Find Your Words: A Different Way to Build Meaning Through Play
ABOUT THE GAME
Find Your Words, crafted by Capybara Games, is a laid-back adventure game set in a summer camp called Camp Pals. The game is built around connection, exploration, and communication.
You spend your time exploring the camp, meeting new characters, and taking part in shared activities. Painting, playing at the beach, learning to birdwatch... not to mention an epic game of hide and seek.
At the heart of the experience is a thoughtfully designed communication system. Players collect symbols for a communication binder, experimenting with combinations to meet other campers, build friendships, and engage in camp activities. You might use cards like “play” or “dance,” or build relationships by helping characters with small tasks, like finding a missing charm.
The communication binder mechanic mirrors one type of real-world augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), embedding it into gameplay in a way that feels intuitive, purposeful, and effective.
WHY IT STANDS OUT
A lot of games include communication systems. Very few build the entire experience around learning how to use one.
Find Your Words centres a symbol-based communication system and lets players figure it out through use. There is no heavy tutorial. Just a brief intro at the start, enough to get you started. From there, the game creates space to try combinations, see what works, and adjust.
You learn the system in the same way you would learn to use it in real life. Through trial, error, and repetition. Over time, patterns start to form and how to use the binder becomes clearer. However, there isn’t just one way to get your message across. This makes the communication feel authentic; it lets you put together the symbols in a way that works for you.
WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THE GAME DESIGN
There are a few design choices here that feel particularly strong.
Communication is constructed, not selected: You are not choosing from pre-written dialogue options. You are combining symbols to build meaning. That creates a more active role in interaction.
The pacing removes pressure: There are no timers and no expectation to optimise behaviour. That creates space to experiment and engage without penalty.
Progression is tied to relationships: Instead of points or performance metrics, the game moves forward through connection, shared activities, and small moments with other characters.
The system supports variation: Because the communication does not require an exact set of symbols ordered in a specific way, there is flexibility in how players approach interactions. It is not one path or one correct response. It is how the player chooses to communicate during each specific interaction.
DESIGNING FROM REAL EXPERIENCE
Find Your Words was developed by two fathers, inspired by their non-speaking children and their experiences finding ways to communicate using symbols. It shows up in how the system is designed. It does not feel like an abstract idea or a feature added for representation. It feels grounded in something real.
WHY WE ARE PAYING ATTENTION
At 1UP Studio, we value games that value people. All types of people. When you value people, you design in ways that help them feel seen, empowered, and connected.
Find Your Words does that on multiple levels, one of which is player communication. AAC is rarely seen as the main way players interact in games. Here, it is the foundation of the experience.
The game also broadens what communication looks like beyond the player.
Communication is not treated as a single system, but as something that looks different from character to character. The campers you meet use different communication styles, creating a more varied and believable social environment. Not everyone communicates in the same way, and the game reflects that without needing to call attention to it.
Next, there is the way the main character is positioned.
The character using the communication device is not framed as limited or dependent. She is capable, active, and involved in helping others. She solves problems, supports her friends, and participates fully in what is happening around her. The communication system is part of how she engages with the world, not something that holds her back.
The combination of these three things creates something truly special and we need more of it.
Find Your Words is not just representing a different way of communicating. It is building a space where multiple communication styles are an expected, supported, and successful part of everyday interaction.
