The “Magic Gathering” of Comprehension Devices : A diachronic systemic functional linguistics analysis of MTG game card texts

Abstract: This study investigates the diachronic shift of revised card texts in the tabletop collectible card game ‘Magic: The Gathering’.  The lexicogrammatical patterns found are compared to theories on comprehension and learning, and to the development of the game. To answer how the texts have changed, a sample of twenty cards with old and revised texts has been analysed according to systemic functional linguistics. The metafunctions used for the SFL analysis are interpersonal, ideational and textual. Additionally, a descriptive analysis has been conducted to answer how the changes in the linguistic metafunctions relate to comprehension and development. The analysis shows that there are general patterns within all the investigated metafunctions, which correspond to research on learning, language development and notions on text cohesion. Furthermore, the findings correlate to the game development and functions in the gameplay. While the sample size is limited in comparison to all available cards in the game, the diachronic shifts are distributed over a variety of card types matching the available cards overall, and with the initial interconnections found it is assumed that the patterns are generalisable. Further research could explore the findings in relation to general games development, games as a source of learning or genre and discourses.