“Go there, don’t know where, bring it, don’t know what”

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Educational game “Go there, do not know where, bring it, do not know what” has been created using internationally-known fairy-tale storyline that teaches the ancient truth of life: in the beginning the man (the hero) is unaware of his true sense of life and his mission and does seemingly needless work, but at the same time, if he is honest, listens to his intuition while moving through certain examinations (initiation) of life, he gets the “key” of his life, happiness and sense. After visiting faraway lands, the man (the hero) most often comes back to his native place and obtains the king’s palace instead of his poor hut thus expressing the belief that wealth and a certain social status make sense only in each person’s native place.

The aim of the game – travelling through the towns and villages of Latgale, to identify the most notable distinguishing marks of these places, to learn some apt Latgalian expression and to test own deductive abilities – how to get the prize awarded by the “wheel of fortune”.

The implicit aim of the game – to raise the interest in Latgale concepts, significant cultural, historical, geographical, and social life objects that are important for awareness of identity of the people of Latgale, studying them in Rezekne Higher Education Institution virtual museum database “Concepts of Latgale” or in “Lingvoterritorial Dictionary of Latgale” (2012), where the descriptions of concepts are available in English and Russian.

Target audience of the game – persons interested in culture and history of Latgale, students, pupils, teachers, who acquire regional studies, the region’s cultural history, trying to find the answers to existential questions – WHO AM I? WHERE DO I COME FROM?

Description of the game

The game consists of 3 levels:

Level 1:

There is an improvised map, which outlines 15 towns and villages in Latgale. The player takes the road and chooses one of them (do not know where). The selected towns or villages appear in close-up, where the player has to find and name 10 objects of the place. It is allowed to make 3 mistakes, then the player is offered to read the description of the town or village (entry) in the virtual museum “Concepts of Latgale”. The error is fixed when it is clicked on the wrong object, or if the player has named incorrectly the found object. After the description of the town or village (entry) has been read, the player can continue the recognition of the objects of the town or village or may choose another city or village. The player reaches the second level of the game after he has found and recognized 10 objects of the selected place.

Level 2:

The player meets one of the following subjects on his way: a priest, a naughty boy, a musician, a potter, a little fool, a grandfather, a woman, Andryvs Jūrdžs, Pīters Miglinīks, Nicodems Rancāns, Fraņcs Kemps, Ontons Kūkuojs, Roberts Mūks, Joseph, and Ontons who ask the riddle. It may be a saying or a proverb that must be guessed. Here as well it is allowed to make 3 mistakes, then the player chooses another person to meet. However, in order to be able to guess the given riddles, it is useful to have a look into the relevant articles (in certain entries) offered by the virtual museum. If the riddle is guessed, the player enters the last level of the game.

Level 3:

The player spins the wheel of fortune, gets the object, which is do not know what: a wedding, a joint work, an evening gathering, a candy, bread, a farmstead, Rezekne Higher Education Institution, a book, a dance, a candle holder, a guest, a road,  a hive, happiness, and Latgalian Radio. To say that he has found the object he was looking for, he has to deal with the last task. There are reflected the actions that must be assembled in the order that allows the player to understand the nature of the object or show the way how he can reach this object. It is allowed to go through the inscriptions of the activities 1 or 3 times. If the activities are assembled in correct order, the player wins the game, if not, the player returns to the initial choice. There is given only one opportunity to spin the wheel of fortune.

Who fears the wolf, does not go into forest!