A game to discover Sardinia: The Secret Island - A Sardinian Journey

Internet searches can be full of surprises. Sometimes, looking for information on something, you stumble upon a completely different project. In this case the happy lucky strike made me discover a fantastic example of cultural appreciation through the videogame medium. “The Secret Island – A Sardinian Journey” is a delightful educational game (available both on Android and iOS) that guides the player in a route through different places in Sardinia, and introduces them to real artisanal entities and some figures from Sardinian folklore.

This game is part of the “point and click” genre, that is interacting with the environment by moving the cursor and clicking on the desired objects or characters. The simplicity of the commands serves perfectly the interface of a phone, but there are also many PC videogames that use this system. For instance, the classic investigation games such as Nancy Drew exploit this system to gather clues.

"The Secret Island - A Sardinian Journey" Trailer

The games was developed by the Game Maker Academy of Cagliari, that collaborated on the Memory Wefts project through the school’s major representative, teacher, director of studies, technologic tutor and game designer Andrea Assorgia. He took care of the script together with Lara Melis and Ismaele Marongiu and followed the project from the beginning. The environment design is by Manuela Galletta (painting) and Noemi Lepori with the assistance of Martina Pani, Andrea Serra and Edoardo Sori (line art); character designs and animations are by Stefano Puddu. The game’s soundtrack was composed by Sardinian musician Mebitek, specialized in electronic music.

The protagonist of our story is Daniela, a young Sardinian woman, with a recent degree in archaeology, who after a long while is finally going to pay visit to her dear grandma Felicita. Daniela’s house serves the function of tutorial level: here are explained the commands to move, interact with objects and put them in or take them out of the inventory (our bag). The exposition of important details for the story is provided precisely thanks to the interaction with personal items such as the picture with her grandmother: this encourages the player to check the environment carefully before moving on to the following place.

After leaving home, Daniela reaches Mamoiada, the town where grandma Felicita lives. Here she meets Barbaricina, who leads her to her grandma’s house and offers to guide her through the town. Barbaricina is the first of several characters based on actual existing people: in real life she is a communicator with a blog dedicated to Mamoiada. Once inside the house, Daniela finds a letter from grandma Felicita, who congratulates her for her degree and tells her that a new journey to face without fear awaits for her. She warns her that she went out of town for an errand and that she will not come back before nighttime, so Daniela sits on her armchair and falls asleep. At this point a brief dream begins, in which she sees grandma Felicita from behind, focused on working at the loom, Daniela calls for her three times, getting closer each time, but the dream ends before she can reach her. Once awakened she realizes that her grandma is not back yet and decides to go look for her. Though before leaving the house she meets another character from the internet world: Insopportabile, represented as a fun insolent little bird because he runs a Twitter account. Ironically, Insopportabile now is the last little bird on the platform after the replacement of the famous mascot! After leaving the house, Daniela can go to the museum or the town’s fountain, and once explored these places the other locations will be gradually unlocked.

The Museum of Mediterranean Masks proposes to us the first of a series of quests or missions: inside Daniela first meets the Mamuthones, typical masks of the traditional Sardinian Carnival, who before letting her proceed further asked for some water. Right behind the corner there is a fountain to draw from, but only by using a canteen made with a pumpkin, as they would do in the past. Once the Mamuthones’ thirst is quenched, Daniela meets the Issohadores, the characters that traditionally keep the Mamuthones in line. The two are busy discussing over the date of a theatre play they want to watch (the show Istòs by Teatro Tragodia), and they can’t decided which one of them is right. Daniela offers to help them by checking the poster placed between the museum and her grandma’s house.

Each time Daniela interacts with someone, she obtains information about where her grandma could be at the moment: not everyone knows her, but some can give her directions on how to proceed. In the case of the museum masks they don’t know, but they direct Daniela towards Ottana to the mask of Sardinian Carnival who knows and sees everything: the Filonzana. This is the moment where we start to actually feel the mysterious and mythological atmosphere of the game: sitting and placidly spinning thread, the Filonzana welcomes Daniela and explains that her grandma got lost, and in order to find her she will have to go through a journey leading her to Cabras, Mogoro, Abbasanta and Paulilatino. She will also have to retrieve coloured yarn and two loom pieces: a beam, a rotating cylinder around which you wrap the fabric threads that form the warp, and the shuttle, that is the elongated and carved piece of wood that leads the weft thread through the warp. For now Daniela does not understand why she needs these pieces, but she goes anyway on a classic A.R.S.T. bus towards any town you choose on the map located in the inventory. From this point onwards there is not a preset sequence to follow, as all town are unlocked at the same time and you can decide in which order visit the locations all the times you want.

This type of game layout leaves the player with great freedom to explore the levels. In order to solve the puzzles of the different locations you will often need objects from other places: a classic game design device that rewards the player’s curiosity and encourages them to interact with everything. We will not go over all puzzles, to preserve the enjoyment of the experience, but here’s an example: in the Museum of Mediterranean Masks you can retrieve a beekeeper hat; it will seem an out of place object until you will find a bee hive in Cabras from which you can extract beeswax, which in turn will be needed elsewhere.

We will talk about the locations in the order I visited them while playing: Cabras, Abbasanta, Mogoro, Abbasanta again (archaeological area) and Paulilatino. The latter will be inevitably the final stage regardless of the path, because solving the puzzle in Paulilatino will unlock the real final phase of the game: the necropolis of Anghelu Ruju in Alghero. 

