why MAGIC USERS are more interesting than magic systems
Summary
TLDRThis script delves into the intricacies of magic systems in fantasy, emphasizing that the users of magic are as crucial as the systems themselves. It introduces the 'Almighty Pyramid of Magic Users', a framework to analyze magic usage diversity, knowledge, and logistics. The speaker discusses how magic systems can be hard or soft, diverse or same, affecting the narrative's feel and purpose. They explore how user knowledge varies, impacting interactions and combat, and how logistics like classification and power scale frame the story's magic-related structure. The goal is to inspire creators to consider user perspectives when developing engaging magic systems.
Takeaways
- 🧙 The importance of magic users in defining a magic system is emphasized, as their interaction with the system shapes the reader's perception of magic.
- 🌟 'Use diversity' is introduced as a key concept, highlighting the variety in how magic can be wielded and the inherent differences in the magic system itself.
- 🎯 The magic system's classification into 'hard' and 'soft' magic, and 'diverse' vs 'same' categories, influences how magic is perceived and utilized within a story.
- 🌈 Examples from various media like 'My Hero Academia' and 'One Piece' illustrate the concept of use diversity and how it can be implemented effectively.
- 📚 The 'knowledge layer' of magic users is explored, discussing how much they understand about the magic system and the implications of differing knowledge levels.
- 🤔 The impact of knowledge on user relationships and power dynamics is considered, with the potential for knowledge disparity to affect combat, beliefs, and social structures.
- 🧠 The logistics of magic use, including classification, learning structures, and power sources, are discussed as foundational elements that set the stage for a magic system.
- 🌟 The 'Ghibli Corner' is introduced as a quadrant of magic systems that are whimsical and defy conventional logic, offering a unique narrative experience.
- 🔮 The concept of 'mystique' in magic systems is presented, where a singular known aspect of magic is explored in depth, fostering a sense of familiarity and curiosity.
- ✍️ The video script suggests that writers often start with a preconceived idea of the magic system and then refine it through the lens of user interaction and system logistics.
Q & A
What is the significance of considering the users of magic in a magic system?
-The users of magic are crucial as they define the perception of magic within the story and to the audience. They bring the magic system to life and can make a high concept system more relatable and engaging.
What does the term 'use diversity' refer to in the context of magic systems?
-Use diversity refers to the variety of ways magic can be utilized by different users, which can be influenced by the inherent diversity of the magic system itself or how users choose to apply it.
How does the diversity of a magic system affect its perception?
-A magic system's diversity can lead to a wide range of applications and user experiences, which can make the system feel more dynamic and engaging. It can also lead to unique character interactions and problem-solving scenarios.
What is the relationship between 'use diversity' and the hardness or softness of a magic system?
-Use diversity is adjacent to the hardness or softness of a magic system. Hard magic systems with diverse applications provide a playground for users, while soft magic systems with less diversity can be more about wonder and mystery.
Why is it important to consider the knowledge layer in a magic system?
-The knowledge layer determines how magic users understand and interact with the magic system. It affects their confidence, curiosity, and the way they approach using magic, which in turn influences the reader's perception.
How does the difference in knowledge between magic users impact the story?
-The disparity in knowledge can lead to power dynamics, conflicts, and different approaches to problem-solving. It can also affect the pacing and tension within the narrative.
What is the significance of logistics in a magic system?
-Logistics provide the clear, structured aspects of magic, such as classification of users, learning structures, and power sources. These elements help frame the story's overall structure and the scale of magical abilities.
How does the scale of power within a magic system influence the story?
-The scale of power sets the tone for the story's conflicts and the stakes involved. It can range from intimate, personal struggles to large-scale, world-threatening events.
Why is it beneficial to consider the user's perspective when developing a magic system?
-Focusing on the user's perspective allows for a more intuitive and engaging magic system. It helps in creating a dynamic where readers can problem-solve along with characters and enhances the overall narrative.
How can understanding the different layers of a magic system help in worldbuilding?
-Understanding the layers of a magic system, such as use diversity, knowledge, and logistics, provides a framework for developing a rich and consistent world. It allows for the exploration of themes like class systems, politics, and racial dynamics.
What is the purpose of the 'Almighty Pyramid of Magic Users' mentioned in the script?
-The 'Almighty Pyramid of Magic Users' is a conceptual tool used to analyze and categorize different aspects of magic systems, helping to understand how they contribute to the story and the user's experience.
