Semiotic study was conducted in relation to digital sign – its specificity and construction have been determined; peculiar kind of a digital sign has been described – a symbolic digital sign, semiotics of a hyperlink and character nature of interface. The relations of word and image that appear during the creation of web pages and category of cybersemiotic have been subjected to description.
It was found that the specificity of a digital character is determined by its immaterial nature (immaterial matter of a sign) and programmability. This specificity is defined by: multivariant, palimpsest-like nature, kinetization, semiotic-media hybridity of a sign (and a text as a result). The main scientific achievement of this stage of research is finding that digital sign remodels current thinking about sign. The different onticity and construction of a sign shows the inadequacy of existing sign theory (the binary and the triadic one) required for description of a digital sign. The new concept of a sign has been proposed (Szczęsna ) which consider its functioning in the digital environment. The digital sign has been defined as a two-level structure (level of programming and level of usage) and multi aspect nature (aspect of representations, meanings, actions – mediation and operational ones, meta aspect). The different way of implementation of the sign aspects on both levels. The new types of signs has been distinguished and described: on the level of programming: organizers (they define the characteristics of a document, manage the structure of a page, the signs of text), modifiers – which describe (refine) the semiotic characteristics of a sign, semantics – which are media of primary semantic features (e.g. written verbal text that is supposed to be displayed on a page). It has been found that on the level of usage the specificity of a sign is decided by the fact that beside the aspects of representations and meanings there is also the aspect of actions that is carried out in the actions on a text (signs in which this function dominates are manipulators)" and" in transfer to other text (signs implementing this function are mediators).
In the framework of the symbolic sign research its specificity and typology has been established. By the research of web pages, portals and social networking it has been found that the new onticity of a digital sign determines a new way of symbolic signs' existence (Kaźmierczak ). The symbolic sign, thanks to digital technologies, is easy to duplicate, distribute and transform, becoming the element of different genres of texts and various types of Internet speech.
It has been shown that digital symbolic signs can operate as a tool of interpersonal communication. It determines their popularity and ubiquity of cyberspace in contemporary culture as well as transfer of communication experiences from the internet to daily life. It has been shown, that these signs within the cyberspace are influencing the culture paradigm shift to social and communication status of symbolic space; they change, or at least redefine, styles and conventions of communication based on symbolic interactions. There were studies carried out regarding the usage of this theory in the description of cultural phenomena related to changes in Holocaust description, which take place on the websites of the social networking Twitter.
The semiotic studies of hyperlink has enabled the development and refinement of the semiotic model of hypertext connection constructed during the earlier research (Pisarski ). It has been found that the hyperlink is difficult to locate in the stable theoretical framework. Tina Schneider's metasemiotics of hyperlink has been described, just to move towards the expansion of Hjelmslev's model (substance – form / expression – content) with aspect of action (expression – content – action). It has been stated that hyperlink fits into the construction model of a digital sign proposed by Ewa Szczęsna.
The semiotic analysis of graphic-textual organization of web pages has been conducted both on the level of graphical user interface of source code editors, formatting of web sites as well as presentation of Internet transmissions (Smaga ). It has been shown that the signs of interface and the signs of content (pictorial and literate) are constructing infographical systems, that is pictorial forms that are serving semantic organization of signs – they put "pressure" on the graphic representation of information. Comparative-semantic analysis of these digital structures – which generate meanings, pictorial-literate forms that are displayed on the web pages – has been conducted.
It has been found that the new technologies are subjected to semiotization (Pawlicka ) – and therefore should be treated as a sign endowed with semanticity. The "cybersemioticity" having the following determinants: digital object as a system of programmed, multimedia signs, generation of signs through the new technologies; usage of signs from various systems – their mutual linking and modification, reception of signs in a process of communication with a specific device; activation of signs through the interface; controlling the digital object; studying the value-position of a sign; analysis of mutual relations between signs, which are created as a result of an object's movement; "transition" of one character into another or "connection" of one character with another, semantic value of the tool, which is a sign of the formation of culture under the influence of new technologies. Therefore, Cybersemioticity aims to highlight the two-layered nature of digital literature, which not only consists of the content visible on the screen and requiring interactive activities, but also an "inner" layer, inaccessible to the user, and defining its mechanism and structure.
As a result of semiotic research of graphical user interface in video games the new (more universal than the present ones) division of graphical interfaces has been presented (Kubiński ). The question regarding semiotic capabilities of graphical user interface in video games has been taken. During the analysis, the dual nature of such interfaces was taken into consideration, e.g. their communication and utility aspects. In this perspective, the most important function of graphical user interface appears is informative function – in order to make it successfully implemented the interface should focus the attention not on itself but on the proper action. That's why video game interface designers seek to ensure that they are understandable, intuitive and possibly the easiest to use (in other words: he pursuit of functional transparency appears to be the determinant). Achieving this level of intuitiveness and readability of the graphical interface turns out to be possible in large part thanks to the game developers referring to the signs and communicational genres that are already functioning in culture. It is also important that within the range of graphical user interfaces colors have no autonomous power to give meanings, however, they frequently evoke repeatable semantic fields (this deserves further, in-depth study). It was found that the repeatability of semiotic forms leads to creation of semiotic poetics of the interface. It was also shown that the selected text strategies used in video games can negatively affect immersion, which (contrary to the claim frequent in the literature) may not be dominant effect of games.
These findings resulted in the discovery and characterization of a phenomenon, so far unrecognized by the researchers, which is related to the video game poetics – that is emersion. Emersion should be seen as those mechanisms of game whose functioning is contrary to the pursuit of immersion, thus, above all, revealing the mediatization of participation in the simulated digital environment. Therefore, emergent factors include, on the one hand, unwanted elements of gameplay, such as errors or mechanical imperfections of a game, and on the other, intentional operations causing, i.a., player's critical distance towards the gameplay. They appear to be especially important tool of creation, an important part of the poetics of this medium, they can bring into play a significant artistic element. Recognition of this phenomenon and proposal of tools for its description paves the way for further research on the emergent impact of games – and other electronic texts of culture. Text by Ewa Szczęsna
