It is right in the infinite expressive possibilities of the figurative means, which is installed that type of creativeness which transcends the limitations of chance, landing, with due care, even in deeply human areas. With The Signifier, developed by Playmestudio, we are faced with a choice of this kind, a type of product that not only wants to communicate something, but that wants to drag the player into a real “live” experience. It is precisely the subjectivity of its developments, in fact, one of the most fascinating and curious traits, to enhance its ways, building an experience that goes far beyond the simple playful context.
What is this The Signifier about?
Within the narrative of the title you will find yourself wearing the shoes of Frederick Russell, an expert both in the field of psychology both of the IA (artificial intelligence), and in relation to this we find him in the process of working, developing and perfecting a particular of his search: a machine that can scan the human brain and memories, the fragments that compose it, reaching even the most hidden strings, personal and deep. The name of this is Dreamwalker. Precisely in relation to his genius, the aforementioned protagonist will come dragged in a series of events ed intrigues, around the inexplicable death of the vice president of one of the most important technology companies on the planet. It will therefore be his task and ours to try rebuild the facts, unspecified, in such a way as to identify and clarify all the possible dynamics that led to such a gesture.
The crossroads
The player will have, from the very first moments of The Signifier, the control of Frederick, in an adventure (although here it would be more appropriate to speak of a real "narrative experience") in first person, in which he will be able to move not only within his own life and daily life, an everyday life full of details basic personal (books, articles, paintings, objects, long vowels and podcasts) with a care very important, especially in relation to the fact that nothing, or almost nothing, is left to chance, with a protagonist ready to to describe everything, contextualizing the game world that we have around, but also within the mind of the woman herself at the center of the investigation. In this way they are formed two roads distinct: one consisting of real world, with relatively simplistic and accurate settings, grafted into a coherence that has a lot to tell and describe, and an extremely abstract, dreamlike and at times disturbing, consisting of memories of the woman, in which the simple concept of "moving" becomes complex and quite symbolic.
It is precisely within the memories of the woman that The Signifier develops its power plant action, with a set of dynamics that lead the protagonist to a survey which transcends the concept itself, the meaning of the word, to analyze elements fundamentally abstract, with the aim of understanding its sense and role. This will happen in two stages: one objective and a subjective. In the first one we are simply in the memories constructed by artificial intelligence, in the second, however, we face everything through the eyes of the woman, finding oneself in the same place, but dirtied by a subjectivity that reinterprets completely every rule, every logic.
Not only the aesthetic elements produced by a play a central role in the title careful design e inspired, but also i sounds. The refinement of sound design it blends perfectly with what is represented, transporting the player into something enveloping and never predictable, which manages to get out of the screen itself, in some of its situations, revealing all the expressive potential of the title.
THEmain goal therefore remains that of gather more data possible, more clues, without ever forgetting the human weight, in a continuous "advance" that generates more and more questions and fascination.
The Signifier develops, therefore, in a plurality of genres e issues not to be underestimated that, at least as far as we could see, it manages to keep glued to the screen, producing a whole set of developments capable of touching the player himself, personally involved in what happens on the screen.