Outlines
🧙♂️ Magic User Diversity
The paragraph emphasizes the significance of magic users in defining the perception of magic within a story. It argues that while the magic system itself is important, the variety of users and how they wield magic is crucial. The concept of 'use diversity' is introduced, suggesting that the inherent differences in the magic system and the unique ways users apply it are what truly bring a magic system to life. Examples from various media, such as 'My Hero Academia' and 'One Piece', are used to illustrate the point that even within a single system, the diversity of abilities and user application can be vast. The paragraph also touches on the idea that the magic system's restrictiveness or flexibility can influence how users interact with it and the story's development.
🎢 The Magic Quadrants
This section delves into the concept of a 'hard' versus 'soft' magic system and how it intersects with the diversity of magic use. The speaker creates a quadrant system to categorize different magic systems based on these two axes. The first quadrant, characterized by hard and diverse magic, includes systems like 'Lightbringers' and 'Chromaturgy'. The second quadrant represents hard magic with less diversity, such as 'Orogeny' from 'The Broken Earth' series. The third quadrant, dubbed the 'Ghibli Corner', is for soft, diverse magic where rules are less defined and wonder prevails, as seen in Studio Ghibli films. The fourth quadrant, which lacks clear examples, would represent soft magic with a sameness among users. Each quadrant is said to evoke different feelings and serve different narrative purposes, influencing how magic is perceived and utilized within a story.
📚 Knowledge and Logistics in Magic Systems
The final paragraph shifts focus to the knowledge aspect of magic systems, discussing the layers of understanding that magic users have about their abilities. It raises questions about the extent of a user's knowledge, the disparity in knowledge among users, and how they acquire more knowledge. The paragraph suggests that these factors can significantly influence user interactions and the narrative's dynamics. It also touches on logistics, such as the classification of users, learning structures, and power sources, which set the stage for the magic system's impact on the story. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of considering the user's perspective when developing a magic system, as it enriches the narrative and provides a more engaging experience for the reader.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Magic Systems
💡Use Diversity
💡Hard and Soft Magic
💡User Perspective
💡Knowledge in Magic
💡Logistics
💡Scope of Impact
💡Alchemy of Storytelling
💡Characterization by Magic
💡Problem-Solving Function
💡Mystique
Highlights
Magic systems are often the focus, but the users of magic are equally important in defining the magic's perception.
The 'almighty pyramid of magic users' is introduced as a framework for analyzing magic systems.
Use diversity is the first layer of the pyramid, emphasizing the variety in how magic is used.
Examples like 'My Hero Academia' and 'One Piece' illustrate vast use diversity where no two users have the same ability.
The concept of hard and soft magic systems is explored, affecting how magic is perceived and utilized.
The 'Ghibli Corner' is a quadrant of magic systems that are unique, with their own laws and a sense of wonder.
Knowledge about the magic system varies among users, affecting their interaction with and perception of magic.
Differences in knowledge between users can lead to power dynamics and affect combat and storytelling.
The acquisition of knowledge by users is crucial and can be a point of character development.
Logistics is the third layer of the pyramid, covering the practical aspects of magic use.
The scale of power among magic users sets the stage for the story's magical conflicts.
The order of the pyramid layers is based on the 'scope of impact' on the story.
Writers often start with a preconceived notion of the magic system and build from there.
The video concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding the magic system's role in storytelling.
Transcripts
Magic systems get a lot of attention. And for good reason, it’s magic. Stormlight inhaling,
cursed energy using, scriving, all dope stuff. But something I think might be more important
than the system itself and doesn’t get enough attention are its users. Who wields the magic?
There are high concept systems that are just cool regardless of the person it’s attached to,
but even then the users still define it. And that’s the keyword here, definition.
The perception of magic both in-world in the story and to whomever is experiencing
it is largely defined by the users. I mean how differently would we perceive the Lord
of the Rings magic if “grand” wasn’t a word Tolkein decided to tie to everyone who had it?
The system is only one half, these guys, the ones directly affecting the course of the story,
they bring it to life, but the question is how? Hold on a second.
Observe. The almighty pyramid of magic users™. Every layer is
necessary to create that premium chemical reaction between the user and the system.
I analysed way too many fictional characters doing things that aren’t possible for this. Also
this totally isn’t an arbitrary list I came up with for my own writing. I am objectively right.
In an order that I will disclose later, this first layer is what I have dubbed, “use diversity.”
On the surface, you would think it’s self explanatory, how differently do people use
the magic right? But it goes several layers deep. Like for starters, what is the system in question?
Is it even wieldable? Again, half and half. The system could vary wildly in terms of
diversity, which isn’t always recommended. Go deep not wide, thank you Brando Sando.
