Comprehension of symbols in games: analyzing the iconography of Super Mario Bros 3

Abstract

Digital games are of increasing interest to many groups. For designers, this interest is primarily regarding the large amount of visual information present. This article therefore aims to analyze and comprehend the use of icons in video games. It does this by using the nine main power-ups from the Super Mario Bros 3 game from 1988 as the study object. By applying a quantitative test with 150 participants, it has been observed that the icons with the highest rate of recognition are those most commonly seen in other games from the franchise, which points to the necessity of discussing the art of the icons in relation to their function in the game.