From Claire’s neuroscience research, we identified some main ideas, including the brain’s impressive plasticity, the many possible ways of processing linguistic information, and the universality of language. Based on this, we decided that our primary aim is to promote an understanding of the diversity of neural pathways that linguistic information can take as it goes from sensory receptors all the way to higher-level conceptual processing in the brain. As a secondary goal, we aimed to encourage empathy, connection, and inclusivity by demonstrating that there are many interesting and valid ways of processing information—no two brains have the same pathways, and yet we are united in our ability to communicate with each other through language and to understand the same concepts.

We aimed for the gameplay be reminiscent of games that people might know from their childhood, through which we can draw analogies with the brain: Snakes and Ladders (taking different paths towards a common goal; using different brain areas to arrive at the same goal of processing language), TransAmerica (connecting different areas on a map; neural pathways as a geographical map), and Cranium (completing challenges that test different abilities; the brain’s flexibility and versatility).