Why is video game magic so unsatisfying?

Magic is supernatural, and therefore unknowable. There is no frame of reference for what a magic system should "feel like". Individual spells can feel amazing, but capturing the essence of the dark arts is hard when we don't even know what it is.

I thought magic in Fable was great.

so you want mages to be excessively overpowered like in anime, cartoons and movies and make non-mages be unable to compete?

This

I just watched this anime a week ago and seeing that character again made me smile. Thanks user. :)

But swordsmen in those anime/cartoons/movies are also overpowered, with super speed/super strength/super durability.

Yes, get gud other classes.

Came here for this

It could be interesting to have a game were mages do the heavy lifting but need to be heavily specialised and reliant on their team for other situations.

yea but look at generic wizards like merlin. their magic is very flexible and based around the environment but just by saying shit or pointing to stuff with their wand they can transform anything in whatever they want; lock you in a cage that appears out of nowhere or make you become a toad; spawn countless minions, teleport at will, etc

actually nevermind im just getting carried away by how much i hate how magic is omnipotent in some shows

I want a magic filled game game like that thaumcraft mod from minecraft

I feel the same way about most games, so rarely play magic caster classes, but as mentioned, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is good as is Dragon's Dogma Online. DDO is a bit better actually because there is a mini-game you do while casting to increase damage (see video)

youtu.be/_Hfk12Xf1Xk

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PIC RELATED: The only satisfying magic system, because you saw the training and work involved. Magic without physicality is trash.

youtube.com/watch?v=d1EnW4kn1kg

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You know what would be magical and really satisfying? Shooting a huge sticky load right into Megumin's 13 year old womb.

>see video
That feels choring if you plan to play some hours.

Based

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Play FF Type 0.

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It was but Yea Forums never owned an Xbox so they never talk about exclusives like Fable.

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Imagine being comfy with Megumin under the apple tree on a starry night.

youtube.com/watch?v=hKkF9LT0O-M

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Magic can be a bunch of different things because ultimately its not real, thereby making magic anything the imagination can think of
the way magic is used in game is usually in the form of spells such as simple fireballs or casting lightning down on enemies
these are such basic uses of magic that everyone seems to do so it all feels the same not not satisfying at all
Its the same reason why space games or games that incorporate space/alien shit feels unsatisfying, you have infinite possibles for the unknown and choose the most basic shit

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Unironically, yes.

Sword vs portal to nonexistence, which one wins?

You know what? I don't give a shit about your stupid magic bullshit. OP, go fuck yourself you retarded cocksucker

Necromancy is superior to all other forms of magic, prove me wrong. Pro tip: You probably can but it's all just opinions anyways so who gives a shit

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I want something between Dragons Dogma and Divinity 2

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You have to be an absolute brainlet to not choose magic when tasked between Range, Melee, and Magic.

Because magic is usually a subset of the systems in the game that is often given not that much thought or attention because the majority of people play warriors or rogues, similarly to how most people play as humans even when given other options.

You made me post this.
FLIIIIIIIIPENDOOOO!![/SPOILER]

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Here, have a bigger smile.
youtube.com/watch?v=rXX6Qny-vEk

>You probably can
Unless you mean in a concrete game/system, no, they really can't.

>still no good necromancer games

it trivializes all the Dark Souls games if you do

Because 99% of the games follow D&D-style magic, but make it even worse.

elemental magic xD
fireball! xDD

Magic is only satisfying in systems/settings in which it is overpowered/broken.

based
RPGs have no soul

D&D style magic is actually solid in P&P, it's just that it doesn't easily translate into vidya.
You'd need a gorillion of special cases and this means unwieldy codebase that is prone to bugs and hard to update. Prime candidate for delays and bugs that never get fixed.

You probably don't know how does D&D style magic work like, though.
In proper D&D, most magic isn't about slinging fireballs but about disabling shit, instakilling shit that fails a saving throw (may take many tries), buffing self to godly levels, clairvoyance to prepare self for all future problems, summon spam, bypassing challenges by digging around them. Basically everything EXCEPT what you think it is.

2 worlds 2 had great, fun and appropriately beoken magic that you could create.

