---
key: mechanic/metroidbrainia--family-09
type: mechanic
id: metroidbrainia--family-09
lang: en
title: Decoding languages ​​and notation systems
summary: >-
  Understanding a language or sign system becomes a tool for reading new places,
  events and obstacles.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/metroidbrainia--family-09/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/metroidbrainia--family-09.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/metroidbrainia--family-09.md
aliases:
  - Deciphering languages and symbols
tags:
  - Metroidbrainia
  - Mechanics catalog
sourceIds:
  - source-0f32c0a976f6b028
  - source-95bb784fb763829b
  - source-f2edfe86ae520f9a
sources:
  - id: source-0f32c0a976f6b028
    title: Lingo
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1814170/Lingo/'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-95bb784fb763829b
    title: Chants of Sennaar
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/Chants_of_Sennaar/'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-f2edfe86ae520f9a
    title: Chants of Sennaar
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: metroidbrainia
    id: family-09
    title: Metroidbrainia
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/metroidbrainia/#family-09'
    categoryIds:
      - section-1
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Deciphering languages and symbols
    description: >-
      Understanding a language or sign system becomes a tool for reading new
      places, events and obstacles.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-chants-sennaar-03.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: Chants of Sennaar
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1931770/ss_d194cfba045634d86c99aec5ed7ecbf7270cb8a2.1920x1080.jpg?t=1774006124
      credit: Rundisc / Focus Entertainment
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Sketches and symbols are matched in a glossary
      alt: Sketches and symbols are matched in a glossary
      markers:
        - x: 83
          'y': 47
          label: Symbols whose meanings must be tested
        - x: 28
          'y': 36
          label: The sketch provides interpretive context
    tips:
      - Reuse learned symbols in new contexts while preserving their meaning.
    examples:
      - title: Chants of Sennaar
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on
  2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are
  preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire
  classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and
  editorial review.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/metroidbrainia
---
# Decoding languages ​​and notation systems

id: metroidbrainia--family-09
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/metroidbrainia--family-09
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/metroidbrainia--family-09/

Understanding a language or sign system becomes a tool for reading new places, events and obstacles.

## At a glance

![Sketches and symbols are matched in a glossary](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-chants-sennaar-03.webp)

[Chants of Sennaar](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Symbols whose meanings must be tested
2. The sketch provides interpretive context

- Reuse learned symbols in new contexts while preserving their meaning.

- [Chants of Sennaar](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/)

## How it works

The player learns a way of reading information that is suitable for a variety of situations. Lingo combines word puzzles with non-linear exploration of interconnected spaces. Chants of Sennaar serves as a nearby example of language progression: understanding multiple related languages ​​helps overcome obstacles. These are useful references for the group, without having to categorize both games into one strict subgenre. Lingo, Chants of Sennaar.

## Variants

### Variants and applications

<a id="family-09-variants"></a>

- Symbol meanings. The context determines which objects, actions or properties the signs represent <a id="variant-metroidbrainia-09-01"></a>
- Rules for recording sounds. The player discovers how writing encodes pronunciation <a id="variant-metroidbrainia-09-02"></a>
- Grammar. Word order, endings, or special markers change the meaning of the message <a id="variant-metroidbrainia-09-03"></a>
- Notation. Unknown numeric designations become a tool for reading coordinates, quantities and codes <a id="variant-metroidbrainia-09-04"></a>
- Direction and order of reading. Text or image must be read along an unusual path <a id="variant-metroidbrainia-09-05"></a>
- Visual operator. The color, border, shape, or placement determines how the content is transformed <a id="variant-metroidbrainia-09-06"></a>
- Word transformations. The solution is based on the meaning, sound, composition or rearrangement of parts of the word <a id="variant-metroidbrainia-09-07"></a>
- Transfer between systems. One language or code helps to decipher another; compliance becomes a new tool <a id="variant-metroidbrainia-09-08"></a>
- Executable language. The decrypted recording turns out to be instructions for a machine, a creature, or the world itself. <a id="variant-metroidbrainia-09-09"></a>

## Context and limits

In metroidbrainia, progression depends heavily on the player's knowledge: an open rule changes the available actions, routes, or decisions. 91 mechanics in 12 groups, progression techniques, training techniques and edge cases are stored here. For a project, check what knowledge is acquired, how it is derived, what it reveals, and where it is reused. Specific game solutions are not disclosed.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.

- [Lingo](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1814170/Lingo/) (id: source-0f32c0a976f6b028)
- [Chants of Sennaar](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/Chants_of_Sennaar/) (id: source-95bb784fb763829b)
- [Chants of Sennaar](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/) (id: source-f2edfe86ae520f9a)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors