Semiotic Analysis Of 'Murderhobo'
'1 For All' is a sketch comedy web-series created by the Youtube media company, Deerstalker Pictures. The group hails from Australia (https://www.facebook.com/deerstalkerpictures/), and has gained notoriety among Dungeons And Dragons players for their sketch videos which put a comedic twist on common D&D tropes. Recently, their video entitled 'Murderhobo' crossed my feed and piqued my interest; so I thought I’d talk about the semiotic devices and signs I spotted in the video. For the uninitiated, a murderhobo is a semi-derogatory term referring to a player who kills any and every non-player character they encounter. Whether they are friend, foe, or simply a neutral party does not matter to a murder hobo.
The 1 For All episode 'Murderhobo', opens up on our trio of adventurers; Evandra, Nixie, and Antrius. Engaging in a semiotic gesture; the trio stand hunched over and whispering amongst one another, while looking down at the camera. They banter back and forth wondering if the farmer they just stabbed is dead. Before the farm is mentioned, the body language of the trio evokes a picture of a person off camera lying prone. Given this knowledge viewers like myself instantly make the connection with the symbolic meaning (our first semiotic sign) of this action. combined with the context of "is he dead '' the audience is made a way that they are staring up at the trio from the perspective of the individual they just killed. The Dungeon Master then describes a peasant coming across the Trio and the dead body.
Nixie’s player pretends to bite into an apple by holding the imaginary fruit in her empty hand, and pronouncing a loud crunch as she pretends to bite into it (Iconic Sign). The peasant freaks out and begins calling out “Guards!” who are never shown, but are assumed to be present (indexical sign). In response the Trio kills the patient to cover up their previous crime, ultimately making the situation worse.
The Dungeon Master then spends the rest of the episode mentioning how more and more passers-by begin to notice the dead bodies, and blame the trio. Who in turn kills each NPC who rightfully suspects them of having just murdered people laying at their feet. This continues until every NPC on the road has been killed by the trio. The entire sketch functions as an Ideological sign. Which is used to communicate an ideological message about values, beliefs, or norms” (https://blackboard.cwi.edu/ultra/courses/_65201_1/cl/outline). The message I believe the video is trying to portray is that while being a ‘murderhobo’ can be fun, it ultimately just frustrates your Dungeon Master and puts your Character in danger of becoming villains.
The 1 For All episode 'Murderhobo', opens up on our trio of adventurers; Evandra, Nixie, and Antrius. Engaging in a semiotic gesture; the trio stand hunched over and whispering amongst one another, while looking down at the camera. They banter back and forth wondering if the farmer they just stabbed is dead. Before the farm is mentioned, the body language of the trio evokes a picture of a person off camera lying prone. Given this knowledge viewers like myself instantly make the connection with the symbolic meaning (our first semiotic sign) of this action. combined with the context of "is he dead '' the audience is made a way that they are staring up at the trio from the perspective of the individual they just killed. The Dungeon Master then describes a peasant coming across the Trio and the dead body.
Nixie’s player pretends to bite into an apple by holding the imaginary fruit in her empty hand, and pronouncing a loud crunch as she pretends to bite into it (Iconic Sign). The peasant freaks out and begins calling out “Guards!” who are never shown, but are assumed to be present (indexical sign). In response the Trio kills the patient to cover up their previous crime, ultimately making the situation worse.
The Dungeon Master then spends the rest of the episode mentioning how more and more passers-by begin to notice the dead bodies, and blame the trio. Who in turn kills each NPC who rightfully suspects them of having just murdered people laying at their feet. This continues until every NPC on the road has been killed by the trio. The entire sketch functions as an Ideological sign. Which is used to communicate an ideological message about values, beliefs, or norms” (https://blackboard.cwi.edu/ultra/courses/_65201_1/cl/outline). The message I believe the video is trying to portray is that while being a ‘murderhobo’ can be fun, it ultimately just frustrates your Dungeon Master and puts your Character in danger of becoming villains.
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