«Wizardly» is a puzzle game, aimed at children between the ages of 8-12. The focus of the game is teaching English by letting the player take on the role of a magician, who completes small tasks and solves riddles to reach the next level. The game makes use of Windows's speech recognition software. It tracks the pronunciation of words and sentences and turns them into game commands, thus helping the player become more comfortable with communicating in the foreign language.
The game breaks new experimental ground: speech recognition software is applied within a learning game so that children use the foreign language (English) to control the course of the game. The concept focuses on the reduced complexity of the vocabulary in language commands which are generated by game mechanics, the continuous development of language proficiency through playful language exercises and the constant practice of pronunciation. Because of its mastery and combination of different conceptual, creative and technological competencies, Game Design nominates «Wizardly» for the award grant.
