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English for Wizards

Fantasy worlds and foreign lands

By John Moore


バーチャルな世界を冒険しよう

コンピューターのロールプレーイング・ゲームでは、仮想世界の冒険を楽しむことができます。英語のルール説明や決まり事を読みながら、ファンタジーの世界を旅してみるのはどうでしょう?

漫画の中に自分が登場する Comix Zone
When I was 19, an evil wizard kidnapped me. He soared with me through the air to a distant land where I had to face many strange adventures. After a whole year, I finally found my way back home.

The wizard's name was Lufthansa, and that fantasy adventure land was Germany. I really didn't want to go, but my teacher said I had to. Otherwise, there was no point for me to have learned German, she said.

Now I understand: Life is a fantasy role-playing game. The rules are all the same. Before your next trip abroad, why not practice some English survival skills by playing games on the computer?

The oldest and still the best computer fantasy game is the classic CD software called Myst. (See http://www.riven.com for information.) Unfortunately, there is no English in this game, but playing Myst is just like going to a foreign country alone for the first time. It's great practice.

My son Peter used to play another CD gamewe bought called The Neverhood, where you must read English messages to solve puzzles. Check out http://www.dreamworksgames.com/
Games/Neverhood/
. At one point, Peter fell into a bottomless pit and died because he did not stop to read the English warning signs. He was sad and disappointed, but he learned a lesson: Always read the signs!

For a quick and easy online game with lots of English, go to http://www.shockwave.com/
sw/content/cassi
,and play "Cassi: Earth Girl." Like many teenage girls, Cassi talks a lot, but there are handy English subtitles to help you understand. Sometimes you have to choose what Cassi should say next. The story is different depending on your choices. There are also various puzzles to solve before advancing to the next level.

For this game, you must have the free Shockwave plug-in installed. You can play the first scene for free. After that, you must pay 10 dollars (¥1,200) to be a Shockwave GameBlast subscriber.

Oh well. There's lots more out there. For manga fans, try the cool Comix Zone, in which you are stuck in an English cartoon and have to fight your way out.

First go to http://games.real.com/ You'll see Comix Zone is No. 1 in the Hot New Games section on the right side. Before downloading the game, you have to get the RealOne Arcade software. Just follow the online instructions. This time, the free demo gives you 60 minutes of play. You must pay 20 dollars (¥2,400) for a longer game.

Playing interactive computer adventures would have helped me in my first year abroad. I did not know I had to read all the signs, push all the buttons and solve various puzzles. Now I know better.



Shukan ST: Aug. 29, 2003

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