Newcomer Video Game launching Oct. 25th uses fantasy game play to learn new languages

Does learning a language have to feel like taking an online class? It doesn't.

Newcomer: A language learning online game, launched Oct. 25, on Kickstarter.com, fuses the fun and challenge of a video game with learning English, Spanish, French and Italian.

Players learn to converse in a second language as they navigate the Newcomer fantasy world.

Creator Jason Kappes explains that language learning applications now on the market use points, badges and leader boards to make learning feel like a game.

"Newcomer is a game with language learning embedded in a fantasy world," Kappes shares. "Players explore new fantasy worlds to encounter challenges, battles and earn rewards along the way to learn words, phases and sentences."

Kappes, a Libertyville, Illinois, resident, left his tech programming job to work full time on his passion for game-based language learning. Kickstarter.com will fund his passion for continued development full time.

What is Kappes short-term and longer term goals with Newcomer? In the next year, he will secure funding to complete the Beta version of Newcomer, then roll it out to the public and eventually classrooms in one-three years.

"Ultimately, my goal is to make anything, not just languages, easier to learn through the use of game-based learning applications," says Kappes.

Kappes studied at DePaul University's College of Computing and Digital Media. He worked for several tech firms before setting out on his own to develop Newcomer.

For questions, contact Jason Kappes, founder, at jasonkappes656@gmail.com or (847) 494-5656.