Mana Punch: Where's it Going?

Mana Punch started by wanting to instill a feeling of empowerment in the player. That they can get stronger, that they can climb any hurdle, that they can overcome the challenge in front of them if they put in the effort to learn and get stronger. This core theme was and still is at the heart of the game's spell system as well as the combat and is tested in the events of the story and world. Mana Punch takes place in a hopeless and depowered world, the majority of people like at the mercy of a few powerful individuals social mobility has been all but shot. The one exception to this rule is magic, hence why it's so regulated and outlawed in the game. However, magic is the thing that balances the equation. Magic allows the many to have power equal to the few, it is not controlled or mandated by any force that can not be opposed, despite the state's efforts to do the opposite. So by centering the game and story around the understanding and expansion of this magic to achieve the impossible, liberating oneself from the dregs of a controlling society by their own merit, sending the message that change is possible if you fight and try.

In terms of transferring that core idea into systems to deliver into a game the player can interact with, this is how it breaks down. First and foremost, we need the magic system in play, not only the ability to activate spells and have them interact with the map but also how they grow and improve over time. Tying back to that core idea of empowerment and growth, the spells themselves have to become more powerful or the player has to gain new ones or be able to mix and match them in new interesting ways to get that theme across. If magic is the lens through which the player monitors their growth and power level then we have to give them benchmarks to strive for and to show how the player compares power-wise to their starting selves. Without it and just telling the player they're stronger despite the only haven gotten better at the moment-to-moment gameplay, sure we aren’t lying but that’s telling without showing. The message is much better shown through the player's decisions and journey through choosing, upgrading, and swapping spells, giving them a concrete mile marker for their process to being more powerful.

Now to triage this is a little so it's more of a plan and less of a rant. We’d want to start with just the base spell system; getting that as satisfying to use so the player has good visual and gameplay feedback on the impact of their abilities. Next, customization, adding in the many variables that make up the various play sets players could use and getting them to a point where each is a valid path for players to take, so no one play style is depowered in the long run or meta. Lastly, getting those mix spells working and similar to the customization part, ensuring none of them are too overpowered or underpowered in the larger tool kit.

With that out of the way, there are also the smaller elements that would probably get pushed either into a polish week or second semester when more time and people become available. Things like area layout and environments help sell that oppressive and downcast vibe of the city. Elements that add an extra level of pop or polish to the overall game and themes so they stand out better and come across stronger.

However, there is one message that is unintentional and maybe a problem down the line, one I will bring to the team. That being, though our message or empowerment we set that the only way to become strong is to become proficient at fighting or other violent acts. Sending the idea that only violence makes the world go round. An idea that in itself could be something interesting to dig into and explored, but if not could send the wrong or misleading message if not addressed in some capacity.

That, however, as I said, is something the team can chew on and possibly add to the original core (without making it the focus of course) and still get some addental mileage out of the idea. Conceptually, we’ve done our best to try and match those themes and ideas to a gameplay system. Games, like movies and books, have their own strengths when it comes to telling stories. In games, it's through narrative action and gameplay, something we hope to continue to explore and expand on in-game as we move forward.