Head of a giant of
Mont'e Prama
(source: wikimedia)

In Cabras we meet a mullet fisherman that will provide us with the beam, hidden in an unexpected place. The fisherman is one of the few characters to not be based on a specific person. The real special guest of this lap can be found in the archaeological site of Tharros: among the empty tombs lays one of the giants of Mont’e Prama! This colossal statue was left partially unearthed, and it politely asks Daniela to change the numbers of the tombs to be dug out, so it will finally be the next in line. In exchange of this courtesy, the giant gifts her with its spear, which will be useful later.

In Abbasanta we can visit the nuraghe Losa and look at an empty recess. We will come back to this place at a later time, when the light will hit the recess in the right way. Moving on we meet the master of dye herbs Maurizio Savoldo, the person grandma usually goes to in order to get coloured yarn. Luckily he has some yarn ready to be dyed in the cauldron, but he lacks the three dye herbs necessary for the primary colors: Rubia peregrina (wild madder) for red, Istatis tinctoria (woad) for indigo from which derive blue and light blue, and Daphne gnidium (flax-leaved daphne) for the mustard colour from which derives yellow. Equipped with ampules to extract the pigment from the herbs, Daniela goes to Paulilatino to gather them. Aside from the herbs, this location is also home of the famous sacred well, but we will go back to it later once all the necessary items are gathered. Back to the cauldron, with a matching game between primary colors we objtain a purple ball of yarn, an orange one and a green one. Unfortunately Savoldo hasn’t seen grandma in quite some time, but Daniel can say she made some progress in her journey.

"Woman with plate
of offerings"
Bronze stautette
(source: nurnet.net)

In Mogoro, in the proximity of nuraghe Cuccurada, Daniela meets the archeo-experimental artisan Andrea Loddo. As the name says, he’s focused on experimenting fusion techniques to create bronze statuettes like in nuragic era. The technique in question is the lost-wax casting, but Andrea forgot the raw materials! There you go, now the wax retrieved earlier finally has its purpose, and Andrea created a “brand new antique sacred bronze statuette” that Daniela can keep for herself.

The bronze statuette, placed in the recess of nuraghe Losa in Abbasanta, becomes the character of Bronze Statuette Woman, who transforms Daniela’s juniper staff into the shuttle. Furthermore, she tells her that her grandma is “in our company”, highlighting once again the supernatural character of this event. Daniela has a fun conversation with the Bronze Woman, noticing a certain similarity with singer Claudia Aru and even singing a piece of her song.

Bronze Stauette Woman in nuraghe Losa

 

The real nuraghe Losa (source: nuraghelosa.net)

Lara Melis and Ismaele Marongiu, members of the Fainas Cultural Association, founders of the Memory Wefts project and writers of the game, explain how these realities have been involved in the project:

The project originated from our idea, of Lara and Ismaele as part of the Fainas Association, then it evolved into the collaboration with Teatro Tragodia, Effimero Meraviglioso, Ditta Luigi Spano and the participation to the Identity_Lab2 tender which provided indirect POR FESR European funds to whoever wanted to pitch projects for the internationalisation of Sardinian cultural endeavours. Later the working group was joined by the Game Maker Academy of Cagliari that developed with us the graphic adventure and helped us releasing it online. Through the long process of creation and development of the videogame we created a map of locations of cultural, touristic and identity-based interest to which we pitched the collaboration, so that the players could enjoy the playing experience and at the same time get to know Sardinia and create an actual touristic route. In fact, in each level of the game there is a “real” character, that is an artisan/tour operator/artist that you can contact to reserve a visit or an experience (i.e. Mamoiada’s hiking guide, Barbaricina). Also each time you finish a level additional info about the location visited in the videogame gets unlocked together with the relative contact information.

After getting good luck wishes from the Bronze Woman, Daniela finally goes to Paulilatino to deliver the items to the sacred well. The moonlight perfectly enters the well, reflecting on the water: above the surface appears a solemn figure dressed in green with a red cape and hat. This is the priestess, who appeared to test Daniela to see if she is ready to reach the final stage of her journey.

The priestess in the sacred well of Saint Cristina

The well of Saint Cristina in Paulilatino (source: pozzosantacristina.com)

"Offering priestess" Bronze
statuette (source: nurnet.net)

The priestess asks Daniela what do the beam, the shuttle and the yarn represent: if Daniela gives the most practical and shallow answer, she will get sent outside to reflect on it until she understands the symbolic value of these tools. In a wonderful metaphor, the beam represents the importance of bonds with our loved ones: the beam holds the threads of the warp, which are family and friends, and we weave our life around them. The shuttle with which we pass the thread represents the time that flows, while the yarn represents strength and the colour represents the joy, both essential to live. Every day we build the tapestry of our life with the support of our loved ones, trying to make it as pretty and as colourful as possible. Once proven that she understood this truth, the priestess acknowledges Daniela’s maturity and directs her toward the necropolis of Anghelu Ruju in Alghero, where her grandma is waiting for her.

Like the threads woven into the warp, all the little hints about grandma Felicita finally take a clear shape, making us foresee what we will find on the final stage. The necropolis is a very interesting place that proposes a final challenge: inside we find a labyrinth of rooms that need to be visited in a certain order, otherwise you will end up at the entrance and have to restart. I had to repeat the labyrinth myself enough times to need to note down on a notepad the right directions! Placing this kind of puzzle at this point of the game is a great idea, because not only it gives us a relatively complex final activity, but it enhances the anticipation for the meeting with grandma giving the player time to ponder on what awaits them.

