Introduction

For my critical studies project I have chosen to write about Semiotics, specifically in the game Mirrors Edge.

Firstly I have chosen to study Semiotics because, quite honestly, it interests me. Since our first couple of lessons on Semiotic Analysis I have been picking apart advertisements, posters and pictures and, pretty terribly, deciphering them. From an artistic point of view semiotics is a useful tool for understanding why a piece of art makes people feel a certain way, I've also found myself thinking about the meaning behind colours, objects and people when I've been sketching and painting and have tried to incorporate this idea in my current project.

I chose to focus on Mirrors Edge because it lends itself particularly well to a Semiotic Analysis. What makes Mirrors Edge interesting, is that as well as being a game, bringing up the argument of whether games can be fully analysed with semiotics, the cut-scenes and the main game are in two different art styles and interesting parallels and differences can be drawn between the two.

First of all I will explore the basics of Semiotics, then go on to describe Mirrors Edge and how it pertains to this form of analysis.