Pora Pal HQ

Pora Pal HQ is an application that’s built like an interface between kids and educational games and activities. It’s designed around the concept of learning while having fun, and you can’t go wrong with that.

Pora Pal features a fairly large collection of games that are meant to stimulate a child’s mind and enthusiasm in different ways. They can play with words while shooting fireballs, do simple math by playing a version of Leapfrog, and even tend to a digital garden. Above all, Pora Pal seems to have first educational MMORPG, or at least it feels like it is.

The app, the games, and everything else are created not just as a means of individual learning but also a way of bringing kids together. Pora Pal can be taken to school, and under the supervision of the teacher, kids can engage in multiplayer games and adventures.

It’s a really neat idea. Kids can also play at home under the watchful eyes of the parents. If it’s a household with two, three or more kids of around the same age, using Pora Pal can lead to quality family time. After all, playing with the kids while making sure they learn something is a win for everyone involved.

This video explains a lot better what Pora Pal is and what can be done with it,

Pora Pal looks colorful and nice which should make it appealing to youngsters. However, after launching it the first time, you or a teacher need to be next to the child. Surprisingly, Pora Pal doesn’t come with an interactive tutorial that explains what the child should or what he or she can do.

There is no voice guidance, and strangely enough, there’s not even background music when exploring the map. From what I know, jolly upbeat music counts for a great deal when it comes to educational material.

Pora Pal offers some useful tips but in some cases they seem a bit too vague; especially considering that some kids might have never played games like this before. Not having a friendly guide throughout their journey might cut down on the fun factor.

Pora Pal is a very good idea with a lot to gain from it but from design and implementation points of view, there is a lot more that needs to be done. A child might not differentiate between good graphics or gameplay mechanics and bad ones, but surely parents can appreciate production quality and associate it with the price.

Right now, Pora Pal has a lot of untapped potential but it needs to offer more interactivity, assistance, and polishing.