About the event:
Join The WWP and The Walden EDU Team of USC Game Innovation Lab for a special event about “Walden, a game”. Developer Tracy Fullerton will discuss the evolution and intention of the classroom computer game as well as provide a brief demonstration of the newest module “Civil Disobedience.” Joining Tracy are educators Jennifer Tianen and Charles Seraphim Carbajal, who will speak to their experience using the game in the classroom. There will also be time for an audience Q&A.
About Tracy Fullerton:
Tracy Fullerton, M.F.A. is an experimental game designer, professor and director emeritus of the USC Games program. Her research center, the Game Innovation Lab, has produced several influential independent games, including “Cloud”, “flOw”, “Darfur is Dying”, “The Night Journey”, with artist Bill Viola and “Walden, a game”, which was named “Game of the Year” at Games for Change 2017 and “Developer Choice” at IndieCade 2017. Tracy is the author of “Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games,” a design textbook used at game programs worldwide, and holder of the Electronic Arts Endowed Chair in Interactive Entertainment. Learn more about Tracy here: https://www.tracyfullerton.com/bio .
About Walden, a game:
“Walden, a game” is an exploratory narrative and open world simulation of the life of Henry David Thoreau during his experiment living at Walden Pond. The game begins in the summer of 1845 when Thoreau moved to the Pond and built his cabin. Players follow in his footsteps, surviving in the woods by finding food and fuel and maintaining their shelter and clothing. At the same time, players are surrounded by the beauty of the woods and the Pond, which hold a promise of a sublime life beyond these basic needs. The game follows the loose narrative of Thoreau’s first year in the woods, with each season holding its own challenges for survival and possibilities for inspiration. The audience for the game is broad: from experimental game players to lovers of Thoreau and Transcendental literature. As such, the game offers more opportunities for reflective play than strategic challenge. The piece has a subtle narrative arc, in homage to the original text, which is not an adventure of the body pitted against nature, but of the mind and soul living in nature over the course of a New England year. Learn more about Walden, a game here: https://www.waldengame.com .
