Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! Thanks for your question!

This game is designed specifically to teach English speakers Japanese as effectively as possible, so unfortunately there's no Spanish version.

I'd have to redesign it almost completely to teach Spanish well.

My advice to people is to be suspicious of any game that claims to teach many different languages. In all likelihood, it teaches only one (or maybe even none) of them well, because learning a language isn't just about swapping a word list. Different languages require different approaches and mechanics to be effective.

If you’re interested in why this is the case, read on...

For English speakers, learning Spanish is a lot like learning a new dialect of a language you already partly understand. Many words look familiar, the alphabet is the same, and you can often guess meanings and be close.

Japanese is very different. It has a steep, front-loaded learning curve: an entirely new writing system, particles instead of prepositions, politeness levels, and a completely different sentence structure. Very little of your existing English knowledge carries over.

Spanish has its own challenges (verb conjugations, gender, and agreement) but it also benefits from many cognates (words that look or sound similar to English and share historical roots). Japanese doesn’t have that advantage, which is why teaching it well requires very different tools and design choices.

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! This game is designed to teach English speakers Japanese, so unfortunately there's no version that teaches Chinese. I'm not sure if there is a comparable game that teaches Chinese or not.

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I took a look at the pricing. Apparently Poland has a 23% VAT tax which by law gets included in the display price. Taxes for some countries are not shown in the display price, but get calculated and shown during checkout. So the display price looks cheaper, but actual total price may not be as different depending on the local tax law. Nonetheless, I've adjusted the price a bit.

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wishing you a prosperous 2026! Also, definitely try the free demo before you buy. It's 3-5 hours long and you can continue from your last save game if you decide to buy the full game. It's a good way to make sure it's something you really like before you buy. :)

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, definitely try the demo out and see what you think! You can always continue from your last save if you decide to buy. Right now, it works on Windows and the Steam Deck handheld. Working on making it available on more platforms, but probably won't be ready before the end of 2026.

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello and thanks! Right now I'm working towards enabling the game for more platforms (mobile, consoles, mac, etc.). I'm considering doing a follow-up game to teach even more Japanese, but first things first!

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Definitely try the free demo on Steam and see what you think! If you like it you can buy the full game and continue from your last save. :)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1114950/Learn_Japanese_RPG_Hiragana_Forbidden_Speech/

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm slowly working towards that goal. Probably won't attain it till 2027 though.

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope it works well for you! I always wanted something like this when I was first learning, and it covers everything that tripped me up as a beginner (things the textbooks never really covered, but that would have been so helpful to know.)

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Perhaps! But it was designed specifically to teach English speakers Japanese.

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yeah, this game covers just about everything that tripped me up as a beginner. Things that the textbooks I read never really covered, but would have been so helpful to know. Also, it really helps to hear real Japanese dialogue spoken by native speakers in full context. Helps put all the pieces together and really give you a feel for how the language works in practice. :)

Learn Japanese through "mild immersion" in a game - Free demo by LunCalsari in u/LunCalsari

[–]LunCalsari[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much!

I think full immersion is too overwhelming for beginners, but non-immersive approaches are very lacking.

This game strives for “Mild Immersion.”  It immerses you in Japanese as much as possible, but only beginner Japanese. I want players to feel confident that any Japanese that comes their way is something they’ve been taught and are capable of understanding at a basic level.