Daniela gets lost in the necropolis of Anghelu Ruju

Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju (picture taken by Pierluigi Montalbano, source: sardegnaturismo.it)

Once she finally reached the centre of the necropolis, Daniela reunites with her grandma, who approaches her… floating and transparent. Yes, dear grandma Felicita is dead, but she’s serene about it: “Of course it can be, mòrghere totucantus depimus” (We all have to die). She was ill but did not want to worry her granddaughter, therefore she prepared this journey for Daniela so that she would be ready and take with her the final teachings that she could provide. The necropolis is in the middle between the land of the living and the land of the dead, that’s why they can meet. Now the grandma asks for a favour before leaving: to complete the loom with the tools that she collected during the journey, so that she can weave for eternity. Before leaving her, the grandma says that they can meet in dreams, and maybe this is one too. Daniela wakes up on the armchair in her grandma’s house and gets ready to go outside to look for her, “but this is another story and it has to be told another time”.

“The Secret Island – A Sardinian Journey” is a delightful meeting point between tradition and future: during her journey Daniela rediscovers the folklore of her land and reconnects with her origins by learning how the loom so loved by her grandma works. The videogame medium is an ideal tool to introduce myths and places of Sardinia to a wide audience, especially considering that the game includes the translation of dialogues into English as well!

This game, with its cute art style, its interesting story and the fantastic food for thought on live, is absolutely recommended for the experience it offers. What’s more, it introduces many artisan and archaeological realities that can spark curiosity in a wide audience. We can hope that this bond between tradition and modern entertainment can give us other works of this kind!

Ricominciamo! - ¡Empezamos otra vez! - We're back!

Buonsalve! Dopo quasi un anno di inattività ho riaperto i battenti! In questo momento non posso garantire una programmazione regolare, ma ho già in mente delle cose interessanti di cui parlare, tra cui ma non solo:

• l’artbook di Strappare Lungo i Bordi (Zerocalcare)
• la storia degli studi d’animazione italiani
• fumetti italiani su Jundo (incluso un sequel su Squisito!) e in altri luoghi belli
• cortometraggi e serie animate sul web

Inoltre, sto lentamente aggiungendo video che ho sottotitolato su amara, mantenendo la lista in tema con gli argomenti principali del blog. Il primo passo per adesso è pubblicare l’articolo su “The Secret Island – A Sardinian Jouney” in inglese e spagnolo, poi il resto arriverà col tempo.
Ci sentiamo presto!

***

¡Hola! ¡Después de casi un año de inactividad estoy aquí otra vez! En este momento no puedo asegurar una programación regular, pero ya tengo en mente algunas cositas interesantes de que hablar, de las cuales ma no solamente:

• el artbook de Cortar por la Línea de Puntos (Zerocalcare)
• la historia de los estudios de animación italianos
• cómic italianos en Jundo (incluyendo una secuela sobre Squisito!) y en otros lugares bonitos
• cortometrajes y series animadas en el web

Además, estoy lentamente añadiendo vídeos que subtitulé en amara, manteniendo el listado en el tema con los asuntos principales del blog. El primer paso por ahora es públicar el artículo sobre “The Secret Island – A Sardinian Journey en inglés y español, luego lo demás llegará con el tiempo. ¡Nos vemos pronto!

***

Hello! After almost a year of inactivity I’m here again! At this moment I can’t guarantee a regular schedule, but I already have in mind some interesting things to talk about, among which but not limited to:

• the artbook of Tear Along the Dotted Line (Zerocalcare)
• the history of Italian animation studios
• Italian comics on Jundo (including a sequel about Squisito!) and on other lovely places
• animated short films and series online

Furthermore, I am slowly adding videos that I subtitled on amara, keeping the list in theme with the main topics of the blog. The first step for now is publishing the article about “The Secret Island – A Sardinian Journey” in English and Spanish, then the rest will come with time. See you soon!

Un gioco per scoprire la Sardegna: The Secret Island - A Sardinian Journey

Le ricerche su internet possono essere piene di sorprese. A volte, cercando informazioni su qualcosa, ci si imbatte in un progetto completamente differente. In questo caso il felice colpo di fortuna mi ha fatto scoprire un fantastico esempio di valorizzazione culturale attraverso il mezzo videoludico. “The Secret Island – A Sardinian Journey” è un grazioso gioco educativo (disponibile sia per Android che iOS) che guida il giocatore in un percorso attraverso diverse località della Sardegna, e lo introduce a realtà artigianali realmente esistenti e alcune figure del folclore sardo.

Questo gioco fa parte del genere “punta e clicca”, ovvero si interagisce con l’ambiente muovendo il cursore e cliccando sugli oggetti o i personaggi desiderati. La semplicità dei comandi si presta perfettamente all’interfaccia di un telefono cellulare, ma esistono anche molti videogiochi per computer che utilizzano questo sistema. Per esempio, i classici giochi di investigazione alla Nancy Drew sfruttano questo sistema per la raccolta di indizi. 

Trailer di "The Secret Island - A Sardinian Journey"

Il gioco è stato sviluppato dalla Game Maker Academy di Cagliari, che ha collaborato al progetto Memory Wefts tramite il maggior referente della scuola Andrea Assorgia, docente, direttore didattico, tutor tecnologico e game designer. Egli si è occupato della sceneggiatura insieme a Lara Melis e Ismaele Marongiu e ha seguito il progetto dall’inizio. Il design delle ambientazioni è a opera di Manuela Galletta (colori) e Noemi Lepori con l’assistenza di Martina Pani, Andrea Serra e Edoardo Sori (line art); il character design e le animazioni dei personaggi sono opera di Stefano Puddu. La colonna sonora del gioco è stata composta dal musicista sardo Mebitek, specializzato in musica elettronica.

