powerpound14
New Member
This article is to explain a serious problem that i find with the magic system of "The elder scrolls" game series on the home consoles. I find that the magic animations and affects are weak and unvaried.Now animation and affect technology was not fully developed at the start of the series so i will only be counting from Elder scrolls 4 "Oblivion" and up. "Oblivion" was the first Elder Scroll Game to embrace the power of the xbox 360 and ps3.We must remeber that oblivion was made in 2006. A time where Developers were still learning how to develop on the ps3 and 360 .However thats no excuse, Untold Legends
ark Kingdom was a hack and slash rpg that released in 2006 with a much less sophisticated magic system as a whole.However it takes the cake where animation and affect is concerned. In oblivion for example there are 3 diffrent types of magic.Target,touch, and self/summoning. A target spell is one cast from the hand and that heads for the target propelling itself. A Touch spell encircles the hands and can only reach the maxium distance of your charaters arm reach. A self/Summoning spell is a spell that the user casts on himself and a summoning spell is a spell used to summon various entities .Now each of these spells have one Character animation.Target= a outstreched hand with fingers in a "swirl"pattern.Touch spells require both hands touching each other strecthing foward with the magic seeping from their palms. The self/summoning spell animation is where your character holds up his hand in a fist and then lets go with a various spell disaperaing from his hand .Now before i start talking about spell animation and affect.Let me start off by saying that i believe the magic system as a whole in oblivion was really good.The following is my objective view of spell animation and affect part of the system.What do you think of when you think of magic.I think of just one phrase "Endless Possibilities ". So what makes magic cool in video games.I mean come on The stats of magic in video games are cool but what sells magic is the look of it and what it can do. So if we cant find great magic in video games ,where do we find it.I tell you where...Movies.The classic companion of a gamer is a movie buff.FIlms like The harry potter series.The lord of the rings,and even Television shows too like the critically acclaimed series's Merlin and Game of Thrones. These all portray astounding feats of magic from drowning voldemort in a swirling ball of water(Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix) to summoning lightning from the sky destroying scores of the enemy(Merlin). Magic to me shouldnt be normalied.When in my opinion, i see a magic act. I have to say"WOW,how did he do that". I have to feel like that is literally impossible to do. This is where the elder scrolls magical animation and affect department takes a hit. Lets look at the game i mention above Untold Legendsark Kingdom hada much less sophisticated magic system but the affects were more fluid and better in combat for example: the staff was a constant companion for the mage and also served as the primary weapon in a mages arsenal.ULDK also had a list of combo's that would make the staff swirl around and send creatures flying 10 -15 feet in the air or make the staff levitate in a central position while levetating the enemy.The staff was also use to create area affects For example you could use the staff like a lightning rod and summon lightning while banging the butt of your staff onto the ground to create a lightning shockwave.Hand magic was also used in ULDK from flamethrower affects to standard bolt affects.the dash ,the most simplistic dodge move that practicly every game has was even upgraded to look more like teleporting.In conclusion its apparent that ULDK has a varied array of animations and affects.Now lets contrast, in oblivion. All the touch spells are is a glowing light ,all the self/summoning spells are is a glowing lights.The target spells are the only spell type that really shows any change .Shock looks like a lightning bolt,Fire comes in the standard fireball and Frost comes in a "Haze or a mist".These affects to me seem even for the time period a little outdated. now ok lets say you agree with me and they are outdated but then you say "well theres nothing they can do,developers were still learning the new consoles and needed more time" Ok well then we move on to the Game of the year 2011 "The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim". I have to give it to bethesda they really upgraded thier magic in skyrim.The magic in skyrim is leagues above oblivion with the addition of a couple new animations(Ice Spear, Cloaks,Runes,flamethrower)and the additon of the "MASTER SPELLS". The master spells i really like because the whole character becomes animated and he looks like he is gearing up to cast something huge. however all the base elemtal powers use the same animation(Outstrecthed hand palm up).I also had to give them credit for adding dual weilding magic abilities. However I want to see more interaction dont you . I mean the standard fireball in skyrim is far weaker than "Incinerate "However they look exactly the same. We are also still dealing with the affect problem .i dnt know about you but when i hit a guy with a fireball i dont want to see his armor clean and undented. In skyrim the best affect that you will see your spell have on an opponet is watching them run around screaming because you just cast confusion or seeing them glint for a second from a lightning bolt after which their armor is unscathed and they dont look worse for ware.However with the more prominet use of magic in the media today.Fireballs and lightning bolts have become normalized.I no longer say "WOW ,I just hit that guy with a fire blast." Instead i say "heres a fireball." i mean to me at least it seems that every game is using the same lightning bolt and fireball. Now we have come into the new age of the Playstation 4 and the Xbox 1.These massive beasts boast supieror upgrades form their last gen counterparts.Hopefully with the new power of the PS4 and XB1 we can seee some changes with more elemental affect magic and more varied character and enemy affects.
