#RPGaDay2025 - 18 Sign

I guess it may be the fact that I’m both qualified as an art teacher, and a university trained linguist, but the first idea that comes to mind when I see the word sign is the concept of the signified and the signifier. The sign is a method of conveying information from one person to another through a generally non-verbal form. It may be done in a pictorial manner, often in a stylised image form that taps into the cultural conscious…stick figures, icons, colour choices.

A sign is a quick way to get information transmitted, and it’s actually something I’ve tried to explore in my game design. I think that a lot of games have relied too heavily on the concept of conveying their ideas in text, and perhaps in some illustrations, but there are a lot of other ways that information can be conveyed. Providing multiple ways of conveying that information makes a piece of communication more approachable because different people assimilate information in different ways, and it only takes one of those ways to transmit the message, however if a person engages with written text and signage they might gain a more rounded perspective of the message.

A sign is a powerful thing, it provides the information necessary and gets out of the way.

In a similar way, a sign can be a shorthand within the context of the story. For example, I’m always using stereotypes and tropes to get everyone on the same page with regard to the story… then I quickly move past those stereotypes and tropes, either using them to push the story, or subverting them in unexpected ways. Once they’ve served their purpose, we move on and add a new level of complexity with alternative signs.

It’s all a bit theoretical and clinical from the back end, but it makes the front end look more spontaneous with a minimum of conscious thought needed from the players or observers to the game.