Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

The Expressions of Colours

Zammitto's paper, presented at the DiGRA 2005 conference, examines how colour communicates meaning in digital games and argues that game designers should use colour deliberately rather than intuitively.

• Colour meaning in games rests on three overlapping layers, innate, personal, and cultural, so designers must account for both universal associations and regional differences such as red signifying weddings in China versus white in Western weddings.
• Colour-vision deficiency affects roughly one in twelve men, a significant concern because most players are male, making accessible palette choices important for designers.
• The paper argues that game designers should use colour deliberately rather than intuitively, applying its meanings to character costuming, interface elements, and environmental palettes.