English learning game for children — looking for honest teacher feedback

[SergeyF]

Hello teachers!
I’m developing a fantasy English-learning game for children called Magic English Heroes.
At first, it was just a simple grammar practice tool. But after some advice from my daughter and a few updates, it turned into a full-fledged game project.
The idea is simple: children learn English through magic quests, potions, grammar Runes, vocabulary Ingredients, and short interactive exercises.
Now is beta-version.
I’m looking for honest feedback from ESL/EFL teachers, especially those who work with children or young teenagers.
I would be very grateful if 5–10 teachers could try the first part of the game and tell me:

1. Is the first journey clear for a child?
2. Does the game feel motivating?
3. Are the instructions understandable?
4. Could you imagine using it with your students?
5. What confused you or your students?

This is not a sales post. I’m collecting early feedback to improve the game before launch.


Game link: [ Removed by moderator - can easily be found by googling the name of that game ].
Thank you very much for any advice!

 

[teechar]

Hi there, and welcome.
1- Please update your profile info.
2- I removed the link to your website because it requires users to register (i.e. it harvests email addresses), but I see Google can easily find it.
3- I suggest you change the default homepage language to English.

 

[SergeyF]

Hi there, and welcome.
1- Please update your profile info.
2- I removed the link to your website because it requires users to register (i.e. it harvests email addresses), but I see Google can easily find it.
3- I suggest you change the default homepage language to English.

Thank you very much for your feedback. You’re right—registration is required. However, no confirmation is needed; you can enter any email address to try out the game.

I agree that switching the default language of the home page to English is a good idea.

 

[emsr2d2]

@SergeyF You haven't addressed teechar's first request. You have given your current location as Georgia (the country) but that doesn't match your digital footprint. Please amend it to show your true current location.

 

[SergeyF]

@SergeyF You haven't addressed teechar's first request. You have given your current location as Georgia (the country) but that doesn't match your digital footprint. Please amend it to show your true current location.

I changed my registration data

 

[teechar]

I actually tried playing the game, but I gave up after spending almost ten minutes going through the intro and all the initial screens.

I'll be blunt ..

1. Is the first journey clear for a child?

I'm an adult and I found it convoluted and confusing.

1. Does the game feel motivating?

Possibly as a game (I don't really play computer games, so I can't say), but not as an English learning tool.

1. Are the instructions understandable?

They're too complicated.

1. Could you imagine using it with your students?

No! I would only use games that are easy to follow and play. Remember, the object of the exercise in the classroom is to learn English, not to play games.

1. What confused you or your students?

The complexity of the game.

 

[jutfrank]

Hi Sergey

I played it for a bit too and I agree with most of what teechar says above.

I'll further comment that there's a lot of text to get through, with some pretty advanced vocabulary. Is the idea that the kids read and listen in Russian? If so, it isn't very useful as a way to practise English if they're immersed in Russian, is it? And if it's supposed to be that the kids read and listen in English, then that's really good but then I can't see much point in making it about English when they're already immersed in the language and enjoying the quests. Also, the level of English required to understand what's going on seems way higher than the actual language that you're trying to teach.

You've obviously got talent with this kind of thing because it looks great and you've clearly put love into it but why not just make a really fun game and try to grade the language by either age or English proficiency?

 

[SergeyF]

I actually tried playing the game, but I gave up after spending almost ten minutes going through the intro and all the initial screens.

I'll be blunt ..

I'm an adult and I found it convoluted and confusing.

Possibly as a game (I don't really play computer games, so I can't say), but not as an English learning tool.

They're too complicated.

No! I would only use games that are easy to follow and play. Remember, the object of the exercise in the classroom is to learn English, not to play games.

The complexity of the game.

Thanks a lot for your feedback. I'll try to make the intro easier and shorter

 

[SergeyF]

Hi Sergey

I played it for a bit too and I agree with most of what teechar says above.

I'll further comment that there's a lot of text to get through, with some pretty advanced vocabulary. Is the idea that the kids read and listen in Russian? If so, it isn't very useful as a way to practise English if they're immersed in Russian, is it? And if it's supposed to be that the kids read and listen in English, then that's really good but then I can't see much point in making it about English when they're already immersed in the language and enjoying the quests. Also, the level of English required to understand what's going on seems way higher than the actual language that you're trying to teach.

You've obviously got talent with this kind of thing because it looks great and you've clearly put love into it but why not just make a really fun game and try to grade the language by either age or English proficiency?

Thanks a million for your feedback. You’re right. Right now, this game is mainly intended for native Russian speakers. But I'm going to translate it into other languages. And, of course, that will make it easier to understand.
Also, I realized that the introduction needs to be simpler and shorter. Right now, it reads like a whole book. And I added a translation mode for Russian only. But the point is to give children the opportunity to read and listen to any dialogues, with the ability to immediately translate these texts into their native language.

 

[jutfrank]

I'm going to translate it into other languages.

Why? What problem does that solve? Isn't it supposed to be about learning English? So do it in English, obviously.

But the point is to give children the opportunity to read and listen to any dialogues, with the ability to immediately translate these texts into their native language.

I'm not sure that young kids ought to be, or need to be translating. What target age are you going for?

 

[SergeyF]

Why? What problem does that solve? Isn't it supposed to be about learning English? So do it in English, obviously.



I'm not sure that young kids ought to be, or need to be translating. What target age are you going for?

Actually, I guess my game engine will be useful for children between the ages of 8 and 12. Because later they will need more listening and speaking exercises. than just filling in words and creating sentences. And the translation of dialogues is needed, first of all, in order to tell the story and explain how to play.
The quests include the following exercise types:
• True / False Sentence Structure
The student reads a sentence and decides whether it is correct or incorrect.
• Write the Word into the Sentence
The student must type the correct word into the gap.
• Choose One of Several Words
The student sees a sentence and chooses the correct word from several options.
• Build a Sentence from a Set of Words
The student arranges given words into the correct sentence.