Walden, a game

Walden, a game is a first-person open world video game developed by Tracy Fullerton and the USC Game Innovation Lab for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and PlayStation 4. Released on itch.io on July 4, 2017 for PC/Mac and PlayStation 4 on May 15, 2018, the game translates the experience of naturalist and author Henry David Thoreau's stay at Walden Pond in 1845–47 to a video game.[1][2] The game was announced for PlayStation 4 at the 2017 PlayStation Experience.[3]

Walden, a game
Developer(s)USC Game Innovation Lab
Publisher(s)USC Games
Designer(s)Tracy Fullerton
Programmer(s)Todd Furmanski
Artist(s)Lucas Peterson
Composer(s)Michael Sweet
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
July 4, 2017
OS X
July 4, 2017
PlayStation 4
May 15, 2018
Genre(s)Exploration game, art game, serious game, educational game
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay and plot

The gameplay in Walden, a game is balanced between several goals: surviving in the woods through self reliant living; seeking inspiration in the woods through attention to animals, sounds, solitude and books; and exploration and discovery of the social and personal context leading to Thoreau's experiment.[4]

The survival simulation focuses on the four "necessaries of life" as described by Thoreau in the book Walden—food, fuel, shelter and clothing. Players must care-take these aspects of their life in the woods in order to maintain their energy. If they fail to do so, they will faint from exhaustion.[5]

The inspiration aspects of the game focus on several of the themes discussed in the later chapters of the book Walden—visitors, sound, solitude and reading. Players can find inspiration by exploring the woods and interacting with animals (visitors), finding places of solitude, which are marked by cairns, listening to the sounds of civilization (wagons, a train whistle, church bells, etc.) that can be heard from the edges of the woods, and reading the books found throughout the woods. When the player is inspired, the colors and sounds of the game are richer, however if they let their inspiration fall, these colors and sounds will become dull.[6]

In addition to care-taking survival and inspiration, the player may also explore Thoreau's world to discover a series of intertwined stories about his life and the tensions in the world around him that sent him to the woods for his experiment in self-reliant living. Letters and visits from his mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson explore his ambitions as a writer. A series of poetic clues from his sister Sophia lead the player to secret areas of the woods and to an understanding of a mutual tragedy. Other storylines follow Thoreau's involvement in the Abolitionist movement of the times, his work as a surveyor, and his connections to prominent scientist Louis Agassiz.[7]

The game takes place over the course of the first year of Thoreau's stay in the woods, as does the book Walden. At the end of the year, as Spring comes, Thoreau experiences a rebirth and re-connection to life, and the player can choose to leave the woods, or to stay and continue their own experiment.[8]

Development

The game was developed over the course of ten years as a research project at the USC Game Innovation Lab lead by Tracy Fullerton. The game began production in 2007 without funding, but in 2012 was awarded a media arts grant from the NEA to support production of the game.[9] This support was followed by admission into the Sundance New Frontier Story Lab in 2014, and grants from the NEH Digital Projects for the Public. [10][11][12]

The crew for the production was made up of a small core team of faculty and staff from the Game Innovation Lab as well as students who participated over the years. The audio design and music composition for the game was done by Michael Sweet of Berklee College of Music and the score for the game was recorded live at Berklee College.[13]

The voice of Henry David Thoreau is performed by actor Emile Hirsch.[14]

Reception

Walden, a game was selected for several festivals prior to its launch, including Indiecade 2014 (Digital Select), Indiecade 2015 (Finalist), Tokyo Game Show Sense of Wonder Night 2015, International Documentary Film Festival 2015, Sheffield Doc Fest 2015 (Special Mention Interactive Award), Meaningful Play 2016 (Most Meaningful Game Award) and Davos BetaZone 2017 at the World Economic Forum.

