Tracy Fullerton, "Finer Fruits: Experiment in Life and Play at Walden"
b'Sponsored by the Purple Blurb series.\\n\\nWalden, a game, is an experiment in play being made about an experiment in living. The game simulates Henry David Thoreau\\u2019s experiment in living a simplified existence as articulated in his book Walden. It puts Thoreau\\u2019s ideas about the essentials of life into a playable form, in which players can take on the role of Thoreau, attending to the \\u201cmeaner\\u201d tasks of life at the Pond\\u2013providing themselves with food, fuel, shelter and clothing\\u2013while trying not to lose sight of their relationship to nature, where the Thoreau found the true rewards of his experiment, his \\u201cfiner fruits\\u201d of life. The game is a work in progress, and this talk will look closely at the design of the underlying system and the cycles of thought that have gone into developing it. It will also detail the creation of the game world, which is based on close readings of Thoreau\\u2019s work, and the projected path forward for the team as we continue our sojourn in experimental in play.\\n\\nTracy Fullerton, M.F.A., is an experimental game designer, professor and director of the Game Innovation Lab at the USC School of Cinematic Arts where she holds the Electronic Arts Endowed Chair in Interactive Entertainment. The Game Innovation Lab is a design research center that has produced several influential independent games, including Cloud, flOw, Darfur is Dying, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, and The Night Journey \\u2014 a collaboration with media artist Bill Viola. Tracy is also the author of \\u201cGame Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games,\\u201d a design textbook in use at game programs worldwide.\\n\\nPurple Blurb is a series of presentations for digital writing, with its thanks given to Angus N. Macdonald Fund and MIT Writing and Humanistic Studies.'