Here are some of the spells and effects i have thought of that i think would be cool to see.
Triple element blast: Hands outstreched while three diffrent elements wirled around eachother.Can be charged,when unleashed person gets knockdown and takes 33% even all element damage types.Possible critical hit percentage.
Root= character raises both hands high in the air causing tree roots to be ripped from the ground surrounding your enemy crushing them.Armor should be damaged enemy should have stamina penalty.
Entombed
layer place both hands on groundcausing a casket made of bones to trap the character. Magic penalty also possible area affect spell
Sun scorchlayer places hand inward palms towards eachother a. a spark of fire flashes and grows until its a mini sun.Sun draws enemys near vaporizing weak enemys with ash affects and seriously damaging bigger enemys.
Rock Blast:Summons Different sizes rocks depending on lvl skill and other variable factors and hurls them at opponet player should grunt
Frost Mist: Hands Should turn pale white and emitts pale gas the freezes opponents also area frost affects should be present with a slow frost tingling Sound
Hail storm:Character should whip the air above him creating a storm cloud which instantly hovers over enemy player and proceeds to rain down hail upon him
Lava Field:Summons a Field Of Molten Lava that Hurts ANYBODY who Touches it Character should Place his hands down with charged fire spell and should cast for 3-4 seconds directly onto the field
In final conclusion. I believe that every elder scrolls game that comes out sets the standard for what a RPG should be.I also believe that with the new console generation that we will see amazing new and unique advances in our Games.
P.s I also took into account ,the different affects that modding can bring however modding cannot be done on consoles that is why it wasnt mentioned.
ark Kingdom was a hack and slash rpg that released in 2006 with a much less sophisticated magic system as a whole.However it takes the cake where animation and affect is concerned. In oblivion for example there are 3 diffrent types of magic.Target,touch, and self/summoning. A target spell is one cast from the hand and that heads for the target propelling itself. A Touch spell encircles the hands and can only reach the maxium distance of your charaters arm reach. A self/Summoning spell is a spell that the user casts on himself and a summoning spell is a spell used to summon various entities .Now each of these spells have one Character animation.Target= a outstreched hand with fingers in a "swirl"pattern.Touch spells require both hands touching each other strecthing foward with the magic seeping from their palms. The self/summoning spell animation is where your character holds up his hand in a fist and then lets go with a various spell disaperaing from his hand .Now before i start talking about spell animation and affect.Let me start off by saying that i believe the magic system as a whole in oblivion was really good.The following is my objective view of spell animation and affect part of the system.What do you think of when you think of magic.I think of just one phrase "Endless Possibilities ". So what makes magic cool in video games.I mean come on The stats of magic in video games are cool but what sells magic is the look of it and what it can do. So if we cant find great magic in video games ,where do we find it.I tell you where...Movies.The classic companion of a gamer is a movie buff.FIlms like The harry potter series.The lord of the rings,and even Television shows too like the critically acclaimed series's Merlin and Game of Thrones. These all portray astounding feats of magic from drowning voldemort in a swirling ball of water(Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix) to summoning lightning from the sky destroying scores of the enemy(Merlin). Magic to me shouldnt be normalied.When in my opinion, i see a magic act. I have to say"WOW,how did he do that". I have to feel like that is literally impossible to do. This is where the elder scrolls magical animation and affect department takes a hit. Lets look at the game i mention above Untold Legendsark Kingdom hada much less sophisticated magic system but the affects were more fluid and better in combat for example: the staff was a constant companion for the mage and also served as the primary weapon in a mages arsenal.ULDK also had a list of combo's that would make the staff swirl around and send creatures flying 10 -15 feet in the air or make the staff levitate in a central position while levetating the enemy.The staff was also use to create area affects For example you could use the staff