Watchword: a serious game for non-literal language skills assessment

This research will present the first steps taken in the making of a videogame tool (Watchword) for the assessment of non-literal language skill, starting from the design phase of the videogame to the first tests. The game was based on psychological and linguistic scientific literature as well as on studies that investigate the use of videogames in the field of educational psychology and health. The first tests run on the comprehensibility of the stories in terms of non-literal language skill pointed out a difference between irony and lies that helped in a better understanding of the role of factors other than linguistic in pragmatic skills. 38 Italian adult participants aged 18 to 35 tested the four stories of the first version, showing a trial order effect as well as a difference between without voice acting and with voice acting version of the same story, only for irony. Results of these parts are discussed in terms of studies relating to Theory of Mind and linguistics. The first test on the playability of the game is also presented, with the first redesign phase. The enjoyability and playability were highly rated, encouraging future development of the game itself as a useful tool for assessing and training pragmatic skills.