Wizard Aestethics/Choreography

[Osvir]

Casting Spells.

 

Throwing spells.

 

Not summoning spells (unless, a Summoner of course...).

 

My point is should the Wizard lunge a fireball? Should he wave his arm horizontally as he shoot out an energy flux of magic missiles? Should the Wizard "dance" as he's pulling the forces of the mysterious unknown?

 

Avatar: The Last Airbender, springs lots of thoughts. I'm personally standing on the "if resources allow" side. But damn.. it would be so freaking badass cool...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oCXHi0kFucc#t=78s

 

EDIT: Not that^ flashy, look at the movements of the characters. Reduce it reasonably to a fantasy setting like Baldur's Gate.

 

I think the animation in Baldur's Gate is some singing hand magic jazz hands, in Dragon Age: Origins (and World of Warcraft), Skyrim too, the Wizard lifts one arm or something and that's that.

Edited November 16, 2012 by Osvir

[Sacred_Path]

Should the Wizard "dance" as he's pulling the forces of the mysterious unknown?

 

Hammer time.

 

No, I'd be happy with the usual IE hand waving + mumbo jumbo, caster must stay rigidly in place or spell fails

[Osvir]

What about the Druid or the Monk? I named this thread wrong didn't I...

 

"Ability Aesthetics/Choreography" was what I kind of meant

 

EDIT:

 

A Chanter would sing, and depending on Strength even scream? Would he still stand rigidly in place or with a clenched face and stiff body and yell from the bottom of his toes?

 

Would the Druid, who I think fits mostly for the "dancing", "pull" the Earth and Nature around him/her?

Edited November 16, 2012 by Osvir

[Sacred_Path]

What about the [...] Monk?

 

I assume for the sake of argument that monks won't cast spells, but will only use "special abilities". For them I could imagine some special animation(s) when they activate those abilities, possibly drawing inwards to tap into their souls (Qi?)

 

The druid I'd treat like the other casters, though she could lower herself down to the ground (kneel) as she draws on the power of the earth

 

Priests could hold their hands up in prayer

 

Paladins could hang their heads and mumble to themselves

 

Chanters could produce an instrument and play on it

 

Ciphers could raise their hands to their temples

 

 

Cheesy/ unnecessary details ftw

Edited November 16, 2012 by Sacred_Path

[Osvir]

What if the Staff was the tool to use "Elemental" Magic in a certain way? (Kind of like a Magic School?)

 

Wizards would take from the land with a Staff, a Druid would give/take and a Monk would ask of the land.

 

Monk could wield a Staff, when slashing through the air (mid-range attack) a wind slash is formed and shoot at the enemies. Hitting the Earth with a Staff (as a Monk) could send a rock barrage at the enemy.

 

That's another question though (50/50 off/on-topic). Equipment being the Medium for different types of Magic & Classes. A Chanter could use a Metal Staff to tune his/her voice (for better effect), perhaps even use it to send vibrations (rather than just singing).

Edited November 16, 2012 by Osvir

[Agelastos]

Dancing? Waving? Nah! The wizard should sit in a dark room heavy with the smell of incense, miles from the battlefield, in front of a makeshift altar facing North.

On the altar, drawn in chalk, is an outlandish sigil surrounded by lit candles. He opens a huge, dusty grimoire and starts chanting in a long-forgotten language. He then grabs an ornate bronze dagger and cuts the palm of his left hand, allowing the blood to trickle down onto the sigil. When he's done, he waits. There are no flashy light effects, no immediate signs that the spell worked, nothing.

 

Sounds much more fun than hurling fireballs at monsters, no?

[Osvir]

"And that was the First Day of what would be known to be called 'the Event'"

 

As I asked Sacred, what about the other classes?

 

Keeping it simple, I think that's the best way too, simplified motions but have different motions for different Classes. I like all those suggestions/ideas Sacred

Edited November 16, 2012 by Osvir

[Hormalakh]

I like different motions for the spells.

[Mandragore]

IIRC The magic in Avatar (and the accompanying choreography) is based off various styles of kung-fu. I don't really see why that would be appropriate for a game like this. Some finger waggling maybe, but please no "wizard dance"

[Osvir]

You misunderstand Mandragore, or I'm not explaining myself properly (probably the latter).

 

I am after the concept, that my Wizard doesn't just waver some of his fingers mystically and creepily whilst saying some words, but he actually moves his body, he moves his arms with force, pulling the energy from thin space and actually putting physical effort in the Element he is casting.

 

Perhaps a Wizard would need a Lantern to be able to cast Fire Magic? A Lantern and a Grimoire :D

 

EDIT: Not sold yet? (The Hermit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sold yet!?

"An old hermit walked around the village and the area day and night, and even in daylight still carried a lit lantern. One day the villagers had enough curiosity to ask him "Sir, why do you carry your lantern lit in daylight?" He said, "Because I'm searching for an honest man"

Edited November 17, 2012 by Osvir

[jezz555]

Given that we are working with "soul powers" here as opposed to Jack Vance stuff, I guess it works.

[Mandragore]

You misunderstand Mandragore, or I'm not explaining myself properly (probably the latter).

 

I am after the concept, that my Wizard doesn't just waver some of his fingers mystically and creepily whilst saying some words, but he actually moves his body, he moves his arms with force, pulling the energy from thin space and actually putting physical effort in the Element he is casting.

 

Perhaps a Wizard would need a Lantern to be able to cast Fire Magic? A Lantern and a Grimoire :D

 

I get what you're saying, I think I was actually being a bit unclear. My point is that the magic in most western settings is more verbal than somatic. For instance in dying earth (the series that D&D "arcane" magic is based on) spells are essentially mathematical formulae that describe the universe; twisting them or changing them as you speak changes the thing you're describing. Another example would be the "words of power" that the Dovahkiin uses in Skyrim.