La protagonista della nostra storia è Daniela, giovane sarda neolaureata in archeologia che finalmente dopo tanto tempo sta andando a trovare la cara nonna Felicita. La casa di Daniela ha la funzione di livello tutorial: qui vengono spiegati i comandi per muoversi, interagire con gli oggetti e riporli o estrarli dall’inventario (la nostra borsa). L’esposizione di dettagli importanti per la storia ci viene fornita proprio grazie all’interazione con oggetti personali come la foto con la nonna: questo incoraggia il giocatore a controllare bene l’ambiente prima di passare al luogo successivo.

Uscita di casa, Daniela arriva a Mamoiada, il paese dove abita nonna Felicita. Qui incontra Barbaricina, che la indirizza verso la casa della nonna e si offre di guidarla per il paese. Barbaricina è il primo di diversi personaggi basati su persone realmente esistenti: nella vita reale è una divulgatrice con un blog dedicato a Mamoiada. Entrata in casa, Daniela trova una lettera di nonna Felicita, che le fa i complimenti per la laurea e le dice che la aspetta un nuovo viaggio da affrontare senza paura. La avvisa che è andata fuori paese per fare una commissione e che non tornerà prima di notte, perciò Daniela si siede sulla sua poltrona e si addormenta. A questo punto inizia un breve sogno in cui si vede nonna Felicita intenta a lavorare al telaio, di spalle. Daniela la chiama per tre volte, avvicinandosi ogni volta di più, ma il sogno finisce prima che la possa raggiungere. Una volta sveglia si rende conto che la nonna non è ancora tornata e decide di andare a cercarla. Prima di uscire di casa però incontra un altro personaggio proveniente dal mondo della rete: Insopportabile, rappresentato come un simpatico uccellino impertinente perché gestisce un profilo su Twitter. Ironia della sorte, Insopportabile adesso è l’ultimo uccellino sulla piattaforma dopo la sostituzione della famosa mascotte! Una volta uscita di casa, Daniela può dirigersi al museo o alla fontana del paese, e una volta esplorati questi luoghi verranno gradualmente sbloccate le altre località.

Il Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee ci propone la prima di una serie di quest o missioni: all’interno Daniela incontra prima i Mamuthones, maschere tipiche del carnevale tradizionale sardo, che prima di lasciarla procedere oltre le chiedono un po’ d’acqua. Giusto dietro l’angolo si trova una fontana a cui attingere, ma solo usando una borraccia ricavata da una zucca, come si faceva in passato. Una volta dissetati i Mamuthones, Daniela incontra gli Issohadores, le figure che tradizionalmente tengono a bada i Mamuthones. I due sono intenti a discutere sulla data di un’opera teatrale che vogliono vedere (lo spettacolo Istòs del Teatro Tragodia), e non riescono a decidere chi dei due abbia ragione. Daniela si offre di aiutarli andando a controllare il manifesto che si trova tra il museo e la casa della nonna. 

Ogni volta che Daniela interagisce con qualcuno, ottiene anche informazioni su dove la nonna possa trovarsi al momento: non tutti la conoscono, ma alcuni possono dare indicazioni su come proseguire. Nel caso delle maschere del museo loro non lo sanno, ma indirizzano Daniela a Ottana dalla maschera del Carnevale sardo che sa tutto e vede tutto: la Filonzana. Questo è il momento in cui iniziamo veramente a percepire l’atmosfera misteriosa e mitologica del gioco: seduta a filare pacatamente, la Filonzana accoglie Daniela e le spiega che sua nonna si è persa, e per ritrovarla dovrà affrontare un viaggio che la porterà a Cabras, Mogoro, Abbasanta e Paulilatano. Dovrà anche recuperare della lana colorata e due pezzi di un telaio: il subbio, un cilindro rotante su cui si avvolgono i fili di tessuto che formano l’ordito, e la navetta, ovvero il pezzo di legno allungato e scavato che conduce il filo della trama attraverso l’ordito. Per ora Daniela non comprende perché le servano questi pezzi, ma parte comunque su un classico autobus dell’A.R.S.T. verso qualsiasi paese venga scelto sulla mappa presente nell’inventario. Da questo punto in poi non c’è una sequenza prestabilita da seguire, in quanto tutti i paesi sono sbloccati contemporaneamente e si può decidere in che ordine visitare le località quante volte si vuole. 

Questo tipo di impostazione di gioco lascia al giocatore una grande libertà di esplorazione dei livelli. Per risolvere i rompicapi dei diversi luoghi spesso serviranno degli oggetti provenienti da altre località: un classico espediente di game design che ricompensa la curiosità del giocatore e lo incoraggia a interagire con tutto. Non ci soffermeremo su tutti i rompicapi, per lasciare il gusto dell’esperienza, ma ecco un esempio: nel Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee si può recuperare un cappello da apicoltore; sembrerà un oggetto fuori luogo fino a quando non si troverà un alveare in quel di Cabras da cui si potrà prelevare la cera d’api, che a sua volta servirà in altra sede.

