The digital game H-Guardians is part of the ischool european program. The game aims to present cultural heritage items from around Europe in a fun way. At the same time, the game can serve as evaluation of the skills, attitudes and knowledge students have gained by going through other aspects of the wider project.
Players can select their age group between 10-12 and 13-15 years old.
The game consists of two parts. In the first part players become familiar with cultural heritage items related to three out of the four countries taking part in the ischool project (Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece). Each cultural heritage item is drawn from different cultural heritage fields: intangible heritage, monuments, cultural routes, cultural landscapes and whole cities as heritage cites. Different modalities such as video clips, brief drag and drop games, animation, interactive maps, animated historical photographs and QR codes maintain players’ attention and modivation. The second part helps players use the knowledge and connections between cultural items and processes gained during the first part in order to perfom some creative writing. Based on Propp’s study of the morphology of folktales (1968) this part provides players with three kinds of cards drawn from the cultural items of the first part, namely, The scene, The Problem and The Assisting Object/Element. Players must create the other three cards, namely, The Heroine/Hero, The Assistant and The Solution. Players can then create their own little stories based partly on what the game offers in the first part and partly on their own knowledge and imagination.
H-Guardians can be implemented in order to increase students’ and teachers’ awareness on cultural heritage through digital tools and non-formal educational methods but it can also be a fun, leisure activity for parents who would like to dive into cultural heritage along with their children.
