Curriculum developed by Journeys in Film and provided by the developers of Walden, A Game
“Early Summer” in Walden, a game comprises the first three game “days” that run 15 minutes each. It will take approximately 45 minutes of playing time to complete this first “season” of the game. As you play, pay attention to how the rules of the game are taught and how the premise of the game is established. Note the use of video, voice-overs, tutorials and world-building to communicate what the game is about.
When we choose “New Game,” the title screen slides away and we are shown cinematic with voice-over. The voice, Thoreau, states his reasons for going to the woods to “live deliberately.” At the end of this video, we are put into the game world near Thoreau’s half-finished cabin. The game tutorials will explain how to move and look and interact in the game. Before moving or doing anything else, however, use the mouse to look around at the virtual world you are in. Where are you? What colors do you see? What sounds do you hear? What is the game designer telling you about Thoreau’s first day in the woods by the design of this world?
The first tutorial has likely cued us by now to begin our game by picking up the first arrowhead, ahead of us on a rock. The arrowhead mechanic is one of the first game systems to be introduced. This collection mechanic involves picking up arrowheads in order to learn more about Thoreau’s experiences and thoughts. Each time we pick up an arrowhead, the voice-over we hear from Thoreau will be added to our in-game journal.
As we approach the second arrowhead, on a smaller rock near the cabin, the tutorials will explain that everything in the game world can be inspected by right-clicking. The inspection mechanic will reveal more information about trees, plants and other objects that Thoreau interacted with in his world, including a quote. Each time we inspect a new object, or an object that has changed over time, the new quote will also be added to our in-game journal. This inspection mechanic also reveals whether or not you can interact with an object; for example, whether it is a plant that is ripe and ready to be picked or a letter that can be read.
Near the cabin we will find a workbench. Clicking on the workbench will bring us into a mini-game. This mini-game involves hammering to build or repair our shelter. The mini-game has a special user interface that requires us to perform a hammering gesture. Each time we perform the gesture correctly, we add to our shelter state but we also use energy to perform the task. As we work, we will receive updates letting us know how far along we are in completing the shelter. If we work too hard at the task, however, our energy will drop and we may faint. If we stop working, our energy will slowly be restored. If we faint, we will respawn in our cabin or at the nearest campsite or home.
When we respawn after fainting, we will find that the world of the game is greyed out. This is because our inspiration is low. Inspiration, like energy, is a game state. In Walden, a game, we are given visual and audio feedback about our level of inspiration. When we are low on inspiration, the world will be grey and dull, and the music will be minimal. When we increase our inspiration, the world will become more colorful and more layers of music will be heard. Additional feedback is available in the in-game journal; on page two we can check the state of our inspiration, as well as the state of our basic needs such as food, fuel, shelter and clothing.
As we explore the woods, twilight will come and then night will fall. This day-night cycle is part of the nature simulation underlying the game world. At the end of each night in the game, we can review all the entries in our journal, which will grow over time, forming a record of how we lived each day in this virtual Walden. Thoreau used his own journal as the basis for writing the book Walden. As players, we may want to take our own notes for later writing or discussion.
The focus of this first season is on the first two chapters of the book Walden: “Economy” and “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For.” One of the challenges that the game designer has set for us as we play these first few days of the game is how to meet our basic needs for food, fuel, shelter and clothing. How are these basic needs illustrated in the game? What other needs do we have in life beyond these basic survival needs? How does the game illustrate the need to address more than just our basic needs in life?
In most games, the objective is made clear up front, but in an open world such as Walden, a game,, the objective purposefully is left up to the player. Thoreau set out to live a self-reliant life in the woods, but as players, we can choose how we want to live. As we each explore the world, we will find opportunities to follow different paths. The game designer has developed these many possible choices in the game to create a sense of emergence. As each of us plays, we will create a different possible outcome for Thoreau’s experiment.
Handout 3 lists many familiar words, which have special uses or meanings in game design. Becoming familiar with them will help you express yourself when you discuss or write about this game, as well as other games in the future.
Around our cabin (on the stoop and inside on the bed and table) we will find letters that can be read and opened. These introduce characters such as Thoreau’s sister Sophia, his friend Bronson Alcott, and Louis Agassiz’ assistant, James Elliot Cabot. Each of these characters, as well as others, has a different relationship with Thoreau, which will be revealed through future letters and interactions.
On this first day of the game, we are free to explore the woods. Some things that we might find include ripe berries that can be picked, a book of Homer that Thoreau has brought with him to the woods, Thoreau’s bean field, and the pond itself. Down at the edge of the pond, we will find a perfect spot for fishing, if we can find our fishing rod. Finding the rod is the first quest of the game.
Opening the game journal to the first page will show us a map that indicates where we are and the location of things like our cabin and other important landmarks we’ve discovered. At this point, the map will indicate with an “X” the location of this first quest item. As we follow the edge of the pond to find our fishing rod, we may also continue along the north shore to discover more areas and new interactions there. We can see from the map that the world of the game is quite large, and we have only seen a very small fraction of it so far. We can notice the careful world building as we explore that gives us the sense of what the real-world Walden Pond might have been like in 1845. We can investigate the multiple levels of detail in world – from tiny creatures in the pond to the distant stars in the night sky.