Nunaka: Formal/Elementary Winner

Written By GEE! Awards
screenshots of Nunaka gameplay

Cama'i, readers! 

This Sugt’stun word for “Hello” is one of the many I was able to practice and learn while playing Nunaka – a whimsical new mobile game created by multimedia production company FableVision Studios and non-profit Alaska Native support agency Chugachmiut. In Nunaka, players are given the ability to create a personalized avatar and take on the role of a Sugpiaq child living with their grandparents, Emaa and Apaa, in a fictionalized community based on the Sugpiaq villages of the Chugach region of Alaska. 

As with being a part of any community, fulfilling work needs to be done in order to help everyone thrive! That’s where you, the player, comes in. With guidance from Emaa and Apaa, as well as other members of the village (including animal friends from around the region), your time spent in Nunaka will task you with completing minigames, collecting items, and interacting with others in order to help accomplish necessary village duties; after all, fish need fishing, food needs cooking, and the berries won’t harvest themselves!

Upon starting the game, players are asked to build their own avatar, with multiple different customization options available. The adventure begins in our newly-created character’s room, where we intuitively find that we can easily guide our avatar around the 3D space by using our finger to drag across the screen (complete with a sparkly indicator and playful, jingling sound effect). Conveniently, we can come back to change our avatar’s design at any point by tapping the dresser next to our bed, if we’d like.

Strolling through our house, we eventually connect with Emaa and Apaa in the living room. They give us our first task (to head to the Community Center outside to greet folks), and, more importantly, teach us our first Sugt’stun words: Cama’i (“Hello”), and Akllut (“Beads”). They recite the words multiple times, inviting players to speak alongside our avatar in order to practice; “Now you say it”, Emaa encourages us. “Cama’i!”.

Leaving our home to visit the Community Center, we get to practice our new greeting with multiple neighbors. “Cama’i!” to Bear, Porcupine, and Coyote! Once we’ve greeted everyone, and have gotten to know our neighbors a bit, our first task is officially complete.

This, however, is just the first of many chores that need finishing. Gameplay-wise, the experience is broken down into four overarching episodes (each representing one day), which brings the player to multiple different parts of the village – from the beach, to the campfire, to the kitchen, and more. The unique locations offer diverse spaces for users to wander around in and admire, with different characters to meet and converse with. Additionally, each location offers area-specific minigames to complete; at the campsite, for example, we learn how to fish with our grandfather, while in the kitchen we learn how to make akutaq (Alaskan ice cream) with Coyote, using freshly harvested berries we’d already nabbed down by the river with our friend, Bear.

There’s more to Nunaka, though, than enjoyable minigames alone. The art style and aesthetic of the game (and the village it takes place in) is stellar. It’s warm, welcoming, animated, and playful – yet still clearly designed with a goal of intentionally showcasing Sugpiaq heritage in mind. The world, minigames, and sound design are rich with informed Sugpiaq culture; my personal favorite task entrusted me with the opportunity to create my own Sugpiaq beaded headdress by using my finger to drag a needle and thread through different beading styles. Later, during the qayaq’ing (“kayaking”) and flying minigames, I found myself humming along as Sugpiaq music and singing began playing in the background, further grounding the rich heritage of the world I was living in – and the people I was interacting with. It was lovely!

Upon finishing the game, players receive a scrapbook summarizing the days’ activities and learning experiences. This offers a breakdown of the tasks we completed (with photos of the friends we met along the way), alongside tappable icons of the items we interacted with throughout our journey; by tapping them, the game repeats the Sugt’stun word for said items, further reinforcing our language learning, and offering users a way to practice.

There are, in fact, many ways in which Nunaka offers its players a meaningful, well-guided learning experience; it does an excellent job of utilizing multiple good learning principles as outlined by Dr. James Paul Gee. A few of note:

 Avatar creation, while simple, successfully illustrates the crucial customization principle by offering the user various options across multiple categories (including choice of skin color, hair style & color, facial features and eye color, and clothing/shoe choice). This gives us a deep sense of personalization. When we account for how this personalization works in tandem with the realized benefits of successfully completing village chores – and, more importantly, how that relates to our success as a part of this community – the identity principle shines, giving our adventure earnest meaning.

And, speaking of meaning – the game does an admirable job of teaching via skills under strategies (repetition of skills are driven by consequential consideration of strategy), and meaning as action (multimodal images/actions/experiences within the game do a beautiful job of illustrating the meaning associated with words/symbols). These two principles are epitomized in the game’s language learning mechanic, wherein players hear how to sound out Sugt’stun words via others’ example, and then are encouraged to repeat it themselves – and what those words mean in terms of interfacing with a community. It remains a wonderful through-line with each day’s adventures; words taught and learned are directly related to whatever culturally-relevant task the player is attempting to accomplish, which offers further value and intentionality to the game’s embedded language learning goal.

Overall, Nunaka is a deeply charming game experience that successfully guides players through multiple different learning outcomes – from foundational school readiness standards to embedded learning about the Sugpiaq people and Sugt’stun language. The gameplay is designed thoughtfully, with numerous good learning principles woven throughout. I truly enjoyed my time wandering around the fictionalized Sugpiaq village with my Emaa and Apaa, and I can genuinely say that I learned while playing this game. So – kudos to you, Nunaka! Your winning of the Formal/Elementary Category of the 2023 GEE! Learning Game Awards is well-deserved!

Written by Chris Baker (Competition Lead), Judging by Valentin Briukhanov, Adeeb Syed, and Chris

REFERENCES & LINKS:

GEE! Awards
Previous

SMAILE App: People’s Choice Winner
Next

Imagine Earth: Indie & Small Studios Winner