Parleremo delle località nell’ordine in cui le ho visitate durante il gioco: Cabras, Abbasanta, Mogoro, di nuovo Abbasanta (zona archeologica) e Paulilatino. Quest’ultima sarà inevitabilmente l’ultima tappa a prescindere dal percorso, perché risolvendo il rompicapo a Paulilatino si sbloccherà la vera ultima tappa del gioco: la necropoli di Anghelu Ruju ad Alghero.

Testa di un gigante
di Mont'e Prama
(fonte: wikimedia)

A Cabras incontriamo un pescatore di muggine che ci fornirà il subbio, nascosto in un luogo inaspettato. Il pescatore è uno dei pochi personaggi non basati su una specifica persona. Il vero ospite speciale di questa tappa si trova nel sito archeologico di Tharros: tra le tombe vuote giace uno dei giganti di Mont’e Prama! Questa colossale statua è rimasta parzialmente disseppellita, e chiede gentilmente a Daniela di cambiare i numeri delle tombe da scavare, così sarà finalmente il prossimo. In cambio di questa cortesia, il gigante le regala la sua lancia, che ci tornerà utile dopo.

Ad Abbasanta possiamo visitare il nuraghe Losa e ammirare un’alcova vuota. Ritorneremo in questo luogo a momento debito, quando la luce colpirà l’alcova nel modo giusto. Proseguendo incontriamo il maestro di erbe tintorie Maurizio Savoldo, presso cui la nonna è solita procurarsi la lana colorata. Fortunatamente lui ha della lana pronta da tingere nel calderone, ma mancano le tre erbe tintorie necessarie per i colori primari: Rubia peregrina (robbia selvatica) per il rosso, Istatis tinctoria (guado) per l’indaco da cui derivano il blu e l’azzurro, e la Daphne gnidium (dafne) per il colore senape da cui deriva il giallo. Munita di ampolle per estrarre il pigmento dalle erbe, Daniela si reca a Paulilatino per recuperare le erbe. Oltre alle erbe, in questa località si trova anche il famoso pozzo sacro, ma ci ritorneremo più tardi una volta ottenuti tutti gli oggetti necessari. Ritornati al calderone, con un gioco di abbinamenti tra i colori primari otteniamo un gomitolo viola, uno arancione e uno verde. Sfortunatamente Savoldo non vede la nonna da parecchio tempo, ma Daniela può dire di aver fatto progressi nel suo viaggio. 

Bronzetto "Donna con
piatto d'offerta"
(fonte: nurnet.net)

A Mogoro, nei pressi del nuraghe Cuccurada, Daniela incontra l’artigiano archeo-sperimentale Andrea Loddo. Come dice il nome, è intento a sperimentare delle tecniche di fusione per creare i bronzetti come all’epoca nuragica. La tecnica in questione è quella della cera persa, ma Andrea ha dimenticato la materia prima! Ecco qua, ora la cera recuperata in precedenza ha finalmente il suo posto, e Andrea crea un “antico bronzetto sacro nuovo di zecca” che Daniela può tenere con sé. 

Il bronzetto, posto nell’alcova del nuraghe Losa di Abbasanta, diventa il personaggio della Donna Bronzetto, che trasforma il bastone di ginepro di Daniela in una navetta. Inoltre, la informa che la nonna è “in nostra compagnia”, marcando ancora una volta il carattere soprannaturale di questa vicenda. Daniela ha una simpatica conversazione con la Donna Bronzetto, notando una certa somiglianza con la cantante Claudia Aru e cantando persino un pezzettino della sua canzone.

La Donna Bronzetto nel Nuraghe Losa

Il vero Nuraghe Losa (fonte: nuraghelosa.net)

Lara Melis e Ismaele Marongiu, membri dell’Associazione Culturale Fainas, fondatori del progetto Memory Wefts e sceneggiatori del gioco, raccontano così come queste realtà sono sono state coinvolte nel progetto:

Il progetto nasce da una nostra idea, di Lara e Ismaele parte dell'Associazione Fainas, poi si è evoluto nella collaborazione con il Teatro Tragodia, Effimero Meraviglioso, Ditta Luigi Spano e la partecipazione al bando Identity_Lab2 che metteva a disposizione fondi europei indiretti POR FESR per chi volesse presentare progetti per l'internazionalizzazione delle imprese culturali della Sardegna. A seguire poi al gruppo di lavoro si è unita anche la Game Maker Academy di Cagliari che ha sviluppato con noi l'avventura grafica e ci ha aiutato a metterla online. Nel lungo processo di creazione e sviluppo del videogioco abbiamo creato una mappa di luoghi di interesse culturale, turistico e identitario al quale abbiamo proposto la collaborazione così che i giocatori potessero vivere l'esperienza di gioco e allo stesso tempo conoscere la Sardegna e creare anche un vero e proprio percorso turistico. In ogni livello del gioco infatti è presente un personaggio "reale", cioè un artigiano/operatore turistico/artista che è possibile contattare per prenotare una visita o un'esperienza (es: la guida escursionistica di Mamoiada, Barbaricina). Inoltre ogni volta che si finisce un livello si sbloccano informazioni aggiuntive sui luoghi visitati nel videogioco e le relative informazioni di contatto. 

Dopo aver ricevuto auguri di buona fortuna dalla Donna Bronzetto, Daniela si dirige finalmente a Paulilatino per consegnare gli oggetti al pozzo sacro. La luce lunare entra perfettamente nel pozzo, riflettendosi sull’acqua: al di sopra della superficie appare una figura solenne vestita di verde con un mantello e cappello rossi. Costei è la sacerdotessa, apparsa per mettere alla prova Daniela per capire se è pronta a raggiungere la tappa finale del suo percorso.

