and also require the acquisition of the corresponding Spellbook in order to become available to the player. Spellbooks are placed throughout the campaign levels, but are also dropped by "Sapient Pearwood Luggage" (a low level enemy that resembles a chest) in Challenge and Versus (PvP) modes. Examples include "Haste", which temporarily allows the player to move faster, "Teleport", which instantaneously transports the player to a location of his or her choice, and "Time Warp", which slows down time. To cast a Magick, the player must "follow the recipe" by conjuring the appropriate elements of the Magick in the correct order. Items Though not the primary method of combat, players will always have a weapon in their right hand and a staff in their left. The player can use their current weapon by pressing Shift + Left Click. Weapons vary from regular swords with no special effects, to a magical mace that sets enemies ablaze with fire, to an M60 light machine-gun. Staves usually have some magical effect which can either be passive "always-on" abilities (such as an aura that heals nearby players) or active abilities which have a cooldown time and are used by clicking the Middle Mouse Button (for instance one staff summons a friendly tree monster, and another causes surrounding enemies to run away in terror). Development The team that developed Magicka consisted of 8 full-time developers and 4 contractors. It took twenty-four months to complete and was made on a budget of around $400,000. The game was developed by eight students at Luleå University of Technology in Skellefteå, Sweden Plot Setting The game is set in Midgård, a fictional land which is loosely based around Norse mythology. Castle Aldrheim is the home of the Order of Magick which trains wizards. All characters speak a nonsense language with subtitles translating what is being said. Opening In the past Grimnir was a powerful wizard of the Order of Magick who wished to harness the power of all magick in order to help the Order bring about peace and prosperity to Midgård. However, his ambition and lust for knowledge scared the other wizards and so the Order banished Grimnir and his followers and imprisoned the powerful wizard at World's End. Main Story One to four wizards from Castle Aldrheim (the players) are sent by their teacher, Vlad, to protect the city of Havindir from an increasing number of orc attacks