USC GAME INNOVATION LAB’S WALDEN, A GAME LAUNCHES TODAY ON PLAYSTATION®4
Experience A Bold Vision Of Life Surviving On Your Own In The Woods Of Walden Pond
LOS ANGELES – May 15, 2018 – USC Game Innovation Lab at the USC School of Cinematic Arts has released Walden, a game on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system. This award-winning, open-world, narrative exploration adventure, based on philosopher Henry David Thoreau’s classic book, Walden, is available today via the PlayStation®Store for $18.99.
Winner of the “Game of the Year” and “Most Significant Impact” awards at the 2017 Games for Change Festival, Walden, a game follows the footsteps of Thoreau’s bold experiment living on the fruits of his labor in the tranquil woods of New England’s Walden Pond. Build a shelter, grow your own food, fish on the water’s edge, and discover the wildlife, terrain and townspeople surrounding your idyllic home in the forest as it changes with the seasons.
There is no right or wrong way to play – as an homage to one of literature’s most celebrated journeys of freedom and exploration, Walden, a game is designed to inspire players to reflect on fundamental ideas like personal happiness and the natural world. It features the voice talent of actor Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) as Thoreau, as well as English, French and Spanish language support.
Walden, a game is also available on Windows PC and Mac at www.WaldenGame.com and GameInnovationLab.itch.io/Walden. USC Game Innovation Lab recently released a companion curriculum guide for the game with lessons to further help educators teach students about Thoreau’s life and the legacy of environmentalism he helped inspire. The guide can be downloaded for free through https://www.waldengame.com/educators, where educators can also request a free copy of the game with a complimentary evaluation license on Windows PC and Mac.
Walden, a game is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB. Walden, a game was developed by game designer Tracy Fullerton and her team, with funding provided by the NEH, NEA and Sundance Institute.
About Tracy Fullerton and the USC Game Innovation Lab
Tracy Fullerton is an experimental game designer, professor and director of the USC Game Innovation Lab at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Her research center, the Game Innovation Lab, has produced several influential independent games, including Cloud, flOw, Darfur is Dying, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, and The Night Journey, with artist Bill Viola.
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. Prior to USC, she designed games for companies including Microsoft, Sony and MTV, among many others. Tracy’s work has received numerous honors, including an Emmy nomination for interactive television, IndieCade’s “Sublime Experience,” “Impact,” and “Trailblazer” awards, the Games for Change “Game Changer” award, the Game Developer’s Choice Ambassador Award and Time Magazine’s Best of the Web. Follow www.gameinnovationlab.com and @USCGameLab on Twitter.
