WHAT IS MAGIC? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? HOW DOES IT WORK?

For me, a magical experience is one that in some way changes the way I think about myself or the world.

Art and entertainment is powerful because it has the potential to simulate experiences and emotions in a safe space. Being in a situation where you're terrified for your life is usually bad news, but in art, you can explore that emotion without your real self being in danger. Art lets you experience a broad spectrum of emotions that you might not otherwise be able to understand, and that enriches your perspective on life and other people.

Our experiences shape our development as people, and who we are is in large part a consequence of the chain of events we've gone through up until this point. Because art can create those experiences unbound from physical limitations or consequences, it has enormous transformative potential, and as artists, it's important to understand that so that we can wield it effectively, and also to ensure we don't use that power for evil.

There have been a couple games which have had a strong impact on me and challenged the way I think about certain ideas in the real world. And I think everyone has that potential, but it's something that has to be consciously honed and practiced.

What makes a work of art magical to me is when the artist's vision is conveyed through the artistic medium and I feel as if we're communicating through it, so that their ideas and feelings are clearer to me than if they had been expressed through words.

If you want to create a powerful work that will resonate with someone, search yourself and consider what it is that's important to you, what it is that you wish other people understood, and think on how you can use your medium to communicate that to other people. Even in a flawed work, you can sense that passion, and that's what gives art soul.

I would like to add that it's not exclusively simulated experiences that art can convey, but also just thoughts, concepts and ideas in a more general sense. This is especially true for works that focus more on metafiction and commenting on other works or forms of art. You don't necessarily "experience" anything in the strict sense of the world from that, but you can absolutely become aware of things you hadn't realised before. Maybe I'm just beeing too over-precise now, though.

Either way, apart from this, that is a very well-written, thoughtful and comprehensible response, Sailerius.

Awwwwwwwwww shi', Sailerius. Some stuff you've said in the past I've thoroughly disagreed with, but that post right there blew me flippin' socks off. It's bookmarked for later inspiration and another reminder why I art.