Leo’s World
“Leo’s World” is part of a transmedia narrative project that includes, in addition to the game, a TV series broadcast on Rai Kids and a series of illustrated books.
The project is designed for neurotypical preschool children and children and adolescents with high- or low-functioning autism spectrum disorders.
The game was developed for Brandcross Media Agency which released it on mobile stores with a pay per download model and subsequently freemium.
The Challenge
The major project challenge was to create an entertainment activity that was engaging and fun for both neurotypical children and children with autism spectre disorder.
The game had to be exciting but have a clear educational value, consistent with the principles established by the scientific committee that validated the design.
Our Solution
We developed an inclusive game aiming to:
- reward creativity through the creation of unique music compositions obtained by freely combining musical loops played by the cartoon’s characters.
- training kids in the management of transitions, by suggesting that any activity, even engaging, is not expected to last indefinitely
- stimulating the recognition and validation of emotions, showing that even negative ones (e.g. discomfort and anger) are both legitimate and normal and also moods from which you can easily get out.
All of this happens in a stimulating but never-frustrating sandbox that ensures a safe and responsive interaction space for children and the possibility for parents to customize the time limits and the challenge level.
Impact
On stores, the game has obtained a rating from players of approximately 4.5 out of 5. Although downloads haven’t been exceptional, the retention metrics of the free-to-play version are very good.
Gameplay
Leo’s World is designed to provide users with a safe space to express their creativity while exploring various musical environments. Each character in the game can be combined with others to form a choir, allowing the creation of unique melodies and thus rewarding the players’ inventiveness and stimulating their curiosity.
Regarding training children in managing transitions, Leo’s World offers a natural and seamless end to the gaming session through bedtime. When the time limit is reached, the characters will fall asleep, the gaming session will end, and the player will be returned to the main menu.
Finally, Leo’s World stimulates children’s recognition and validation of emotions, as the characters can express feelings such as discomfort or anger depending on the context they are in. Players must recognize and interpret these emotions to help the characters feel comfortable and sing along with others, learning that all emotions, even negative ones, are normal and manageable.
About Leo’s World
Emanuela Cavazzini
CEO & Founding Partner – Brandcross
I was looking for an educational APP developer company to create a gaming APP for autistic children, and at the same time also for normal children, taken from the animated series IL MONDO DI LEO. Careful research on the web led me to meet Whitesock, with whom we immediately established a constructive and collaborative dialogue which convinced me that I was on the right path. Their competence, seriousness seasoned with an abundant dose of collaboration and availability bore fruit and the APP-GAME IL MONDO DI LEO was successfully created. For those who, like me, do not know the world of APP developers and above all all the technology behind it, it was a unique and educational experience from which I also learned a lot.
Francesco Pozzi
Executive Master Coordinator – IESCUM
I contacted Vincenzo after meeting him during the presentation of the “Il Mondo di Leo” project, to invite him to give a lecture at our Executive Master’s in Behavioral Economics and Nudging. I found the Whitesock approach to be extremely thorough and scientifically valid. As expected, Vincenzo’s contribution was very valuable and well-aligned with the curriculum of our master’s program, receiving extremely positive feedback from all the students. I believe that the theoretical and practical skills underlying Whitesock make them a valuable partner for effective corporate training or ESG initiatives, aimed not only at behavioral change but also at transforming mindsets.
