JLRPG Quest

fun japanese-learning adventures
case
How might we reflect the game’s charms and market to people starting their Japanese language journey?
roles
Teresa - Web design & dev
Mike - Dev lead
Hitomi - Illustrator
industry
Edtech
The landing page on desktop with a background of Japanese characters The landing page on desktop with a background of Japanese characters
my mission from dev
開発者からのミッション
Capture players struggling with Japanese language studies
decline
・
➤ accept
decline
・
➤ accept
The landing page on mobile with a background of Japanese characters
vision
Learning can be playful & addicting
In my 5 years as a language teacher in Tokyo, I’ve seen multiple people learn better without textbooks. For Japanese-learners, the JLRPG Quest is the perfect non-traditional resource.

To market the app, I created the landing page to flaunt its freshness, its adorable and cheeky characters, and the important message that learning can be fun!
Launch page »
vision
Learning can be playful & addicting
In my 5 years as a language teacher in Tokyo, I’ve seen multiple people learn better without textbooks. For Japanese-learners, the JLRPG Quest is the perfect non-traditional resource.

To market the app, I created the landing page to flaunt its freshness, its adorable and cheeky characters, and the important message that learning can be fun!
Launch page »
design & content
A sprinkle of kawaii
Time-saving tip: Only read the highlighted words for a summary of this section.
The Design Rationale
Ranked “Category IV” by the U.S. Foreign Service Institute, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn.

With 3 writing systems and a reversed grammatical structure, no wonder we need to lighten the learning experience! To make learning Japanese less daunting, I went with kawaii (cute), a theme and pop culture JLRPG Quest users are keen to.
Constraints
I had 4 days to design, code, test, and fix the landing page. My time was sparse and couldn’t iterate as long as I wished I could.
Snacky Assets Galore 🍙
Learning a language isn’t a singular activity. Our users indulge in the culture, sights, and of course, food! They love all the munchies Japan has to offer.

To speak to this, I placed hand-drawn images of snacks, like onigiri (rice balls), chocolate, and bottles of tea, right besides the content. All conbini (convenience stores) in Japan carry them, so they’re well-known. With these coveted game items, our audience simply can’t resist downloading the game.
UX Writing
As the focus of the app is to highlight a “fun quest,” the language I used alluded to adventures and journeys. Just like this case study!
Three hand-drawn characters in traditional Japanese clothes
impact
Jumps in areas that count
USERS

The page averaged 138 users per month in 2020 and early 2021.

After I redesigned, coded, and shared it in March 2021, we saw an immediate flood of users. In the end, we had 892 users, or a 546% jump.
REVENUE

With the stream of new users who turned into players, we started monetizing the JLRPG Quest.

In the month after the page release, we made our first $100. So far, our monetization has almost quadrupled with ad revenue and in-game purchases.
CLIENT CONVERSION

One user, who runs a nonprofit organization as well as a coaching business, reached out to tell me:

“I’m going to show it to my 6th grader tonight. I think she’ll love the cute characters.”

The month after, her NPO partnered with my workplace’s mentorship program. In October 2021, they hired us to expand their coaching business.
PODCAST

“That’s a really cool and fun project and you have a really nice website.”

Tyson Batino is the owner of a Japanese language school and media site. He is also a podcast cohost with Colten Nahrebeski, a marketing expert. He invited us to be a guest on Japanese With Friends.

You can listen to our story on the July 1st episode called, "Learning Japanese to Run a Business in Japan with Mike Doan!"
VOLUNTEERS

26 people reached out to help write, edit, and translate Japanese stories for the app.

We also have an artist volunteering to illustrate the new stories.
日本語に挑戦してみましょう
Time to Conquer Japanese
Interested in learning Japanese but never started?

You’ll encounter foes, but your language teachers and friends in the JLRPG Quest will help you on your way.

頑張りましょう。Do your best and go forth like the many before you.
Hand-drawn images of Japanese snacks
get game
・
➤ go to site
Hand-drawn images of Japanese snacks