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Olympic inspiration helps digital enterprise

As the Olympic Games entertain the world in Beijing, a Teesside entrepreneur has announced his plans to launch a computer game to help people learn about the culture, language and communication skills needed to succeed in the Far East.

Jeremiah Alexander runs Babel Digital, from the University of Teesside’s Victoria Building, and is a ‘serious games’ and new media specialist. During the last 18 months, Jeremiah has worked with experts at the Institute of Digital Innovation (IDI) to develop Guanxi.

Guanxi is the first in a range of ‘serious games’ that Babel Digital is developing to help people overcome the challenges of learning foreign languages and new cultures, especially in a business environment.

Babel Digital developed Guanxi using 3D graphics and advanced animation techniques which accurately represent body language and gestures, an area often overlooked by traditional methods of learning languages.

Jeremiah said: “Computer games technology has enhanced phenomenally in recent years and we aim to be at the forefront of it in the variety of serious games and educational tools we develop. Thanks to expert help from the IDI we now have an original concept to take to the marketplace which takes learning to the next level. Users are immersed within virtual environments where they can actively learn and practice their foreign language and cultural awareness skills.”

Scott Watson, enterprise co-ordinator at the IDI, added: “Babel Digital’s expertise is second to none and their ideas and skills are already being recognised on a national scale. Guanxi is sure to get the company known internationally as there are so many people now wanting to do business in China as it is a very lucrative market to explore.”

For more details visit www.babeldigital.com/guanxi.html.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .