Game Noun Town: VR Language Learning Developer Noun Town Publisher Noun Town Genre VR/MR | Educational game Platforms Meta Quest 2/3/Pro; Steam VR compatible headsets; VIVE XR Elite Regular Price $19.99 (US) / £14.99 (UK) / €19.99 (EUR) Short Game Description Build your vocab and speak without fear! Play in a virtual world or in your own home with a new mixed reality mode. Noun Town removes the grind from learning a language. Pick things up, listen, read, and speak your chosen language in a world that regains color as you learn. Test your skills with mini-games & talk to the local villagers. Learn English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and more… Key Features From beginner to winner - start from scratch and build up 1,000+ words and phrases in English, Japanese, German, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish (MX), Spanish (ES), French, Italian, Ukrainian, Russian, Greek and Egyptian Arabic. No grinding, just gaming - learn through playing, in a world full of exciting mini-games and interactive lessons. Learn directions by driving a delivery car, learn colors from planting a meadow of flowers, and more! Speak like a native - interact with 16 unique characters using speech recognition to nail down tricky pronunciations, removing the anxiety of slipping up when you practise in real life. MIXED REALITY UPDATES (Meta devices only): > Label household items, making your home an immersive learning environment > Coordinated ‘Daily Goals’ system to build your learning streak > New mini-game to lock-in learning > Switch between VR and MR at any time via a portal Studio Description Noun Town is an indie game studio headquartered in London, UK, founded by Dr. Jack Ratcliffe (LinkedIn). Dr. Ratcliffe's research during his PhD, focusing on virtual reality and cognition, unveiled an exciting opportunity to enhance second language acquisition through gaming. The Noun Town gaming series was the result. Game History Alongside his PhD, Dr. Jack embarked on a project with a small team to develop Noun Town VR Language Learning. The alpha version garnered strong interest, leading to a passionate and growing community around the game. This enthusiastic response paved the way for a successful Kickstarter campaign. Subsequently, Noun Town secured a coveted spot for its launch on the exclusive Meta Quest store, which took place in late 2022. Following launch on the Quest store, a Steam VR version was introduced later in the same year. Since its initial release, Noun Town has undergone continuous improvements and enhancements. Throughout 2023, multiple free DLCs have been introduced, featuring new learning areas, expanded vocabulary, fresh mini-games, and the incorporation of the Korean language. In a major free DLC released in October 2023 a new mixed reality mode was added to Noun Town on Meta devices. This mode allows players to customize their own living space, label household items, and lock-in learning with a new mini-game. Moreover, Noun Town has made notable appearances at various events, including Games for Change in New York and has won and been nominated for multiple prestigious awards across Education, VR/XR, and gaming. Social media TikTok - 2.6m viral video - 1.6m viral video Instagram YouTube Facebook Threads Selected coverage Upload VR article Road to VR article Meta Newsroom article Awards Noun Town video game series awards: - Meta Most Innovative Apps 2023 - winner - Debug Best VR Game Award 2024 - winner - Develop:Brighton Indie Showcase 2023 - winner - Bett innovation award 2024 - nominee - Debug Innovation & Creativity Award 2024 - nominee - TIGA Best Creativity in Games 2023 - nominee - TIGA Best VR/AR/XR/MR Game 2023 - nominee Release date Quest: full launch - Dec 1st 2022; MR update - Oct 14th 2023 Steam VR: full launch - Dec 15th 2022 Links Google Drive folder with resources Game release trailer on YouTube Meta Quest store page Steam store page Viveport store page Game website Discord community (c.10k) Engine Unity Press Contact callan@noun.town Vision for the game Noun Town’s made to help people in their language learning journey. Traditional language learning tools feel dry and uninspiring, making the already challenging process even more difficult and causing many to lose motivation and give up. Games, on the other hand, offer an inherently enjoyable experience. When people play games, they’re constantly absorbing new information, whether it's mastering a control system, understanding historical contexts, or navigating complex trading systems. This learning happens seamlessly and subconsciously as they immerse themselves in the gameplay. Noun Town capitalizes on the allure of gaming to simplify and enhance the language learning experience. When you play Noun Town, learning becomes an effortless part of the experience. One important distinction to emphasize is that Noun Town is, first and foremost, a game. It isn't a traditional learning app with gamified elements; rather, it's a fully realized game that just happens to facilitate effective and enjoyable language learning. The vision for the Noun Town series of games is to keep delivering content updates, enabling players to progress from beginners to achieving full fluency, all while enjoying their learning experience.
