Creating a generation of game creators and learners
Building the "canva for games" to allow more people to learn with games and prompt behavior change
In a world where traditional education methods still struggle to engage and empower learners, the potential of video games as powerful educational tools is growing.
The true opportunity lies not just in playing games, but in creating them - especially if we are keen on creating behavior change. This philosophy drives the mission of Breshna, a new platform that democratizes game creation, allowing anyone—students, teachers, and beyond—to design their own games quickly and without the need for coding.
Mariam Nusrat launched Breshna 3 years ago to empower a new generation of storytellers to share their unique narratives through interactive, personalized games. The impact of Breshna is already felt in the classroom and is postioned to go beyond that.
(The interview has been edited for clarity)
How did you get involved in education & technology?
I came to the education and technology field after 15 years at the World Bank, where I worked across 22 countries as a policy maker.
I realized, the way we teach is broken. With a focus on telling and teaching (and not involving), educational systems are reaping disappointingly low learning outcomes.
Another consistent issue I observed was that learning was often boring, and existing tools made behavior change difficult to impossible.
So around 11 years ago, I started a student project to develop casual mobile games aimed at behavior change around societally important topics and issues - with technical help from my brother.
One of our first games involved catching period pads with underwear, designed in local languages like Urdu and Nepalese, to dispel myths about menstrual health. We also created games for COVID awareness, climate action, and more.
The demand for these games was overwhelming, far exceeding our development capacity. The demand seemed insatiable and pushed us to pursue this full time.
Video games can serve as powerful educational tools. And the opportunity is not just in playing games. It’s in making games.
What is Breshna?
Breshna enables students and teachers to create their own video games, in their own languages, without writing a single line of code and at lightning speed. The word Breshna means lightning in the pashto language.
Inspired by platforms like Canva for design and TikTok for video, we are trying to do the same for game design.
On Breshna users start with templates that you can use to create games. Either a teacher can make a game and send it to all her students, or a learner can make a game as part of a class project. There are existing game assets, but you can also upload your own assets.
Finally, games can then be published and played inside a URL from almost any device.
Why is it important for people to be able to create their own games?
It’s about a sense of ownership, personalization, and promoting diversity.
Creating their own games empowers teachers and students, transforming them from passive consumers to active creators. This aligns very well with the latest research on active learning.
Additionally, teachers must currently often retrofit existing games into their curriculum, which can be cumbersome and less effective. Recognizing that this generation thrives on content creation, we designed Breshna to enable the easy and quick development of games that are tailored to the needs of each classroom. This ability fosters ownership, making students more invested in the content and curriculum.
Finally, it promotes diversity, allowing individuals to see themselves represented in the games they create.
Kahoot has in many ways laid the groundwork in this space, and we are building on that foundation by encouraging a more interactive and personalized educational experience.
What has been the most difficult part about building and scaling Breshna.io?
The most difficult part of building and scaling Breshna.io has been driving adoption -a common challenge in edtech.
We believe this happens because of two reasons. First, teachers don’t often see themselves as game creators and it’s critical to help them assume that identity.
Second, frankly teachers often perceive the platform as "too good to be true". They are arleady very busy and don’t believe it can be so easy to build a game for their classroom.
Changing this mindset and guiding teachers through the process of creating their first game has been the toughest hurdle.
Our strategy has been to use social media and social proof to showcase other teachers successfully creating games, demonstrating that they too can do it.
Despite these challenges, we've made significant progress. Although less than 3 years old, we are already at over 180,000 registered game makers, 160,000 games created, and more than 2 million game plays.
Do you find that investors understand the value proposition you are offering?
Yes. We've raised $2.5 million to date from a variety of investors and family offices who are enthusiastic about our mission. This funding gives us a clear path to profitability.
Notably, we don't position Breshna solely as an edtech company. It's a no-code content creation platform for interactive content, with edtech being just one prominent use case. When we describe Breshna as the "Canva for games," people immediately grasp our vision.
Additionally, we've expanded beyond content creation to develop the “Breshnaverse”—a metaverse where creators can showcase and monetize their games.
Unlike platforms like Roblox, our learning curve is very flat, making it accessible to a broader audience. This simplicity is crucial for onboarding a billion people into gaming - which is our ultimate vision that gets us and our investors excited.
How has the recent hype around generative AI impacted your work?
Generative AI has significantly impacted our work by enabling users to create their own assets much faster.
We are capitalizing on this opportunity by integrating AI-generated content directly into our games design and editing process.
Additionally, we are developing a text-to-game engine called Breshna Blitz, which will further streamline the game creation process.
I believe that overall, AI will accelerate many aspects of game development- enhancing both efficiency and creativity in the industry.
What are the implications for the gaming industry at large?
Startups like Breshna will have profound long-term impacts on the gaming space.
Gaming is a universal language that everyone understands, but not everybody can author in yet!
Similar to how TikTok democratized video-based storytelling, Breshna will democratize game-based story telling.
Currently, there are over a billion games, but fewer than 200,000 people are designing them. I genuinely believe this will be the generation of storytellers who use video games as their medium.
Breshna is empowering people around the world to tell their stories through games, opening up new avenues for creative expression and communication - in and outside the classroom.
I hope you enjoyed the last edition of Nafez’s Notes.
I’m constantly refining my personal thesis on innovation in learning and education. Please do reach out if you have any thoughts on learning - especially as it relates to my favorite problems.
If you are building a startup in the learning space and taking a pedagogy-first approach - I’d love to hear from you.
Finally, if you are new here you might also enjoy some of my most popular pieces:
The Gameboy instead of the Metaverse of Education - An attempt to emphasize the importance of modifying the learning process itself as opposed to the technology we are using.
Using First Principles to Push Past the Hype in Edtech - A call to ground all attempts at innovating in edtech in first principles and move beyond the hype
We knew it was broken. Now we might just have to fix it - An optimistic view on how generative AI will transform education by creating “lower floors and higher ceilings”.