---
key: mechanic/education--family-16
type: mechanic
id: education--family-16
lang: en
title: Encoding and representation changes
summary: >-
  The learner maps symbols to meanings and translates a message into another
  representation.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--family-16/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--family-16.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--family-16.md
aliases:
  - Codes and representations
tags:
  - Educational games
  - 'Structures, logic and space'
sourceIds:
  - source-f2edfe86ae520f9a
sources:
  - id: source-f2edfe86ae520f9a
    title: Chants of Sennaar
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-16
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-16'
    categoryIds:
      - logic
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Codes and representations
    description: >-
      The learner maps symbols to meanings and translates a message into another
      representation.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/dialogue-chants-sennaar-01.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      crop:
        x: 263
        'y': 338
        width: 637
        height: 450
      game: Chants of Sennaar
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1931770/ss_0c7b55a542bab74ccb3bbab18346c0f68296ebf4.1920x1080.jpg?t=1774006124
      credit: Rundisc / Focus Entertainment
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: A character speaks through unfamiliar glyphs
      alt: A character speaks through unfamiliar glyphs
      markers:
        - x: 38
          'y': 67
          label: Understanding the reply requires interpreting the glyphs
    tips:
      - Test understanding of the transformation in both directions.
    examples:
      - title: Chants of Sennaar
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the
  original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated
  2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire
  classification or its effectiveness.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/education
---
# Encoding and representation changes

id: education--family-16
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/education--family-16
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--family-16/

The learner maps symbols to meanings and translates a message into another representation.

## At a glance

![A character speaks through unfamiliar glyphs](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/dialogue-chants-sennaar-01.webp)

[Chants of Sennaar](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Understanding the reply requires interpreting the glyphs

- Test understanding of the transformation in both directions.

- [Chants of Sennaar](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/)

## How it works

Decode symbolic messages

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-16-branch-1"></a>

- Decode symbolic messages <a id="family-16-variant-1"></a>
- Encode a message <a id="family-16-variant-2"></a>
- Convert pictures to diagrams <a id="family-16-variant-3"></a>
- Convert diagrams to actions <a id="family-16-variant-4"></a>
- Convert text to models <a id="family-16-variant-5"></a>
- Read pictograms and legends <a id="family-16-variant-6"></a>
- Convert quantities to numbers and back <a id="family-16-variant-7"></a>
- Convert data to graphs <a id="family-16-variant-8"></a>
- Use conventional symbols <a id="family-16-variant-9"></a>
- Create a notation system <a id="family-16-variant-10"></a>

## Design example

Build a route from pictograms and then follow it.

## Context and limits

A mechanic map for games with explicit learning goals, from first encounters with a topic to professional practice. It covers children, teenagers and adults; choose subject, difficulty, context and controls for the learner. Player actions, subject content, instructional support and assessment are distinct layers. Scores and game completion alone do not establish mastery or skill transfer.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated 2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire classification or its effectiveness.

- [Chants of Sennaar](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/) (id: source-f2edfe86ae520f9a)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors