Developer Tristan Dahl from Berlin, Germany is working on a new project called Lingotopia, a language learning simulator that will allow you to learn a number of different languages by playing through the game and learning 20 different languages.
The game is about a little girl who gets shipwrecked on an island where the inhabitants speak a language she can’t understand. This is where the real linguistics come into play because players will have to learn how to understand the inhabitants in order to find a way home.
Lingotopia has players learning what different objects and expressions mean in different languages. You’ll also have to learn through repetition how to understand the natives and decipher their conversations. You can check out the Kickstarter pitch video below to get an idea of what the gameplay will be like and how much of it Dahl has completed so far.
As showcased in the video, you aren’t just learning words and phrases, you’re also attaching expressions to iconography, along with using typing exercises to familiarize yourself with certain word phrases.
The game includes many widely spoken languages along with some lesser known languages, each broken down and structured so that you can grasp the basics.
There’s also a free demo that’s available right now, which you can download to play-test.
Graphically the game is a low-poly affair, typical of what you would expect from a small one-man band, but Dahl is mostly focused on trying to use the game as a tool to help people better understand other languages in a fun way.
At the moment he’s managed to accrue $10,000 with a goal of just $12,195. He still has 21 days to go before the project is complete.
If you’re interested in the project or want to grab the free demo, you can do so by visiting the Kickstarter page.