BBC Radio profiled the efforts, lately highlighted in the game 221B, a movie adaptation of the recent Sherlock Holmes film. In it, players must interrogate witnesses and suspects to gain answers that advance the story.

"Rather than attempting to create an exhaustive list of possible questions and the appropriate response, the characters in the game are capable of making a 'fuzzy interpretation' of what is said to them," the BBC reports. "The intention is to remove the frustration, familiar to any who played the old text-based adventure games, of having to guess the right way of asking a question or giving an instruction."

Other games based on open-ended use of language, spoken or written, include Facade and, of course, Scribblenauts - and even Left 4 Dead. "Each of the characters has a set of voice samples which can trigger based on events, situations and other dialog lines," Rockstar's Alex Champandard said of L4D. "This results in completely emergent short conversations depending on the situation."

The BBC calls it one of "the last uncracked problems" in games design. It's a good read, especially for the humorous kicker paragraph.

AI Aims to Solve In-Game Chatter [BBC Radio]

There are dozens of ways to express the same thing in a language, depending on the circumstances and ways the speaker wishes to interact with their surroundings. In comparison, video games have far less choices but that does not rule out calling them ‘tiny languages’. Their size then being directly proportional to the number of options given to a player. It can be tough to pick up on this in a mostly linear game like God of War because it has so few options that one can’t really appreciate the ‘games as language’ argument. That’s a game that falls under Hideo Kojima’s ‘games as museums’ design theory, and is more about delivering a series of set experiences that the player roleplays through. On the other hand, games such as Grand Theft Auto IV and Far Cry 2 on a greater level represent enough choices compounded together that the first indications of a language start to form.

Jeffries notes in the comments that this is sort of the converse of something that Ian Bogost has written extensively on — the ability of games to communicate at masses of people.

Games as Language Systems [PopMatters]

Consider any game you've played recently. At least some information was conveyed to you in a symbolic manner. What makes this information intuitive? What makes it counterintuitive? Studying these languages, even to a limited degree, made me more conscious of exactly what the difference is.

What is particularly fascinating is the fact that games have already formulated parts of a learned symbolic language for games. Consider the life bar. A life bar is completely alien and counterintuitive, but we'd all recognize and assimilate one instantly. By agreeing on a symbolic notation for health, game developers have acclimated players to it and taught them to recognize it whenever they encounter it. Developers have expanded their toolbox of symbols and added to what can be instantly expressed!

I'm far from arguing that the common video game conceits should be codified into a common symbolic language, but it's interesting to note that, without trying, we've done exactly that to a limited degree.

It's a quick read, but interesting. I can't say I ever pay much attention to in-game languages, other than when I'm more or less forced to, but that's probably one mark of a good one — something that adds color and 'authenticity' without being in your face.

In Tongues: Richard Garriott on In-Game Languages [GameCareerGuide]

The goal is to fare well and advance socially and economically, with players advancing from “tourists” to “residents” and finally to “citizens” of modern China. At the different stages, players encounter quests, have access to learning materials – including live Chinese tutors – and can organize and participate in social activities.

Among the many tasks players can complete in the tourist stage are ordering a taxi, exchanging currency and checking into a hotel in China.

“Games are supposed to be fun and educational,” Zhao said. “With this one, we have struck a good balance.”

I wonder if the Zon! cabbies are as chatty as the guys in Shanghai or Taipei. It's a neat idea for facilitating language acquisition — if only it weren't in hateful jiantizi.

Virtual China: Online game teaches Chinese culture, language [MSU Today]

'4/6 lfm tank and dd' - The jargon of online gaming [EarthTimes]

In a hysterical outpouring of unclever, pedestrian gamer rage, Dennis over at the VG Resource Center has come up with his definitive list of gamer terminology that triggers his Tourette's and causes him to pull his panties over his head.

Words he doesn't like? Twink, Celda, Wii-mote, Kiddie Games, Web 2.0, Wi-Fi, l337-5p34k, BOOM, HEADSHOT!, Gaymer and Ninty.

Oh, I sympathize with him on some of them, Ninty in particular. You may not be aware of this, but Eliza, McWhertor and I have formed a revolutionary Kotaku junta with the aim of banning the usage of the words 'Ninty' and 'Msoft' on this site. These terms make us grate our teeth so violently that sparks shoot out from our fillings. We seem to have successfully bullied Ashcraft into submission, but Crecente remains almost gleeful in his usage of 'Msoft', as if the caloric expenditure of typing four more letters on the keyboard would waste him away into a gasping, desiccated ghoul. And he's the boss, so unless we throw our own October Revolution (currently scheduled for September), that's unlikely to change.

Anyway, back to Dennis. In regards to 'gaymer', he writes:

Why the hell the homosexual community has to go out of their way with terms like this is beyond me. Maybe it is because it is their sole duty to impose their will on the rest of the gaming community. Say "gamer" aloud. Now say "gaymer" aloud. Notice the difference in pronunciation? Yeah, neither do I. It almost makes one feel that they attempt to make it seem that people who play video games are gay by default.

To which I retort: aren't they? Florian Eckhardt

10 Terms Created by the Tech and Gaming Community That Piss Me Off [VG Resource Center]