But it can be done and done well. Fantastic example of this is an anime My Hero Academia,
or One Piece actually if you ignore the other thing where
no two people ever really have the same ability. In that case, the use diversity is massive, people
are obviously going to use it very differently because they don’t have the same power.
I see use diversity not as how differently people use magic,
but an inherent difference in the system. So it’s less about there are different styles of
earthbending or waterbending and more about there are three other full bending disciplines and as a
rule, you do not have access to them. I’ll get to why that divide,
as little as it may seem, is very important. But the thing is as varied as the fruits are
in One piece, Oda still allows classification, an umbrella type that these unique magic fruits
fall under. Horikoshi still narrows My Hero’s diversity. There are techniques like flashfire
fist that you can only do if your powers work a certain way and also broad classifications
which implies some level of sameness. A different level of diversity is
the type of system where you have a standard set of abilities, but then there is heavy
customisation or you can pick and choose. Think Nen from Hunter Hunter.
Here is still very diverse, but they all use the same basic principles. Which is always
fun to see, and it can say a lot about the character by how they choose to customise.
Side note, characterisation by magic is immensely fun to play with.
Yet another level of diversity, though is: doing magic thing A will always give
you magic thing B. This style is the most restrictive when it comes to use diversity.
I mentioned Sanderson, this is pretty much every magic system he does. And as much as
this is restrictive, the users can still find ways to apply it that are unique to them,
in spite of constraints and rules. This is the, “There are different
styles of earthbending.” Speaking of rules though,
you might have noticed how the “use diversity spectrum” is similar to the hard, soft magic
spectrum. This is really fascinating because the thing is it’s not parallel,
it’s actually adjacent. Again, half and half. No shot I’m the guy using graphs to explain magic.
Yes I am and I absolutely love it. This first quadrant with hard,
diverse magic is where a surprising amount of magic systems fall into, like a lot. It’s
usually in the form of the system divided into classes and it being made clear what
those classes are–what they bring to the table. On the harder side we would have Lightbringers
Chromaturgy, around that same hardness scale but more diverse would be Stormlight’s Surgebinding.
A little bit softer less diverse but still hard leaning is where Avatar’s Bending would
sit and a similar softness but way more diversity would place Jujutsu Kaisen’s cursed techniques.
Also go watch that anime if you haven’t, I’ve been screaming season 2’s praises off the
rooftops. Mainly because it's a fantastic study for the relationship between user and system.
The second quadrant housing hard magic systems with a sameness about them has
Broken Earth’s Orogeny, Aon Dor from Elantris but a little on the softer side–and if we were
to take a lot of the individual classes from the previous quadrant as full on magic systems,
they would probably fall in line really well. Here everyone is pretty much given the same
abilities and since it’s hard magic, it’s exposited decently well which has
its own effects in the story that I will get to, as well as what all this means.
But this third quadrant though, I have christened the Ghibli Corner. Nothing really makes sense
here and everything is different, unique and has its own laws that it plays by. Watch a
Ghibli movie, you’ll get it immediately. This last corner though–I couldn’t come up
with an example, if you have any in mind please let me know, because as commonplace as hard,
diverse magic systems are, soft systems with a sameness–a lack of inherent diversity–are just
as rare. Either that or I’m not as well-read as I thought, but I found it intriguing regardless.
I imagine a system, let’s say telekinesis. Everyone has the same power, move stuff
with your mind, but nothing else is really given. No extent, no limits, no conditions.
If it wanted to move up the scale with hardness, maybe we would explain how you could only move
the amount you weigh, and then only at the speed you could throw it at. Let's actually make speed
scale with the size of the object. People would definitely use that differently but if we wanted
to shift it towards diverse we would have to come up with a fundamental delineation in ability.
These guys can only push, these guys can only pull, these guys can only affect inorganic matter.
BUT as fun as this is breaking it down, I’m not just doing it for propriety’s sake–I’m not
classifying to classify–each of these quadrants have their own unique feeling, a purpose they
bring to the magic system and the story at large. Which is why looking at your system from the
user’s perspective is so interesting. The first quadrant systems reads like
a playground, it’s hard-leaning which means there’s a level of understanding that you have,
but since it’s diverse, it becomes a matter of application. It's easily
adaptable towards a problem-solving function. Which user is best for the situation at hand?
Who’s most geared towards solving this issue? Knowing this is what you’re doing with the
magic system means you can put the character in scenarios where they are the worst person for
the job. Or if a user breezes through a problem we know, “Hey, their magic is especially adept
at this, the rules were set up earlier and they were pretty much made for this problem.”
