Signs, Symbols and Ciphers. Decoding the Message.-Georges Jean.
Image and Representation. Key Concepts in Media Studies.-Nick Lacey.
Elements of Sociology.-Roland Barthes.
http://kotaku.com/search/Mirrors%20Edge/
Mirrors Edge Articles.
http://jodi.tamu.edu/noticeboard/cosign01.html
Computational Semiotics in Games and New Media.
http://homepages.mcs.vuw.ac.nz/~chikken/cgi-bin/research.pl?Semiotics
Video Games Values: Semiotics.
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/index.html
Semiotics; The Basics
Daniel Chandler
http://gamestudies.org/0301/kucklich/
Perspectives of Computer Game Philology.
“Taking the process of reading as a model for the process of playing might seem like an oversimplification, but this is not the fault of the critical analogy, but rather of our simplistic understanding of the interaction between reader and text.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics
www.youtube.com
www.google.co.uk
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Evaluation
In this project I have studied the key areas of Semiotics and Semiology and have explored more advanced areas such as codes. I feel that now I have a good understanding of this area but obviously there is a lot I have left untouched, mostly parts that did not pertain to games, and I would like to learn more.
I have tried to apply this knowledge to my study of Mirrors Edge and I think I have done this fairly well, touching on signs in character design, which is something I am very personally interested in, and also building semiotic codes into game design.
I have included a video and a fair amount of images into my blog though I did not edit my layout very much at all. This was partly to do with a lack of understanding, as this is the first blog I have ever created, but also to do with not really wanting to change anything, the simple design matches what I wanted created anyway.
To further this I would like to explore further into semiotic theory but also would like to compare mirrors edge against another game and see what conclusions I could draw from this.
I have tried to apply this knowledge to my study of Mirrors Edge and I think I have done this fairly well, touching on signs in character design, which is something I am very personally interested in, and also building semiotic codes into game design.
I have included a video and a fair amount of images into my blog though I did not edit my layout very much at all. This was partly to do with a lack of understanding, as this is the first blog I have ever created, but also to do with not really wanting to change anything, the simple design matches what I wanted created anyway.
To further this I would like to explore further into semiotic theory but also would like to compare mirrors edge against another game and see what conclusions I could draw from this.
Runner Vision, creating codes within a game.
Runner Vision is an innovative and accessible waypoint system within Mirrors Edge that highlights important objects and places to go in bright red. This is interesting from a semiotic point of view for a number of reasons. First of all the colour red gives off a variety of signs. It is indexical of both anger and warmth and is used as both throughout the game.
Red is symbolic of anarchism and revolution, matching the character Faith's ideals. The bright red colouring also stands out from the cities otherwise cold isolating colours, this adds to the feeling of reassurance when the player sees an object they can use to reach new areas. From a more practical perspective, Runner Vision also creates goals and a direction for the player and essentially turns the game, from being simply a run through the city, into a series of runs between checkpoints, which is much easier to navigate.
All of this, it could be argued, lays the foundation for codes to be created within Mirrors Edge. The player begins to associate this colour with new signs, red doors go from being symbolic of anarchism and indexical of a way out to symbolising mission objectives and level goals. This is certainly no accident and has been purposefully engineered into the game. The same can be said of almost any game, the cover system in Gears of War can be said to have changed brick walls into symbolising safety and protection. Piles of hay become appealing hiding spaces after playing too much Assasins Creed... Not that the old meanings of walls or hay are gone, merely that these games have given us new codes which we associate with them.
Faith's Character Design
This is Faith, the main character of Mirrors Edge.
She is designed to look tough and athletic.
Her gritty image is iconic of her being street smart and able to handle herself.
This is not Faith.
This is a redesign posted on Kataku by a fan called Torokun, who decided that Faith should look younger and prettier.
"There is always a huge complain from Asian gamers whenever Western developers design Asian female characters..." As Torokun continues, this is mainly because many Westerners' definition of what is considered as "Asian" beauty is very different from what Asians consider beautiful." - Kotaku.
What Torokun is not taking into consideration is that Faith may not have been designed to appear beautiful to a western or asian market. You could argue that the change in character design also changes the signs given off by the character. Faith's design gives her an athletic figure, making her look like a hardened street runner, which is the preferred meaning. This is lost with the voluptuous look of the redesign. The redesign's eyes are cartoonishly large to make her appear more approachable, but Faith is not supposed to be an approachable character. Years of having to fend for herself have made her cold and distant but to only a few close friends. Faith is supposed to look old and fairly weathered, she runs across rooftops for a living... Whilst Torokun may have made the character look more beautiful, he has completely missed the point of a character design that has clearly had a lot of work and thought put into it to give out some very specific signs.
