Playing is simple, even a child can do it, but designing something simple is hard. How can we combine prototyping with production software to get our ideas in front of real people? How can we evolve our software over time? How do we measure if something is fun?
I will talk about how Ruby’s flexibility and a strong testing ethos can bring some sanity to this uncertain world. And when I say testing, I’m not just talking about RSpec, Cucumber or Capybara, I’ll share stories from Mightyverse about how we test whether our software actually “works” for the people who use it — sharing failures, I mean, learning, as well as success.
3. Mightyverse
A network for sharing language & culture
!
where the people create and benefit from
a global corpus of human spoken language.
4. Marketplace for Language
collections of language
around an experience
native language videos
with translations
across multiple languages
5. Social Mission
Almost 50% of the world’s languages are endangered
One goes extinct every 2-3 weeks
A global, crowdsourced
living language community
can make documenting an
endangered language
easy and accessible to all.
22. learn: what do we know? (numbers are good)
hypothesis: what do we believe? (numbers are good)
test: how can we check against reality?
analyze: does the data support our hypothesis?
23. the majority of the people in the world speak a second language
24. How do we find this
huge audience of
language learners?
“
”
51. Language Exchange
Social Game
Language learning process
should be reflective of the
interaction they are seeking:
social, engaging, fun
Web App
Mightyverse
Database
View
Record
Request
Juan Bill Xian
52. Content Creation Feedback Loop
People can also ask
their friends to
record phrases
Mightyverse
Database
Phrase Contributors
53. Content Creation Feedback Loop
Thank you in Japanese
More Search Results
Mightyverse
Database
Phrase Contributors
Phrase videos create
phrase pages
54. Content Creation Feedback Loop
Thank you in Japanese
More Search Results
Mightyverse
Database
Phrase Contributors
Web App
Phrase pages
drive traffic
55. Social Mission of Mightyverse
Almost 50% of the world’s languages are endangered
One goes extinct every 2-3 weeks
A global, crowdsourced
living language community
can make documenting an
endangered language
easy and accessible to all.
57. Crowdfunding
Lean Startup Landing Page technique
- create an ad for your product
- measure click-thru to validate an idea
58. Crowdfunding
Lean Startup Landing Page technique ++
- start with an ad for your product
- collect advance orders
- only create the product, if you raise enough
funds to build it
59. 4 Drivers of Crowdfunding Success
Make a video (raise 115% more)
!
Multiple founders (raise 94% more)
!
Ask for less than $10,000
!
Experience running a successful campaign
60. 4 Drivers of Crowdfunding Success
Make a video (raise 115% more)
!
Multiple founders (raise 94% more)
!
Ask for less than $10,000
!
Experience running a successful campaign
<$10K 38% success
< $50K 18% success
< $100K 7% success
65. Getting Gamification Right by Sebastian Deterding
Meaning
Connect to personal goals and passions
!
Mastery
Goal + rules create interesting challenges
!
Autonomy
A sense of freedom, the ability to curiously explore opportunity”
83. What did we learn?
Both games were fun.
!
This game was much simpler.
Only required one bilingual player.
!
84. What did we learn?
Both games were fun.
!
This game was much simpler.
Only required one bilingual player.
!
This could actually work as a card game…
85. unit of progress
for start-ups “
Learning is the essential
”
ERIC RIES
88. Shut up and sit in the corner and watch.
See if people who play your game are having fun
and playing the way you expect,
and are able to learn the rules easily
“
”
MATT LEACOCK
102. What did we learn?
Validation of our language learning model
- helps people learn
- sparks curiosity
- scalable across language
!
The game created an ecosystem
!