If the first quadrant is a playground though, then the second quadrant is just ground I
guess. Or rather groundedness. Everyone has the same abilities, you the reader
know exactly what they do, it is the epitome of doing magic thing A will equal magic thing B.
The second corner is a tool. And this is why acknowledging
that divide I mentioned is so important, because it separates the first and second
quadrant. People can obviously use tools differently but here there is no inherent
diversity, they all get the same thing. It’s more focused on how adept you are at
using that tool and it tickles the logicing part of the reader's brain, you might even figure out
applications before they’re explained to you. Because you’re imagining how you would use it.
And it is so satisfying when you’re shown a new application to solve a
problem that makes sense and you could have thought of within the rules but didn’t.
The Ghibli corner however is the complete opposite, it runs on pure wonder. Since nothing
really makes sense and everything’s different, that becomes the constant; that you don’t know
anything. And that could be used to achieve a lot of different emotions, pure wonder like I said,
boundless curiosity, unbridled fear of the unknown. Because this magic doesn’t have a shape,
it becomes incredibly simple to conform it to whatever the story demands, amplify themes,
characterise. Simple, not easy though. This is what purists believe all magic in
fantasy should be, but I digress. Systems in this quadrant can do problem solving,
but eliminating stakes rather than navigating them is almost never a good story thing.
And magic is kinda prone to that especially if the particular aspect that’s used is not explained
sufficiently enough, which it probably isn’t in this case because of the nature of this quadrant.
Which is probably also why this style of magic tends to solve an immediate problem
but make the overall situation worse. Increasing stakes not lowering them.
If this is pure wonder though, I see this last quadrant as mystique.
Because there is a sameness–there’s not too many different things to keep track of–the
reader will probably develop familiarity, there’s one aspect they kinda understand.
It’s the “Everyone has telekinesis,” thing. But since nothing else really gets revealed because;
soft magic, it would revolve around that singular known concept. Without the upper or
lower limits of what that means being revealed. I imagine a common theme revolving around
magic would be learning more about the system probably with a bit of apprehension. Maybe Aon
Dor from Elantris actually falls in here. By the way if you’re curious about any book
I reference, it’s linked down below. Read the synopsis, maybe pick it up for fun or further
exploration, which I always recommend you do. Again, these are just theories and machinations.
Oh wait I forgot, I’m objectively right. Regardless of where a system largely
falls though, it can still have specific elements that pull from other quadrants.
But that takes me to the second layer of the almighty pyramid, where we start to
tackle knowledge in every facet of the word. Knowledge isn’t just power, here it’s magical
power and once again it has its own mini layers. Questions.
How much do the magic users know about the system? What is the difference in knowledge
between users? How do they acquire more knowledge? Just like use diversity, it’s something you might
touch on while coming up with the system on its own, but it doesn’t really get concrete
until you start writing about the people actually using the system. You don’t get a
real feel for how answers to these questions play off each other till it’s on the page.
And I wasn’t expecting it to go there, but somehow the knowledge layer ends up determining
a lot of relationships. My train of thought:
How much do the magic users know? This question intrinsically implies that there is a lack of
knowledge, that the users don’t have complete comprehension of the magic system. Kind of
like a puzzle but you only get one piece at a time. And how adept you are at magic
stuff depends on how many pieces you have and if you’ve put them in the right place.
Pretty hard to get a full picture, and some users start with more pieces than others,
some users get individual pieces faster. Regardless of the rate of learning though,
the average base knowledge of the users determines their interaction with the magic.
Are they apprehensive or curious because they don’t understand? Confident or reverent because
they do? Shaping their perception of the magic and by extension, the readers’. Stormlight Archives,
the behemoth it is, does this pretty well; it has this magical renaissance thing going
on with people really trying to wrap their head around something they don’t understand.
But it leans into the next question. What is the difference in knowledge between users? If
the first question deals with the relationship of user to magic, this interaction is user to user.
What does it mean when one person understands the system better than another? Does it mean more
proficiency? Is it a strength or ranking thing? Is it actually desirable to not know as much
because it can mess with you? How does it change the way they fight, when combat is involved?
If there is a big difference in the amount of puzzle pieces one user has over another,
it goes without saying it can change how they interact, fight, talk, beliefs even. But also
the perspective you choose to convey the story to the reader changes how they look at it as well.
Side note, this why I love writing in multiple POVS, it’s so fun painting the
same thing from varied perspectives, characters asking different questions.