La sacerdotessa nel pozzo sacro di Santa Cristina

Il pozzo sacro di Santa Cristina a Paulilatino (fonte: pozzosantacristina.com)

Bronzetto "Sacerdotessa offerente"
(fonte: nurnet.net)

La sacerdotessa chiede a Daniela cosa rappresentino il subbio, la navetta e la lana: se Daniela risponde nel modo più pratico e superficiale, viene mandata fuori dal pozzo per riflettere finché non capisce il valore simbolico di questi strumenti. In una meravigliosa metafora, il subbio rappresenta l’importanza dei legami con i nostri cari: il subbio sostiene i fili dell’ordito , che sono la famiglia e gli amici, e intorno a loro tessiamo la nostra vita. La navetta con cui passiamo il filo rappresenta il tempo che scorre, mentre la lana rappresenta la forza e il colore la gioia, entrambe fondamentali per vivere. Ogni giorno costruiamo l’arazzo della nostra vita con il sostegno dei nostri cari, cercando di renderlo il più bello e colorato possibile. Una volta dimostrato di aver compreso questa verità, la sacerdotessa riconosce la maturità di Daniela e la indirizza verso la necropoli di Anghelu Ruju ad Alghero, dove l’attende sua nonna.

Come i fili tessuti nell’ordito, tutti i piccoli indizi su nonna Felicita finalmente prendono una forma chiara, facendoci intuire cosa troveremo nell’ultima tappa. La necropoli è un luogo molto interessante che ci propone una sfida finale: al suo interno troviamo un labirinto di stanze che vanno visitate in un certo ordine, altrimenti ci si ritrova all’ingresso e bisogna ricominciare da zero. Io stessa ho dovuto ripetere il labirinto abbastanza volte da dover annotare su un taccuino le direzioni giuste! Porre un puzzle del genere a questo punto del gioco è un’ottima idea, perché non solo ci regala un’ultima attività relativamente complessa, ma aumenta l’anticipazione per l’incontro con la nonna dando tempo al giocatore per riflettere su ciò che ci aspetta. 

Daniela si perde nella necropoli di Anghelu Ruju

Necropoli di Anghelu Ruju (fotografia di Pierluigi Montalbano, fonte: sardegnaturismo.it)

Raggiunto finalmente il centro della necropoli, Daniela si ricongiunge con la nonna, che si avvicina… fluttuante e trasparente. Ebbene sì, la cara nonna Felicita è morta, ma è tranquilla al riguardo: “Certo che può essere, mòrghere totucantus depimus” (Tutti quanti dobbiamo morire). Era malata ma non voleva preoccupare la nipote, perciò ha preparato questo viaggio per Daniela in modo che fosse pronta e portasse con sé gli ultimi insegnamenti che poteva darle. La necropoli si trova a metà tra il regno dei vivi e quello dei morti, per questo si possono incontrare. Ora la nonna le chiede un favore prima di andare: completare il telaio con gli strumenti che ha raccolto durante il viaggio, così da poter tessere per l’eternità. Prima di lasciarla, la nonna dice che si potranno incontrare in sogno, e forse anche questo lo è. Daniela si sveglia sulla poltrona a casa della nonna e si prepara a uscire per cercarla, “ma questa è un’altra storia e si dovrà raccontare un’altra volta”.

“The Secret Island – A Sardinian Journey” è un grazioso punto d’incontro tra la tradizione e il futuro: Daniela durante il viaggio riscopre il folclore della sua terra e si ricollega con le sue origini imparando come funziona il telaio che ama tanto sua nonna. Il mezzo videoludico è uno strumento ideale per introdurre miti e luoghi della Sardegna a un vasto pubblico, soprattutto considerando che il gioco include anche la traduzione dei dialoghi in inglese!

Questo gioco, con il suo stile di disegno grazioso, la sua storia interessante e gli ottimi spunti di riflessione sulla vita, è assolutamente consigliato per l’esperienza che offre. Inoltre introduce molte realtà artigianali e archeologiche che potranno suscitare la curiosità di un pubblico ampio. Possiamo augurarci che questo connubio tra tradizione e intrattenimento moderno ci possa regalare altre opere di questo genere!

An Italian fantasy culinary adventure: Squisito! [Jundo Original]

[This is a translation of the Italian article posted on December 19th 2022]

Cover of Squisito! n.1

Publishing house Jundo successfully reaches another goal, bringing as an exclusive for the Lucca Comics and Games -which took place last November- the first printed copies of its original works, together with famous imported works from the Korean market such as Of Machines and Beasts and All of You. After the end of the event, the volumes became available on the website’s online shop and through the main retailers such as Amazon, MangaYo!, starshop.it, POPstore and the circuit of comic book stores and bookshops. Among these we find the first issue of an exquisite adventure comic that brings together the passion for cooking with fantasy setting and creatures.

One of the colored pages
from the first chapter

Squisito! Fantastici Sapori Tradizionali Italiani (Delicious! Fantastic Traditional Italian Flavors), work drawn and written by Gianmarco Bonelli, holds different inspirations and references: its artstyle, with its thin and detailed lineart and very expressive characters, especially in comedic scenes, reminds of manga works such as One Piece; the size of the volume is quite similar to that of the classic tankōbon as well. However, it still has the western way of reading because despite its influences, the author considers it an Italian comic and preferred keeping this direction. An example of work published by Jundo that uses the Japanese reading way instead is Shaman by Shinichi Hotaka and Arisu, created to all intents and purposes to be read like a manga.

