Eutopia: A MORPG platform to building-up Psycho- Pedagogical Simulation Games

Eutopia is a software platform to create and organize Educational Multiplayer On-Line Role Playing Games (EMORPG). It implements the psycho-pedagogical methodology of Role Playing Games in a digital “scene”. This approach permits to a small group of persons to give a theatrical performance for educational or psychological purposes (counseling, diagnosis, therapy). Each actor (or learner) controls an avatar and interacts with other avatars in a virtual 3D scene. Psychologists, Pedagogues, Teachers, Trainers, Educators can have different functions. They can write a storyboard as a playwright; they can assign the characters as a casting director; they can guide the action as a movie director; finally, they can give feedback to the group recording the scene action and adding personalized comments (debriefing phase). Eutopia is a "Technology Enhanced Learning Environment" to teach “soft skills” (mediation, negotiation, taking collective decisions, collective problem solving, etc.) and it was developed thanks several European Research grants (Long Life Learning Program – Eacea agengy). Universities, Samll and Big Enterprises, Non Government Organizations from Cyprus, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and United Kingdom) use and have used in their vocational training courses. Eutopia was presented at Shangai World Expo (2010). Manuals, software, video tutorials, scientific papers, list of partners and grants are reachble at Eutopia web portal: http://eutopia.unina.it.