Analysis of the Video Game Speech Community
source: BBC
In writing as a freelance video game journalist for about ten years, I find that this speech community is one that is rich in language. In order to relate to the audience, it was important to speak their language. This did not come difficult to me because I have played video games since my father brought home an Atari 2600. I loved writing and I loved gaming, so I decided to combine my passions. The language in this community is used to relay information quickly and as a means of one-upping each other to display more knowledge of the subject being discussed.
Writing for the video game industry is much different than writing as a journalist for a regular news outlet. Since it is a community that is not just local, there are no distinct phonetic sounds that can be pinpointed in this particular speech community, however there are morphemes that are particularly related. Nintendo released a line of video game character figures called amiibo. Rather than add an /s/ to make this word plural, it remains the same whether there is one amiibo or ten amiibo. Another interesting point is that it is a pronoun, but it is not capitalized. This was one point that Nintendo’s VP of Corporate Affairs told me during an interview, so I never forgot it. Of course I would see this common error made online, nonetheless. Another example of a zero-morph can be seen in the game Pokémon, in which players catch little creatures called Pokémon. Again, it didn’t matter the quantity caught, they are still called Pokémon.
The use of acronyms is very demanding in the community. Since gamers play intense, online games, it is important to relay information in a timely manner. Someone playing a game like Overwatch would hear their teammates ask, “Is your ult ready?!,” which is basically asking if the other player’s “ultimate” is fully charged. The use of acronyms blends into the conversations and writing in the video game community. Here is a list of some acronyms commonly used and their meanings.
FPS – This can mean “frames per second” or “first person shooter”
FGC – fighting game community
E3 – Electronic Entertainment Expo
d-pad – directional pad
RPG/JRPG – role playing game, Japanese role playing game
XP – Experience Points
RTS – real-time strategy
We witness a display of showman ship during video game play and outside of gameplay aspects in the way this particular speech community uses language. There are words and phrases used to show their knowledge of a video game, or gaming in general. It is not an act of simply parroting words, but rather a way of one-upping the other person with words used by those more involved in the activity of gaming. We might hear a random Contra Code (also known as the Konami Code) of Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start, which was a button combination that allowed the player to achieve 30 additional in-game lives, tossed into a conversation that does not relate to the game Contra, just to show they are a balanced gamer and not a casual Fortnite player, or whatever game is receiving its rounds of popularity at the time. The same thing goes with statements like combo-breaker or fatality which are used predominantly during fighting games to show a combination of hits or the final blow that takes out their opponent.
Slang also plays a huge role in the language of the speech community. Winner-winner chicken dinner, catch the dubs, I got a Victory Royale, and Oh man; I 360 no-scoped him, are all phrases that show a type of win or achievement in games. In addition to slang, conversion is also present in the language used. The pronoun Platinum was originally coined by PlayStation to serve as a virtual platinum trophy for completing all of the in-game achievements for one particular game. The community started using this word as a verb.
Son: Did you beat ‘Bloodborne?’
Father: I Platinummed it!
Not only did the father beat the game’s story mode, but he received a platinum trophy for completing the game 100 percent.
There is a sense of universal language of those involved in the video game speech community. There is an inclusion of various linguistic features that can be analyzed to set their language as its own speech community. There are particular morpheme rules and the various means of word formation that are apparent. It is interesting to note that this language is not just spoken during gameplay. The video game community is very particular in showmanship that goes beyond the gameplay and transfers into their knowledge of video games through their conversations as means of “one-upping” the other with just how much they know about the video game industry itself.
