At WX, Wakefield over 50 games will be demoing, along with 400+ developers, game industry publishers, investors and platforms in attendance for GaMaYo 25! Join us on the 13th of November for a day full of demos and round tables.
This event is brought to you by Game Republic along with their Official Partners Barclays Games and Creative, Xsolla and Red Kite Games, with event sponsors Plus Accounting, Escape Technology, HP and AMD.
Today we are looking at ‘Gata Guressi’ which is confirmed to be at the event, Elliot George Mann!
Gata Guressi by Elliot George Mann
What would be your description of your game?
Gata Guressi is a sci-fi translation RPG where you learn to communicate with the people of the Hierre system by translating their languages and understanding their cultures. Use your knowledge of history, culture, and planets to sell a rare resource from your home planet to the patrons of the upscale bar Kallay Tirridor.
How did development start? (Were there any key inspirations or ideas that drove you?)
I initially developed this game for my university course, but continued to iterate on it after university. My initial idea was to turn language-learning into a gameplay mechanic, immersing the player in the world of Hierre by letting them actually speak and think as the other in-game characters would. The language mechanics were inspired by the language-learning games Chants of Sennaar and Sethian (and Duolingo!), while the aesthetic and cultures draw on No Man’s Sky, Cyberpunk 2077, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, and real-world linguistics and cultures. Since last GaMaYo, the game’s translation system has been fully overhauled, creating unique gameplay challenges that teach language through gamified linguistics.
Tell us about the team behind the game?
I (Elliot George Mann) am solo-developing this project. I’m based in Leeds and typically specialize in VR games, but make regular desktop games as well.
Quinn McMahon created the promotional art seen on the Steam page. (Check out his work, he’s extremely talented! https://
What kind of experiences do you hope to bring players?
My top priority is immersion. I want the player to feel like they are actually in Hierre and learning the languages spoken by its inhabitants. I’ve fleshed out the world of Hierre far beyond what is exposed to the player in-game, and you’ll get hints of that in conversation with the traders and visitors you’ll meet around the bar. While this won’t be present in the demo available at GaMaYo, the full game follows a mystery surrounding the bar. You’ll need to really grasp the languages and catch hidden meanings in what people say to piece together what’s going on. I love language learning as a game mechanic and really want to see more games in this genre. It’s educational regarding real-world linguistics and a fascinating type of puzzle for players either interested in language or brand new to language learning. I hope this game and others like it inspire more developers to create their own language-focused games.
In 10 words or less, highlight the appeal of the game?
Learn to communicate and trade by translating sci-fi languages.
Any links to access/wishlist the game?
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3962430/Gata_Guressi/
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