Videogames

Conlangs & computer games, part 2: The reconstruction of Babel

by
Sennaar Cover Firkant 1

We just can’t let that tower go, can we? When it comes to linguistics in pop culture, and to conlangs in particular, there’s no getting around the Tower of Babel. Chants of Sennaar is a video game released in 2023 by the French studio Rundisc, and it does not bother with sublety when taking its influence from the story of the Tower of Babel. But the confidence is well-earned, as it puts a spin on the story’s themes and makes great use of the medium’s interactivity and the unique opportunities that conlanging provides.

This is part two of a serial about conlangs – i.e. invented languages – and their role in the world of video games. Part one can be … ↪

Conlangs & computer games, part 1: The gaming giants

by
Splatoon screenshot 1 1

Conlangs, or constructed languages, is a category of languages deliberately created by individuals or groups – as opposed to the seven or eight thousand natural languages on this planet. My interest in conlangs is already well-documented here on Lingoblog, but I also have an interest in games: Board games, word games, video games, and the mechanisms which make all of them work.

For the next couple of Wednesdays, I will be discussing a few video games which use conlangs in interesting ways.

I’ve been wanting to write this mini-serial after I noticed a small trend. It seems to me that game developers in recent years have been experimenting with the interactive potential of unique language systems, and this has

… ↪

Language as immersion tools: the case of videogames

by
valentin billede

Videogames are perhaps one of modern days’ biggest tech-recreational businesses. It is everywhere and exists in an incomprehensible myriad of forms – from the massive online multiplayer games, to puzzle/problem solving machines, to deeply immersive and impactful stories. It is this last part I want to focus on a bit, because compared to other forms of media – literature, movies, tv-series – videogames are made distinct by their core: that they are supposed to be played by someone; that they have a player. This makes them uniquely oriented towards interaction and thus invites the player to immerse themselves very deeply in the stories that a game is telling. And one of the tools that a game can utilize in its … ↪