“Influent” is a game by Rob Howland, who was initially sponsored by the Japanese government to make a game to aid in language learning in partnership with the University of Tsukuba in Ibaraki, Japan. The app now has courses for dozens of languages ranging from Japanese to Welsh and Danish. In this game, players explore a 3D environment and seek objects with their associated vocabulary. Luckily, the Italian language learning pack is also free — which is precisely the language I would like to learn more (I just studied abroad in Florence!)
It’s a simulation-playstyle game which feels a lot like Undertale or other narrative-based games as well (it crosses multiple types). The game prominently features characters (like Andrew and Ellie) to add a story-based element to the play as well, increasing immersion and relatability. I liked how the game started with Andrew having an object stolen from him — an excellent inciting incident that many of us can relate to, to add a feeling of motion to the game!
3d navigation and main character kick off the game with a wonderful inciting incident (can’t find an object) to motivate the game!
Analyzing the game through the MDAO framework, I find that the game has multiple dimensions.
In terms of mechanics, the game consists of finding objects throughout a house (Alexander has been trapped in the house by his droid and needs to collect them in order to escape). The robot follows the main character around as they pick up new objects / words, learn their translations, and master / collect them throughout the house. The robot CHIP provides helpful suggestions in order to aid the character in their vocabulary quest. You can even take over CHIP in order to more quickly explore the house and cut down on time.
Example vocabulary of a poster
In terms of dynamics, the game encourages the player to memorize the layout of the house and walk quickly through in order to minimize time to find the objects. The time pressure dynamic incentivizes the player to not only quickly navigate, but also quickly learn the vocabulary. The more the player enters the “Flow” state, as mentioned by Browning et al., and the more quickly they can recognize the prompted vocabulary, the more quickly they can find the object in the house and score more points.
Exploring more posters and more complex vocabulary!
In terms of aesthetics, the game does not present itself as a typical vocabulary game! Typical learning games tend to be 2 dimensional, certainly not within rich 3D spaces with multiple rooms and objects! On further reflection, I think this is genius. There is the concept of a memory palace, which is a memorization technique where a person associates concepts / objects in an imagined space, because the human brain is very well-equipped to associate objects with locations (it is something about how the hippocampus functions). This game is a literal memory palace. By concretizing the 3D space, the player comes to associate words not only with their 3D representation (which is more efficient and useful than reading just words), but they even can draw back on the physical space in Alexander’s house in order to call back the vocabulary.
In summary, Influent is an amazing game. Using narrative and simulation-based play, it turns the act of learning vocabulary into both a physical memory palace and an engaging time-based game. No wonder the game is so successful — I will certainly use it when learning my Italian going forward!
