Hey guys im looking for some input on a possible magic system for my project. In most RPGs there is just a quick push button cast spell type of combat that is all based from mana power or somthing similar. Iv been pondering the idea of a text based casting system using a vocabulary from some non used language. Where a player would have to prepair some spells ahead of time more like D&D or in some of the books iv read. Eventually gaining proficiency enough to be able to set spells to a hotbar or lock them to a staff. I want to unbalance the mage class as far as power but hinder them in cast time and preperation.In the Dragon Lance Chronicals books mages are feared and respected i think they are portrayed as to fragile in todays games.
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Interesting post. I like the ideas you posted too.
Yep. Unbalancing mages might be a good idea.
It might make the game, more epic too.
Yep. Today’s mages are lame. 
From what I remember, old school style mages, were also
skilled in battle tactics and hand to hand and weapon combat too. 
And are good at fighting, with staffs and swords and are masters of it. 
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Exactly… Your smelling what im stepping in, id like to come up with a way to make your magic strength/stamina correlate directly to your physical strength maybe even add an effect that if you totaly drain your strength reserve your character would lose conciseness.
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Wooah! So your character loses consciousness, after draining himself.
And to add, leaving him open/vulnerable, to enemy attacks.
Now that’s an interesting, yet unique idea.
Nice one.
I really like your text-based casting system idea. It also adds player skill to the equation. Players who can type faster or have a bigger spellword vocabulary will do better. It reminds be a bit of the words characters throw around in the Harry Potter series, or in Naomi Novik’s Uprooted which I’m reading now. (Trivia: Novik was a designer on Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide.)
Maybe as mages’ strength wanes they can’t use longer words, or they speak with less volume (e.g., less powerful spell effect).
I’m not sure how well typing would work in practice, though, since players would have to move their hands from a mouse or gamepad to type.
What about voice recognition?
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I hadnt considerd voice recognition but i did think of giving people a hotbar like place where they could type out certin spells and save them for a single or multiple use depending on skill lvl so you could prepair for a battle if you knew it was comming. I was also considering a much slower magic strength regen time so people had to think about when to just magic or start kicken ass with a sword. Then maybe even allow players to store there magic strength in crystals and have vairing quality crystals hold diffrent amounts of extra power just in case.
Those are good ideas. The hotbars are kind of like memorizing spells ahead of time in traditional pen-and-paper fantasy RPGs.
That would be so awesome. You’d be like chanting spells to cast magic for your freshly brewed potions. Nothing more mesmerizing than to actually role play!
You don’t have to do perfect voice recognition, just recognize a vocabulary. You could do a lot with 20 words 
So at the risk of sounding completely ignorant is voice recognition a plausible thing in unity…
Sure. Unity has a free wrapper package for various solutions. There are a few steps to set it up; it’s not just import and go. But once it’s set up it’s pretty easy to use. There are other free and paid solutions on the Asset Store, too.
Mind Blown
Before you get hyped, try it out in an actual game:
I was originally convinced it’s a cool idea, but somehow I did stop playing after 1 hour and never came back to it.
Okay.
So you memorise spells, then chant the spell(s) using voice recognition
to cast the spells at the enemies?
That’s quite an interesting idea guys.
And the other cool thing is, doing it that way, might make the game feel
more interactive and immersive. And make the player feel, as if he’s an
actual mage.
And/or feel silly playing the game while other people are in earshot.
However, I think it could be really interesting in VR. You’re already blocked off from the real world in VR anyway; it’s not likely you’ll be playing VR games on a crowded train or in a coffee shop. So you might as well have fun yelling out magical incantations. I think this review of In Verbis Virtus sums up how well it could work:
“Best moments of the game: those high stress situations where your mind and mouth are struggling to remember and speak the correct spell out.”
Has been done, I didn’t like it. The game is on steam, I forgot the title, but I can look it up if you want.
Alright. I’m curious to see it. (Hopefully, it’s easy to find.)
I had a suspicion, that some game creators, ventured into that game idea though.
This will be interesting to see. I shall wait patiently.
Thanks for the link.
Okay. I’m not a fan of these type of games, but from what I’ve seen so far
it looks kinda interesting. But strangely at the same time, I think I kinda
understand why you stopped playing it.
Another thing I noticed, is that it has that generic, AAA graphics look
animation style and gameplay style to it too.
Not my type of game, but still, I wouldn’t mind checking it out though.
Oh, I have another idea.
Maybe you could implement something similar, to the Wiimote nunchuk gyro
type motion controls. Which might add to the fun of this game too.
Because some gamers might like, using a wiimote gyro motion control
movement system scheme, simulating both hands, or a magic wand,
to cast some spells, at those pesky goblins and orges.
Even that might give them the immersive feeling, that they’re like
a great wizard, with a magic wand, firing magic spells and magic fireballs
at tons of enemies.
But I know, that might be a bit tough to implement.
And probably too much coding too. Ha! Ha! 
Lost Magic for the DS had you drawing spell symbols on the touch screen, it was kinda neat, but off somehow. Don’t remember how exactly, but it can definitely be worked on.
But I would hope for a wiimote spell option that doesn’t use the wiimote? something like VR wand things could work if inputs are set up right, but I dislike any Wii game that makes me waggle. the waggle never translates right.