OK, I'm officially on the AI wagon now... With the help of Meta AI I begin cooking an idea that would help me learn the Guaraní language while at it.
It starts with a very simple but powerful concept: A spirit has to be reborn. But to take shape, it first has to learn Guaraní.
Not through flashcards. Not through a separate "language mode". The language is the gameplay.
You start as mist. As nothing. To grow, you need to learn the words of the body.TESA for eyes. PY for feet. JU for mouth. Every word you learn literally gives the spirit a new part.
This isn’t a linear story. There are multiple arcs, and your decisions change what happens next.
I want players to feel the weight of choice. To replay it and see different paths. But I also don’t want to lose the fun. The game has to stay dynamic, even while it goes deep.
I live in Paraguay as an outsider. If I really want to understand people here, I have to learn Guaraní.
It’s not just practical. It’s relational.
Spanish gets me through the day. Guaraní gets me in.
Guaraní is not a "second language" for most people. For at least 70% of the population, it’s the intimate language. The one used for jokes, for anger, for love.
It changes depending on where you are.
In smaller towns, Guaraní is everywhere. In the city center, Spanish takes over because you need it to talk to everyone.
I’ve noticed something: Spanish is for outsiders. Guaraní is for community. It carries the weight.
I kept hitting a wall. I’d meet people, Indigenous people, people deeply rooted in the culture, and I could feel there was more to say. More to understand. But the language barrier kept everything on the surface.
Guaraní doesn’t share roots with Spanish, English, or any European language I know.
So I can’t cheat. I can’t transfer words. I have to start from zero.
For me, this project isn’t only about teaching Guaraní vocabulary.
It’s about context. About history. About everything that has shaped Guaraní culture up to today.
The goal is awareness as much as education. To feel the social and cultural reality behind the words you’re learning.
Honestly? I’m still figuring it out.
This is all experimental and gradual. I’m learning game design as I build.
Right now I’m in the testing and exploration phase. No final decisions on tech yet. Just a lot of ink, fog, and trying things.
But the heart of it is clear:
A spirit, a language, and a story that only exists if you choose to learn.
I’ll keep sharing the process here.
Yvy ohecha ha ohejá- The earth sees and waits.
*Post assisted by HiNoter and Meta AI. Image generated by Meta AI
