Mike reporting, to say ‘yo’ once again and… *checks calendar* oh hey happy new year by-the-way!
Today we’re returning to talk a bit more about KAIBUTSU: ANOTHER WORLD – the learning Japanese game that Scott is currently exploring.
KAIBUTSU: ANOTHER WORLD
So in the last newsletter update, Scott released a short flashcard prototype (if you missed it, you can check out HERE).
To quickly rehash, part of the approach Scott’s taking with KAIBUTSU: ANOTHER WORLD is to build out its individual systems as isolated prototypes- like lego pieces- to be later fully integrated into the larger game. Most importantly they’re helping to sanity test out a unfamiliar game engine, Defold.
Expanding on that, the next prototype aims to further build out a Spaced Repetition System, or SRS for short. SRS is a scientifically proven method for learning and easier memory retention, while minimizing unnecessary revision. So building this style of system into part of the game’s core, ideally, will serve to help provide you with the right language puzzles at the right time.
GAME02: Kaibutsu Flashcard SRS PrototypePrototype Game 02 is the first initial stakes laid into this learning concept. It’s a simple Kanji flashcard game on the surface, but underneath the spaced repetition logic has begun to be developed.
(As an important side-note, if you’re currently not studying Japanese, you may not get much out of this in it’s current state.)
VOCAB LESSON PLANNING
Another part of the long-term process has been devising a lesson plan for vocabulary to slowly be introduced in the full game. A common oversight Scott and I have both encountered with some language learning programs is simply not getting enough different examples of a new word. We’re finding that you really need to hear the word in several different contexts before you can really latch it into your brain, what exactly it means, and how it properly gets used. Only then can you confidently move onto the next one.
Now just imagine if the next word introduced always somehow built off the previous one, and continued to work this way for as long as possible!
Scott here! As I’ve been studying Japanese, I’ve noticed that some of the words I have the most trouble with are words that introduce a bunch of new kanji all at once. The Refold system, from Stephen Krashen, has this idea of the “N+1 input comprehension” hypothesis.
Put simply, language acquisition is most efficient when each sentence you study includes only one new vocabulary word or grammatical feature at a time. So my idea is to extend the N+1 system to the kanji themselves, and build vocabulary lessons around the idea that each new word should only have one kanji you haven’t seen at a time.
The planning required for this has been.. pretty intense, with significant plotting required (sometimes looking like a wall-of-crazy), but it will be really exciting to try this concept out and see how well it works!
That’s all for this KAIBUTSU: ANOTHER WORLD update.
Once again, you can check out Prototype #2 on our Itch.io page, as well as Prototype #1.
Leave us some precious valuable feedback (you can reply to this email, contact us directly, or even leave a comment on the Itch.io page)
Coming in the next newsletter update will be a DEAD LETTER DEPT. progress report.
Cheers,
– Mike & Scott