The third however, how users acquire more knowledge is a moot question
if the answer is they can’t acquire more knowledge, they can’t increase their skill,
which is mostly true for softer systems, but can be for the other side of the spectrum as well.
This relationship is between the user and themselves. It can characterise them by how
eager they are to learn. If the means towards learning is unsavoury, will they go that far?
This also touches on whether their ability is inborn or not, if there’s still a learning
curve after that, if the magic is even teachable. Inborn abilities could explain why acquiring more
knowledge is impossible, you just gotta have it. Which could lean into other worldbuilding
spheres like class systems, politics, races. Think of knowledge like you’re playing a video
game where you build out your character and each of these three questions are
sliders that change how they interact with the story, at least around magical themes.
And there are other questions, other sliders as well. How trustworthy is the knowledge?
What is the limit to the skill a person can attain and what affects that limit?
Can proficiency be measured and how? I’m sure you can come up with more.
These three are the ones I’ve deemed most important to my stories. Your stories can
prioritise others, just deduce what the answers to those questions can mean for it.
That being said, the third layer is what you probably had in mind when you heard me
say magic users and that is logistics. Not the word you thought I was going to say?
This is the clear, cut and dry stuff, the part of magic relating to users you would naturally
go over when you’re just coming up with a system. Is there a classification of users? What are they
called? A structure to learning? Different sources they draw from? Methods they use?
Different races by extension? How rare is it to be a user then? Questions upon questions.
But the one that I think impacts the story most is: what is the scale of power? It is a simple
thing but it frames the entire structure of the story relating to magic. If users are chucking
suns at each other, it becomes harder to write an alley gang war where everyone has powers.
Also remember when I said I would disclose how I ordered the layers, yeah this is that
part. And the order is the “scope of impact.” Because these are the questions a lot of writers
naturally default to doesn’t make them any less valid. These three layers are pretty much of the
same importance to magic and the story as a whole. But their effect on the story differs,
narrowing along with the pyramid. The logistic questions impact on a
much broader scale because it’s pretty much set for the entire story when you
answer them. Some answers can change, and lead to their own interesting outcomes, usually
for the plot, not just purely worldbuilding. But they’re constant for the most part, firm
structures that all these sliders can play off of and when one changes it’s usually a big deal.
Imagine a magic system where they all draw power from the same sources. We want it to be a pretty
rare race that uses this magic but their demand is high and the resources don’t always meet that.
Those are our constants, now we apply the knowledge sliders.
They know a lot but not everything about the magic system–they have a decent amount
of puzzle pieces. Knowledge is pretty varied though–not everyone has the same pieces and
getting more is doable but not always easy. So far we’ve created a situation where it’s
every user for themselves, maybe a little war for resources even.
But what does the diversity spectrum bring to the table?
As we’re thinking about how this magic is used for the plot, if at all, we decide it’s going to be
a harder system, so that would mean the puzzle pieces users do have are shown to the reader.
And since we already have this battle for resources kinda going,
we could amplify that feeling of scarcity by giving everyone the same abilities.
So the readers are told exactly why those resources matter and what a user can do with them,
because we decided the nature of the story needed a harder system.
And at this point there’s a decently clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses,
which creates a dynamic where readers can problem solve along with characters.
The magic system I just described is a deconstruction of Mistborn’s Allomancy.
And that’s another thing I want to touch on, writers tend to start with the answer first.
I don’t know where Sanderson started from, but I can guess it was somewhere along the lines of:
I want a system where people ingest metals to give themselves different abilities. I
want this ability and this ability to tie to these metals, and it’d be cool if some metals,
some abilities are rarer than others. Maybe Tolkein did start by tying the
word “grand” to every magic user and figuring out what it means from there.
Whatever it is, you have preconceived notions about the magic system itself and how it's
applied. That gives us the foundation of our pyramid, our constants. Then you can move up
the pyramid, ask all these questions, play with sliders and figure out what the answers mean
for your story. Then figure out which answers can elevate that particular piece even more.
Because even though you have what you want to do in mind, this isn’t a formula to plug in
some parameters and the output you get is a complete, engaging magic system.
No. It works in tandem as you develop the system, an effort to recognise what
you’re doing in the moment so it becomes more and more intuitive. Keeping users in mind,
instead of only what the system can do is a great step towards that.
And as always, the goal is to inspire through understanding, not to have all this crammed
into your head while trying to write. And in the vain of understanding, this video talks
about why you want to have a magic system in the first place. I hope I made some sense. K Bye.
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