The game received significant press attention after an article on the front page of The New York Times extolled its unique premise: "In ‘Walden’ Video Game, the Challenge Is Stillness."[15] The launch of the game in July 2017, concurrent with the 200th anniversary of Thoreau's birth, brought attention from Harper's Magazine, The Smithsonian Magazine, The Times, USA Today, CNN, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Slate, Salon and Rolling Stone among others.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Press reaction to the game was positive, citing beautiful visuals, a slow pace allowing for reflection, and historical accuracy of the content. The game was given a five star rating by Common Sense Media for its positive messages, role models and educational value.[25]

At the 2017 Games for Change Festival Walden, a game was awarded Game of the Year and Most Significant Impact.[26][27] At the 2017 Indiecade Festival, it was awarded the Developers Choice Award along with Where the Water Tastes Like Wine.[28] It was also nominated for the Off-Broadway Award for Best Indie Game at the New York Game Awards 2018.[29]

Walden, a game was one of the top purchased games of 2017 on Itch.io as well as one of the top tipped games on the platform of that year.[30]

gollark: Which I also vaguely dislike.
gollark: Yes, I inferred as much, although apparently with 2 `f`s it's a racial slur of some kind.
gollark: I have to say, which I mean in a metaphorical sense because I don't really have to, I don't really like that.
gollark: I see.
gollark: Well, enjoy your work thing, or maybe don't!

References
  1. Andy Chalk, "Walden, the Henry David Thoreau survival game, comes out on July 4", PC Gamer
  2. "USC Game Innovation Lab’s Walden, A Game Arrives July 4 on Windows PC and Mac", Gamasutra
  3. "USC Games Projects to be Showcased at Playstation Experience", School of Cinematic Arts News
  4. Julie Rose, "Walden -- The Digital Version", Top of Mind, BYU Radio
  5. Greg Toppo, "Learn to ‘live deliberately’ with ‘Walden’ game on Thoreau’s birthday", USA Today
  6. Alexander Stern, "In Walden the Video Game, You the Player Are Henry David Thoreau", Humanities Magazine
  7. "Playdate Podcast Interview Series"
  8. Colin Cambell, "Life, and how to live it, explored in a new game", Polygon
  9. "NEA Arts: Level Up!,National Endowment for the Arts
  10. "Sundance Institute Selects Six Creative Teams and Projects for New Frontier Story Lab", Sundance site
  11. Mike Boehm, "Move over ‘Warcraft,’ NEH is funding new online games", Los Angeles Times
  12. Katherine Vu, "Game Innovation Lab receives two grants to fuel creativity", USC News
  13. Emily Reese, "Level 75: Michael Sweet (Walden, a Game, Berklee College of Music)", Level Podcast
  14. "Walden, a game full cast and crew", IMDb
  15. Pogrebin, Robin (February 24, 2017). "In 'Walden' Video Game, the Challenge Is Stillness". The New York Times.
  16. "Game of Thoreaus". Harper's Magazine. July 2017.
  17. Peterson, Britt (March 2017). "Can a Video Game Capture the Magic of Walden?". The Smithsonian Magazine.
  18. MacIntyre, Ben (July 8, 2017). "Grand Theft Auto generation slows down". The Times.(subscription required)
  19. Toppo, Greg (July 11, 2017). "Learn to 'live deliberately' with 'Walden' game on Thoreau's birthday". USA Today.
  20. Allan, David G. (July 12, 2017). "Walden, the anti-video game video game". CNN.
  21. Warr, Philippa (July 24, 2017). "Walden, A Game: hummingbird spying as Henry David Thoreau". Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
  22. Pesca, Mike (August 2, 2017). "A Video Game Thoreau Might Play". Slate.
  23. Smith, Matthew (February 27, 2017). "WATCH: Thoreau's classic work "Walden" gets the video game treatment — yes, you heard that right". Salon.
  24. Fullerton, Tracy (August 2, 2017). "'Walden, a Game' Creator Talks the Sublime, Life's Tough Questions, Games". Rolling Stone.
  25. Wolinsky, David (2017). "Walden, A Game". Common Sense Media.
  26. Crescente, Brian (August 1, 2017). "Game Based on 'Walden' Takes Top Honors at Games for Change Awards". Rolling Stone.
  27. Kerr, Chris (August 1, 2017). "Walden, A Game and Everything honored at Games for Change Awards". Gamasutra.
  28. "10th Anniversary Festival Awards & Honorees". Indiecade. 2017.
  29. Whitney, Kayla (January 25, 2018). "Complete list of winners of the New York Game Awards 2018". AXS. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  30. leafo (January 4, 2018). "itch.io year in review 2017". Itch.io.
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