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Semiotics of Computer Games

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Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games

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Synonyms

Ludosemiotics; Semiotic of games

Definition

The expression “semiotic of computer games” can be used both to indicate a specific semiotic-object (the system of meaning articulated and conveyed by digital games) and the discipline that studies it.

Introduction

Semiotics, literally the doctrine of signs, is a discipline focusing on meaning and interpretation. According to a famous definition by Umberto Eco, semiotics deals with everything that can be used to lie: if something cannot be used to lie, it cannot also be used to state the truth and, therefore, it cannot be used to say anything at all.

In the last decade, several semioticians have started to choose as a specific field of studies that of computer games. It is a field that, from a semiotic perspective, both intriguing and problematic. On the one hand, it offers interesting new ways of expressing meaning and telling stories, mixing multimedia story-telling with interaction and personalization. On the other hand, it often...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Interdisciplinary Center of Research on Communication, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Mattia Thibault

Authors
  1. Mattia Thibault
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mattia Thibault .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Newton Lee Laboratories, LLC, Tujunga, California, USA

    Newton Lee

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Thibault, M. (2018). Semiotics of Computer Games. In: Lee, N. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08234-9_142-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08234-9_142-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-08234-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08234-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Computer SciencesReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

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