East and West: Magical Power

HEADING: ORIGINS


Early on, magic powers within video games were barely explained in the East or the West. Most operated on the assumption that players had previous acquired knowledge of the typical 'fantasy' magician, described below:

A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources. [1]

This coincides with the evolution of video game storytelling; early on, backstory and character development took a backseat in favour of the progression of the immediate plot (providing of course, there was any plot at all).

While magic was featured heavily in the early, fantasy games of the East and West, the origins and mechanics were not touched on. This is evident in early games from both sides, such as Final Fantasy I/II from the East and Shadowgate and Heroes of Might and Magic from the West.

MODERN FANTASY

In more modern gaming, explanations for magical powers are much more common. Particularly in the West, however, many games still center around the pre-established fantasy architype of arcane wizardry, though each does modify the origin of the arcane source slightly. Examples of this are Fable and Kingdoms of Amalur. Fable is somewhat vague on the history of magic (Will) within the game; it is never confirmed whether or not Will is inherited or taught. [2] Often, these games are based in the usual fantasy setting; a timeless, medieval world.

HEADING: SCIENTIFIC ORIGINS


When away from the concept of arcane inheritance or power sources, Western games often focus on the scientific origin of 'magical' power. This is particularly clear in games set in modern times in worlds that could potentially develop from our own. Games where power is granted as a result of scientific study include:

Bioshock 1/2 and plasmids. A 'plasmid', in science, is a dna molecule of specific properties.

Deus Ex and augmentation.

Prototype and viral mutation.

inFAMOUS and a combination of natural mutation awakened by scientific accelleration. This is a combination of innate and externally gifted magic.

In the above, the magical powers feel more like something from a Western superhero comic, particularly in origin. At least in games with a modern setting, writers attempt to give powers a plausible explanation rather than a completely fantastical one. Powers are a result of developed sciences or natural mutations.

Occasionally, Western games do touch upon innate powers; asari biotics (mind powers similar to telekenesis) in Mass Effect are naturally occuring. However, science is still a part of this -- other species develop biotic powers through controlled exposure to certain elements and are enhanced with the use of technological amplifiers.

In regards to the West, it is often genre that dictates the source of magical power. In more modern, realistic settings, human power is most often granted through the advancement of sciences and evolution. However, in heavily fantastical settings the West falls back upon the standard definition of a sorcerer.


HEADING: MAGIC IN THE EAST


In the modern East, magical powers are not often granted by science. However, contrary to initial assumptions, it is more often granted by the occult/nature than by religion or spirituality. One clear exception to this rule is the Magatama within Phoenix Wright.

The magatama is an object worn by members of the 'Fey' clan, who are blessed with having inherited the kurain channeling technique. This technique is spiritual in nature and the power comes from within the clan members; it cannot be taught to outsiders.

Other origins include heritage and naturally occuring magical objects. Final Fantasy IV features mages and magic users, all of whom are born to a specific village. Final Fantasy VII, however, bestows magic and abilities through substances formed through the lifestream of the world's planet.

Even in more modern day settings, Eastern games focus on more fantastical forms of magic rather than those with a scientific base. Examples of this are Bayonetta and Persona 3.

Light and dark (lumen sages, umbra witches). Draw power from the sun and the moon respectively.

Certain beings are born with a Persona within them, which they can then summon to combat threats.
















[1] Patricia A. McKillip, "Writing High Fantasy", p 54, Philip Martin, ed., The Writer's Guide to Fantasy Literature: From Dragon's Lair to Hero's Quest, ISBN 0-87116-195-8

[2] http://fable.wikia.com/wiki/Will#Origin

I have no words and I must design.

This week's contextual studies assignment was to read through Greg Costikyan's 'I have no words and I must design' and pick out a number of points to take a further look into.

