Playmation
Studios is developing Serious Games for language
learning with an innovative game mechanic.
Driven by their passion for languages and
their frustration with the traditional methods, the brother and sister team Jen
and Justin Helms have decided to focus their first games on foreign language
learning.
With the value proposition of creating a new
way to learn foreign languages, their novel approach is based on a language
puzzle mechanic made possible by a robust natural language generation platform they
have developed. The result is an immersive game – Stagecraft for the
iPhone and iPad - that allows players to experience how words, pictures,
sounds, and grammar all fit together in the target language (TL), via sandbox
style language puzzles that must be solved.
Jen Helms, the
co-founder of the company, who earned her MBA at the Kellogg School of
Management, says:
“Stagecraft is a puzzle game that moves
beyond simply tying vocabulary to pictures and enables learners to fully
immerse in their target language through the broader context of each puzzle.
When players move objects in game play, they can immediately read and hear how
those changes are reflected in their target language. The game is intended to
improve reading and listening comprehension skills.”
“There are three modes”, she adds: “An
exploration mode in which players can explore and learn freely, a reading
comprehension challenge mode in which players are on the clock and must solve
puzzles without grabbing the wrong game sprites, and a listening challenge mode
that requires you to solve puzzles by hearing them only.”
Targeting 8 year olds and up, Stagecraft
is intended to be a supplement for formal classroom learning. It costs $1.99 to
download and that includes 4 puzzle sets with associated practice challenges
for both reading and listening comprehension. Players can then upgrade to
unlock an additional 8 puzzle sets for $3.99.
Spanish and French Stagecraft are available now on the App Store! English, Italian, and Chinese coming soon.
Please find how Stagecraft language learning
games work at YouTube Channel Children's Technology Review- Spanish Stagecraft (App Preview).