Welcome back to our 13th Kickstarter Weekly. This week I found some games that help us learn; however, these games are anything but educational games. Nevermind is a horror game about helping trauma victims, and Koe is a JRPG designed to teach its players Japanese. Read on to learn (ha ha) more about these games!
Nevermind: A Biofeedback Horror Adventure Game
Project by: Erin Reynolds
Goal: $250,000
Current Funds: $66,959
End: March 6, 2014
The mind is our greatest enemy, and the imagery associated with the mind is endless. Each mind has its unique problems, creating endless possibilities for designing the perfect horror game atmosphere. Nevermind provides unique atmosphere by showing the inner struggles of trauma victims, making it a more relatable experience for many.
Nevermind is a first-person horror game. You play as a neuroprober, a physician who is capable of exploring the minds of trauma victims through advanced technology. Each patient is unique, and the atmosphere changes accordingly. You’ll need to solve puzzles to collect each patient’s memories in the form of photographs; however, each patient’s subconscious creates nightmare scenarios to drive out the neuroprobers.
What’s scary about Nevermind is that it knows when you’re frightened; you can’t put on a brave face to fool this game. This is possible because it will incorporate biofeedback technology. As you freak out, the game will sense it, and it will ramp up the difficulty accordingly. In order to get through this nightmarish scenario, you’ll need to learn how to calm down, which makes this game an interesting stress-management tool.
Nevermind not only has the atmosphere to provide a terrifying experience, but it has the potential for real-life applications. Erin Reynolds truly believes in the technology that is the backbone of Nevermind’s experience. She says that Nevermind could potentially help people control their stress. Unfortunately, she and her team only have 7 days remaining on Kickstarter, but hopefully Nevermind will reach its staggering goal.
Koe: A JRPG with Japanese at the core of gameplay
Project by: Jitesh Rawal
Goal: £35,000
Current Funds: £9,557
End: March 30, 2014
Some gamers enjoy their JRPGs with such fervor that they even consider learning Japanese. From personal experience, I have friends who ridicule me for watching dubbed versions of anime (I don’t like to read and watch!). But I don’t completely blame them, as some of the English voice acting in anime and JRPGs is truly mediocre; I don’t blame them for wanting to learn Japanese. To make the experience easier for beginning Japanese learners, Jitesh Rawal is launching a Kickstarter for Koe.
Don’t worry about this being an educational game. Koe is a JRPG at its core—it is no Mario Teaches Typing. In Koe, you play as a boy or girl sent to Japan to learn the language. Japan is not what it seems unless you are JRPG player; in that case, it is exactly what it seems. While learning the language, players will play a traditional JRPG experience, complete with random battles, leveling up, and finding loot.
Even though Koe is a JRPG, it is designed to teach players some Japanese. The video states that the game will incorporate communicative learning. What this means is that players will collect various Japanese words as items to be used in battle. If you find the Japanese word for katana, then you can use it in battle. There will be English descriptions as well, as the game is best for those starting out with the Japanese language.
Currently, players will be able to learn words, phrases, Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji; I have no idea what those last three are (maybe I do need this game). Jitesh is currently trying to incorporate grammar. Koe looks like a great tool for beginning Japanese learners. It will be interesting to see how effective Koe works as a language-learning tool, but it looks like a fun JRPG regardless.
Other Projects?
Have you seen any interesting projects on Kickstarter that you think deserve mention? Are you a developer who is currently running a Kickstarter campaign? Let us know in the comments section, or send an email to garrett@thekoalition.com.
