Cyberspace Studies - July 2026 - Research Article

Sep 4, 2026

Cyberspace Studies examines how digital interactivity reshapes semiotic logic in contemporary cyberspace, treating Detroit: Become Human as a paradigmatic interactive digital narrative. The study proposes an integrative semiotic framework that combines multimodality, interactive agency, and branching narrative design to show that meaning arises through recursive exchanges between human interpretation and algorithmic responsiveness. Findings indicate a self-modifying semiotic environment where player choices operate as sign-acts across divergent trajectories, supporting a collaborative, cybernetic model of meaning construction.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Cyberspace as a semiotic habitat

Interactive digital narratives and player interpretation

Detroit: Become Human as a paradigmatic case

Cybernetic semiotics in interactive digital narratives: Toward a semiotic framework for meaning-making in cyberspace with Detroit: Become Human as a case study Ali Razizadeh* Department of Media Arts, Religion and Media Faculty, IRIB University, Qom, Iran. (*􀀍 ali.razizadeh@iribu.[ac.ir](ac.ir), [https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9687-](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9687-)827X) | Article Info | | Abstract | | --- | --- | --- | | Original article
Main Object: Cyberspace Studies
Received: 15 November 2025
Revised: 29 November 2025
Accepted: 31 December 2025
Published online: 20 January 2026
Keywords:
cyberspace studies, Detroit: Become Human, interactive digital narrative,
player agency, semiotics. | | Background: Cyberspace has evolved into a vast and intricate cultural ecosystem in which the boundaries between communication, cognition, and creation are constantly being redefined.
Aims: This study examines how digital interactivity restructures the semiotic logic of narrative meaning-making within contemporary cyberspace, using Detroit: Become Human as a paradigmatic case of interactive digital narrative. The research aims to determine how multimodal signs, procedural architectures, and player agency interact to produce dynamic and networked processes of semiosis.
Methodology: Through an integrative semiotic framework, encompassing multimodality, interactive agency, and branching narrative design, the analysis demonstrates that meaning in the game emerges not from fixed textual structures but from recursive exchanges between human interpretation and algorithmic responsiveness.
Findings: The findings reveal that the game’s interactive architecture generates a self-modifying semiotic environment in which choices function as sign-acts that reorganize symbolic patterns across divergent narrative trajectories. This networked mode of signification reflects the broader cultural logic of cyberspace, where meaning is co-created through participatory, decentralized interaction rather than linear authorial transmission. Conclusion: The study concludes that interactive digital narratives constitute a distinctive semiotic paradigm, one that transforms storytelling into a collaborative and cybernetic process of meaning construction. These insights offer a foundation for future research on how digital media, algorithmic systems, and user participation jointly reshape contemporary forms of narrative and cultural signification. | | Cite this article: Razizadeh A. (2026) .“Cybernetic semiotics in interactive digital narratives: Toward a semiotic framework for meaning-making in cyberspace with Detroit: Become Human as a case study”. Cyberspace Studies. 10(2): 513-534. doi: [https://doi.org/10.22059/jcss.2025.406313.1198](https://doi.org/10.22059/jcss.2025.406313.1198) . | | | | | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License Website: [https://jcss.ut.ac.ir/](https://jcss.ut.ac.ir/| Email:)[| Email:](https://jcss.ut.ac.ir/| Email:) [j](jcss@ut.ac.ir |)[css@ut.ac.ir](jcss@ut.ac.ir |)[ |](jcss@ut.ac.ir |)
[EISSN:](EISSN: 2588-5502)[ 2588-5502](EISSN: 2588-5502)
Publisher: University of Tehran | | Cyberspace Studies, Vol 10, No 2, July 2026 1. Introduction Cyberspace has evolved into a vast and intricate cultural ecosystem in which the boundaries between communication, cognition, and creation are constantly being redefined. It is no longer a mere technological infrastructure but a semiotic habitat, a dynamic realm where meaning is continuously produced, circulated, and transformed through human– machine interaction (Szczęsna, 2019) . Within this cybercultural environment, digital interfaces function simultaneously as communicative channels and symbolic architectures, shaping how individuals perceive, interpret, and construct reality (Scolari, 2009) . As users navigate this environment, they engage in ongoing processes of interpretive negotiation, interacting with an ever-exp

FAQs

What does the study aim to investigate about interactive digital narratives?

It examines how digital interactivity restructures the semiotic logic of narrative meaning-making in contemporary cyberspace using Detroit: Become Human as a case study.

What methodological approach does the research use?

It applies an integrative semiotic framework combining multimodality, interactive agency, and branching narrative design.

How do player choices affect meaning in the game?

Choices function as sign-acts that reorganize symbolic patterns across divergent narrative trajectories, producing a self-modifying semiotic environment.

Sep 4, 2026

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