This fun culinary comic is set in a version of Italy full of peculiar creatures and incredible, difficult to gather ingredients, which require a particular type of person to pick them. These expert adventurers and seekers of delicacies are called gatherers, the majority of which is reunited in the U.R.C.A. association. In this world that revolves around cooking, cooks and gatherers are important figures and some of them can become legends! It’s clear to Pia, young gatherer and admirer of the most famous duo of the lands of Ausonia: Artemio and Nausicaa, first class gatherer and cook who mysteriously disappeared ten years ago. Entrusted to the care of innkeeper Nerone, Pia earns a living in the village of Piumanera gathering ingredients with her comically big cleaver, still looking for a clue to find the two.

Pia faces the badalischio

During one of her errands on Nerone’s behalf she bumped into a poor stranger poisoned by the most dangerous creature of the area, the badalischio. Pia rescues the boy and gathers the ingredients for the antidote, personally facing the creature. Once healed, the boy presents himself as Leo Greco, a young cook who came to Piumanera exactly to look for Artemio and Nausicaa. Leo and Pia become friends right away, talking about their favorite feats among the thousands of new discovered species and the extraordinary recipes invented by their idols. To return the favor, Leo offers to cook the badalischio meat, showing he is an excellent cook. On the other hand, Pia is more than glad to leave him the burner because she is as good of a gatherer as much as a disastrous cook!

After a joyful dinner (with an adorable scene where Pia explains how cantucci are dunked in vinsanto), Nerone decides to present to Pia a recipe book. The girl doesn’t understand the reason until, in the back cover, Nausicaa's signature stands out, and Leo finds out very quickly that the recipes trace a clear itinerary covering the peninsula. Pia leaves the room in shock, followed by Leo. The girl looked for clues for years without success, and this for her is the confirmation that she is not the right person. Leo understands how she feels and manages to convince her to follow the itinerary together. With Nerone’s blessings, the two leave for an adventure.

Dante the adorable gallonero

In this first chapter the fantasy atmosphere is expressed really well, with a great variety of interesting creatures such as “colombetti”, adorable flying mushrooms, the “gallonero” whose blood fights against venoms, the tasty “star caper” and its huge plant, or the fascinating “imprinting egg”, that can be handled only by the person who picked it until the moment of cooking. One of the perks of the printed volume is the inclusion of a delightful bestiary with the creatures featured in the six chapters. Furthermore, by removing the dust jacket we find a fun surprise: the real cover of the volume is the same as the cover of Nausicaa’s recipe book! These are the small details that show the attention given to the presentation of the comic.

Nausicaa's recipe book

In this first volume we see the progress of the dynamic between Pia and Leo, whose contrasting personalities lead them to risk interrupting the journey at the first stage. Thanks to the sweet couple of shopkeepers who cultivate the star caper, the two manage to make up and establish a relationship of trust. She’s hotheaded and bold, he’s observant and stubborn, Pia and Leo represent well the so called street smarts and book smarts: she knows well the area and the ingredients thanks to her experience on field, while he is not used to travel despite his knowledge; not preparing well his route is exactly how he risked his life with the badalischio! However it’s thanks to these differences that the two are complementary, and this dynamic makes them an interesting protagonist duo. Furthermore, beyond the differences they have in common some insecurity about their own skills. At the first incident during the gathering of the star caper Pia initially wants to go back home, but the discussion with Leo pushes her to try again and succeed. At the second stage of the itinerary we understand why the cook took the matter to heart, when he also has difficulties in picking the imprinting egg: considering his parents’ words, <<After all you’re a cook, honey! Just one call and we’ll come and pick you up, you know?>>, Leo probably wants to demonstrate he can do it on his own, even though it’s hard. Thinking about what Pia would do, the boy finally manages to pick the egg, showing the positive influence they have on each other.

The sixth chapter begins to lay down the first elements of a plot that will develop in the following volumes, with the introduction of four generals chasing the two kids, because their itinerary could lead them to Panacea! An excellent conclusion for the volume that intrigues the reader leaving a question: what is Panacea? And what ties do Artemio and Nausicaa have to what could be a legendary ingredient? We will find out following this fantastic story seeking Italian flavors!

Title: Squisito! Fantastici Sapori Tradizionali Italiani
Publisher: Jundo
Author (script, art and colors): Gianmarco Bonelli
Editing: LVCE1807 Lettering: Gianmarco Bonelli
Supervision: Matteo Vesprini
Digital platform: www.jundo.it and the Jundo app (the first six chapters are available for free)
Printed version: Tankōbon volume 16,5x12, flexible cover with dust jacket, 232 pages
Colors: B/W with the first 12 pages in color in the printed version
ISBN code: 979-12-80408-65-5

Illustration that accompanies chapter 6
(in colors on the website but black and white in the volume)

"S'Ammutadori - We are not alone" by Flora's Room: complete short film analysis

After a long wait, the animated short film S’Ammutadori – We are not alone by Sardinian studio Flora’s Room was publicly released on YouTube! We talked about the short film and the bigger story it’s part of on several occasions. To summarize: S’Ammutadori – We are not alone is an animated adaptation of the chapter “Limes” from the novel L’ultimo amore di Las, in which Las and Anna face through the night their own worst nightmares under the influence of S’Ammutadori. Completed in 2021, the short film was selected in five film festivals:

• 20th Animae Caribe International Animation & Digital Media Festival (2021)
• 37th Ljubljana LGBT Film Festival (2021)
• 28th Sguardi Altrove Film Festival (2021)
• 11th Corto Dino Film Festival (2021)
• 7th Premio Fausto Rossano (2021)

Regarding the visual elements, the characters feature a simple drawing style that allows fluid movements and great expressiveness. Using the program ToonBoom Harmony, I believe the animators applied the “puppet rigging” technique to manipulate the characters, alternating it with hand drawn animation. This technique consists in creating a skeleton and connecting it to different parts of the character model. The skeleton, commonly called rig, can be applied to a tridimensional model or a drawing. The first big wave of puppet rigging animation happened during the late 2000s, due to the rise of the program Adobe Flash.

