Magicka

This article is about the action adventure game for Windows. For the magic energy used in "The Elder Scrolls" series of video games, see Magic point.

Magicka
Developer(s)	Arrowhead Game Studios
Publisher(s)	Paradox Interactive
Engine	Microsoft XNA
Platform(s)	Windows (.NET)
Release	January 25, 2011
Genre(s)	Fantasy/Action-Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer, cooperative

Magicka is an action-adventure video game based on Norse mythology and developed by independent developer Arrowhead Game Studios. It was released via Steam for Microsoft Windows on January 25, 2011. A free demo was also made available for download. The game was developed by eight students at Luleå University of Technology in Skellefteå, Sweden and sold over 200,000 copies in its first 17 days on sale.

In Magicka, four mages of a sacred order travel to fight against an evil sorcerer and his creations. The game world is based loosely on Norse mythology, drawing inspiration from other fantasy games like Warhammer and Diablo, and features in-game references to various other media titles including Star Wars, Star Trek, World of Warcraft, Neverwinter Nights, 300, Lord of the Rings, The Colour of Magic, Castlevania, Highlander, Indiana Jones, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The game also takes liberties when it comes to the classic fantasy setting, at one point supplying the players with an M60 machine gun, which the game itself notes to be "far too complex to be part of a fantasy game".

Gameplay

Four players attack goblins in the co-op campaign, casting a mix of Arcane spells.

Magicka is an action-adventure game played in a 2.5D environment. A single player or up to four simultaneous cooperative players take on the roles of wizards tasked with stopping an evil sorcerer that has thrown the world into a state of turmoil. The campaign consists of 13 levels.

In contrast to role-playing game mechanics that traditionally dominate among magic and wizardry-based video games, Magicka has no character class structure. Similarly there is no "mana bar," or energy meter that limits the use of special abilities, as magic spells can be cast without limit and do not require the consumption of any finite resource. The game is also exceptionally scant in its utilization of powerup items, as one of the developers' goals was to shift focus away from the acquisition of material goods, or "loot," as player motivation.

Each player is equipped with a magical staff, used to cast spells, and a secondary traditional weapon. A variety of each can be found during gameplay. Staves can have an "active ability" that allows the player to cast a specific spell without first entering the prerequisite elements (see below), and a "passive ability" which is in effect as long as it is equipped. The secondary weapons are categorized by range, attack speed, damage and secondary effects.

Spells and Elements

The game contains eight different elements, up to five of which can be used simultaneously, in nearly any combination, to cast a spell. Each elements comes with specifics effects. Additionally, certain pairs of elements automatically combine into a single new element, occupying one slot, when both are chosen for a spell.

Element	Type	Effects	Relation
Water	Spray	Knock-back, soaks	Hazardous with Lightning
Fire	Spray	Panic foes, Damage over time	Opposite to Cold
Lightning		Effective versus armor or wet foes	Opposite to Earth
Earth	Projectile	High damage, knock-down	Opposite to Lightning
Cold	Spray	Slows foes	Opposite to Fire
Shield		Protects	Opposite to Shield
Arcane	Beam	Explosive, locks on	Opposite to Life
Life	Beam	Healing, locks on	Opposite to Arcane
Combinations
Steam (water + fire)	Spray	Panic foes, soaks	Opposite to Cold
Ice (water + cold)	Projectile	Pierces, multiple shards	Opposite to Fire

Each spell can be cast in four different ways: as a ranged projectile or beam, as an area effect weapon, as an enhancement in wielding the player's secondary traditional weapon (ie. sword), or on the players' own bodies. All elements tend to cause damage, except Life, which heals, and Shield, which creates barriers.

To cast a spell, the player first sequentially presses the associated buttons for the desired elements (for example: q, w, e, r, a, s, d, and f, respectively, when playing using a qwerty PC keyboard) in order to "gather" them, which show up as icons on the screen as they are pressed. The player then casts the spell with another button. Possible element combination examples include, but are not limited to, Water combined with Fire to create steam, Cold with Water to create ice, or Shield with Earth to create a wall of rock.

Special spells called "Magicks" require specific combinations and produce unique effects, and also require the acquisition of the corresponding Spellbook in order to become available to the player. Spellbooks are placed throughout the campaign levels. One such example is "Haste," which allows the player to move quickly for a limited time, and is cast from Lightning + Arcane + Fire.

Certain combinations, particularly those including earth or ice, require a charge-up period. Certain combinations also result in no spell at all, as one can be said to cancel the other out: for example, Lightning and Earth cast together don't produce any effect, since Earth grounds electricity.

Elements also interact with each other: If a player is wet, trying to use Lightning magic will hurt the player and abort the spell, while using lightning based spells on wet enemies causes extra damage. Using Fire on oneself when wet makes you dry, but using fire on oneself while dry sets your robes ablaze. Using Cold on a character while wet freezes them in an ice block.

Expansions

The game's first full expansion is Magicka: Vietnam, a themed co-op campaign which was released on April 12 for $4.99 on Steam, GamersGate and other digital distribution channels.

The expansion takes its artistic liberty further by setting the background in Vietnam and fighting Vietcong-themed enemies with weapons in that era (e.g. AK-47). Players also have access to a new napalm magick, which takes the form of an airstrike.

The latest add on is Magicka: Marshlands, which adds two new challenge locations; marsh and cavern.

Awards

An early incomplete version of Magicka was named Game of the Year 08 at the Swedish Game Awards 2008.

External links

• Official site
• Game Page at Paradox website
• Magickapedia.net - Unofficial Magicka wiki
• MagickaMod - Unofficial Magicka Modding Community