Journal Entry 1 Structuralists

Structurlists believe that any informative form of object like writings, or signifying systems such as signs, do not have an origin but it exists due to structures that have already existed, such as language and science. Structuralism analyzes complex objects or items, as a system that contains interrelated parts. These parts are more than often, simple or commonly used knowledge in our daily lives. Structuralists believe that the signifying systems are able to be changed culturally, however the most in-depth meanings of these system, the signified part of the sign, is already rooted into the structures of the human mind, and is unchangeable.

The structuralists believe that because language produces what is known as reality to us, we can only think through this medium, and as such our perceptions about reality are affected and determined by our structure of the language. They seek to uncover how meaning is created rather than understanding the actual meaning as understood by words.

As a game designer, the ideas of structuralists teaches us not to constrict our thinking by using only language as a medium and origin to think from. Because if this happens, the resultant would be something that is confined by language alone. We understand as well, that complex objects or systems are purely the combination of simple related parts that we commonly use in our daily lives. And as such, to understand complex systems such as games, we can break them down into simple components and analyze them one by one.