Why are there so few settings that combines science with magic in interesting ways? Or has interesting interactions between the two like in Arcanum?Like being able to cast limited spells by loading them into a gun or something?Why do so many settings either stick to just high fantasy or sci-fi?
>You gotta keep ‘em separated.
Tons of games combine them. I think what makes Outlaw Star cool is it's mostly a normal sci-fi space adventure setting, but ancient Chinese Tao magic is a real thing at the same time. Similar to why the Force is cool in Star Wars, but the connection to the real world makes things interesting. That and the caster guns, that's a cool concept.
>>3847697"Science" in most games is science fantasy, it's green-colored magic. You only want so many magic systems in one game.
>>3847697because what youre asking for is sci-fi fantasy. If the setting is advanced enough for it look like what you recognise as modern science then it just become sci-fi with powers and the groups or factions that dont have access to those advancements are typically represented as tribals or less intelligent. When you limit those advancements and try to make it more medieval or traditional fantasy it still becomes about a relatively normal medieval society that uses science like gunpowder and time-inspired-relevant-engineering who eventually or even at the start interact with a mostly magic society that just has shit float. theres no real gameplay difference in just saying someone is loading fire or electric spells into their gun than saying theyre incendiary or shock rounds, its difficult to write and not make convoluted for no reason
>>3847758>sci-fi fantasy. If the setting is advanced enough for it look like what you recognise as modern science then it just become sci-fi with powersNot quite. FF8 managed to pull it off, "paramagic" is essentially magical ammo. Once you get your head around that the lack of a traditonal MP system makes sense.
>>3847697IDK why you think that, a lot of games have it - Might and Magic is a space opera where science made magic real, Wizardry is similar but magic exists in parallel to science, Shining Force games have allies that come from technologically advanced civilisations, Phantasy Star games are Sci-Fi but magic also has a place as a field of science, Chrono Trigger/Cross play around with both magic and technology, Final Fantasy games do the same...The fantasy/sci-fi elements present in the same setting with curious interconnectivity happens a lot once you start looking.
>>3847878>Phantasy Star games are Sci-Fi but magic also has a place as a field of scienceI like how true magic (used by Rune and others) is distinguished from the "techniques" which anybody can learn.>In the original classic series, the esper Lutz used his experience in the magical arts in order to create a generalized form of magic. This power, unlike magic, could be taught to anyone regardless of genetic affinity. Upon his return to Algol in AW 345, Lutz originated common techniques seen in present times, such as foi and zonde.[1]https://phantasystar.fandom.com/wiki/Techniques
>>3847697>Why are there so few settings that combines science with magic in interesting ways?Because most fiction can't even decide how to separate the two to begin with.
>>3847697>Or has interesting interactions between the two like in Arcanum?Look, I love Arcanum, but "they're pretty much just opposites" isn't all that interesting. They just put the slightest amount of effort into extrapolating an idea into progress and societal development, though even they fell into the pitfall of shrugging and saying that despite all of that, it's s till pretty much a direct parallel to the real world circumstances.
>>3847697What games do you think do it badly/poorly as examples?
>>3847697Enter the perfect marriage, only to be shat on and never see the true potential.
>>3847699>thought of the song while working with bacteria culturesWild how the Offspring's vocalist is a biomolecular doctorate.
>>3847697Why is sci-fi less popular than high fantasy?Why is sci-fa with magic even less popular?Because most authors are too stupid to pull it off. The problem with scifi is that when you introduce scifimagic (whether literal magic or just magically efficient fictional "science"), they often have applications as better weapons than whatever is used as weapons in the setting. But the dumb author didn't think of that when he tried to work backwards to come up with an explanation for whatever fancy things he imagined.That or it has to be so vague it won't work well as an RPG setting nor make for interesting RPG mechanics.
>>3848446Classic sci-fi was often written by engineers, military officers, and scientists, and was using the future as a lens to discuss the present. Modern sci-fi is fantasy in space, written by writers.
