(Andreas Formiconi) This video documents one of the meetings
based on the use of Terminal Quest, a narrative video game.
The striking thing is the unemployment of the educators:
both the teachers' and mine. I just sat in a corner and filmed.
As you can see, the game consists of a black screen with some writing.
Let's now see more in detail how the game presents itself.
On the left, the story appears:
"Beep beep, hello, this is News at Nine.
Strange rumors are circulating early this morning in Strada in Chianti.
Some are talking of people who disappeared and of ransacked houses in town.
We'll soon give you updates.
The mayor called for a new emergency meeting.
We'll refer about it when it happens."
"Time to wake up, Sleepyhead!"
Here, the color changes, because the player is being addressed.
And here is the hint for the first command:
"Write ls and hit Send in order to look around".
On the right, players use the actual terminal:
"ls" and "Send"
We get a series of objects:
closet, computer, bed, bookshelf, desk, chair, alarm clock.
Meanwhile, on the left:
"Great! Now you can see the objects around you.
There's your bed, the alarm clock.
Ugh! Switch off that alarm clock!
"cat sveglia" ("cat alarm clock") to see the alarm clock.
"cat sveglia".
And on the left:
"Good, you've switched it off! Better get dressed now...
Write "ls armadio" ("ls closet")" and so on.
In another video, we describe this in more detail.
This is what the children are doing.
Drawings are also made via text signs,
using the so-called ASCII Art, which the children seem to enjoy a lot.
They are surprised by these drawings.
And this is the meeting with the other group of 16 children.
Basically, the situation repeated itself.
Here we saw that one child was still filming
but in the end, all get involved and collaborate in the game,
with a few incursions to see what the others are doing.
(Child) But where is the wavy line?
(AF) "Where is the wavy line?" i.e. he means the tilde.
Such rare interventions
about some strange keyboard shortcut, happen
But otherwise, almost nothing.
They did everything entirely on their own.
I was amazed when a child dictated from memory
a complex command to the others
after having worked for only half an hour.
Here, I'd like to describe the slow process.
This little girl follows with her finger
the command typed on the terminal.
Then she compares it with the instruction written on the left of the screen,
where the story is narrated and commands are indicated.
Discussion.
The other child then tries according to the conclusion they reached.
In other words: this is group work
Another type of intervention:
"How come it does not work?"
"Ah, Upper case!
Ah, you see? Correct it!
If you use lower case you'll see it'll work!"
Because in Unix commands, upper case and lower case letters are different.
Again, discussion
and sharing of the written narrations and of the drawings,
as in former meetings.
Finally , a moving goodbye (applause)
for what has been indeed a beautiful story.