The language acquisition video game envisioned by the authors would be “fun and intuitive.” It would use an immersive environment with 3D graphics, and involve mini-games focused on vocabulary building. The central game involves fighting with acquired words as weapons, solving 3D puzzles, or deciphering task assignments through context clues. Words are acquired by selecting objects on a screen. Corresponding to the selected object, the Chinese character and the pinyin representation are displayed; the user can elect to hear the spoken word if desired.

The paper includes a succinct review of theories associated with educational computer games and second language acquisition. The authors’ game has not been tested yet, and it is unclear if it has even been fully coded. While some worthwhile insights are presented, the effectiveness of the approach has not yet been demonstrated.