The Courtesy of Spain: Theater for the New Generations

Abstract

Educational video games are increasingly present in the classroom. While their success as a learning tool has been demonstrated in technical fields, they have been little used in the arts. Plays, for example, would be excellent subjects for video games, as they are similar in terms of design and narrative. However, few video games are based on plays, and, of those that have been created, their effectiveness has yet to be proven. This material is limited due to the difficulty of the narrative change, distancing a play, which is linear–without interactivity– from a video game, in which the plot varies to allow interaction. This article details the creation of a video game as an interestraising tool, based on the work of Lope de Vega’s The Courtesy of Spain, in collaboration with the National Company of Classical Theater (CNTC). CNTC’s main objective is to engage Spain’s youth in classical theater, increasing their motivation and desire to learn more. This project includes an experiment in a school in Madrid with 154 students, between 9 and 11 years. The experiment indicates that a video game based on a play not only stimulates interest in young people, but also helps broader learning processes.