Glossary

Abstract

action: property of a computer based sign that can affect other signs . The ghosts in Pac Man have the action property because they can kill Pac Man. Part of the semiotic theory of interaction, introduced in Chapter 11 . See also actor sign . activity group: one of the 49 basic gameplay activities that GIL calculates values for, part of a game ’ s activity profi le , introduced in Chapter 3 . activity profi le: graph of the activity groups important to a particular game, part of activity profi ling, introduced in Chapter 3 . actor sign: a computer based sign that represents an active agent of some sort in a game. The ghosts in Pac Man are actor signs because they have permanence , transience , and action , but not handling . Part of the semiotic theory of interaction, introduced in Chapter 11 . aesthetic: the particular pleasures to be gained from a communications medium: games, fi lms, paintings, and so on. Introduced in Chapter 4 . See also agency , narrative potential , transformation , co presence , and presence . agency: the pleasure of interacting with a game, one of the aesthetic pleasures of games introduced in Chapter 4 . See also intention and perceivable consequence . attractors: content that stimulates intentions . A type of surprise that forms part of perceptual opportunities , introduced in Chapter 7 . See also connectors and rewards . challenge points: an intention we have to satisfy before we can move on in the game. Part of perceptual mapping , introduced in Chapter 7 . See also choice points , retainers , and routes . choice points: a point in the game at which we can form and choose from multiple intentions. Part of perceptual mapping , introduced in Chapter 7 . See also challenge points , retainers , and routes . code: rules that allow us to make meaning of signs in a particular medium. For example, recognizing that underlined text in a web page is a link but that underlining is only there for emphasis in a newspaper or magazine. Part of semiotic theory introduced in Chapter 10 . code of interaction: the code at the heart of gameplay, the code of compulsive repetition. At the heart of the semiotic theory of interaction, introduced in Chapter 12 . computer based signs: very low level view of the way signs in a game interact in terms of permanence , transience , handling , and action . Part of the semiotic theory of interaction, introduced in Chapter 11 . connectors: content that helps the player to retain focus on a current goal. A type of surprise that forms part of perceptual opportunities , introduced in Chapter 7 . See also attractors and rewards .