Odyssey Interactive, Students Create Game To Teach German

A story at the Ohio University's Post Online has discussed a new serious game created by Odyssey Interactive in conjunction with the University's German Department. The game, which is as yet unnamed, is a non-violent adventure game that began development in October 2005 as a way to create an educational and immersive experience that sets the user in a fun, interactive, and accurate German environment. The game involves the player taking on the role of an American who become lost in Munich, and who accidentally falls in with a group of criminals. From here the player must adapt with his or her surroundings by learning to read, write, and speak German in order to escape from the criminals in the game. Voice recognition software has also been added, so that a player can speak directly to the computer, rather than have to type their responses. The developers, along with help from German Department faculty members and students, have aimed to make the game as authentic as possible by incorporating German history, as well as authentic music and scenes. The goal of the project, according to Alex Kain, president and creative director of Odyssey Interactive, is to give players fun and exciting learning tool that will allow them to learn German without realizing it. Kain indicated that a demo should be done by the end of this quarter, though he did not indicate when the full game would be completed. You can read the full story at The Post Online.