Games and Fiction
In computer and role-playing games which feature magic, a common game mechanic is a limited pool of mana which is depleted when the character casts spells.
Fantasy writer Larry Niven in his 1969 short story Not Long Before the End described mana as a natural resource which is used or channeled by wizards to cast magic spells. He expanded on this idea in other works, notably his 1978 novella The Magic Goes Away. Mana is a limited resource in Niven's work, a fact which eventually will lead to the end of all magic in his antediluvian fantasy setting when all mana is depleted.
Many subsequent fantasy settings (role-playing games in particular) have followed Niven in his use of mana.
In the Ben 10 cartoon franchise, a race of energy beings called Anodites are said to be made of pure mana.
In the card game Magic: The Gathering, mana is the resource used to cast spells. It comes in five colors, each color being naturally generated by a different land type (white mana from Plains, blue from Islands, black from Swamps, red from Mountains, green from Forests).
Read more about this topic: Mana
Famous quotes containing the words games and, games and/or fiction:
“In 1600 the specialization of games and pastimes did not extend beyond infancy; after the age of three or four it decreased and disappeared. From then on the child played the same games as the adult, either with other children or with adults. . . . Conversely, adults used to play games which today only children play.”
—Philippe Ariés (20th century)
“In the past, it seemed to make sense for a sportswriter on sabbatical from the playpen to attend the quadrennial hawgkilling when Presidential candidates are chosen, to observe and report upon politicians at play. After all, national conventions are games of a sort, and sports offers few spectacles richer in low comedy.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)
“... fiction never exceeds the reach of the writer’s courage.”
—Dorothy Allison (b. 1949)