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I, Mario - Revisiting the Mushroom Kingdom :: - I, MARIO ZERO - :: Gameplay :: Magic & it's presentation in I, Mario Author Topic: Magic & it's presentation in I, Mario (Read 1,798 times) Electronic Samurai Blooper Weak frightened Goomba member is offline A man of few words Joined: Mar 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 314 Location: Wandering the open fields Karma: 1 Magic & it's presentation in I, Mario « Thread Started on May 26, 2005, 4:30pm » The word "magic" has garnered a number of unfortunate connotations in modern fantasy fiction. Immediately, its use conjures images of kindly old men wearing pointed caps using crooked wands to make sparkling lights for children. However, in truth, this sanitized version is nothing like the original concept, like much of fantasy fiction itself. In ancient tribal religions, magic was a terrifying, unstoppable force that was dangerous as it was unexplainable, often linked to a "spirit world" full of malevolent ghosts. Magic plays a huge role in the African religion known as Vodoun. Village sorcerors are protectorates from unseen enemies lying in wait outside the safe haven of the tribe. Even minor annoyances, such as an increase of pestilent insects or the stagnation of drinking water, is blamed on rival sorcerors wishing to destroy a peaceful way of life. In truth, it is doubtful whether Vodoun sorcerors had any real powers at all; they are masterful psychologists and con men, quick to blame and unfortunate circumstances on the influences of either spirits or curses. Tribal societies' beliefs in magic form a foundation for an uncertain worldview full of unseen horrors, placing spellcasters in the highest possible societal ranking in order to ensure their compliance. For those familiar with Steven King's "Dark Tower" series, for all of the writer's lamentable deus ex machina and nick-of-time saves, the presentation of magic was an excellent one. While never named as such in the stories themselves, the use of magic is responsible for a wide range of effects from telepathy, teleportation, and the alteration of reality itself. It is frequently accompanied by a sense of unreality and disconnection from fundamental universal forces, while seeming to retain a sense of its own internal structure. In King's universe, magic is never "flashy", and occasionally has little or no visual effect whatsoever. Rather, it depends on an acceptance of this unreality for positive effects. Both horror fiction and tribal religions seem to have a common thread of a fear of the unknown/unreal and a sense of a larger, mysterious "spirit world" that operates unflinchingly by its own rules. In I, Mario, we should strive to create this same sense of unreality. A number of gameplay elements help to accomplish this. These elements include: 1. The uncertainty of a hostile and unfamiliar world 2. The removal of a familar and commonplace element (gravity) 3. Creatures that control/are the result of this unreality (Magikoopa/undead creatures) Magic, then, will be strictly malevolent curses with few/no visual effects. It should be strictly uncertain whether Magikoopa have any real powers, similar in structure to Vodoun sorcerors. In addition, magic will always be used for malevolent purposes, such as curses and monster summoning, and never for benecficial purposes like healing, removal of curses, etc. In addition, magic needs some kind of vulnerability so that it doesn't dominate and so it has a sense of unseen structure. Perhaps there is a common element that is immune to/dispels the effects of magic, similar to legends of a vampire's vulnerability to sunlight and a werewolf's vulnerability to silver? I'm thinking water, as there weren't any underwater levels in SMB2. Of course, there won't be any specific references to this in-game - that'll be for the players to discover for themselves. >:D Any other ideas? Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged Hats off to Bean! Free pudding! FriendlyWarlord Lakitu member is offline Wheeee! Joined: Mar 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 668 Location: Winnipeg, Canada Karma: 4 Re: Magic & it's presentation in I, Mario « Reply #1 on May 26, 2005, 7:39pm » Well said! But now we must ask: how does this relate to the gameplay? Will the magikoopas have influence over "random" events such as attack damage, chance of weapons breaking, etc? Or will they simply have no magic abilities at all? Perhaps just being in the magikoopa temple is dangerous enough in itself to feel like there's some sort of curse against you. And also, the "magic" ties in directly with the supernatural events of the ghost house. Earlier it was suggested that the magikoopas won't follow you into the ghost house, possibly out of fear. As for the "undead" (dry-bones), I suggetsed that they're actually alive with their flesh torn off and on the verge of death. So, how far are we willing to stray from reality here? I'd say there's been so much ghost myths and such that adding believable ghosts would be acceptable. And I agree 100% with ES about the magic thing. And about the magic-vulnerability, it was suggested that the magikoopa cult/religion strictly prohibits the use/abuse of plants. Fire flowers and any other plant Mario can find could be a viable way to "ward off" the magic. Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged Electronic Samurai Blooper Weak frightened Goomba member is offline A man of few words Joined: Mar 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 314 Location: Wandering the open fields Karma: 1 Re: Magic & it's presentation in I, Mario « Reply #2 on May 26, 2005, 11:16pm » I think that Magikoopa should be able to deflect attacks using their staff, and also be extremely skilled using the staff as a weapon. They might be able to cause a weapon to jam or break, but probably wouldn't be able to affect its accuracy outside external events (i.e. repolarizing gravity around mario, causing heavy things to land on him). The living dry bones idea has merit, but it's a bit farfetched. I think I like them better as zombies. Making vegetation the vulnerability is interesting, for sure - certainly, the areas around Magikoopa temples would be devastated for miles around to eliminate any possible plant life. The grim wasteland look suits them, I think, as well as helping to set up their preoccupation with death and black magic. Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged Hats off to Bean! Free pudding! Kupi member is offline Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 11 Karma: 0 Re: Magic & it's presentation in I, Mario « Reply #3 on May 26, 2005, 11:56pm » Remember one of my really old ideas for a weapon/item, that instant-growing Ladder Vine seed? If you're allowed to use it for a weapon, that would be a really great application of it, for the Magikoopa to be weak to plants. [end random 2:10 AM thought] Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged admin Goomba member is offline Joined: Mar 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 0 Karma: 0 Re: Magic & it's presentation in I, Mario « Reply #4 on May 27, 2005, 7:59pm » Magic with vulnerability to plants could work. An interesting gameplay mechanic would be that eating any kind of plant powerup would make you immune to magic for a short time. Also, we could make a higher toxication rating on the toxication bar correspond with a bigger weakness to magic, because Mario would not have as clear a thought paath, and would be more suseptible to effects on his mind. From what I gather, the idea is that magikoopas actually have supernatural powers, so that would work. 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