Walden, a game

““Summed up in a single word, it would be ‘beautiful.’””

““An introspective ‘Oregon Trail’””

““A tranquil literary game not for the average gamer … beautiful and serene.””

““A gorgeous, meditative experience that will give you plenty of time to reflect … unlike nearly any other game I’ve ever played.””

““A remarkable experiment in translation. As contemplative as its source material, it forces an anti-reflexive pace and coddles at its center an appreciation of calm and quiet.””

““The world’s most improbable video game ...””

““I wanted to thank you for creating such a beautiful and restful experience ... I take my peaceful approach while playing it into my every day life.””

““I can’t say enough how great this game is. I recognize the plants, I recognize the landscape of Walden, not only from Thoreau’s descriptions but from real-life experience with both. The history and pace is spot-on ... I would love to see this as mandatory playing in every high school across the US.””

““I’m addicted to this game. I play it a different way each time… You guys, always the surprise.””

““I can’t quite believe the game is real ... My immediate thought in the first hours of gameplay were, ‘I absolutely must write a letter of gratitude and appreciation.’””

““How often have we heard this or that game described as a second job? We rarely see a game consider labor and its imposition. Walden is living, simulated, with all its competing interests. This is the game I’ve been waiting my whole life to play: immersive, truly.””

““It hooked me from the outset and didn’t let me go. And it made me want to revisit Thoreau. Thanks for creating such a great experience.””

““First, let me start by saying this game is amazing ... I’m not kidding when I say that Walden asks the player to think about life, existence, meaning, connectedness, etc. ... It’s an amazing game.”

““Because you provided free access codes, I was able to allow my students to choose to learn via video game for the first time in my career. I was amazed by the outcomes. While other teachers reported that students “disappeared” from their online classes, the students who were engaged in the game showed up every week at our Google meets ... They commiserated about how hard it was to raise the beans and gave each other tips for keeping up their energy and inspiration. They shared what they had learned about the abolitionist movement, and they admitted to deep emotion when they learned that Emerson’s son had died ... In short, the game was remarkably effective ... Experiences like “Walden, A Game” show me that the possibilities for learning are endless.””

““I can honestly say that I did not see one of the 225 students off-task at any point during the game play. The discussion among students during the game was vibrant, and the feedback after the game was insightful and on point. Thank you so much for making this game readily available to students. It is a real gift.””

““The game dovetailed just perfectly with my lesson, and I think my students were rather amused that I had brought a video game. I let one of them work the controls, since they are better at it, and it was really great.””

““One of the most unexpected outcomes of using the game was that students were really engaged by the details of the game world. In their ecology class, students had been learning to identify trees and other plants native to New England, and as we were playing the game together, they were identifying plants inside the game world—shouting out the names of different tree species.””