Quartet, a recently launched turn-based role-playing game, is attracting attention not for its gameplay but for an intriguing grammatical feature. This classic JRPG, evoking memories of Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest, boasts delightful 16-bit graphics and a nostalgic journey. Although it has a small player community, Quartet is creating a stir on Reddit due to a distinct setting option: the ability to toggle the Oxford comma on or off.
Reddit user Freddy_Pharkas brought this feature to light, emphasizing its rarity throughout his 42 years of gaming experience. The Oxford comma, a punctuation mark placed before the concluding “and” in a list, has been a topic of debate in English grammar for years. Some style guides advocate for its inclusion to avoid ambiguity, while others deem it unnecessary and disruptive to reading flow.
In Quartet, players can choose whether this grammatical aspect appears in the game’s dialogue boxes, a feature likely resulting from a disagreement among the developers. This option has incited conversations among players, mirroring the ongoing discussion surrounding the significance of the Oxford comma.
The Oxford comma, though rare in German, plays a role in clarifying sentences in English. For instance, without it, a sentence like “Heiko Klinge meets his favorite game developers, Gabe Newell and Nicki Minaj” could suggest that Gabe Newell and Nicki Minaj are the developers. Including the comma before “and” eliminates this confusion.
Quartet’s incorporation of this choice underscores the game’s meticulous attention to detail and the developers’ recognition of linguistic subtleties. While the Oxford comma continues to be a controversial subject, its availability in Quartet provides players with a distinctive customization option, distinguishing the game within the JRPG genre.