How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

[Village Idiot]

No one else seems to be taking any initiative, so maybe we can do it here.

Movies, books and magazines are generally italicized.

Short stories, poems, essays and TV shows go in quotations.

There are probably others I'm overlooking, including some things that you're supposed to underline.

The point is, for some reason there has been no effort to do anything similar for video games. Even professional publications, that I've seen, don't do anything grammatical speaking for video games; they're just treated as any other proper noun. Literally, a published editorial might include the sentence, "Nothing has been better this year than Haze, and it's not even close," and no one seems to notice or care that there's a software game in that sentence, not a person or place.

So let's decide the matter. We're as capable as anyone else. How should video games be grammatically distinguished? I'm leaning towards italics myself. (Also, if anyone actually knows the rule, be sure to tell everyone, because apparently NO ONE has gotten the message.)

[pfunk880]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

I would say italics.

[Scott]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

When talking about Haze, I would just delete that word.

[Village Idiot]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

No way. Haze FTW.

[daflyboys]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

I think this falls under the "no one gives a rat's ***" category.

[Pared]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

I think this falls under the "no one gives a rat's ***" category.

lol

[Herbsinator]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

Italics and underlining mean the same thing (as far as citations are concerned, they are basically interchangeable). I'm an English major so we deal with citations and crap all the time....here is how I would do it:

In Grand Theft Auto IV the first mission is "The Cousins Bellic."

You use quotes for the scene because that is a smaller work and italics would work for GTA IV

[SPTO]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

Just use short forms

GTA IV
COD4

etc etc for works with more then one word

Underline the works with one word.

[mgoblue]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

I would think about this problem for hours over multiple bottles of wine, all before realizing that it doesn't really matter. Italics, bold, quotes, whatever, it's still going to be incorrect when it's right next to "wut is teh deal, this game suxors lol"

[bgeno]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

If I had my AP Style Book with me I'd look it up to see if anything mentions it. The only AP Style Book I have near me is a 1994 edition... I somehow feel like that's not adequate. An MLA Style Guide would be the thing here.

I can't decide what I'd do if I had to choose between italics and underline. I'll research it a little more... I'm curious as well (Journ major and my mom's an English teacher, so it's in my blood).

[Herbsinator]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

If I had my AP Style Book with me I'd look it up to see if anything mentions it. The only AP Style Book I have near me is a 1994 edition... I somehow feel like that's not adequate. An MLA Style Guide would be the thing here.

I can't decide what I'd do if I had to choose between italics and underline. I'll research it a little more... I'm curious as well (Journ major and my mom's an English teacher, so it's in my blood).

I'm telling you...Italics and Underline mean the same thing...as far as MLA is concerned

[CoRruPt-]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

^ I think so too... mainly because if you have to write out the citations in hand, there's not really an effective way you can "italicize" your text so underline works better.

[bgeno]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

right... but when you type, there are certainly some things that are in italics and some that are underlined, right?

PS, mommy says it's italics... trying to get conformation though.

[bgeno]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

I'm an idiot... I'm thinking of italics/underlines as compared to quotations... you're right.

[bgeno]

Re: How to Grammatically Treat Video Games

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/Documentation/Documentation03.html