Items for spells

[MCsephiroth13]

Okay, so I've been planning a certain game for a year now, and I've been thinking about the fact that the main character has no capabilities of casting magic spells, so I had to figure out a way to still be able to use Fire, Ice, Thunder, and Heal. What I came up with recently is that there are orbs that the player collects by transferring Energy (the currency in the game) into making these orbs, which each yield a certain ability. Fire orbs cast fire. You can combine them to make them more powerful, such as combining Fire and Ice to make Thunder, or Fire and Fire to make Fire 2, or Thunder and Thunder to make Thunder 2 (etc, etc, you the idea...). The thing is, is that these orbs are items and not spells and don't require SP, so the player needs to be careful in his ways of going about using them so he doesn't use them all up.

What I want to know is what you guys think about this idea and if there os anything you like/ dislike about having items "replace" the concept of using magic.

 

[PeteD2S]

Using orbs to cast spells is not replacing the use of magic, it's just using magic in a different way.
Yes, it's a good idea, 100 times better than regular mana spells, just because it's different, as long as you do it right.

 

[zchin]

I am using something like this in my game...
also, this sounds like final fantasy crystal chronicles but a little different

thank you and have a pleasant day

 

[trebor777]

It's quite nice for the "collection" side that it gives to the spells finding a spell is more challenging, some could be very rare and only a few found in game, therefore mixiing them would be tempting but had to be thought a lot before etc...

It's a nice idea, nothing new, but still pleasant to find in some game.

 

[Mikee]

I like it. I'd be a little more creative about how you mix them though. It seems to me that if you mixed fire and ice you definitely would not get thunder, especially since thunder is nothing but sound. Reconsider how you combine them, and their results and you've got a good idea on your plate.