Inglisi - Sinbad the Speller

Inglisi is a platform for non-English speakers in Arabic-speaking countries to learn practical English in a fun and engaging way. We were brought on board to breathe life into the brand and create consistency across customer touchpoints.

Sinbad’s journey continues
One of the largest parts of the mammoth Inglisi project was a complete overhaul of their game Sinbad the Speller. Based on a classic Middle Eastern legend, Sinbad the Speller is an interactive game in which users spell words to defeat enemies to continue Sinbad’s voyage.

Built 12 years earlier, the Sinbad UI was dated and inconsistent - both with the original content and with our rebranded look and feel - and the UX was clunky and slow. On top of that, the game was limited in scope - it didn’t feel like it quite lived up to the concept.

Ground-up redesign
Our first port of call was a complete revamp of the designs, based on a strong and clear aesthetic. We also added an entire new episode for Sinbad to round out the game to its completed form.

Although the game was a basic Scrabble-type game, there was a huge amount of content to redesign, from the branding, logo and UI to the characters and settings. Over 500 individual assets and 70 unique ‘enemies’ were created for the project, along with sprite-based animations for characters, creatures, backgrounds.

After the revamp, we put our development team to work on the code, tightening up the game mechanics for a slicker, smoother user experience.

Side-stepping the competition
Inglisi was effectively an underdog coming up against more established language-learning heavy-weights like DuoLingo. Rather than taking them on directly, we noticed an industry trend away from downloaded apps towards in-browser experiences.

Maximising on this opportunity, we built Sinbad as an entirely online experience, meaning users don’t need to download an app to use it. All the information is stored online, so users can continue their learning journey on multiple devices.

As well as being a shrewd strategic move for the project, it also provided an opportunity to develop our expertise in web-based game design, using Unity to create an immersive and engaging learning experience.

Whether you’re looking to spruce up legacy games or create something new, chat with our experts today.

Our team includes:
AD/CD: Ryan Lovelock
Lead Animator: Johnny Leal
Web Design: Steph Ramplin
Producer: Tom Peck, Arianne Edwards
AM: Shpat Shala, Najla Zakaria
Designer: Jo Dertili, Nathalie Brough, Paulina Pomorska, Zofia Mackiewicz
Animator: Nick Edmondson, El Bailey
Copywriter: Andy Thomas