Representation of Javanese Mystical Beliefs in the Visual of the Pamali Game: A Roland Barthes Semiotic Analysis

Muhammad Ilham Najhan; Eko  Sugiarto

doi:10.71435/741801

Authors

Muhammad Ilham Najhan Visual Communication Design Study Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Semarang
Eko Sugiarto Visual Communication Design Study Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Semarang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71435/741801

Keywords:

Visual Semiotics, Horror Game, Mystical Beliefs, Javanese Culture

Abstract

This study aims to analyze how the visual sign system in the game Pamali: The White Lady represents the mystical beliefs of Javanese society through Roland Barthes' semiotic approach. Amid the growth of Indonesia's digital game industry and the persistence of Javanese mysticism in contemporary life, this game has not yet been examined specifically through Barthes' framework, leaving an analytical gap that this research seeks to address. This study employs a qualitative descriptive-interpretive method using Barthes' two-order signification, namely denotation, connotation, and myth, enriched with Javanese mythological literature as a cultural-symbolic framework. Data were collected through visual documentation of gameplay and a literature review, focusing on eight main visual elements: the White Lady character, the 1990s Javanese house setting, sesajen (ritual offerings), a baby doll, hair in the bathroom, jenglot, a garlic necklace, and a banyan tree. The results indicate that each element operates in layers: denotation as realistic representation, connotation as a carrier of cultural meaning, and myth as the naturalization of Javanese mystical beliefs in everyday life. These findings affirm that Pamali: White Lady functions as a cultural text and, at the same time, a medium for preserving Javanese mystical beliefs in an interactive digital format.

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