Between procedures and computer games: Semiotics of practics as a unifying perspective

Abstract

[Abstract] The debate on the most heuristic methodology for an academic study of competitive practices in computer games is open. Different disciplines, akin in some respects to semiotics, are tackling this issue — from formal ludology to procedural criticism. In this fragmented landscape, a semiotics of practices can provide a unifying point of view over those methods. Computer games can be thought as interactive matrices, narrating machines with which (and against which) players engage in competition — producing at the same time meaning-effects. The mutual interaction between playful practices, machine-side procedures and semiotic strategies for player engagement will be explored, sketching a preliminary semiotic framework for the analysis of games. [