Talking the talk
December 28th 2008 00:12
Hover over a Magic: the Gathering match, especially in a competitive setting, and listen to the banter. If you're not a player, I daresay it would be hard to fully understand more than one sentence in about four. The one on the right might be “mana-screwed;” the one on the left, by contrast, is “ramping.” Then he “windmill slams” a “two-drop” onto the "board" and urges it to “get there.” The other guy draws the card he needs at exactly the right time, which is met with a declaration of “mise!” (Nobody knows where that word came from or why we still use it.)
This wouldn’t be the first game or hobby to develop its own language. First-person shooters and MMORPGs have even more impenetrable lingo, and due to these genres’ popularity, many of their memes have even become mainstream. If not for the internets, “to own” would not now be a synonym for “to defeat,” and “fail” would never have become the most versatile noun in history.
Personally, I think a lot of competitive players talk like they’re reading instant message logs, but as long as everyone understands what’s happening, it doesn’t make too much difference. The problem comes when you’re at an event like a pre-release, where you get the hardcore tournament crowd and the hardcore casual crowd in the same room, make them play games with each other – and then realize that the hardcore casual crowd doesn’t actually speak Magicese.
This is rather ironic, considering that the card ability templates and even the comprehensive rules have changed over the years, trying to get closer to plain English. Even if you can “talk the talk,” maybe the next time it comes up, you might consider just… not doing it. Some players complain that they feel embarrassed to play in school cafeterias or other public places. This has never been a problem for me, but then I don’t declare plays in what could sound suspiciously like baby talk to outsiders. Just sayin’.
Cards with more than one word in their name are often referred to by their initials. It may save time, but it doesn’t sound anywhere near as good.
This wouldn’t be the first game or hobby to develop its own language. First-person shooters and MMORPGs have even more impenetrable lingo, and due to these genres’ popularity, many of their memes have even become mainstream. If not for the internets, “to own” would not now be a synonym for “to defeat,” and “fail” would never have become the most versatile noun in history.
Even Hank Paulson is subject to fail.
Personally, I think a lot of competitive players talk like they’re reading instant message logs, but as long as everyone understands what’s happening, it doesn’t make too much difference. The problem comes when you’re at an event like a pre-release, where you get the hardcore tournament crowd and the hardcore casual crowd in the same room, make them play games with each other – and then realize that the hardcore casual crowd doesn’t actually speak Magicese.
This is rather ironic, considering that the card ability templates and even the comprehensive rules have changed over the years, trying to get closer to plain English. Even if you can “talk the talk,” maybe the next time it comes up, you might consider just… not doing it. Some players complain that they feel embarrassed to play in school cafeterias or other public places. This has never been a problem for me, but then I don’t declare plays in what could sound suspiciously like baby talk to outsiders. Just sayin’.
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