 

By contrast eastern concepts of "magic" (like in Avatar) generally revolve around energy flowing through the body, directed outward by certain motions, often via martial arts.

 

I like both, I just think the former fits the wizard archetype better.

 

P.S. Material components (like a lantern for fire spells) seem like an interesting idea, but it would also be a hassle in terms of mechanics, especially if the items weren't reusable.

Edited November 17, 2012 by Mandragore

[Agelastos]

A ritualistic dance, like the bone dance or the rain dance? I like that idea. Maybe not for wizards, but for more primal casters like Druids or Chanters.

[Osvir]

And just because we were talking about Avatar earlier:

[Mandragore]

And just because we were talking about Avatar earlier:

 

Totally OT, but I'm still amazed that they actually managed to insert an Apocalypse Now reference into what was basically a children's cartoon...

Edited November 17, 2012 by Mandragore

[Incendium]

I think it would be better if a wizard make small movements while casting spells: like creating insignias with minimal movements of their hands, then those insignias become projectiles.

they can tone down the flashiness though.

[Dunedain]

I think dancing about or exaggerated movements for spells would look silly, but various subtle hand gestures and/or spoken words or phrases would make sense and look ok.

[Hellfell]

Strong poses for abilities.

 

No scholar robes for wizards.

[Heresiarch]

It's about foci, isn't it? Like a granddad's watch for time spells, box of matches for fire-based goodness and a little boogie dance for agility buffs? I think I would pass that opportunity.

 

Although it would be fun, if casting is diversified between classes. Like a short prayer for paladins (more along the line of "Deus vult" rather than reciting the Seven Penitential Psalms), who can't spend their whole day waving hands and singing incantations for practical reasons, a period of concentration for cyphers, practical gestures for mages (not quite full-contact magic, but not random hand waving either), and prayer-recital and more majestic gestures for priests.

[Osvir]

^Yes. Full Contact Magic, totally on point. Good job and thank you that's what I want. A Full Contact Wizard, or Monk, or Chanter etc. etc.

 

Being in Contact with the Element through their bodies. Wizards use their Minds however, but I could see a Monk use Full Contact.

Edited November 17, 2012 by Osvir

[AGX-17]

Unless it's dancing magic, the mage shouldn't be dancing to make magic happen. In which case Michael Jackson would be the archmage.

Edited November 17, 2012 by AGX-17

[Osvir]

^Horror Spell only truly Mastered to the tunes of Thriller.

 

EDIT: And Necromancy ofc

 

EDIT: Combination Magic! Chanter sings, Wizard dances.

 

...

 

Final point, a dance doesn't have to be a "dance dance". I'm talking about "dancing" in an abstract way. Example: A Wizard elegantly conjuring and summoning standing rigidly in place "dances" with his fingers, hands and maybe even his arms. A Firebender (as seen in the video OP) "dances" with the use of moving his body "with" (abstract) the element.

Edited November 17, 2012 by Osvir

[pzp11]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhPh_fmLaFA

 

The badass looking guy standing at the back is the priest.

 

Be it runes or insignias or magical touch-screen like in the video, I think I'd be happy with something as 'subtle' as this but still compelling.

 

I also thought of importing the idea from skyrim and its 'shouts' where there was a specific verbal word/phrase matched to a specific spell, like fus ro dah, is force level 3 (each word had some specific meaning but I can't remember). But this may not be that necessary.

 

I just want my wizard to have the arcane, scholarly, disciplined outlook. Equipped with an erudite learning and a wide array of invocations at the tip of his tongue.

 

 

Also .. to add, that avatar clip made me think of incorporating environments into the gameplay. Or maybe it's for another thread.

Edited November 20, 2012 by pzp11

[Chilloutman]

I am for mage need regents for different spells. As someone mentioned latern to produce fire spells. And if you dont want to have equiped latern you can have sulfur with whatever and then when wizard want to cast spell he can hold i in hand and start mumbling, area around his hand start heating and than bam! I love Ultima Online. And for rare High level spells you would need more expensive/hard to optain regents so you will spare them for harder battles instead of spamming them on every goblin. Druids can touch ground and start whispering to spirits of nature for help. And when caster is good enough in spell he will need less and less regents until he can cast these spells even without them. To summon skeleton caster throw bone ash on ground and then start performing some ritual and mumbo jumbo. Yes I like different casting animation for different type of spells. I think we can do better than in BG where all characters just waving hand around colorfull balls.

[Tauron]

Depends how channelig of magic will work in PE world. If magic energy is influenced from lets say tai chi, martial arts, than we would see some movments like from Avatar. But I would like it to be more subtle movements and less flashy. Something like in Baldurs Gate series, but i would like to see different animations for different schools of magic as for voice component if they choose to have it that way.

 

In Wheel of Time series, Aes Sedai channel magic or as it says in books, weave magical energy (saidar, saidin) without neccessery use of hand movment. But many use hands whn they weave, becouse it is much easier to channel energies and visualise etc etc. Really good channelers like fallen ones, ancient aes sedai in books can do it without hand motions. Yet it seems something instinctive that body motion is more intense depending on characters emotional state, so even fallen ones tend to weave and use their hands to better direct weaving whn distressed.

 

I hope they stick to BG formula, just they add slightly more motions, especially if in sync with voice component. Maybe later we can develop character to be channeler or something else, so he/she uses less motion or voice components whn casting spells or just gets some extra bonus orr uses less mana.