On the Development of Strategic Games based on a Semiotic Analysis: A Case Study of an Optimized Tic-Tac-Toe

A picture can express something instead of having a thousand words that cannot do it. This phrase, which symbolically connotes a whole scheme of a signs system, is known as Semiotics. This paper presents the process of an educational video game development based on semiotic analysis. We used Extreme Programing Agile Methodology combined with a proposal of the modified Elemental Tetrad Game Design Model to develop a video game known as “Tic-Tac-Toe”. The mathematical model was implemented with Artificial Intelligence algorithms and a graphical user interface including Semiotics; this was optimized for producing an enjoyable and interactive environment. With the purpose of stimulating cognitive development of children, this research combines theories about stimulating cognitive development of children; game design model, Semiotic Analysis harnesses the Model of Aleferenko, and uses algorithms based on heuristics and numerical methods in client-server architecture. The concept was tested with a representative sample of seven to eleven years old children. The results demonstrated that educational video games with Semiotics stimulate the cognitive development of children.