Hi. I wasn't sure where to post this, here seems reasonable. If any of you have a fantasy game setting thingy, and you need some mystical language for some race (or whatever) I can help you! I have already designed one Conlang (constructed language) fully (and am now writing up a grammar reference document about it) called Armavian. I also have 4 alphabets - one for Armavian, one for Illinian, one for Assurian and one for Kardhagholian. If you want to use a conlang in your game just email (not PM) me saying what you need (alphabet, grammar, lexicon etc) and what it should be based on (I based Armavian on Persian and Greek, for example). Thanks

I need a runic/pictogram language for my magical race, but you might not be interested since it's not really a conlang, just English represented in word-symbols.

I do think conlangs are cool though; I wrote a short workbook to help people get started creating one as a project for one of my college classes. [smile]

Ok, I might as well help out.

Basically, it's english - english words and syntax etc - but with a different alphabet?

I'm not really that experienced with pictograms (thats when one character = word, like Chinese, right?) but I could give it a go if I know what words you'd be using.

Alternatively I could do something like Proto-Sinaic- thats where it has a phonetic (ish) alphabet, but each letter on its own represents something as well. eg: nun has a phonetic n, but means "snake." You choose. http://www.ancientscripts.com/protosinaitic.html

Thanks for the booklet thingy btw - it'll help for when I'm doing the Illinian language later on. :p

I'm glad that booklet will be helpful to someone. [smile]

Yeah I want the pictures to represent one word. Simplified pictures of objects that represent larger abstract concepts,so each would really have two meanings - one might literally mean 'male' but metaphorically mean 'valor' or 'fighting spirit' for example. The symbols should be able to be combined artistically (not linearly) to form compound nouns - for example, to portray an ideal warrior a symbol for a person could have the symbol for valor drawn inside the chest and the symbol for wisdom drawn above the head and a symbol for swiftness drawn below the feet, etc.

These 'runes' are the things a mage draws on the floor to make the magic circle into which the humans are summoned. The Virtuesse (magical race) carve them into weapons, armor, jewelry etc. to attach an enchantment to the objects. At certain points there will be myterious inscriptions on the walls in a beginning area of the game where the player can't read them, and then the player will encounter the area again at the beginning of the game+ and go, "Oh! So THAT's what those said!" after having learned how to read them in the middle of the first gameplay.

As I see it the main challenge is coming up with a list of words which need to be represented and which that culture would find meaningful enough to have a symbol for. We don't want to have too many words because the player would have a difficult time learning them all. I would like to have 50 or fewer words alltogether.

Here's some words I was thinking they would definitely have:
Pre-apocalyptic world/ancient history
Male
Female
Atomic Mushroom Cloud
Virus
Sun
Earth
Magic/person of the Virtuesse race
Technology/person of the Novrevel race
Forbidden or outcast
God or leader

And here's Xenallure's design document, the Virtuesse section (p.25) should give you more ideas about what sort of words we need.

Funnily enough, I'm trying to make a conlang myself, but not for a game project (yet), just for a fantasy world design project. I've done one before, but I didn't document it properly and it wasn't believable, mainly because it was pretty much english in anagrams with a different alphabet.

If you're still available to help, I could discuss it with you. I'm quite a way through the world design, and a bit of extra wisdom on the language side would be quite useful.

My email address is thegolar@gmail.com

Hope to hear from you kourosh. ;)