Il lettore-spettatore-giocatore nel cartone animato interattivo. Analisi di un longplay

The article analyzes the longplays (video recordings with sound, posted on YouTube) of the adventures played in the interactive cartoons Il cane di terracotta (2000), Il ladro di merendine (2001), and La voce del violino (2001), based on the novels of the same name by Andrea Camilleri. These cartoons were conceived and produced by Im*media and published by Sellerio. The audio in these longplays comes solely from the video game itself, allowing for an analysis of the gameplay—that is, the interaction between player and game, its mechanics, objectives, and plot. The goal is not to evaluate player performance but to examine gameplays in relation to the novels. By applying tools from traditional narratology and game studies for text analysis, as well as rhetoric and linguistics to analyze the adaptation process and identify variations, the essay defines the identity of these derivative texts by tracing them back to the original works. It also explores how the three novels are received within them and situates the interactive cartoons within Montalbano’s narrative universe.