Mirrors Edge Comic
Found this article on Kotaku about the Mirrors Edge comic book.
Thought it might be worth analysing it briefly.
Again there is a change in the art style, further separating the comic from the game. This art style is vibrant, like the gameplay, but still slightly muted like the cutscenes. The comic uses the games trademark red colourings, but only on the character Faith. This distinguishes her from the rest of the Mirrors Edge world and highlights her as a seperatist. Faith is doing things in the comic that players will have done in the game. This makes you naturally link the two together, the same way that the similar art styles between the comic and the cutscenes do.
Thought it might be worth analysing it briefly.
Again there is a change in the art style, further separating the comic from the game. This art style is vibrant, like the gameplay, but still slightly muted like the cutscenes. The comic uses the games trademark red colourings, but only on the character Faith. This distinguishes her from the rest of the Mirrors Edge world and highlights her as a seperatist. Faith is doing things in the comic that players will have done in the game. This makes you naturally link the two together, the same way that the similar art styles between the comic and the cutscenes do.
Mirrors Edge, Semiotic Analysis
In an earlier post I very basically analysed this image of Mirrors Edge gameplay as an example of Indexical, Symbolic and Iconic signs.
In contrast to the gameplay, the cutscenes in Mirrors Edge are very simple and almost cartoon-like, this style acts as an anchor to inform you that you are no longer playing.
Anchors are another way of semiotically analysing texts, they are often used in adverts in the form of a logo or brand name and act to anchor what you are seeing to the company. Often adverts can be so ambiguous that anchors are required just so that the viewer understands what going on.
The differences between Mirrors Edge gameplay and cutscenes can be cross-analysed semiotically. With this cross analysis, a greater understanding of why the developers chose these two different styles can be achieved. For instance the first person perspective during gameplay creates a greater depth of immersion for the player, whilst the more cinematic approach during cutscenes informs them that the story is about to advance. This is accentuated by the anchored, contrasting art styles. The two are also inherently semiotically different because gameplay is a two way experience, whereas the cutscenes you can only view. Also the vibrant colours during gameplay add to the fast paced feel, whereas the muted colours of the cutscenes accentuate the slow paced feel. Often the gameplay will be set outside on rooftops and the cutscenes often will be set inside or in darkened alleys. Again this sets two different tones and anchors them separately.
The two styles have obviously been purposefully engineered to be different and set the gameplay and the cutscenes apart. The slow moving pace of the cutscenes compared to the fast moving pace of the gameplay suggests that this choice was made to break the tension for a more enjoyable play experience.
In contrast to the gameplay, the cutscenes in Mirrors Edge are very simple and almost cartoon-like, this style acts as an anchor to inform you that you are no longer playing.
Anchors are another way of semiotically analysing texts, they are often used in adverts in the form of a logo or brand name and act to anchor what you are seeing to the company. Often adverts can be so ambiguous that anchors are required just so that the viewer understands what going on.
The differences between Mirrors Edge gameplay and cutscenes can be cross-analysed semiotically. With this cross analysis, a greater understanding of why the developers chose these two different styles can be achieved. For instance the first person perspective during gameplay creates a greater depth of immersion for the player, whilst the more cinematic approach during cutscenes informs them that the story is about to advance. This is accentuated by the anchored, contrasting art styles. The two are also inherently semiotically different because gameplay is a two way experience, whereas the cutscenes you can only view. Also the vibrant colours during gameplay add to the fast paced feel, whereas the muted colours of the cutscenes accentuate the slow paced feel. Often the gameplay will be set outside on rooftops and the cutscenes often will be set inside or in darkened alleys. Again this sets two different tones and anchors them separately.
The two styles have obviously been purposefully engineered to be different and set the gameplay and the cutscenes apart. The slow moving pace of the cutscenes compared to the fast moving pace of the gameplay suggests that this choice was made to break the tension for a more enjoyable play experience.
Mirrors Edge
Mirrors Edge is a first person action-adventure game with a unique “free running” element. To give a taste of the gameplay I have included this trailer...
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