The Gist

A Video Game Thoreau Might Play

In Walden, a game, players can pick berries, walk in the woods, or spend the rest of their virtual lives in jail for tax evasion.

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What would you expect from a video game inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s sojourn in the woods? In Walden, a game, players can contemplate the forest, go boating with Ralph Waldo Emerson, and practice civil disobedience. The game was developed by the Game Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California. Lab Director Tracy Fullerton explains why she thinks Thoreau might have liked the game.

In the Spiel, our faith in the military might not be blind, but it is blinkered.

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