I’m just extending this to sci-fi also, as have many others, because they’re basically the same thing, only that the sci-fi magic systems are vaugely based on real-life science (but vary wildly how closely).
Think Stargate with their loosey-goosey ancients and accession, vs the much more grounded The Expanse.
I’m just not a fan of magic systems without any rules at all.
Hence why I find supernatural stories less interesting, which streaming services, book shops, and movie theatres, frustratingly categorise under fantasy. They are very different from sci-fi and fantasy, in my opinion.
If your magic is purely “mysterious”, that’s boring, and lazy story-telling (In my opinion).
This is just the currently accepted terminology in world building: https://rebeccashedd.com/2024/10/25/the-worldbuilders-toolkit-building-a-magic-system/
I’m just extending this to sci-fi also, as have many others, because they’re basically the same thing, only that the sci-fi magic systems are vaugely based on real-life science (but vary wildly how closely).
Think Stargate with their loosey-goosey ancients and accession, vs the much more grounded The Expanse.
I’m just not a fan of magic systems without any rules at all.
Hence why I find supernatural stories less interesting, which streaming services, book shops, and movie theatres, frustratingly categorise under fantasy. They are very different from sci-fi and fantasy, in my opinion.
If your magic is purely “mysterious”, that’s boring, and lazy story-telling (In my opinion).