Shows
Say It Like You Play ItSemiotics and (video) gamesIn 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 coff...2025-06-3057 minSay It Like You Play ItChants of Sennaar & Sethian reactions: what makes a good language puzzle game?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 mechanicsembedding conlangs in game worldsplayer versus player-character knowledge of conlangscomplexity of conlangs and how to make them decipherableContains 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...2025-06-0449 minSay It Like You Play ItLanguage, character design, and world buildingIn 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 otheringcharacters with different accents or speech impedimentsspelling in conlangs inspired by real languagesreal-world associations mapping onto fictional worldsgames such as the Dragon Age franchise, Pillars of Eternity, Cyberpunk 2077, Disco ElysiumContains some strong (and other types of) language.☕ If you would like to support us, you can buy us a coffee here: buymeacoffee.com/sa...2025-04-281h 02
Say It Like You Play ItHearthstone deep dive: when game studies meets linguistics 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 texts;The functions and forms of keywords and card names;Localization, with a focus on the use of Kanji in Japanese;Communicative affordances and limitations of the in-game emote system;Players' perceptions of "ba...2025-03-301h 25Say It Like You Play ItGamified language learning: neither fun nor educational?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 learningThe (im)balance between vocabulary and grammarDifferent needs for different audiencesApps such as Duolingo, LingoLegends, Memrise, Influent, and EarthlingoContains some strong (and other types of) language.📜 If you would like more Say It Like You Play It content, you can find our BLOG here: https://ibibaxterwebb.wordpress.com/blog-podcast/☕ If you would like...2025-02-2646 min
Say It Like You Play It'The gostak distims the doshes': deciphering gibberish-English in a text-based adventure gameIn 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 worksTranslation as game mechanicThe syntax of English and what it tells us about the meaning of wordsVerb transitivity, direct objects, and indirect objects Thinking of nouns and verbs as building blocks of games more generally If you would like to play 'The Gostak' youself, you can do so on the Interactive Fiction DataBase...2025-01-2648 minSay It Like You Play ItReal cultures in games: humour, accents, and how you hold your pizzaIn 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 jokesNationality, regionality, mainstream, and stereotypesAccents and how people feel about themGames such as Grand Theft Auto, Assassin’s Creed, Life is Strange, Thank Goodness You’re Here, Night in the Woods.Contains some strong (and other type types of) language.📜 If you would like more Say It Like You Play It content, you can find our BLOG here: https://ibibaxterwe...2024-11-3048 minSay It Like You Play ItSocial simulation in games: what is it and why isn’t there more of it?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 storiesSocial simulation in tabletop gamesWhat are NPCs for?The multiple functions of communication and interaction in real life and gamesGames such as The Sims, Baldur's Gate 3, Skyrim, Dragon Age, Redshirts, and Ctrl.Alt.DELContains some strong (and other type types of) language.📜 If you would lik...2024-11-0157 minSay It Like You Play ItLudemes, ‘game as language’, and other metaphorsIn 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 ludemesComparisons between ludemes, memes, genes, and linguistic concepts such as phonemes and morphemesUnderlying metaphors used to describe games as systems, such as ‘game as language’ and ‘game as organism’The ‘language as organism’ metaphor in historical linguisticsThe economy of metaphors in academiaContains some strong (and other type types of) language.📜 If you would like more Say I...2024-09-2856 minSay It Like You Play ItDeciphering the Nebula: language, history and narratology in Heaven’s VaultIn 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 worksIdeographic vs Alphabetic writing systemsSemantics and Morphology in languageScience fiction, media representation, and attempts at avoiding orientalismTranslation and archaeology as game mechanicsTo hear Jon Ingold of Inkle talk about Bladerunner and writing game dialogue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vRfNtvFVRoFor an excellent GDC talk on the...2024-08-251h 01Say It Like You Play ItFrom Elfsperanto to Orcstralian: The Languages of D&DIn 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 strong and other types of language.📜 If you would like more Say It Like You Play It content, you can find our BLOG here: htt...2024-07-2643 min