Here's a fascinating new Kickstarter project: an RPG that sets out to teach Japanese to English speakers.
It's called Koe, and it's a "traditional" turn-based RPG designed to teach you how to read and understand Japanese.
The concept, via Kickstarter:
Essentially, what I want to do in the game is give you an introduction to the Japanese language within the game itself. I know people who are interested in this style of gaming, as well as Anime and Manga, and who have wanted to learn Japanese because of it, but have no idea where they should start. So why not a fully-fledged story-driven JRPG that gives you a nice start with the language itself?
Before I lose you with the education side of things, I want to tell you that the game itself is a game before anything else, not a flash-card application nor a voice recognition translator, but rather I have put the game, and therefore the gameplay, before anything else. This means it plays like a JRPG, there are random battles, bosses, a story, pets, wizards, cities, houses as well as cats and you will play through collecting items, experience points, weapons and everything else that comes with a traditional JRPG.
Sounds cool, no? Those of us who enjoy RPGs but don't speak Japanese have missed out on some solid games due to the impenetrable language barrier, and this seems like a fun way to learn at least the basics of Glorious Nipponese.
Creator Jitesh Rawal wants £35,000 to commission new art, secure licenses, hire a composer, and do all the other money-consuming tasks that game development requires. You can check out the Kickstarter right here.