Example of puppet rig from the video "2020 Character Rigging
Demo Reel (ToonBoom Harmony)" by Eddy Predeira

However, a prototype of this technique was already being experimented during the 1970s in the studios of the famous company Hanna Barbera. The test with the Scanimate animation system reproduced a scene from a previous production of the Scooby-Doo series, however they decided to continue the production normally with hand drawn artwork on acetate sheets. Outside of this experiment, the Scanimate system was normally used for commercials, promotions or openings of tv programs between the late 1960s and the 1980s.

Scanimation system animation test (circa 1970s)

Since then, the technique evolved, allowing more versatility and efficiency in the animation work. ToonBoom Harmony is currently the most used program by professionals all around the world when it comes to 2D animation. In the hands of competent animators puppet rigging animation can be just as nice and dynamic as traditional animation, and this short film is proof of that. The movements of S’Ammutadori in particular show skill in the scene of his appearance. The inclusion of blurred movements (also called animation smear), a typical trick of traditional animation, makes the movement more natural and not look mechanical.

Componidori mask above Anna's bed

Meanwhile the environments, although stylized, are full of details that put them between reality and Sardinian folklore. For instance, let’s look at Anna’s room. Above her bed there is a mask of Componidori, main characters of the tradition of Sa Sartiglia, hanging together with sa Pippa ‘e Maiu, the double rod of violets used to bless people during the celebration. We talked more about this in a complete article last year. Furthermore, the floor has a pattern of hexagonal tiles typical of the first decades of the 1900s.

Anna's room

Las’ room has a floor of stone tiles and a fireplace in the corner, a layout that is not unusual in traditional Sardinian homes. There is a knight mask and a Sartiglia star above Las’ bed as well. The village the protagonists live in is a mix of real features of Sardinian villages and fantasy elements, such as the big trees full of colorful lights. The world of Las seems to be a more peaceful and balanced cohabitation between human constructions and nature, as it could be already seen in the concept art for the movie presented at Cartoon Springboard 2021.

S'Ammutadori in Las' room

One of the most interesting features of this short film is the fact that its narration is non-verbal: although there are no words, the events are shown in an intuitive enough way that tells us everything we need without a word. However, this doesn’t mean that it lacks sound: Chiara Floris’ soundtrack and the sound effects picked by Beatrice Mele (obtained thanks to the Arbus Sardinian Knives Museum, the "canto a tenore" singer Giuliano Sannai and the cave of Ispinigoli in Dorgali) play on the right emotional strings and represent well the atmosphere of nightmares.

Las comforts Anna

The figure of S’Ammutadori is used as a catalyst to put the characters in front of their biggest fears, originating from their childhood traumas. Anna witnessed her father’s murder, which seems to be a premeditated action. In her nightmare she relives this tragic event and attempts to assault S’Ammutadori, which limits himself to escape and leave her alone. The tears of her silent crying slowly create a river. Meanwhile, Las relives her experience of domestic violence by the hand of her drunk father. Exiting the memory, Las finds in the woods some clothes of her father, hidden in the greenery like a beast. This scene represents how this man lost any trace of humanity in the eyes of his daughter. Las finds on a boat the child version of herself, giving her back the teddy bear she lost and sleeping with her on the boat. She wakes up alone because she reunited with her child self, and the boat is moving along the river. Las reaches the beginning of the river and comforts Anna, ending the dream. After waking up from their nightmares, the girls meet for real, with Las under Anna’s window, concluding the short film.

Even though it’s part of a bigger story, this short film can be enjoyed on its own and it’s a very interesting visual and narrative experience, clearly the product of passion and skill of all the team of Flora’s Room. And after “S’Ammutadori – We are not alone”, what else? Well, I am pleased to announce that the presentation at Cartoon Springboard 2021 was a success! In fact, it won’t be a movie like initially planned, but a tv animated series in development with Spanish company Mago Production. The archive page of Cartoon Springboard 2021 presents The World of Las as follows:

"The World of Las" tells the story of a girl who wants to get rid of a bad memory that keeps her chained to the past, in order to finally be able to move on with her life. Las lives on a planet called "Land of the Real", where the soul is defined with the name of "Sacred Body" and is treated with the same criteria with which the body is medicated. Las would like to become an artisan of Golden Scars, but she's unable to fully carry out this passion because she's conditioned by childhood trauma, due to which she doesn't have the right psychological predisposition to practice that type of profession. To overcome this trauma, Las will set off on a journey where she will retrace past events and meet magical creatures that will help her find herself.

Currently, the page dedicated to The World of Las on the website of Flora’s Room presents three concept art illustrations, with a different art style from the one used in the short film, but just as stylized and charming as the first. While waiting for more news, let’s admire the wonderful illustrations of the future tv series. A new world inspired by Sardinian folklore will soon open to European viewers!