Soulslike video games — a corpus linguistic analysis of the language of "Elden Ring"

openVideo games have been enjoying world-wide popularity among gamers and fans alike to the point that academics from various fields, too, have started devoting their attention to them. For example, literary scholars have studied how narration is developed in video games, archaeologists have studied the “archaeological” techniques for looking for in-game objects, and psychologists have focused on the impact that gaming skills have on learners’ minds. Up to now, linguists interested in video games have examined digital games’ slang and its application to students’ everyday life, the usefulness of video games in learning and practising languages, and the complexity of translating video games. However, ‘soulslike’ games have not received much academic attention. Soulslike games are role-playing video games, usually set in medieval and fantasy environments, in which the player has to “immerse” him-/herself in the game by crafting materials, finding useful objects and assembling equipment for facing various dangers during the game. This involves speaking to characters and looking for items, accompanied by some verbal description, that may turn out to be useful. In this dissertation I provide a linguistic analysis of "Elden Ring". "Elden Ring" is the first open world souslike game, that is one characterised by a large and completely explorable game world. My analysis describes the lexical make-up of the speech of the main characters in "Elden Ring" (Blaidd, Boc, the Dung Eater, Fia, Gideon, Alexander, Melina, Millicent, Miriel, Nepheli, Ranni, Roderika, Sellen, Tanith, and Varré) and the descriptions of the main objects related to them (e.g. weapons, armours, spells). To this end, I used a corpus-driven approach, exploring the recurrent phraseologies of each of the above, pointing out shared and unshared vocabulary choices. By using the software AntConc, I identified the most frequent words, the keywords and the word combinations of characters’ talk and of object descriptions. The findings show that the speech of soulslike games’ characters, who embody stereotypical roles, are characterised by distinctive lexico-grammatical patterns, which contribute to shaping the personality of the characters. They also show that the texts about the game objects have a descriptive and a narrative component which complement the mysterious content of the characters’ discourse, crucially leading to a thorough understanding of the characters in "Elden Ring".Video games have been enjoying world-wide popularity among gamers and fans alike to the point that academics from various fields, too, have started devoting their attention to them. For example, literary scholars have studied how narration is developed in video games, archaeologists have studied the “archaeological” techniques for looking for in-game objects, and psychologists have focused on the impact that gaming skills have on learners’ minds. Up to now, linguists interested in video games have examined digital games’ slang and its application to students’ everyday life, the usefulness of video games in learning and practising languages, and the complexity of translating video games. However, ‘soulslike’ games have not received much academic attention. Soulslike games are role-playing video games, usually set in medieval and fantasy environments, in which the player has to “immerse” him-/herself in the game by crafting materials, finding useful objects and assembling equipment for facing various dangers during the game. This involves speaking to characters and looking for items, accompanied by some verbal description, that may turn out to be useful. In this dissertation I provide a linguistic analysis of "Elden Ring". "Elden Ring" is the first open world souslike game, that is one characterised by a large and completely explorable game world. My analysis describes the lexical make-up of the speech of the main characters in "Elden Ring" (Blaidd, Boc, the Dung Eater, Fia, Gideon, Alexander, Melina, Millicent, Miriel, Nepheli, Ranni, Roderika, Sellen, Tanith, and Varré) and the descriptions of the main objects related to them (e.g. weapons, armours, spells). To this end, I used a corpus-driven approach, exploring the recurrent phraseologies of each of the above, pointing out shared and unshared vocabulary choices. By using the software AntConc, I identified the most frequent words, the keywords and the word combinations of characters’ talk and of object descriptions. The findings show that the speech of soulslike games’ characters, who embody stereotypical roles, are characterised by distinctive lexico-grammatical patterns, which contribute to shaping the personality of the characters. They also show that the texts about the game objects have a descriptive and a narrative component which complement the mysterious content of the characters’ discourse, crucially leading to a thorough understanding of the characters in "Elden Ring"

Dicarinella imbricata (MORNOD 1949): First SEM documentation of the lost holotype and foraminiferal assemblage from the type horizon (Upper Cretaceous, Switzerland)

Abstract.: The foraminifer species Dicarinella imbricata, from the Upper Cretaceous of Switzerland, was established in 1949 by L. Mornod. The holotype was figured only by Mornod's drawings and the specimen was never made available. As the holotype was missing since a long time, it was considered as lost and a neotype was established. However, the holotype was recently found. We present here the first scanning electron microscope (SEM) documentation of the holotype. These data are compared with the original drawings of the holotype, the neotype and a paratype. In addition, we report a rich and diverse Tethyan planktonic foraminiferal assemblage from the type horizon, whose composition indicates a late Turonian ag

Paleodepth variations on the Eratosthenes Seamount (Eastern Mediterranean): sea-level changes or subsidence?

