Video Game for Learning English

[Marylin]

Good to see some more votes coming in. I'd like to hear reasons from the people who voted against as well.

I am still working on the initial design document, but I hope to be able to show you all a more complete plan and some preliminary artwork soon.

I would very much like to hear more about features you would like in this application -both gameplay and educational.

I don't think the suggestions are exactly pouring in for you. Mind you a lot of kids here do not have access to any video games and probably never will. Some might not even have a clue what you are talking about. As I said before, without trying to sound discouraging, I really don't feel the market is there for this stuff but let's hope I am wrong.

[Red5]

Marylin, if I may be so bold,

First and foremost, let me state for the record that I am not a teacher of English, never have been and never will be. I am not replying through experience, simply personal impressions.

I agree with your statement when it applies to the World market - Mr. Russell will never rule the world with this piece of software. Certainly, there will be people who will not be able to relate to it, and others who simply can't access it due to the limitations of their available technology.

I do, however, believe that there is a wide enough market for people to be interested in a product like this and for Mr. Russell to do well from it.

It would entirely depend on which market segment the software was being aimed/marketed at. There are plenty of people who have decent computer & internet access, and who need or desire education in the English language. There are millions and millions of people from every walk of life who want assistance with learning English. Access to the needed technology is increasing massively on a daily basis.

I honestly do think that a product such as this could do well, and I wish Mr. Russell good luck in being able to pull this off.

Kind regards,

Red5

[Marylin]

Marylin, if I may be so bold,

First and foremost, let me state for the record that I am not a teacher of English, never have been and never will be. I am not replying through experience, simply personal impressions.

I agree with your statement when it applies to the World market - Mr. Russell will never rule the world with this piece of software. Certainly, there will be people who will not be able to relate to it, and others who simply can't access it due to the limitations of their available technology.

I do, however, believe that there is a wide enough market for people to be interested in a product like this and for Mr. Russell to do well from it.

It would entirely depend on which market segment the software was being aimed/marketed at. There are plenty of people who have decent computer & internet access, and who need or desire education in the English language. There are millions and millions of people from every walk of life who want assistance with learning English. Access to the needed technology is increasing massively on a daily basis.

I honestly do think that a product such as this could do well, and I wish Mr. Russell good luck in being able to pull this off.

Kind regards,

Red5

Well, my personal impression is a little different and I understood we were incouraged to express it.
Nevertheless, as I mentioned before, I hope I am wrong on that one. Getting something like that on the market and being successful at the same time will prove me wrong once and for all.
In any case, Mr Russell, shoot for the stars, aim high and you can become a success story one day! Hell with Marylin, what does she know!
I mean it.

[Tdol]

In terms of market, in the UK all schools and colleges are linked to the internet, most with dedicated resource centres. This pattern will be found around mosty of the better-off countries, so there could well be a market for a game such as this. At present, there are very few games available and most are of a very low stabdard in terms of playability, which makes me think that a game that is designed professionally in gaming terms could break the mold. If you look at the games on the BBC Skillwise site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/games/), you'll see what I mean. Most games haven't been designed by people who play games, but by teachers trying to jazz things up a bit.

[A.Russell]

Some interesting points here about marketability. I’ll try to cover them as best I can.



Ø I don't think the suggestions are exactly pouring in for you.



True. Most ESL notice boards are not exactly high traffic sites, and this is one of the busiest that I know. A large number of the posts here are from learners trying to find answers to their grammar questions and kind teachers taking some time out to answer them. Probably a lot of the learners here have trouble following our conversations or are shy to contribute. However the response to the survey question has been very encouraging. I expect I will get a lot more feedback once I have the first playable release for teachers and students to try. I’ll keep you all posted with my progress.



Ø Mind you a lot of kids here do not have access to any video games and probably never will.



??? Where don’t kids have access to video games these days? In fact, it is now a larger industry than the movie business.



Certainly, the technology is not the greatest in every part of the world. We are spoilt here in Japan with our high speed connections (I have 36M –enough to run a school LAN, and now for the same price I could get over 100M if I wanted it) and new technology. Schools often don’t have the newest or greatest hardware either. I will take that into consideration when designing the game to try to make it able to run on weaker/older systems.





Ø Mr. Russell will never rule the world with this piece of software…I do, however, believe that there is a wide enough market for people to be interested in a product like this



Please call me Alex J. I am not gunning for the next big AAA title FPS, RPG or RTS game and going up against EA, Blizzard or Microsoft Games with their massive multi-million dollar budgets. These games have become so high budget and high risk now that they are often becoming increasingly formulaic. The game play rarely deviates much from the titles that have gone before, and all that is added is more stunning visual effects and the big name franchise branded on them.



It is certainly a risk that I am taking. It is quite expensive to even prototype a video game. Although predictably training and educational games will become more prominent, and possibly even boom, over the next five years, right now they mostly aren’t a dramatic success. As stated, this could change if the games had a more mainstream and fun element to them. It also needs to be shown that video games can provide real solutions to government and private organizations; how in certain situations they can provide improved training simulations, cut costs, motivate learners and arouse awareness of certain issues. This is fairly uncharted territory complete with all the potential risks and rewards. I hope this will turn out to be a nice little niche that hasn’t yet been exploited by the big companies.



Indications so far, from talking to people in the industry and on forums like this, are that this type of software is needed and useful to a lot of learners and teachers of English. I am interested to hear as many opinions for and against as I can gather and more specific comments regarding the particular application that I am proposing. From the overwhelmingly positive response so far, I am confident to go ahead with the project and build a prototype.



Ø I really don't feel the market is there for this stuff



So cynical for one so young ;). I like to hear arguments against the project as well. Please keep them coming.

[Red5]

Well, my personal impression is a little different and I understood we were incouraged to express it.

You are most welcome to. I was simply stating my own.

[Tdol]

When the BBC produced the Muzzy in Gondoland video, they produced a classi, that I still remember fondly today. It was so far ahead of anything else being made at the time- they made an educational cartoon that was fun, for students and teachers. I used it in the eighties and I could still hum many of the songs. While there is always a risk involved, and I have no idea about the costs involved, I do think that a quality game could do the same.

About the number of responses, this forum does tend to concentrate on question/answer, but I'm sure when it hits alpha, there will be more responses.

[Marylin]

Where don’t kids have access to video games these days?
Where? OK, here it is:


Algeria, Angola, Bolivia, Chad, Chile, Nepal, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic,Ecuador, El Salvador,Ethiopia, Honduras India, Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea (North), Laos, Namibia,, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Rwanda, Tibet, Nepal, Ceylon, Azerbaijan and many others. I think they call them third world countries.


So cynical for one so young ;).

"Old age is not a disease, Mr Russell, and it's not a place for sissies, either". I can't remember you asking only for young teachers to come forward...hmmm

[A.Russell]

You are definatly wrong on Chile, Algeria,Laos and India, because I have friends from/in those countries. Often in third world countries kids go to internet cafes to play on PCs. I would also consider those countries as opporttunities, as things can only get better for most of them.

Just teasing about your age.

[Marylin]

You are definatly wrong on Chile, Algeria,Laos and India, because I have friends from/in those countries. Often in third world countries kids go to internet cafes to play on PCs. I would also consider those countries as opporttunities, as things can only get better for most of them.

Just teasing about your age.

Often in third world countries kids go to internet cafes to play on PCs.

I see. From what I have seen, those places are packed with travellers and packpackers. The internet connection is soooo slow, you might as well fall asleep while trying to e-mail someone, let alone play a game. Not too many native kids whose families have enough hard time trying to make ends meet wondering if there is enough food to put on the table.


Just teasing about your age.

Right.