Say It Like You Play It

In this episode we discuss the puzzle adventure game Blue Prince by Dogubomb. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe cover topics including: The game's world & lore Word play in puzzles, as clues, & for fun Colour semiotics Sign versus noise ratio The (un)translatability of the game Songs that are low-key about playing Blue Prince: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6DbDTBrBK23NIV4u077vcx?si=d8ed31681e9...

In this episode we discuss a concept which has been important – but implicit – in many previous episodes: semiotics, or meaning-making through signs. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe cover topics including: The linguistic foundations and broad applications of semiotics; Definitions and different types of signs; Multi-modal semiotics in (video) games; Genre-specific and genre-independent semiotics; The re...

In this episode we talk about our experience playing two language puzzle games, 'Chants of Sennaar' by Rundisc and 'Sethian' by Duang! Games, LLC . Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe cover topics including: language puzzle and translation mechanics embedding conlangs in game worlds player versus player-character knowledge of conlangs complexity of conlangs and how to make them decipherable Contains some st...

In this episode we talk about the role of language in character design and world building. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe cover topics including: language ideologies, stereotypes, and othering characters with different accents or speech impediments spelling in conlangs inspired by real languages real-world associations mapping onto fictional worlds games such as the Dragon Age franchise, Pillars of Ete...

In this episode we take a close look at the online collectible card game 'Hearthstone', which is part of Blizzard Entertainment's 'Warcraft' franchise, and three research papers which study the game in relation to language and communication. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe cover topics including: Humour, puns, and wordplay in Hearthstone; Linguistic differences between rule texts and flavour t...

In this episode we discuss our experiences of using language-learning apps. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe cover topics including: What is gamification? Loss aversion, quizzes, and immersive learning The (im)balance between vocabulary and grammar Different needs for different audiences Apps such as Duolingo, LingoLegends, Memrise, Influent, and Earthlingo Contains some strong (and other types of) langu...

In this episode we discuss Carl Muckenhoupt's challenging 'The Gostak'; a text-based adventure game in which the player has to decipher a gibberish version of English. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe cover topics including: How the game works Translation as game mechanic The syntax of English and what it tells us about the meaning of words Verb transitivity, direct objects, and indirect objects Thinking...

In this episode, we talk about the representation of real cultures in video games. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe discuss: The scope of ‘culture’, from architecture to penis jokes Nationality, regionality, mainstream, and stereotypes Accents and how people feel about them Games such as Grand Theft Auto, Assassin’s Creed, Life is Strange, Thank Goodness You’re Here, Night in the Woods . Contains some st...

In this episode, we talk about social simulation in games, taking as our starting point Mitu Khandaker's talk ‘Thinking about people: Designing games for social simulation’. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe discuss: What’s a social sim? Autonomous behaviour versus authored branching stories Social simulation in tabletop games What are NPCs for? The multiple functions of communication and interaction in r...

In this episode we try to wrap our heads around the concept of 'ludemes'. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe discuss: The origins of the term 'ludeme' Different games scholars' and game designers' definitions of ludemes Comparisons between ludemes, memes, genes, and linguistic concepts such as phonemes and morphemes Underlying metaphors used to describe games as systems, such as ‘game as language’ and ‘gam...

In this episode we discuss the brilliant Heaven's Vault; a narrative adventure videogame about decyphering a constructed language in order to learn the history of a fantastical world. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe cover topics including: How the game works Ideographic vs Alphabetic writing systems Semantics and Morphology in language Science fiction, media representation, and attempts at avoiding orie...

In this episode we discuss the languages used in Baldur's Gate 3, and in Dungeons & Dragons more broadly. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe cover topics including: What is a lingua franca ? What is a constructed language ? Fantasy races (species) and the signs and sounds they make. How the needs of tabletop roleplay leave D&D's designers to "leave something to the imagination". Contains some stron...