The count-down to the start of term has been occupying a lot of my time recently. However, in preparing my presentation for the Interactive Fitness and ExerGame Network seminar at Leisure Industry Week 2009 in Birmingham, UK, I realized that there were less than 100 days to go till the year 2010! I then began to reflect on how far things had progressed in the first decade of the 21st century.
Many things that last century were science fiction had now become reality. Yet, perhaps more compelling was the view that most of our thinking on health, exercise, physical activity and sport was still rooted in the last century. I chose for the title of my presentation “Gaming4 Life: Eat Longer, Move Well & Live More” as a play on words of the recent health promotion campaign in the UK called “Change for Life“.
The presentation takes a critical look at the context of physical activity in sport in the digital games eras and develops a new way of thinking about the role of games and game play in promoting well-being and health.
I had scanned the program for the Edinburgh Festival back at the beginning of August and payed particular attention to the Physical Theatre section to see if there was anything creative to inspire me. A show called ManoLibera presented by ScarlattineTeatro of Italy caught my attention as it invited you to:
Enter the world of the comic book where the actors interact with the characters and become part of the story. Share the joy and fascination of letting your imagination go in this funny, original and highly visual show.
I finally managed to find time to take in the show a couple of days ago due to its afternoon time slot. It was a very enjoyable and immersive experience in a surprisingly low tech (analogue) way comprising little more than an over-head project (OHP), some pre-prepared cartoon scenes and pre-recorded sounds. These were supplemented by skillful life cartoon sketching and some wonderfully evocative sounds being spurted into a microphone. The projected images then provided the cartoon world for the on-stage actors to move and interact in and allow the show to unfold in a most entertaining and visually comical way.
To me the cartoon action resembled Belleville Rendez-vous, the music was distinctly Hot House Jazz and the visual humor very much in the spirit of Jacques Tati. The limited dialogue was in english when it was central to the understanding of the plot. Otherwise it was a lyrical mix of french and italian which I just about managed to keep up however this was not vital as the animated speech tones conveyed as much meaning as the words themselves.
Fortunately I do not have to struggle much more to try and explain this wonderful hour of analogue interactivity, as thanks to the wonders of digital technology, you see a brief clip for yourself. However I would add to this the creative use of colored sheets of plastic, coffee grinds, a few physical props and even a split-screen at one point.
Now that everything is digital, over-head projectors (OHPs) have to me become a relic of 20th century (analogue) education. However whilst ManoLibera took a tiny step back in terms of the technology the show utilizes, it was two giant steps forward for immersive interactivity. I for one am looking forward to the day when such a sublime experience can be created and extended in the digital realm.
So to sum it up it was an highly entertaining and engaging experience which literally unfolded in front of the audience and drew you into the cartoon world that the actors were playing in. It was a magical experience that people of all ages would enjoy. Bella! Bella! C’est magnifique!
