I've been brainstorming a lot for a game idea focused around an arcane university. You essentially start off as a new student and get to decide what your "major"(or focus of study) is going to be as you play the game.

My question is what sort of changes could i make to make the game deeper than just "read book, learn spell"?

One idea i had was to make each school of magic fit into a different rpg archetype for example(maybe a player would like to focus his/her studies on healing spells for example, while another focuses on elemental magic).

Should i worry about the idea of stats as well? I'm thinking that making the game too number heavy will really break immersion, and i would like to have that constant sense of discovery. If anyone has any ideas as to where i can find new inspirations for magics and some of the possibilities, I'd love to hear those as well.

i would definitely look deeply into the Harry Potter universe(from the books to the movies all the way to the lego games) if i was going to make a game like this. It is basically a blueprint for the game world you are wanting to create.

going from there spells could be broken up into spoken and gesture parts where the player has to get learn both(through either mini games(button presses/gestures) or quests(finding the right book with the correct words).

using stats or not would be based on where you are wanting the game to go. if its just the school elements, stats wouldnt be needed.

really you should expand on your vision for the game is and where you want it to go.

I had thought of doing something somewhat similar, though not magic based, more you are in a VR realm and have to put together algorithms in a very simplified manner. It has a lot of cross over with your idea though since you would have schools of routines such as code breaking, anti-virus, stealthing etc which are like your schools of magic. The game perspective though would be to not simply learn things but to find bits and pieces you need within the world and combine them in unique ways. So, you might be trying to get into some building but to get there you have to break the lock. It is defended so if you try simple code breaking, the anti-virus will zap your simple attempt. Combine code breaking with a bit of stealth and you might gain access. Different combinations of different things could provide endless variation. With magic it would be something like archaic magic to break a targets defense then fireball to damage them. Throw in some skill levels, side effects or specialized effects and you have an endless amount of variation possible.

NOTE: I was thinking of this almost like the old text based Hitchhikers to the Galaxy game, though starting out slower in throwing you into the deep end of puzzles. I.e. to get the babblefish you had to cover the grate with a towel and about 10 other things before it would pop out and end in your ear. I was thinking more along the lines of "building" to those types of complicated puzzles. :)

At this point I started thinking about possible mini-games you have to play in order to craft new equations/routines. Say to do anti-virus you have to play a whack a mole game (just an example) and depending on speed and score, that gives you a new routine to use. Code breaker games could be simple simon like. Etc.

Other thoughts were of course RPG like in hunting down specific people and learning from them, defeating them to steal their gear, etc.

I never did get around to prototyping this but it has been bouncing around for a while as something which could be fun to play with, and your idea of magic could be just as complex in possibilities, just replace program with spell and same things. :)

Academagia has a system for this. Most you take classes and get events and choose to go to various locations. Its basically a Hogwarts simulator.

Personally I thought Earthsea or the Name of the Wind or other similar magic systems are much better. Because its not just shitty massacring of Latin.

There are rules to the system and you can manipulate them. Honestly even The Darkness series by Turtledove had a better magic system and it was actually an alt universe WW2 that didn't even focus on a magic academy.

Before the whole Harry Potter thing (yes, I'm that old) I was working on implementing a game system quite similar.

My implementation was as follows:

The early part of the game, you would be in the college, where you'd have to attend classes. That would span 1 year during which you'd choose your classes for the day.

You had to physically reach the class. Since the game was a time-management system, you'd have to also consider when to rest (sleep) in order for your concentration to be up to full and get the most out of your teachings.

I had a large array of experience points in various fields of study which resulted in learning spells, increasing stats, etc.

Technically, it was possible to finish the program with no spells and a very warrior-esque build (high HP, etc).

I had also introduced various "fun" elements to mess around with. For example, stealth-based skills were never learned from spending time in class. You'd actually have to "skip" classes and speak with other people skipping their classes and get into trouble (thus learning stealth-based skills).

Also, actual classes would be displayed upfront at the start of any day with the hours at which they'd air, so you'd have to carefully plan your day accordingly. Also, it meant you'd have to choose between getting A or B or C.

Once you'd have completed the college part of the game (which was the pinnacle of the design I believed at the time) you'd be left in a fairly straightforward 2d retro snes-like RPG up against an evil lord you'd need to defeat (an ancient student of the college). Then, Harry Potter came out and I felt like someone had stolen my ideas and was so frustrated I stopped working on the system for years until it faded out in oblivion.

I personally loved the magic system in Elder Scrolls: Morrowind. It gave me as a player a lot of freedom.

Outline

You bought basic spells which were based on fire damage, levitation, health improvement and such. Once you own them you could combine them in any way you wanted. You could apply them to yourself, by touch or by fiering a blob at some target. It was also possible to embed them into items. Making more powerful spells and items was more expensive and could result in out of level spells (which you could not use). In Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Skyrim they kept some of the customization tools, but they were not as free as the Morrowind system. This was because of balance issues. In Morrowind, I made a ring that would practically kill everything by touch. The end-of-game creatures and final boss took perhaps 2-3 hits, but still: OP!

How it looked: