How to look at videogames: A visual analysis toolkit Jeffrey B. Holmes Arizona State University jeff.holmes@asu.edu Abstract: A language for understanding how meaning is made in and around videogames in their various forms is critical for both designers and players. For designers, understanding the various conceptual conventions and semiotic resources available to them can help drive more effective design. For players, understanding the ways in which designers intend meaning as well as the ideological frameworks they bring to a game enables a deeper interrogation of their play and a stronger reflective practice. This paper presents a three-tiered framework for visual semiotic analysis: representational/orientational elements, structures and conventions, and ideologies. Keywords: semiotics, visual analysis, game design, meaning-making, design-thinking This paper presents a methodology for analyzing visual elements in videogames, and in particular how these elements orient a player to the tools of the game and the context of their play as well as how these visual elements help prepare players to act within the game. This toolkit—based on Serafini’s (2010) visual analysis methodology—seeks to account for both the design of these elements by the makers of the game and the interpretation and use of these signs by players. Specifically, this analysis identifies three interrelated perspectives: the representational “noticings” and how they orient players to the game and the larger contexts; the