Semiotics

Semiotics: The study of signs as a language

It’s a new way of thinking about how images work. The same sign might mean different things in different cultures.

There are three types of semiotics:

•         Icons: which resemble the referent (for example road signs)

•     Indices: which are related to the referent/what it refers too (for example smoke indicating fire)
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•      Symbols: which are related to the referent only by convention, this includes words (for example the symbol for radioactive material, although we recognise this symbol and know what it means, it doesn’t actually look like radioactive material does therefore to someone whose never seen it before they would be clueless as to what it means without any knowledge of the world)

Left- (http://nuclearpoweryesplease.org/blog/2012/07/17/radioactive-tourism-a-trip-to-the-ytterby-mine/radioactive-symbol-1600-x-1200/)

Right- (http://www.vallartascene.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=17087)

The meaning of game images is different for someone who has played games to someone who hasn’t.

Semiotics allows us to think about different levels of meaning and it can tell us how certain cultures are represented. 

•  The men surrounding the main character are all wielding swords implying that they’re violent, but the fact that the character in the middle is stabbing one of them could mean that they’re defending themselves

•  In most cultures swords would be banned or illegal however in this image it seems to be acceptable

•  The man in white is killing one of the ‘soldiers’ so he is a murderer, however this doesn’t necessarily mean that he is the villain in the situation as he’s surrounded and outnumbered

•  The small box shape kiosk with the green curtain in the background suggests that he’s in a poorly developed country or economy

•  Crime is an issue within this culture as this is taking place during daylight hours

•  The man in white is clothed in a hooded outfit so he wants his identity to remain hidden, as he’s killing in the image this is most likely because he wants to remain low profile to avoid being caught

•   The fact that the hooded cloak/coat which he’s wearing is white could signify that he’s good and pure as we usually associate white with heaven; in contrast to this the other characters are wearing dark green coats which could signify that they’re evil. However it could also be indication as to what their religion is as green is considered to be the traditional colour of Islam.  

• The ‘soldiers’ all wear head scarfs implying that it’s either a part of their religion/culture or they are required to wear them to signify that they’re a part of that faction

•  Both the very blocked shaped buildings and the dress of the characters implies that this is an Islamic or Asian country/culture

•  The buttons in the top right hand corner with the words placed by 3 of them suggest that this is how the character is controlled and each word signifies what action the character performs when the player interacts with the button.