Using semiotic grammars for the rapid design of evolving video game mechanics

Abstract

In prior work, we proposed the model of cardboard semiotics. The model applies the use of semiotics (the study of signs and symbols and their interpretations) as a conceptual prototyping tool for game story development. In this paper we adapt the theoretical principle of cardboard semiotics towards an engineered formalism for the design of game mechanics. We first provide a brief introduction to video game literacy, a key method of semiotic analysis, and examples of the new approach by looking at its application in the design of Real-Time Strategy (RTS) and FirstPerson Shooter (FPS) games. We then use generalized semiotic grammars, or methods for composing symbolic sentences, to expose the underlying frameworks of popular commercial games to show how games can be re-imagined in other contexts through the semiotic technique of structural analysis.