Japanese Students Save the World by Studying RPG Textbooks

Tom Goldman

Tom Goldman

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Aug 17, 2009
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Japanese Students Save the World by Studying RPG Textbooks



RPGs are so popular in Japan that they're invading educational textbooks.

Namco Bandai is known for developing RPGs from the Tales series, such as Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon [http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=71093]. The next RPG from the company is not hitting a game console, but an elementary school homeroom.

News coming out of Japan today (translated by Andriasang [http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/05/23/namco_bandai_textbooks/]) reports that Namco Bandai is working with textbook publisher Gakko Tosho to develop educational textbooks with RPG elements. These textbooks will have sections with titles such as "Math Adventure" where students follow RPG storylines while they work.

Teachers are encouraged to induce amnesia by hitting students on the head with a log, after which the students will have to solve endless random equations to try to build up enough skill to kill the principal. In an ideal world, anyway. Really though, solving problems correctly will earn students keys, which then unlock a treasure. The treasure is either a successful career later in life, or a sticker.

Namco Bandai and Gakko Tosho plan to also produce books for science and language arts. The RPG textbooks will be released as early as spring. With RPG textbooks and Shigeru Miyamoto wanting the Nintendo DS in schools [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99289-Miyamoto-Focusing-on-Getting-DS-into-Schools], pretty soon there won't be any aspect of education in Japan that isn't associated with games.

Source: Andriasang [http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/05/23/namco_bandai_textbooks/]

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DarkHourPrince

DarkHourPrince

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May 12, 2010
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That is definitely a way to get kids to pay attention in class. Especially visual learners. My girlfriend is a visual learner and after we started watching a historical parody series together, she's more apt to discuss world events with me because she can put a face to the name of the country. It just helps her to have that visual there for reference. This could greatly benefit those types of learners or those like me, whoa re tactile and learn better by doing.
 
Nunka

Nunka

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DarkHourPrince said:
That is definitely a way to get kids to pay attention in class. Especially visual learners. My girlfriend is a visual learner and after we started watching a historical parody series together, she's more apt to discuss world events with me because she can put a face to the name of the country. It just helps her to have that visual there for reference. This could greatly benefit those types of learners or those like me, whoa re tactile and learn better by doing.
Click to expand...
I think it's safe to say I'd never leave school, ever, if they factored RPG elements into the curriculum of every class.

Seriously. Why has nobody embraced this method of teaching kids? It'd do wonders to combat the gradually decreasing intelligence of people these days.
 
Zero=Interrupt

Zero=Interrupt

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I wouldn't mind the career, but I'd take the sticker.

I mean, come ON, have you SEEN that sticker sheet? It's pretty sweet.
 
R

Roboto

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Nov 18, 2009
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" pretty soon there won't be any aspect of education in Japan that isn't associated with games."

Even Sex ed :D

Oh I crack myself up...jokez...
 
kajinking

kajinking

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Aug 12, 2009
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So when are american children going to be learning spelling and math with Master Chief and Halo?

"Ok now kids if I shoot this battle rifle 3 times at that grunt's head and each pull of the trigger fires three rounds how many bullets will be in that dead grunt?

In the words of Homer Simpson "They're YEARS ahead of us!!"

But in all seriousness I think this is a good idea. I'm a bit more of a visual learner and know it can be impossible to follow some ideas without visual representation to back them up so I do how this plan works.
 
T

Therumancer

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Nov 28, 2007
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While the "RPG Genere" is new to this, I don't think it will be any more successful than other attempts at Edutainment software. The bottom line is that no matter what the pictures look like, and what noises the game makes, a math problem is a math problem, etc... about the time the equasion flashes up on the screen they are going to lose interest. Kids aren't as stupid as people have thought for years upon years.

I remember all those Apple II computers gathering dust in some schools.

To put things into perspective, when it came to "Oregon Trail" 99.9% of students spent all of their time hunting until everyone died. :p
 
Subzerowings

Subzerowings

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May 1, 2009
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I need to go to Japan. Now.
I wonder if there're cheatcodes for those RPG's...
Probably not since they're in book form, but a man can dream can't he?
 
wooty

wooty

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Aug 1, 2009
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Sounds like a good way to re-inject fun back into learning, wish they had them when I was back in school, more exciting than my old paedo maths teacher, who really did wind up actually being one.
 
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