Do you remember the save-hope slogan written on the walls and on the sheets hanging from the balconies of all of Italy during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic? What was permanently engraved in our brain when it was scribbled on a tag and stuck to the diaper of a newborn whose photo was then depopulated on social media?
“Space for Children”, the interactive game that helps children cope with the pandemic will be available from 4 April
by Claudia Carucci
It was a three-word sentence that aimed straight at the heart: “Everything will be fine.” And let’s face it. The breath of oxygen to breathe for a minute, despite the sense of claustrophobia, annihilation and fear that the lockdown was inflicting on us, that elementary motto, managed to give it to us.
Today, as things are going, perhaps we believe a little less in those three words, or even not at all. Yet they are so simple, perfect in their essence, evocative of a maternal caress “urbi et orbi”.
There is a verb in the future, which indicates that there will be a future, and we will still be part of it. In between appears a “whole” to which we instinctively tie everything we do not want to have to do without: health, loved ones, work, life. And the conclusion lies in a “good” which basically means nothing but “happy ending”. Return to normal.
Space for children, the video game that teaches children to deal with the Coronavirus
Yes, the slogan was really spot on, and the authors of the scripts of the “Space for Children” project understood it well and made it their inspiration to plan interactive stories in which to involve their little users.
What exactly is it about? Well, the futuristic initiative originates from an Italian startup called Hypex (a Video Production & Creative Software House that includes storytellers, neuroscientists, 3D artists, IT engineers and copywriters), which decided to participate in the competition ” Space in response to Covid-19 outbreak ”launched by ESA (European Space Agency) to devise psychological support solutions for children called to face this complex and stressful historical moment due to the health emergency; potentially harmful to their psyche still not “equipped” to face events of this magnitude.
Out of 129 projects, 24 have been activated and among these that of Hypex, carried out in collaboration with the Pediatric Institute IRCCS Gaslini of Genoa in agreement with ASI (Italian Space Agency) and the Ministry of Technological Innovation. Funded by ESA and totally free for those who use it, the interactive game “Space for Children” was born from next January, downloadable from the App Store for devices with IOS system and from Google Play for Android devices.
The umpteenth video game for the entertainment of children in moments of boredom? None of this. Let’s start from the fact that the characters of the game are not virtual figures, but real actors in flesh and blood who studied the part and played it on a specially equipped set. Their task is to represent a sort of avatar of the child who, on a smartphone or tablet, is maneuvering the sequences of the story through sensors and touch screens.
The protagonists are 4 in all, two females and two males who correspond in age to the two groups of users imagined by the creators: the “Children”, between 7 and 9 years and the “Kids”, between 10 and 12.
The basic storyline is the same for everyone, but the developments and endings of the paths change according to the choices of the little player. The production therefore shot more scenes, so that at least 5 different evolutions of the events were available.
«The short films were made in the studios of Monopoli, in Puglia – explains Riccardo Boccuzzi, CEO of Hypex. – We had organized the casting last September through Skype and involved small actors from Emilia Romagna and Lazio. All very good, but many of them we had to give up due to the restrictions imposed by the government and the impossibility of getting them to move from their regions. So we recruited the protagonists directly in the province of Bari and started shooting ».
But what kind of stories will be offered to the users of this interactive game? And above all, how can a video game fulfill the function for which it was born, which is to provide effective psychological support to children and help them manage any fears and uncertainties related to the Covid-19 pandemic?
Everything is in the script, very simple, but perfectly targeted. Together with the creators of the system, Gaslini pediatricians and child psychologists worked to study in detail the “therapeutic” or at least “consoling” ideas to be introduced in the stories.
The goal is twofold. Support the child in difficulty through the use of fantasy and with positive inputs from the story. But at the same time gathering information on that little user, mapping his behavior in order to then be able, in the near future, to study the correct psychological intervention strategies on the age groups who have suffered and badly lived this dramatic historical moment.
«Through various studies – Boccuzzi explains -, it has been highlighted that there is a real danger of future social drifts for those who during the months of the health emergency have internalized negative or anxious stimuli. Already now there is a significant increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs by the adult population and, alas, a sad increase in the number of suicides ”.
“Space for Children” is therefore a new form of what is called “Edutainment” (Educational Entertainment), which speaks to the very young, in their language, conveying notions of educational value: respect for the environment, proper nutrition, interpersonal relationships, the fight against bullying.
But what could be the plot of this salvific fantasy which, through narration and digital interaction, must be able to help the child’s growth and lay the foundations for a serene and balanced psychic structure?
Boccuzzi tells it briefly and its beneficial potential emerges instantly. “The opening scene is always the same. The little player sees his avatar, or the actor who represents him, in his bedroom. It is night, he would like to sleep, but he cannot because too many thoughts and fears keep him awake. School lessons to follow away from classmates, at home Ambulance sirens. The feeling that his life and perhaps that of mom and dad are in serious danger. To help the child, Spacy arrives, a robot from outer space. He talks to the little one and tells him that on the planet he comes from, what is happening to the Earth has already happened and has been perfectly resolved. He invites him to follow him to show him the things to do to remedy what is happening. And here, from this moment on, the player will make choices of action and, step by step, will arrive at the final solution ».
In short, a kind of “ET, the return” where, once again, it is not a human being, but an extraterrestrial, who guides the child to safety. That material, protecting health with an indication of the rules to follow. But also the interior one, in rediscovering a serene and peaceful relationship with people, with family members, with teachers and classmates.
The epilogue and the point of arrival of the game, which basically represents the existence of all of us in this dramatic 2020, can be summed up in the three words that we read six months ago on the walls of our deserted and silent cities: “Everything will go well”.
“This is actually the thought we want to convey to the child who will use our videogame – underlines Cosimo De Russis, president of Hypex. – We hold him by the hand in his most natural environment, in his “comfort zone” and there we encourage him, hoping to convince him that all is not lost, that you can go back and that you don’t have to die ».
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