International audienceThe Eratosthenes Seamount (Eastern Mediterranean) is interpreted as a crustal block in process of break up in response to subduction and incipient collision of the African and Eurasian Plates. Subsidence is considered to be the mechanism triggering the Messinian to Pleistocene water deepening above this unique structure. However, the application of a recently developed transfer equation of depth range distribution of benthic foraminifera indicates that sea-level changes may also have played a role, although it was generally minor. In particular, we suggest that across the Miocene/Pliocene boundary and during the Pliocene-Pleistocene, the eustatic signal is frequently coupled with uplifts and subsidence. The uplift of Cyprus across the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition is clearly recorded in the paleodepth curve. Micropaleontological studies and the use of this transfer equation based on the distribution of benthic foraminifera proves to be useful when studying the paleodepth history of complex sites, where tectonic and eustatic signals combine. We also show that marginal seas record global sea-level changes that can be identified even in tectonically active settings

Holocene palaeoceanographic evolution of the Iskenderun bay, South-Eastern Turkey, as a response to river mouth diversions and human impact

A quantitative study of benthic foraminifera, sediment texture and composition from two cores was performed to unravel the environmental evolution of the Iskenderun Bay (eastern Turkey) in the Holocene. Core 29 (NE Iskenderun Bay) consists of clay and silt from the top of the core down to 35 cm with dominant bioclasts (coral Cladocora caespitosa) from 35 cm down to the bottom of the core. Core 92, located near an ancient Ceyhan River mouth (Yumurtalik), consists of sandy and silty sediment passing to homogeneous clay and silt at about 48 cm from the top. Several grab samples show very coarse biogenic detritus covered by a centimetric veneer of sandy silt and clay. Radiocarbon dating of corals, molluscs and algae from core 29 and five selected grab samples, the sediment and foraminiferal study indicate that at least three pulses of muddy sedimentation occurred in the bay. (1) An older pulse (about 3700 yrs BP) related to the large-scale forest clearing (Beysheir Occupation Phase). (2) Another pulse coincides with a major delta progradation of the Ceyhan River at about 2140 years BP. (3) A younger pulse follows the diversion of the Ceyhan River mouth toward Yumurtalik, from the Middle Age to 1935.Species interpreted as tolerant of low salinity indicate that the influence of the Ceyhan was minor when the river drained directly into the Mediterranean Sea (approximately 2000 years BP) and progressively increased when the river diverted towards Yumurtalik

Internal pore measurements on macroperforate planktonic Foraminifera as an alternative morphometric approach

Because of the lack of genetic control on extinct species, the morphologic approach remains the only way of identifying fossil Foraminifera. In addition to comparative description of gross shell morphology, morphometry became more important in recent years and was extended to encompass the ultrastructure of the shells. In particular, some studies focused on porosity, as determined by the pore diameters plotted against the number of pores per given surface. However, taking into account the poor preservation and recrystallization, which often affects and characterizes fossil specimens, and/or the deficiencies connected to the interpretation of scanning electron microscope images, pore measurements are often distorted, limited in number and lacking precision, and thus unreliable. We demonstrate that, by measuring the pores from inside the shell and individually, it is possible to obtain numerous and precise data either on an individual basis or for statistical purposes. This study also suggests that in the Early Miocene Globigerinoides, which is generally strongly susceptible for dissolution, the dissolution proceeds from the external towards the internal side of the shell

Miocene shallow-water limestones from São Nicolau (Cabo Verde): Caribbean-type benthic fauna and time constraints for volcanism

Shallow-water limestones of presumed Late Cretaceous and Eocene age, interbedded with basaltic lavas, were described by earlier authors from São Nicolau in the northwestern part of the Cabo Verde archipelago. If confirmed, these ages would imply late Mesozoic shallow-marine and subaerial volcanic activity in the Cabo Verde archipelago, and document a geological history very different from that known so far from other Cabo Verde Islands, from which no subaerial volcanic activity before the mid-Cenozoic is known. Our re-investigation of the foraminiferal fauna indicates a Late Miocene age for the presumed Late Cretaceous and Eocene limestones. The hypothesis of a long-lived hot spot, active by the Early Cretaceous, and of a major island-building stage in the Cabo Verde Islands during this period, is therefore not supported by the present bio- or chronostratigraphic dat