Gaming for Language Learning

The idea of using gaming (actual games, game or game-like environments, or even principles of game design) is an increasingly popular topic in education, and language education is no exception.  While I am very interested in how games teach and reinforce skills in particular, I am somewhat unfamiliar with the larger field of using gamin in language learning.  I haven't taught in a game environment (or even a virtual 3D environment), and I am hesitant to do so until I understand the technical issues a bit more.  

I am interested, however, in anything that can promote communication and learning in a classroom.  In particular, I've been thinking about the potential for interactive mobile games and apps that can be used to get students exploring and teaching.  One of the most interesting mobile tools for learning I've seen is the ARIS project at UW Madison, which allows you to design your own GPS/QR Code-based interactive games (think location-based choose-your-own-adventure).  The potential is quite staggering, and there have already been exciting language teaching projects, such as Mentira at UNM in Albuquerque.  

Another application I've been thinking about is a decidedly un-pedagogically focused game called SpaceTeam.  SpaceTeam is a very simple cooperative game that requires players to interact with their devices (iOS devices) but also to verbally interact with each other by giving commands (players have to be in the same room).  My wife and I have been playing a round or two after dinner every couple of nights, and it's a fantastic bit of silly fun (maybe a 10 minute game), but what I really like is the in-person spoken interaction required by the game.  Since it's a frantic game, you end up yelling commands at one another, which brings up so many issues of language use (pronunciation, pragmatics, imperatives).  It would definitely be a fun activity for language learners, but I think it would require some careful planning to really be a valuable language learning tool.