Bastion's Words of our New Normal

At the end of 2020, instead of plumping for one single word of the year, Oxford Dictionaries expanded its word of the year to encompass several “Words of an Unprecedented Year”.

2020 reshaped the world as we know it, bringing previously seldom-used words and phrases into the lexicon that today we couldn’t do without. Words like ‘staycation’ increased in usage by 380% while words like ‘remote’ and ‘remotely’ grew more than 300%.

While many of us hoped 2021 would be a return to normal, the reality has been our lives, both personally and professionally, have adapted to our ‘new normal’ and with that our language has changed too. More specifically, the language spoken in the interactive entertainment industry has evolved to match this fast-paced nature of change.

As we take the next big leap into a New Year, lets look back at the words and phrases of 2021 that make Bastion’s “Words of our New Normal”.

Metaverse

Noun: a virtual -reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users. (Definition from Oxford Languages).  

Once a niche concept that is often traced back to Neal Stephenson’s 1992 dystopic cyberpunk novel Snow Crash, the idea of a centralised virtual world, parallel to the physical world, has been shot into the mainstream consciousness in 2021.

One could argue the Metaverse already exists through games like Fortnite and Roblox, with the pandemic expediating the acceptability for someone to choose an experience virtually rather than physically.

There is very little doubt the Metaverse will continue to grow, the bigger debate is whether we are moving closer to utopia or dystopia.

Integrated

Adjective: with various parts or aspects linked or coordinated. (Definition from Oxford Languages). 

With the way we consume information becoming more diverse and fragmented across generations, developing communication plans per medium or speciality is beginning to feel outdated. Integrated campaigns look at the campaign holistically making sure above and below the line activity interact and integrate with each other, to target the intended recipient seamlessly and on multiple levels.

At Bastion we believe the move to 'integrated’ made big strides in 2021 and will continue to do so in 2022 and beyond.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

EDI ensures fair treatment and opportunity for all. It aims to eradicate prejudice and discrimination based on an individual or group of individual’s protected characteristics. (Definition from The University of Edinburgh).

Admittedly more of a movement than simply a word or phrase, EDI has rightly risen in prominence and importance over the past year. The obvious question is why it has taken  until recently for equality, diversity, and inclusion to be given oxygen at board and wider industry discussions. However, the fact EDI is now being more openly discussed and plans are being implemented, both inside and outside the video games industry is undoubtably encouraging. As we move into 2022 let’s hope this moment is not a small footnote in history, but the starting gun for significant change.

Hybrid

Noun: a thing made by combining two different elements. (Definition from Oxford Languages). 

The future of working. The pandemic created a seismic change in the way businesses look at working from home. Many jumped early to make remote working the new normal for their businesses. On balance, however, the rise of part office/part home working looks set to be the future for most workers. Ultimately, human beings react best when they interact, engage, and learn of other human beings. Whether working in sales or marketing, developer or publisher, real human contact pushes the boundaries of creativity, innovation and most importantly education that a Zoom or Teams screen simply cannot replicate to the same level.

Being in the office five days a week is no longer a must or an expectation for many businesses. Working from home and a greater work life balance has risen to the top of many must have lists for potential candidates, but a hybrid working solution has the potential to offer the best of both worlds.  

Fungible

Adjective: (of goods contracted for without an individual specimen being specified) replaceable by another identical item; mutually interchangeable. (Definition from Oxford Languages). 

A word only previously used by those practicing Law, Fungible is better known as the ‘F’ in NFTs and has been very much a part of the ‘future of games’ discussion during 2021.

NFTs certainly split opinion. Overall, most recognise the blockchain as a concept that is useful and can benefit the industry, however while some major publishers launch NFT projects, other industry analysists describe the whole market as a ‘Ponzi Scheme’.

While this piece won’t make a judgement call on NFTs at this early stage, it won’t be the last time the word is seen and used within industry discussion and rhetoric.