Visual semiotics and digital game spaces: review of the semiotics of architecture in video games
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Semiotics of Architecture in Video Games is a welcome addition to the fields of semiotics, architecture, and game studies.Gabriele Aroni conducts the first study on the semiotic meaning of architecture in the virtual environment of digital games.He decodes the aesthetic and symbolic roles of digital gaming architecture and their significance both from a ludological and narratological perspective.His approach is original in terms of theory, methodology, and in covering a pertinent array of very different game genres.In terms of theory, Aroni does not refer to the usual Peircean approach, but rather to Umberto Eco's structuralist theory of denotation and connotation in architecture (Eco 1997), whereby the form of architecture denotes a function while also connoting an ideology of the function, all the more so in digital games where all spaces are artificially designed, and there are no natural nor accidental occurrences.The author combines this theory to that of Enzo D'Armenio's (2014) concept of spatial manipulation on the semiotics of digital games spaces, which considers movement and space as unique and characterizing elements of digital games.He moreover applies Brian Upton's (2015) concepts of the ludic sign and anticipatory play, underscoring the role of architecture in placing clues as semiotic signs to guide the players in the virtual environment to fulfil the gameplay.Aroni thereby devises a new semiotic method to decode the meaning of architecture in digital spaces, in terms of denotation, connotation, and anticipatory play.It is also notable that this book covers distinct types of architecture in games: 1) reconstructive; 2) fantasy; and 3) visionary.In these three case studies, Aroni analyzes the reconstruction of historical settings in the popular Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft 2009); the fantastic architecture of Final Fantasy XV (Square Enix 2016); and the independent production NaissanceE (Limasse Five 2014).This way, the book covers both commercially successful digital games played by millions globally, such as the Assassin's Creed series, and more niche and creative independent games, namely NaissanceE, thereby offering a broader analysis of architecture in different digital settings and for distinct styles of players.I had the opportunity to see played some of the games provided as case studies in this book, and as such I am aware of how these virtual spaces can look in action.
Source: Semiotica
Author: Annick Farina
Institution: University of Florence
Language: English
Topic: Digital Games and Media
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409945113