through the Foci for various effects. Where this becomes less clear is because we still have little understanding of how Foci and Attribates work. We theorize they can be used to harness massive amounts of energy from the Realms, but this isnt really set in stone. Foci are also a gray area. That being said though, the Canon was much more understandable, and felt much better than the Shield.
Now, on to Rule Three. Expanding on what you have before adding something new. I should not have to explain this too much, given how bloated the Magic section is currently, with TWENTY THREE different magics. TWENTY THREE. This issue is being rectified it seems with the new rewrite, but this is still a huge issue. Instead of expanding on existing magics, whenever magic was expanded it was with a new form instead of expanding on what we already had. On top of this a lot of the magic was wildly different and felt off.
I would like to hear what you all think of this, this was just my overview / thoughts on the issue and how it related to Massivecraft.
If you want to delve a bit deeper I would suggest watching this video, and Googling it.
