Philips Magnavox Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution Trigger Happy - Manual (Page 339)

Trigger Happy
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gradually turning to red for minimum. The shaded
brackets at either side of screen center, meanwhile, are
indices: at left for craft speed (colored above the middle
for forward speed, below the middle for reverse); and at
right for engine thrust. Again color is overlaid
symbolically, with a bright yellow for high forward
velocities or accelerations, red for low ones, descending
into blue and purple for reverse.
The signs at bottom left, meanwhile, furnish
symbols (numbers) for altitude, but again provide the
same information indexically, as an arrow pointing to
subdivisions of a meter that rises and falls. Top center
is the player’s radar, which works as a triumvirate of all
three semiotic modes: symbolically, because each
(green or red) dot is agreed to stand for a civilian or
enemy craft; indexically, because the red triangle
“points to” the next mission objective; and iconically,
because the whole arrangement is a simplified “picture”
of local space.
If it remains largely true that the interplay of
symbols constitutes the richness of the gameplay
itself,
49
there is a complementary truth that indices
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49 Although some videogames—in particular racing games like Ridge
Racer Type 4—can happily demote symbolism to a rather incidental
property, if they provide enough interest solely with icons (beautiful
scenery), indices (road signs and rev counters) and rhythm.