Autobiographical writing is a powerful means of introspection, elaboration of meaning, therapeutic healing, and gratification. As Dr. Grazia Chiarini illustrated in her presentation, the idea of the project was born in the setting of residential homes for elderly and non-autonomous individuals, with the aim of fostering communication among community members and giving value to personal life experiences.
The rationale of the project and the development of the deck of cards was built upon topics and domains contained in validated questionnaires that are used in the medical and sociological setting for measuring psychological wellbeing and daily life skills.
Each card features a title of a topic/prompt which is used to stimulate the player’s reflection and writing around that topic. The game, which can be played on-line or in person in groups, is conducted by a game master who facilitates the storytelling. The aim of the game is to stimulate storytelling and to collect written or oral testimonies that each player at the end of the writing rounds can decide to share or not with other players.
The game is, hence, conceived as a serious game with educational purposes for adults, providing a real forum and an audience for life experiences that otherwise would not have been told or heard.
Taking place from the 9th to the 14th of October, the meeting in Worclaw gathers the team of developers, masters and players to collect feedback from partners, as they report on their experience since implementing the game and testing in their country. First feedback appears encouraging, with players appreciating the social networking opportunity it has created within the facility. As one participant has stated, he hopes the game will leave something tangible to their loved ones, while other players simply enjoyed to tell their story, to recall long forgotten memories.
The afternoon is dedicated to group game sessions and a closing session focused on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the game, technical issues and updates for the app, possible improvements and its future development.
