Chants of Sennaar is a game about learning new languages. About understanding different cultures through their language. You have to learn what these people are trying to tell you, what is their culture and motivations. That's the puzzle to solve, and it's an impressive idea.
The learning mechanics resemble how learning an unknown language from scratch looks like. You face a new glyph, you try to guess what it means, you validate it later. You may see a gesture that suggests the meaning, you may see the glyph near an object... And sometimes your guess is wrong, and that's part of the fun. It does not limit your understanding of the world. Connecting the dots is a rewarding feeling I have not experienced since Outer Wilds.
Every culture has a different language. A different grammatical structure. The glyphs/words that form the language are impacted by the culture. You can even find the same concept having different connotations in different languages. Science, magic, faith, prejudices...
The game is also about how communication can bring us together. If we get to understand another culture we will find common ground, we will find ways to help each other. Communication. Empathy.
These ideas are masterfully embedded in a unique experience which is climbing this sort of Babel Tower to get to the top, to be the better human we can be.
Our language defines the way we think, the way we see the world, how we reason about it. It has a critical role in defining our culture, our traditions, our prejudices. It's also a barrier in how we interact with different cultures, it separates us. But, also, understanding the language of a different culture brings us closer to them, to think how they think, to see the world like they do (Arrival, Dennis Villeneuve, 2016).
The learning mechanics resemble how learning an unknown language from scratch looks like. You face a new glyph, you try to guess what it means, you validate it later. You may see a gesture that suggests the meaning, you may see the glyph near an object... And sometimes your guess is wrong, and that's part of the fun. It does not limit your understanding of the world. Connecting the dots is a rewarding feeling I have not experienced since Outer Wilds.
Every culture has a different language. A different grammatical structure. The glyphs/words that form the language are impacted by the culture. You can even find the same concept having different connotations in different languages. Science, magic, faith, prejudices...
The game is also about how communication can bring us together. If we get to understand another culture we will find common ground, we will find ways to help each other. Communication. Empathy.
These ideas are masterfully embedded in a unique experience which is climbing this sort of Babel Tower to get to the top, to be the better human we can be.
Our language defines the way we think, the way we see the world, how we reason about it. It has a critical role in defining our culture, our traditions, our prejudices. It's also a barrier in how we interact with different cultures, it separates us. But, also, understanding the language of a different culture brings us closer to them, to think how they think, to see the world like they do (Arrival, Dennis Villeneuve, 2016).