So, even before WotC starting releasing D&D pamphlets for MtG planes, I had wondered about using MtG planes for other game system settings (primarily video games). Thinking about it made me realize how different game systems require different things from the setting. Most of the time, it requires fleshing out new areas for flavor. But other times, it might need more rigid definitions of magic, or even modifying existing cannon.

For example, I've attached some ideas about how to possibly implement an video game RPG setting for Kamigawa (I also wanted to do an RTS Ixalan, but Kamigawa took a lot more time than expected to write down). This is partly because I thought Kamigawa could be set up to have a decent Race/Class system since it had a limited, but physically distinctive set of races, as well as a decent set of notable classes. One thing I had noted is that ogres were a bit too large to use effectively on a video game screen when everyone else was less than about a third their size (In fact, this is the reason why I didn't use Lorwyn: Faeries and Giants just have too large a size difference. It'd be hard to reasonably put both on the same screen.). If I wanted them to be part of societies, it would require a lot of reconfiguring to make sure architecture would make sense. Although Kamigawa ogres aren't the most social, they are highly intelligent, and I'd want them in places like Numai, which was rather unseen in art from the original block. While I could just adjust places I'd expect them to be, it'd also mean that I couldn't take ogres outside those places easily outside of siege or battle scenarios. For a math reason in the document, I ended up shrinking them a good deal in order to be able to have them go everywhere as party members. They still tower over everyone else even if they are less than half as tall. I also played with some other race's heights because, outside of ogres, humans probably are the biggest framed race on Kamigawa (Soratami are taller, but thinner). Since Humans are normally the average for races in games, I adjusted things so humans are "middle". (Yes, that was less necessary, but it saves a lot of work if you keep humans average.)

Other more obvious things are that since MtG focuses on combat, day to day culture tends to be a bit underdeveloped. So it makes town building require a bit of fleshing out. This lack of focus on the more mundane actually can have an effect on MtG worldbuilding. Theros, for example, didn't start out with a love god. MtG factions tend to be built around concepts that can work in combat, so those areas of life get fleshed out creatively. Creatively, it's natural to focus on what you've worked on, so it's easy to see why a love god would slip through the cracks.

So I'm curious, what other type of game systems (or even storytelling structure) do you think work with a MtG plane (be it a singular plane or for MtG planes in general)? What are the flavor needs not met by current flavor? How would you adapt MtG's relatively unstructured magic systems (outside color pie) to that game system?

I'm actually always up for settings where the humans aren't the balanced-stats jack of all trades.

I always thought a fighting game with the planeswalkers would be fun, could have "chapters" where you play as the planeswalkers (and maybe selected legendary creatures) through the storylines would be fun. Don't think its plausible but was a fun idea I had in when I started playing and thought it be fun for each planeswalker to have different "limit breaks" based on the real card ultimate.

I always scribbled game ideas. When I was a kid and Kamigawa was out, I had started thinking about translating Kamigawa into an RTS game and scribbling ideas. It started with kitsune, soratami, nezumi, akki, and orochi as the playable factions. It was similar to Battle Realms in that part of the premise was you start with commoner units that you can train up into different classes to field as an army.

The other main thing I remember was how soratami's gimmick was that they lived on clouds, so they had to build ways to expand cloud cover and build on top of that, kind of like the pylon or creep mechanic from Starcraft or blight from Warcraft. This meant you needed ranged or flying units to attack the soratami buildings.

More recently, I had thought about ways to develop a 4X game using Magic, linking the colors to resources. I have long wanted a fantasy 4x game that still had a robust political/civic element to it. Fantasy 4x games lean into the fantasy genre and emphasize you casting spells and dealing with dragons, but what I want is a strategy game that just has fantasy elements. So, less you casting spells and more you deciding the legality of pyromancy, whether you want to ban it, tolerate it, or invest in it. Like a fantasy Stellaris.