Semiotics 

Singnifier denotation - marks on a paper sound in the air an object - areal physical entity 

 

Signified connotation - the mental concept in my mind when hear the sound look at the object - A cultural experience

 

Indexical sign - example a picture of a footprint a particular foot has stood in this spot

 

 Indexical signs claim a casual relationship between signifier and signified 

 

Iconic sign - a photograph looks like or resembles a person 

 

symbolic Sign - the word C.A.T  the letter do not look like a cat the word is not the sound of a cat the relationship to the creature is established through convention

The more iconic the sign the more constrained it is Highly constrained (realistic)

Even the most constrained signifier are still arbitrary elements

 

Visual images can be put together to establish conventions some realistic others less so requiring repeated attempts to make them seem conventional

My thoughts

Although divulging into the world of semiotics can seem daunting breaking the key elements down can help to understand. a signifier can be a word that is associated with an object. to highlight an example of this a signifier railway crossing sign can be signified by a real picture of a rail way crossing. its a very interesting idea how as a games designer u can incorporate semiotics into developing and iterating games