KONSTRUKSI TANDA-TANDA MASALAH SOSIAL DALAM VIDEO GAME (Analisis Semiotika pada Video Game Stray)

The world faces challenges from an increasing population growth, which brings various social issues. These social issues are often turned into themes that are packaged and communicated through media. Media plays a crucial role due to its ability to construct reality both actively and passively. Following technological advancements, the term "new media" has become common, with video games being one example. Video games can create depictions that mimic the real world, making their presentations appear as constructions of reality. One video game that highlights and constructs social issues is Stray.
This research seeks to understand how Stray constructs social issues through the signs present within it. The study employs Roland Barthes' semiotic analysis method with an interpretative qualitative approach, focusing on the elements of the game's world or the cutscenes in Stray.
The results of the research show that the video game Stray constructs social issues such as poverty, population problems, and environmental issues through the signs of a slum area. Signs such as characters, narrative, background decorations, and dialogue are used to construct the reality of life in a slum area, where people live in difficult economic conditions, with limited access to improve their lives, and in an unhealthy environment neglected by the government. Stray also highlights that social issues are not only caused by external structures but also by human nature, such as greed, selfishness, and indifference.