“Glottolab: A Linguistic Adventure”: Lo sviluppo di un’attività gamificata incentrata sulla linguistica

"Glottolab: A Linguistic Adventure" is a game-based learning activity developed with RPG Maker MZ, designed to familiarize a non-specialized audience with linguistics in an interactive and engaging way. The game introduces participants to concepts of general linguistics, encouraging reflection on the internal structure of language and its practical uses. The aim is to foster greater metalinguistic awareness and to challenge the prescriptive approach often adopted in the language teaching in secondary school education in Italy. In the game, participants explore five realms, each representing a level of linguistic analysis. In each realm, they are asked to solve puzzles based on linguistic problems, gradually collecting the elements needed to reconstruct the lost language of the city of Logos. To evaluate the effectiveness of the activity, both quantitative and qualitative analyses have been conducted. In fact, 16 participants took part in gameplay sessions, after which they completed a questionnaire designed to assess four aspects: learning experience, usability, gameplay experience, and the integration of artificial intelligence systems. Additionally, the real-time gameplay of three participants was recorded and analyzed qualitatively. The feedback suggests that Glottolab has the potential to serve as an effective tool for scientific dissemination in linguistics, although certain elements and game mechanics require further refinement. Overall, the gameplay experience was considered engaging and stimulating, while the integration of artificial intelligence systems was found to be less relevant for this type of activity.