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The project of virtual pompeii basically showed the model of a building within two different ambient backgrounds. One at night and the other in the day time. The building resembles that from a Mine Craft at a distance, but if we get close enough, we find that the building has far more details then previously expected. We can notice the swaying flames on the torch models, and we can distinguish leaves from wigs on a plant. The project gives us a very nice reconstruction of what a building in Pompeii in the long past history may look like. We can observe tons of details including the patterns and painting on walls, the coloring of pillars and the design of religious altars. It is a finely made model, and one may only improve on the texture qualities.

However, this model has its defects in its ability of providing a funny experience. Just like the model of the workhouse we used to explore, this model only allows player to behave like a camera existing in another space. Players can only observe the historical objects, but can’t have any interaction with the observed building. Also, only the aspect of material culture is reflected in this project, but no information of people is demostrated. Players can see religious altars, but they are not able to understand how the ritual goes. In general, players can get a comprehensive view of the past.

Walden is, first and foremost, a game, and a well-made game at that. It affords a high level of player agency combined with game mechanics that include scavenging for food and building shelter. However, due to that magnitude of player agency, it is difficult to call this title historically accurate since it is impossible to give the player control over their actions while also binding them to a severely strict, historically accurate series of action. Agency is the main characteristic that separates games from other forms of media and removing it defeats the purpose of “gameifying” a narrative.

Instead, we may call Walden historically typical title since it simulates what a typical day might entail for Thoreau during his Walden experiment. As a result, the game succeeds greatly in its goal of immersing the player in the environment of Walden Pond and letting them see and feel the world as Thoreau did during his self-living experiment. This experience is also driven by excerpts from Thoreau’s own writings which let the player take a glimpse inside of his mind in order to fully solidify the player’s place in his shoes.

The developers of Walden state that “the game follows a loose narrative of Thoreau’s first year in the woods” which may worry some gamers who desire a 100% authentic Thoreau experience. For me, however, this is not a concern. The liberties the developers took to create the incredibly rich atmosphere of Walden provide much more enjoyment and education for players than unadulterated historical rigor.

Using video games to learn about history can be a great way to engage a wider audience, however, by the nature of video games, the history shown must be an interpretation of history modified to allow user experience and entertainment. In fact, an argument could be made that video games are at odds with portraying historic accuracy as games by their nature allow the player to decide what to do while history has a concrete set of events that occurred. This was mentioned by McCall and Chapman earlier. Looking at historic games, like Walden: A Game, there are still issues with how history is portrayed. Walden: A Game sells itself as “an exploratory narrative and open world simulation of the life of American philosopher Henry David Thoreau during his experiment in self-reliant living at Walden Pond” (according to the game’s website). Walden seems to avoid some of the problems other historical games have by not trying to show the events of history but rather put the player into the life of a historical person to try to shed light and meaning on their story. They do so fairly well by including numerous quotes and passages from Thoreau, exposing the player to his way of seeing the world. However, the game has its weaknesses. Players must find “inspiration” to progress through the game by doing various activities and must scavenge for food and resources. These additional game mechanics could become the player’s main focus depending on their disposition and interest in the game’s subject matter. However, a bigger problem with Walden: A Game is that it seeks to place the player in the mind of Thoreau as he experiences nature and humanity. The irony is that Walden is trying to do this through a computer screen, the antithesis of the experience it is trying to simulate.

In Walden: A Game, developer Tracy Fullerton expertly relays the experience Henry Thoreau describes in his book, Walden. Thoreau’s original book was recounting his social experiment in which he built a cabin in the woods near Walden Pond and lived there for two years. In Fullerton’s eyes, Thoreau was trying to convey that the true goal in life is to find a balance between nature and civilization while also balancing work with play (Toppo).

The game is a first-person exploration game, with elements of survival emphasized. The survival mechanics seem to be more in the background in the game while exploring nature and becoming inspired by one’s surroundings is in the foreground. Players have numerous possible actions they can accomplish at any time, such as fish at one of many fishing locations, build and maintain Thoreau’s cabin, and even read novels such as Homer’s Illiad. The game rewards balance, for example, a reasonable amount of reading may be good for inspiration, but too much may cause the player to feel too far removed from the surrounding nature. If the player’s relationship with nature is compromised, the screen will dull and the character will eventually faint.

This masterfully crafted game serves to give the player an expedited experience of what Henry Thoreau went through during his experiment. Giving the player agency and free roam in a beautiful and realistic landscape successfully allows players to have a dose of the connection that Thoreau originally wanted to describe in his book. The game is not about having fun or learning about someone else’s experience; it is about the player having their own enlightening journey.

 

Toppo, Greg. “Learn to ‘Live Deliberately’ with ‘Walden’ Game on Thoreau’s Birthday.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 12 July 2017, www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/11/henry-david-thoreau-walden-pond-game-dives-into-deliberate-living/468756001/.

Overall, I found Walden, a game to be very intriguing. I really appreciate the layout and setup of the game—the users are able to look around and find information about things at their own will. In other words, users have the freedom to show interest in what they please and aren’t really forced to do much.

While I don’t think this works for all types of historical games, I think it works really well for this one. It’s a really neat game of survival and balances player freedom with historical information. I think it does a good job of articulating its goals—I gathered that the purpose of the game is to survive as best you can while learning about your surroundings and the life of Henry David Thoreau.

At the same time that I find the game capturing my interest, I think it does indeed lack a few things. I think the game would be much more exciting if it introduced some of the following: side quests, side goals, and leveling. I think that in order to keep a user’s interest, the game could introduce a better way in which the character could improve over time. I understand that things such as building the house encapsulate this idea, but I don’t think it does so on a high-enough scale. For example, if it wanted introduce this (in a historical way), it could have fishing, building, and even philosophy skills that the player could level up over time.