Philips Magnavox Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution Trigger Happy - Manual (Page 331)

Trigger Happy
333
within the gameworld. But the ghosts inside suddenly
come to life with a demonic chuckle. The player
realizes that he must shoot them with an arrow before
the painting turns blank and the ghost flees to the
painting behind him. So the pure icon has suddenly
become a symbol to be fought.
A different part of the same Temple, meanwhile,
sees the player facing another ghost portrait. Suddenly
six stone blocks fall from the ceiling; each side of each
block is painted with a different section of the ghost
portrait hanging on the wall. The player’s task is to
move the blocks around within a strict time limit so that
their arrangement recreates the painting, at which point
the ghost is drawn into the open to be fought. So the
painting, which as before starts out as a pure icon, then
becomes an index, pointing at the desired arrangement
of the blocks on the floor. And finally it becomes a
symbol again, as the ghost turns into a real enemy. The
fact that all this sophisticated semiotic play happens in
a matter of seconds provides an enriching experience
beyond simple puzzles of space and movement.
The masterful semiotic playground that is Zelda 64
also expands the language available to the player by
means of its titular ocarina, a clay pipe that emits