Say It Like You Play It 'The gostak distims the doshes': deciphering gibberish-English in a text-based adventure game
Jan 26, 2025
Delve into the world of 'The Gostak,' a text-based adventure game filled with gibberish. Discover how translation serves as a unique game mechanic that challenges players to navigate nonsensical dialogues. Explore the complex relationship between language and player morality, and the engaging dynamics with the game's interactive creature, the Drogue. The discussion highlights verb transitivity and its impact on gameplay, emphasizing how understanding language intricacies enhances the overall gaming experience.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Grammar Guides Meaning In The Game
- The Gostak is a parser-based interactive fiction that replaces English lexical words with nonsense while keeping English grammar intact.
- This forces players to infer meaning from syntax and game responses rather than known vocabulary.
Reading The Opening Nonsense Passage
- Dr. Joe recounts loading the game's opening text where nonsense words sit inside familiar sentence shapes.
- He reads lines like "The gostak distems the doshes" to show how intonation and structure suggest roles and actions.
Historical Root Of The Gostak Example
- The game's central sentence originates with Andrew Ingraham and illustrates how syntax reveals grammatical roles.
- Players can deduce subjects, verbs, and direct objects without knowing lexical meanings.
