Week 3 Semiotics

So apparently Semiotics is the study of meaning, maybe how we perceive things and how they lead on to other assumptions, EG: Alice: Madness Returns (Developer: Spicy Horse, 2011 [video game]), We see Alice ~ Little girl, brown hair, blue a dress with a white apron, wears long white socks, carries a knife (Clenotation). We can then say her dress implies she comes from a decent middle class family, she carries a knife so she probably likes to kill things or cook (Connotation). Finally, from the look on her face she's probably a troubled soul, maybe lost her parents at a young age hence why she's so angry, girl that's completely out of her mind, seeks revenge (myth).

We also discussed Iconic (close to realistic) and Arbitrary (more abstract and less realistic). An example of this is the Triforce emblem from Zelda (Devolpers: Nintendo, 1986 [video game]). When we see this we instantly think of Zelda therefore it is more iconic, whereas the word Zelda could be misinterpreted or could mean something else in a different language.

The last thing we discussed was Paradigm and Syntagm, which is basically the signs on offer and how we use them. Using the haunted house level in “Vampire The Maqsurade ~ Bloodlines” (Developer: Troika Games,2004 [video game]) as an example, there are A LOT of semiotics in this level which is why its considered one of the most scariest levels in a game of all time.

They made the colour scheme very dark and desturated which makes it hard to see and the whole place has a lot of corners and turns which subconsciously makes you afraid of what’s around the comer. Sound wise, there is very little background music and the effects music is a lot louder, making things like random glasses smashing or floors creaking a lot scarier. Sometimes ambiance is used but the dead silence makes the atmosphere a lot more tense.

You hear a ghostly voice 5times throughout the level which makes you jump , but, the accent instantly makes you shiver and they also play the sound from one direction to the other making you feel like the ghost is walking passed you.

They also used lighting as a sign, its set dim through most of the level but when you go into a room of importance or if something is about to be thrown at you, the lights randomly flicker on, this to me is semiotic because it startles you and instantly puts you into danger mode.

Finally the most semiotic thing about this level is the fact that there is references to The Shining (1980, Director: Stanley Kubrick, USA: Perrigrine Productions), one of the scariest movies of all time, throughout the level. E.G; the level is based in an abandoned hotel, you find an axes in one of the bed rooms, and finally in the children’s room you find a hand drawn picture of a family, mother, son, and father, but the father is portrayed as angry by the flames around him.