What's wrong with having a setting for once where mages reign supreme? Balance it by making everyone have magical power in some form.

This. Actual P&P D&D/Pathfinder literally has a spell for any kind of task, including the most mundane shit. It's just a huge amount of work to translate it in videogame form.

>Nekro has been dead for years
I mean it probably would've only been decent but games that have necromancy as a non-spite option are really rare.

You know, for being old as shit, those RPGs like Wizardry and Ultima got mages right. They were glass cannons - couldn't take a hit, but one spell and they nuked the shit out of whole enemy groups. Tiltowait is like a small nuke, if I recall.

Feel free to give a thorough description of how magic like this would work.
Protip: when designing game systems, it's best to write it under the assumption that you're handing the finished document to someone you'll never speak to directly, so all they have to work on is the document itself, so be specific.

DnD follows the Vancian magic system which is unpopular and only appear in a few games, thank god because the system sucks dicks.

I'm just tired of lame ass staff mages with long oversized robes.

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yeah, it's about setting your hand alight with some sort of elemental effect and having to touch your enemy in order for the spell to work
oh, and you can only use a lot of them once per "day", and may even have to decide which spells you won't allow yourself to use before you begin a level, instead of having everything you know available to you at once
sounds brilliant

Most vidya magic is magic missiles with elemental differences and colour changes

The essence of good Vidya game magic is what the mage can do outside of combat. I loved magic way back when I could fly and beacon in m&m6

So simple and yet a great feeling of advancement.

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How is such violent content allowed to air on TV?

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that scene got the show canceled

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>Actual P&P D&D/Pathfinder literally has a spell for any kind of task
And yet 99% of them see no use because no one wants to waste slots on ridiculously situational magic

Psychic powers > magic

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amine tibbies,... me likey show with anbime tibbies.... : = D make pp go hard!!

Magic's appeal lies mostly in its dramatic and performative nature, which has too many degrees of freedom to reliably script into a game. It's like asking why CHA builds in RPGs haven't evolved to the point where you can talk to the NPCs over voice chat.

>find something for situational spell during exploration
>include it in plans
>rest
>prepare situational spell this time
>take slightly longer route to get the situational thing

Magic in Fable was great. It does something great that I've seen other RPGs struggle to handle well, that being being able to blend magic into other types of play.
Normally in RPGs you have the three types: Melee sword man, magic man, and stealthy archer man. In most RPGs they're segmented, but Fables magic lets those things bleed together.

Want to be a melee sword man with magic in Fable? You have berserk, multi strike, assassins rush, battle charge, physical shield, ect.
Want to be a melee sword man with magic in Skyrim? You can shoot magic out of your offhand ONLY if you use a one handed weapon with no shield, or give yourself a small defense buff.
Want to be a archer with magic in Fable? You have Multi Arrow, Ghost sword and Summon and turncoat to keep enemys distracted, Slow time for easy headshots, Force push to get enemys off you.
Want to be a archer with magic in Skyrim? Uh, you can summon something and turn invisible I guess.

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>Of course, modern developers don't want to put in the effort.
All right then. Go on and show them how it's done. Show us how lazy they are.

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In Morrowind you could create some bonkers or destructive spells.

Because being able to alter reality in varying degrees is broken as fuck compared to swinging swords at varying degrees of strength, so it has to be nerfed

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Go read Magi: Labyrinth of Magic (since they will never ever finish the anime). One of the kingdoms/power factions in it is a country with nothing but mages ruling everything and a poor, un-magic lower class under them. The whole series in general is about magic/magic artifacts and by the end of the series it's a red pilled politics and religion fest where the main character basically achieves CHIM.

I'd be interested in seeing how some non-conventional magic systems work.

Like Mistborn's magnetic push pull system, could be interesting to take a single flexible type of magic and let the player have full freedom to use it.

Yes. I want to play a game where wizards can wipe out entire army's and decide the fate of nations

The only game i've played with insane magic is dragons dogma.

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I really like some of the dark souls spells.
Like the giant soul laser and the mini sun in 3.
Always really satisfying to use.

It's good in DD but it's charge and release. Could be so much more.

spellcasters were about utility and flexibility, that's why they have lots of spells and limited uses a day