Communicative Modalities of Serious Computer Games for Development of Intertextual Connections: Comparative case studies of “Peacemaker” and “Global Conflicts: Palestine”

In this article, we explore communicative modalities of computer games for development of intertextual connections in order to realizing its discursive media functions. Considering importance of intertextual connections for socio-cultural meaning and discourse formation, the main issue for us is investigating facilities of computer games (as an influential medium) to develop intertextual connections regarding to its communicative modalities.
Elaborating the main issue, after a review on related theoretical literature and prior researches, we utilize a suggested method based on a combination of ‘’stratificational semiotics’’ and ‘’theory of triple moods of representation in computer games’’ to carry out textual analyses of computer games. According to this method, textual structure of computer games should be separated analytically to triple layers of “Signal”, “Narrative” and “Procedural”.
Toward evaluating facilities of computer games’ communicative modalities for development of intertextual connections, we adopt an approach to comparative case study. Hence, two serious games (Global Conflicts: Palestine and Peacemaker) were selected purposively. These two games have great deal of similarities in thematic aspects and also has various dissimilarities in style and genre characteristics which effectively provide required context to carry out comparative case study.
Findings shows, communicative modalities of computer games have capability to utilize each of “five modes of developing of intertextual connections” that Julia Kristeva had mentioned them. Each of case studies consist of unique combination of these moods in triple textual layers.