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 relationship between signs and ludemes;
• Examples such as UI, rarity colours, and controls;

Contains some strong (and other types of) language.

☕ If you would like to support us, you can buy us a coffee here: buymeacoffee.com/sayitlikeyouplayit

📺 We're also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SayItLikeYouPlayIt

Resources:

Blomberg, J. 2018. 'The Semiotics of the Game Controller', Game Studies, 18(2). https://gamestudies.org/1802/articles/blomberg

Chandler, D. 'Semiotics for Beginners'. https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~chazelle/courses/BIB/semio2.htm

Hawreliak, J. (2018). Multimodal Semiotics and Rhetoric in Videogames. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315159492

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 strong (and other types of) language.

☕ If you would like to support us, you can buy us a coffee here: buymeacoffee.com/sayitlikeyouplayit

📺 We're also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SayItLikeYouPlayIt

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Eternity, Cyberpunk 2077, Disco Elysium

Contains some strong (and other types of) language.

☕ If you would like to support us, you can buy us a coffee here: buymeacoffee.com/sayitlikeyouplayit

📺 We're also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SayItLikeYouPlayIt

Resources:

Burrell-Kim, Danielle (2023). Stuttering Matt: Linguistic ableism and the mockery of speech impediments in video games. Game Studies, 23(2). Available here: https://gamestudies.org/2302/articles/burrellkim

Villanueva, Emily & Ensslin Astrid (2021). Divine intervention: Multimodal pragmatics and unconventional opposition in performed character speech in Dragon Age: Inquisition. In: Planchenault, G. & Poljak, L. (eds.) Pragmatics of Accents. John Benjamins Publishing Company, 205-228. Available here: https://bora.uib.no/bora-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2993691/villanueva_ensslin_preprints.pdf?sequence=1

'Constructed Languages and Intuitive *~ Culture Feels ~*', forum thread. Available here: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/63958-constructed-languages-and-intuitive-~-culture-feels-~/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.