like a lightning rod and summon lightning while banging the butt of your staff onto the ground to create a lightning shockwave.Hand magic was also used in ULDK from flamethrower affects to standard bolt affects.the dash ,the most simplistic dodge move that practicly every game has was even upgraded to look more like teleporting.In conclusion its apparent that ULDK has a varied array of animations and affects.Now lets contrast, in oblivion. All the touch spells are is a glowing light ,all the self/summoning spells are is a glowing lights.The target spells are the only spell type that really shows any change .Shock looks like a lightning bolt,Fire comes in the standard fireball and Frost comes in a "Haze or a mist".These affects to me seem even for the time period a little outdated. now ok lets say you agree with me and they are outdated but then you say "well theres nothing they can do,developers were still learning the new consoles and needed more time" Ok well then we move on to the Game of the year 2011 "The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim". I have to give it to bethesda they really upgraded thier magic in skyrim.The magic in skyrim is leagues above oblivion with the addition of a couple new animations(Ice Spear, Cloaks,Runes,flamethrower)and the additon of the "MASTER SPELLS". The master spells i really like because the whole character becomes animated and he looks like he is gearing up to cast something huge. however all the base elemtal powers use the same animation(Outstrecthed hand palm up).I also had to give them credit for adding dual weilding magic abilities. However I want to see more interaction dont you . I mean the standard fireball in skyrim is far weaker than "Incinerate "However they look exactly the same. We are also still dealing with the affect problem .i dnt know about you but when i hit a guy with a fireball i dont want to see his armor clean and undented. In skyrim the best affect that you will see your spell have on an opponet is watching them run around screaming because you just cast confusion or seeing them glint for a second from a lightning bolt after which their armor is unscathed and they dont look worse for ware.However with the more prominet use of magic in the media today.Fireballs and lightning bolts have become normalized.I no longer say "WOW ,I just hit that guy with a fire blast." Instead i say "heres a fireball." i mean to me at least it seems that every game is using the same lightning bolt and fireball. Now we have come into the new age of the Playstation 4 and the Xbox 1.These massive beasts boast supieror upgrades form their last gen counterparts.Hopefully with the new power of the PS4 and XB1 we can seee some changes with more elemental affect magic and more varied character and enemy affects.Here are some of the spells and effects i have thought of that i think would be cool to see.
Triple element blast: Hands outstreched while three diffrent elements wirled around eachother.Can be charged,when unleashed person gets knockdown and takes 33% even all element damage types.Possible critical hit percentage.
Root= character raises both hands high in the air causing tree roots to be ripped from the ground surrounding your enemy crushing them.Armor should be damaged enemy should have stamina penalty.
Entombed
layer place both hands on groundcausing a casket made of bones to trap the character. Magic penalty also possible area affect spellSun scorch
layer places hand inward palms towards eachother a. a spark of fire flashes and grows until its a mini sun.Sun draws enemys near vaporizing weak enemys with ash affects and seriously damaging bigger enemys.Rock Blast:Summons Different sizes rocks depending on lvl skill and other variable factors and hurls them at opponet player should grunt
Frost Mist: Hands Should turn pale white and emitts pale gas the freezes opponents also area frost affects should be present with a slow frost tingling Sound
Hail storm:Character should whip the air above him creating a storm cloud which instantly hovers over enemy player and proceeds to rain down hail upon him
Lava Field:Summons a Field Of Molten Lava that Hurts ANYBODY who Touches it Character should Place his hands down with charged fire spell and should cast for 3-4 seconds directly onto the field
In final conclusion. I believe that every elder scrolls game that comes out sets the standard for what a RPG should be.I also believe that with the new console generation that we will see amazing new and unique advances in our Games.
P.s I also took into account ,the different affects that modding can bring however modding cannot be done on consoles that is why it wasnt mentioned.
