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Who/What started the mana = blue trend?
- Thread starter Armaly
- Start date
Spring-Loaded
Member
Red for blood/health was taken
Could've been green or yellow or white or purple or etc., etc. though.
KINGofCRA5H
Member
Diablo 1?
Admiral Woofington
Member
Don't know why I feel it'll be a western rpg, since jrpgs I'm thinking of just had like text based.
Sometimes health is green too.
DarkConfidant
Member
Real mana is blue.
It's a good color for magic. It might be because I'm used to it, but it's the natural color I think of for magic. Maybe it contrasts with red, which both grabs attention and is the color of hearts (the older health symbol). You won't confuse a blue meter with your health that way.
Aztechnology
Member
Just a guess, but in many cultures water was spiritually speaking a source of power, life essence, the elemental force yadda yadda.
texhnolyze
Banned
That's mostly used in JRPGs, I think.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Real mana was probably a kind of a pale yellow/brown resin color
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manna
timetokill
Banned
Basic hex colors for games are RGB, red green blue, so often stats are broken up into those three colors
gravitybear
Member
pretty sure this is the answer
lvl99 Pixel
Member
mana tastes like blue powerade
elder scrolls was before diablo.
pluginbaby121
Member
I always related it to Magic the Gathering since most a lot of blue spells had that alchemical feel but I'm sure it was well before that. Just always what popped in my head
Sectorseven
Member
Maybe because the full term is "mana pool" and we associate pool with blue.
Mana is green at times too, no? Zelda is what comes to mind atm.
Tbh I generally think magic=green probably because of aLttP. But it is blue a lot. I just played Ori and it was blue there, for example.
As to non-red health...Ori also had green health. Also playing Ys I in Ys complete and that has yellow health that turns red as you get hurt. Playing DMC on/off atm too and I think that's also green health?
Tbh I generally think magic=green probably because of aLttP. But it is blue a lot. I just played Ori and it was blue there, for example.
As to non-red health...Ori also had green health. Also playing Ys I in Ys complete and that has yellow health that turns red as you get hurt. Playing DMC on/off atm too and I think that's also green health?
Soul of the Beast
Member
Cause blue is magical, we all know that.
Icyflamez96
Member
I always identified health bars as being mostly green.
Teriyaki Blues
Member
With things like this, there's usually no singular answer. It is probably a combination of things like RGB color output being the base, cultural standards where the games are developed, one or two really successful games adopting it and everyone else following the trend until it became the standard, and the extra contrast provided to those that are at least partially colorblind. Red/Green Colorblindness (Deuteranopia) is the most common type.
sineclamor
Member
Interesting thread. I'm pretty sure it was Diablo 1 as well.
It still is for me
KyanMehwulfe
Member
Quick google earliest examples I could find (edited a few times as I kept searching):
- Gauntlet (1985) used blue for potions ... but it wasn't for magic or mana. Just note it as the earliest example of blue being used for anything magical or potion bottle related though, as most RPGs were pretty text-based and often used Dungeons & Dragons esque MP-text for magic.
- Rogue (1986 on Atari) used blue for all potions, too.
- Zelda 2 (1987)... not really... it was white but with a blue outline, whereas health did not have a blue outline. And I think magic containers were red. So sort of used 'blue' unique to magic but not primarily or exclusively.
- Golden Axe 1 (1989) and 2 (1991) used blue potions for magic but also blue bars for health
- Golden Axe Warrior (1991) had blue potions has 'hearts' for magic but switched from blue bars to red hearts for health (it was kinda Zelda clone)
- Wizardry 7 (1992) added blue bars (the previous games used text or red/yellow bars)
- Ultima Underworld (1992) also used blue potion glass (whereas regular Ultima did not)
- Elder Scrolls 1 (1994) had a blue bar for magic.
- Diablo (1996) maybe the first time blue was used specifically for "mana"?
- Might and Magic 7 (1998) added individual character blue bars
I think quite a few classic 80s/90s PC RPGs mostly went from pure text to blue for 'magic.' I guess Golden Axe Warrior may be the first one to really use blue potions for magic points, and Diablo the first one to use blue for "mana." Blue for magic in general seems like how most games changed once they moved on from text-based magic/mana stats. Feel like I remember one that used yellow stars though.
//edit/// Verdre remembered Ultima Underworld that's an important one too... I had double checked all the Ultima games haha but I totally forgot about UW.
- Gauntlet (1985) used blue for potions ... but it wasn't for magic or mana. Just note it as the earliest example of blue being used for anything magical or potion bottle related though, as most RPGs were pretty text-based and often used Dungeons & Dragons esque MP-text for magic.
- Rogue (1986 on Atari) used blue for all potions, too.
- Zelda 2 (1987)... not really... it was white but with a blue outline, whereas health did not have a blue outline. And I think magic containers were red. So sort of used 'blue' unique to magic but not primarily or exclusively.
- Golden Axe 1 (1989) and 2 (1991) used blue potions for magic but also blue bars for health
- Golden Axe Warrior (1991) had blue potions has 'hearts' for magic but switched from blue bars to red hearts for health (it was kinda Zelda clone)
- Wizardry 7 (1992) added blue bars (the previous games used text or red/yellow bars)
- Ultima Underworld (1992) also used blue potion glass (whereas regular Ultima did not)
- Elder Scrolls 1 (1994) had a blue bar for magic.
- Diablo (1996) maybe the first time blue was used specifically for "mana"?
- Might and Magic 7 (1998) added individual character blue bars
I think quite a few classic 80s/90s PC RPGs mostly went from pure text to blue for 'magic.' I guess Golden Axe Warrior may be the first one to really use blue potions for magic points, and Diablo the first one to use blue for "mana." Blue for magic in general seems like how most games changed once they moved on from text-based magic/mana stats. Feel like I remember one that used yellow stars though.
//edit/// Verdre remembered Ultima Underworld that's an important one too... I had double checked all the Ultima games haha but I totally forgot about UW.
Jaguar Victory
Member
This. Or mana from the heavens (blue sky).
BetterThanNothing
Member
I honestly think it's just a combination of:
Primary color that's not related to blood(life),
A common favorite color and so pleasing to many who see it and
Magic is fucking blue duh
But that's the color of plants. Are you a plant?
Primary color that's not related to blood(life),
A common favorite color and so pleasing to many who see it and
Magic is fucking blue duh
But that's the color of plants. Are you a plant?
TwiztidElf
Member
Mana flows like water.
Moor-Angol
Banned
Yellow is not a primary colour, red, green and blue are
Moor-Angol
Banned
You are a reptilian, confirmed
Affeinvasion
Member
Golden Axe Warrior on SEGA Master System in 1991 is the earliest example I could find that actually had blue pots representing health instead of just numbers.
I know Dungeon Master in 1987 was one of the first games to use mana points but it's represented with the same color as health and stamina depending on the character in the party.
Also mana and manna are two separate concepts. Mana is Polynesian in origin.
I know Dungeon Master in 1987 was one of the first games to use mana points but it's represented with the same color as health and stamina depending on the character in the party.
Also mana and manna are two separate concepts. Mana is Polynesian in origin.
My first guess was this.
EDIT: like I won't get into an argument over it, but this was the first time I remember a game refer to "Mana" and use blue to represent it. It's interesting to see other people post info that predates this.
Affeinvasion
Member
Diablo's system was almost certainly influenced by Ultima underground's use of it. I think there are even earlier examples of blue being used to represent Mana than Ultima and Golden Axe Warrior but they were blue potions in inventories. I think the eye of the beholder games had blue Mana potions.