Greg makes a point to discuss MUDs and roleplaying games, noting that these games do not have explicit goals set out for the player. He goes on to note that these games allow a player to pick and choose his own goals -- and often the goal simply comes down to character improvement. Greg also addresses the issue of boredom in these kinds of games; an interesting point. MMORPGs, games that allow players to do what they wish within the world, are constanting being updated and maintained to provide new content because, inevitably, the players of the game become bored with constantly redoing what is available to thm. There is an issue with games that have no set point of completion; eventually a player strays into the realm of repetition and eventually becomes tired of the game. I have played, and ceased playing, a number of MMORPGs. The first of these was Ragnarok, a Korean MMO. Within Ragnarok existed a core flaw; the only real goal or activity within the game was solely character improvement through the repeated killing of the most experience per hour effective monsters. Many MMORPGs, while boasting open ended gameplay that allows a player to choose what to do within a world, fall into the 'grinding' trap -- forcing players to mindlessly repeat the same action in order to advance. Developers of MMOs find that the biggest challenge is keeping end-game content, things for the player to do once they have reached the ceiling, up to date and engaging. Within the MMORPG genre, boredom is the greatest threat.

An amusing area of Greg's book is within the 'Struggle' section, and is in regards to his description of 'coperative games'. He notes that the call for cooperative games is a call for games without struggle or conflict. However, in today's world of gaming, a cooperative (or co-op) game is a game wherein players work together specifically to achieve a goal, and the conflict/struggle comes from the challenge within the game itself. The term co-op gaming, in regards to a game such as Lara Croft and  the Guardian of Light, appears to have different meaning within Greg's book. It is interesting that Greg notes that cooperative play is entertaining in the attempt to achieve a mutual goal, but seems dismissive of the term "cooperative gaming".

Greg makes a comparison between EverQuest and Ultima Online during the Structure session, explaining that while both are intensely similar games, EverQuest does not allow player versus player conflict, while Ultima Online encourages it through better rewards for doing such. He explains that such a small difference creates a huge change in player interaction; Ultima Online breeds fear and avoidance of other players, while EverQuest players engage in relaxed conersations and assist each other. This was very apparent when I played World of Warcraft; within the same game the difference in player interaction could easily be seen between PVP and non-PVP servers. Within a PVP realm, players often instigated witch hunts to take out players of the opposite faction, and paranoia ran high while out and about exploring the realm; high levelled players saw killing lower levelled players as a sort of sport. Relations between the two factions were as the developers intended; people were at war and developed a genuine dislike for players of the opposite faction. By contrast, on non-PVP realms, while conversations between factions were difficult due to chat filters, players from opposite factions were happy to ignore each other, or even sometimes assist using what little communication there was available with emotes and stunted phrases.

Straight on from the previous point, Costikyan then stresses the importance of understanding how game structure affects player behaviour, and explains that the player killing aspect of Ultima Online was not wholly intentional, pointing out that the developer's previous games focused on moral, prosocial paths. However, it is very difficult to predict how people will respond to certain structures. An example of a negative response would be one wherein people attempt to find creative and roundabout ways to exploit the system in order to cause another player grief or difficulty. Within many, many multiplayer games, player versus player interaction is prohibited. In a competative environment, though, people become very adept at finding ways the developers did not intend to kill or take revenge on one another. Going back to Ragnarok Online, player vs player is restricted to designated PVP zones, some of which are only active at certain times of the week. Players found that certain monsters had patterns of aggression that would allow them to switch target to the nearest and more vulnerable players, to prevent easy 'tank and spank' encounters. This behaviour allowed players to gather up large groups of monsters and then run them passed another player, causing all of the monsters to swap targets and ambush the unsuspecting victim. Costikyan briefly touches on this by stating that 'by an dlarge, you can expect that a player will respond to the incentives a game provides. Not always; players sometimes delight in doing the perverse'.

Caillois.

Caillois' ideas in regards to waste are not incorrect. Play, especially with video games, is not inherently productive. While the player can accomplish something within the video game and even have something (within the game) to show for it, outside of the game it rarely amounts to anything of worth. An exception to this would be online games, wherein items procured can actually be sold for real currency. This is most common in MMOs, and also in Valve's game 'Team Fortress 2'. While the sale of game items for actual currency is not actually officially sanctioned, transactions do occur and these salesmen can actually claim that their play has gained them something valuable in the outside world.

However, the argument could be made that those using a video game to farm for real profit have changed play into work. When one plays a video game for any other purpose than to enjoy that game, it ceases to be play.