Magic

Classsic Examples

• Enchanter (Marc Blank and Dave Lebling, publisher Infocom, 1983, Z-code)
• Dreamhold ([[Andrew Plotkin, 2004, Z-code)
• Savoir-Faire (Emily Short, 2002, Z-code)

Approaches

• Spells may be cast by the use of dedicated verbs, often unusual words such as GNUSTO or PLUGH. This is a common feature of Zorkian fantasy. Either the author should explain these in the ABOUT text, or they should be learnt over the course of gameplay.
• Various objects may have magical properties:
  • Spell scrolls typically allow a spell to be cast once only.
  • Magical wands and the like may be waved, pointed or aimed to cast spells.
  • Virtually any object may be magical, although clothing, weapons and treasure are particularly common. Manipulating magical machines is a very common IF activity.
• Magic may just be used as an extension of the player's body, with no special syntax; the player might use a spell to UNLOCK DOOR, for instance.
• Magic may lie in the proper arrangement of various spell components (see also alchemy).

Advantages

• Like sufficiently advanced technology, magic can be used to justify virtually any world behaviour.

Disadvantages

• The player will have to learn how the magic system works. This can be fun in itself if handled properly, but if bungled it can be confusing and frustrating.
• Broad-purpose magic effects can impose a very heavy coding burden. A sword enchanted to be a bit sharper isn't, for the purposes of coding, a great deal different from a normal sword; a player endowed with telepathy or control over atomic structure is going to cause a lot more problems.