You can then try with by substitution (and some trial and error) to find out which letter corresponds to which symbol. The most common way is to identify which symbols occurs more often: those are likely to be vowels. Many games are adopting this solution, especially when they want to create a sense of hidden lore, but still allowing committed players to decode the inner meaning of the text.ĭecoding a fictional alphabet is actually very simple. It can be done very easily by simply replacing the font used to render your text. This is by far the simples way to create a new “language”: using a different alphabet. Quite the opposite, it aims to be a useful resource to get inspired from some titles who managed to integrate their languages. A few notorious examples will be discussed in this article, but please keep in mind this is not supposed to be a comprehensive guide to fictional languages in videogames. This article will discuss some techniques that can be used to create new languages in videogames, linking to existing resources and to possible ways to decode them. This is a very good way to add some mystery to your game, in a way that is very easy to decode for the more attentive players. When it comes to games, it is not uncommon to see new languages being introduces simply by writing English text using an entirely different alphabet. And they go through a never-ending evolutionary process which is rarely captured in fiction.Ĭreating a language is difficult and time consuming, and might not always pay back. Interestingly enough, both Elvish and Klingon not only use their own set of symbols (their alphabets), but they also have a grammar of their own, which makes them into “proper” new languages.Īnyone who is actually interested in the field of linguistic knows that, like any other living being, languages themselves born, grown, reproduce and die. The Klingon language from Star Trek is probably another well known example. Pretty much like Elvish did, other fictional languages escaped the boundaries of their stories and because an integral part of pop culture. □□ A Russian version of this article is available here. Tolkien himself created before writing the books. The entire world of The Lord of the Rings was built around a series of languages that J. This is not something so uncommon, and many other media before games have long relied on fictional languages to create a much deeper sense of immersion. Other games go even deeper than that, and create entire new languages for their fictional civilisations. Games like Dark Souls are notorious for their rich-and somewhat obscure-lore, which can be pieced together through the strong environmental storytelling and the various hints hidden in the item descriptions. And while most players might just ignore them, others could find great pleasure in resolving this meta-puzzle. Unravelling the lore of your world from a few hints scattered across the levels is, de-facto, a game within the game. There are a variety of techniques that can be used to achieve this: from presenting the backstory of your player with a wall of text, to clever level design tricks known as environmental storytelling. Every serious game developer knows that world building is an integral part of the process that creates a truly immersive experience.
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