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14 Tuesday August 18 2015 ARTS CULTURE GAMES 6.8103 in x 6.3125 in By MEAGAN WOHLBERG Elders and language instructors know that the best way for kids to learn their indige- nous languages is to do so out on the land but because thats not always possible one video game designer is working to bring the experience to youth through a new interac- tive computer game. Game designer Boyd Williams of Studio le Pariseau in Quebec is currently working with NWTCreeLanguageProgramcoordinatorKyle Napiertocreateavideogamethatwillteachthe names of 25 animals in each of the NWTs of- cialindigenouslanguagesincludinginsyllabics. Essentially the idea of the game is that it allows access to animal identication learn- ing that you would normally be able to do out on the land for those who arent able to make it out onto the land as easily Napier said. Williams rst approached Napier with the idea after realizing there were very few ed- ucational games for indigenous peoples. He thought the NWT would be a perfect t be- cause of the ongoing language revitalization work and the fact that indigenous languages are recognized as ofcial in the territory. Since then the game has expanded to in- clude every language group in the territory and is now open to all indigenous language groups elsewhere wanting to participate. Na- pier is currently working with the Tsuu Tina and Siksika First Nations in southern Alberta to have their languages included. The game will be provided for free to all the households in each home community of the translators and offered to schools to be part of their curriculum. The medium is the message Though similar to picture identication books and other resources Williams rmly believes the power of the game is in how it will be received by youth. The medium is the message. With lan- guage the traditional languages really con- nect people to the past and their heritage their grandparents and all of this. What we need to start doing is creating ways that the language will connect them to the future in addition to the past he said. Its great to connect to the past its a won- derful thing but in order for a language to really continue thriving and growing it re- ally needs to connect people to the present and the future. So by developing a computer game that teaches the languages its going to have an impact. Right away youre saying this language is important enough that its on a computer...The language becomes cool because its on a computer game and the com- puter game is cool. It validates it for them. Along with creating a game for the vari- ous language groups the team is planning a workshop for the winter where Williams would come to the NWT to teach youth the art of game design in the hopes that First Nations will start designing their own re- sources and using it as an employment opportunity. First Nations in my opinion when it comes to computer gaming are sitting in an ideal situation. First of all the most impor- tant thing for building a game is the story. First Nations have storytellers coming out the wazoo theyre excellent storytellers Wil- liams said. The next thing you need is art- ists someone to do the graphics and again First Nations top the charts with this type of thing. What theyre missing is the techni- cal component. Other games in development Napier is also working on two additional video games that will promote the Cree language. One comes from the programs recently released Cree language album which was noticed by a designer who wants to build a game that will encourage language acquisi- tion through song. The other involves a hunt for syllabics in the forest where each found character gives the gamer points to be used to build struc- tures in their virtual bush camp. Your camp expands as your vocabulary expands Napier said. Napier believes the games are ground- breaking ways of putting language learning in the hands of youth. A lot of youth are spending their days on gadgets and cell phones and apps and we want to put language learning in their hands and reach them on all fronts he said. Video game to teach NWTs indigenous languages IllustrationcourtesyofStudiolePariseau A player meets a wood bison to nd out its traditional names in a computer game currently beingdevelopedbyQuebecdesignerStudiolePariseauandtheNWTCreeLanguageProgram.