>>3848446>>3848491What I like about Sci-Fi is how detailed it can get. The technobabble about the tech and all that jazz.Fantasy is always "we're a pastoral kingdom, don't think too hard. Our technology is swords, our methods of travel are by foot. Everything else is unexplained magic". It's just low iq boilerplate shit
>>3848126A shit.
Underrail comes to mind, so does war hammer 40k. Psionics are a common theme in a lot of sci-fi genre rpg's. OP is a fag.
>>3848774>styg shills literally can't understand EnglishSad. Many such cases.
I don't think I've ever seen a pure magic setting game, that would be interesting. They always have to bring in medieval technology to create a bland fantasy hybrid. I want to see a setting where people don't even use flint and steel because everyone, even the lowliest peasant, can use a fire cantrip.
>>3849103Look up magipunk. I'm tired of calling everything -punk too (I've seen motherfuckers calling the Flintstones "stonepunk"), but it's basically what you're asking for I think.
>>3849103Generally when people say "magic together with technology" they mean at least Age of Sails technological level. But more likely including the first types of widespread combustion engines too so early industrial maybe.
>>3849106I'm sure there's examples, but I want it in a game. I read a book series way back that had a setting with pure magic, Darksword trilogy. Even basic technology was seen as forbidden and evil, of course the MC was born without any magic and had to hide it.>>3849120That's because they don't realize how in depth even medieval tech was.
>>3849128>That's because they don't realize how in depth even medieval tech was.True, some of the craft secrets are definitely lost now.
>>3847758Not OP but in the setting in his image, both side have extremely advanced space tech but the Chinese faction also just has straight up magic on top of spaceships that blatantly breaks the laws of physics if it wants to, and the gun in his pic was the other side shoving spells into bullets to try and keep the edge.Also it's not just incendiary and shock rounds, there's also stuff like "creates a miniature black hole at the target" or "changes the future so that the bullet that looks like it did nothing then causes you to feel the effect as if you got hit by it all along". And the stronger bullets all drain the lifeforce of the user in order to wield.
>>3851968Forgot to say, when it comes to shit like> "changes the future so that the bullet that looks like it did nothing then causes you to feel the effect as if you got hit by it all along".And the natural question of "how the fuck do you defend against that", the answer is "there's only 1 of that shell left in the known galaxy, so there is no defense but odds are you're not the unlucky guy it's going to be fired at"
>>3848446>The problem with scifi is that when you introduce scifimagic (whether literal magic or just magically efficient fictional "science"), they often have applications as better weapons than whatever is used as weapons in the setting.I mean the easy answer to this is, "learning magic is really hard and might even be genetic in nature, compared to picking up a gun and pointing it at something">>3848491That's why people today tend to call that era Speculative Fiction rather than Science Fiction.Also tbf, this isn't a new criticism, you heard this all the time in the 90shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcARiMvRnXQLike Herb Solow said, until special effects can create writers, we are kind of in an era of dumbness.
>>3851980>Also tbf, this isn't a new criticism, you heard this all the time in the 90sYup. That’s when I was a kid reading that stuff.
>>3847697There's a fps with hex guns.
>>3851968>>3851972tbf when you take it that far then it's no longer magical versions of bullets, they're you're just a mage that likes using a gun as their catalyst. Which is cool but is ultimately still just a mage.
>>3852530What are you talking about, are you implying all people with guns aren't mages? Think about it, I point this piece of metal/plastic at someone, and they die. How is that not magic, because you can explain to me how it works?
>>3852534>because you can explain to me how it works?Yes.
>>3847699Only because a publisher wanted to jew out the maximum money out of writers and people.
>>3852530So give me an example of magical bullet vs using bullet as magical catalyst
>>3853501Magical bullet is just a bullet that's "lazy" magic and really technology can do the same thing. Incendiary bullets, electric bullets, etc are all things irl, and having a gun that shoots a "magical" version of that is just technology by another name.By contrast if a bullet is a magical catalyst, then it's more like, you fire the bullet and it turns into a magic missile or an ice beam or something as it exits the gun.
