Pinoy game developers earn global acclaim for educational word game

When people think of video games, what usually come to mind are guns, zombies, power-ups, and giant swords. The truth is video games are as diverse as film, literature, and music. 

The one gaming genre that is often overlooked is the puzzle game. Which is a shame, as some of the most successful and addicting video games also happen to be brain teasers. From the immortal “Tetris” to the sexy “Catherine,” puzzle games have been with us since the beginning of electronic entertainment, challenging our minds and training us to become better thinkers.

It’s great, then, that many Filipino game development studios recognize the potential of the puzzle game not only to entertain, but to educate, as well.

At the Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit 2016, we were able to speak with one such studio. Kooapps is a local company that is dedicated to developing mobile apps, a good number of which are educational puzzle games.

A wordy challenge

One of the mobile games Kooapps exhibited at their booth was “Pictoword,” a simple yet engrossing experience that will challenge even the lexicographers among us.

“‘Pictoword’ is one of our most successful games,” said Samsara Louise Pagaduan of Kooapps. “It’s a puzzle and educational word game targeted for all ages, and we’re very proud of it.”

Free-to-play “Pictoword” is easy to pick up, but hard to put down and even harder to master. Each level, you’re shown two pictures whose spellings or sounds you have to combine to form the right word. It can be as easy as a picture of an ear and a ring that form “earring,” or something trickier, like a picture of a windmill and a lion that merge into “million.” The higher your level, the harder the word. You gain coins per level, allowing you to unlock new word categories such as animals, movies, and celebrities. 

Since its launch in 2013 for iOS and Android devices, “Pictoword” has been downloaded around 7 million times globally. It currently has a score of 4.7 stars out of 5 in Google Play. 

Many are unaware that it was developed by a Philippine studio.

Giving back to the community

“Pictoword” was developed in a mere 2 weeks, during a time when word apps dominated the App Store.

“There was a surge of word apps in the App Store, so we decided to create our own,” said Pagaduan. “And then it became a hit. We weren’t expecting that. Back then, we were really only thinking about creating our own puzzle game.”

But “Pictoword” was destined to become much more than just another puzzle game.

“Some time after its release, we started seeing reviews from people who really liked it, and teachers who were using it as a supplementary tool for their students,” Pagaduan explained. “And there were some medical practitioners who were actually using it as therapy for their patients. So it was then that we decided that we should target a younger audience, and that we should improve it so that we will be able to give back to the community. That was when we started thinking of this strategy of actually talking to schools and medical institutions about our app and how it can help them.”

“Pictoword” won the international Academics Choice Award for Smart Media. A video game only becomes eligible to receive this honor if it has been recognized to cultivate critical thinking, and can be classified as an “educational toy.”

The game was featured on BuzzFeed as one of the most “insanely addictive game apps” for mobile devices. The Chicago Tribune commended it for its educational value. Reviewers have praised it for its capacity to help children develop observation, investigation, and decision-making skills, as well as its ability to teach them about spelling, compound words, and picture analysis.

An assortment of apps

Aside from “Pictoword,” Kooapps also developed other puzzle games such as the word game “Plexiword,” and “Light This Up.” The latter, which tasks players with lighting up a bulb by drawing wires and linking electrical components, won the Most Innovative Game and Best Edutainment Game awards at the Philippine Game Festival Awards 2014. 

Additionally, the studio created the prehistoric-themed tower defense game, “Save the Cave,” house-building and management simulation, “Pocket Family,” and mini-game collection, “Island Escape.”

Kooapps has also ventured into non-gaming apps, including a meme generator and an adblocker for iOS devices, which is their latest product.

For more information about Kooapps and their apps, visit their official website or Facebook page. — TJD, GMA News