Hmmm… well gee I dunno about this. Seems just like something a crew at a university might come up with. Henry David Thoreau’s ‘Walden’ as an interactive real-time 3D game that allows you to walk in Thoreau’s ‘virtual footsteps.’ Well all I can say is that the graphics better be bloody goddamn good or I’m not even stepping out the virtual door. A rose better look like a rose and not an artichoke, know what I mean? Did nasty little Thoreau know that he was leaving virtual footsteps? Would he have wiped them out if he did? Surely we can follow some sort of footsteps through his book. Wouldn’t that be the preferred means?

And another thing, this silly game better allow me the privilege to trample Thoreau’s lovely spot in Emerson’s backyard. I’d better be able to dig up some bushes and cut some trees if I want to. Could I expand on the cabin? I bet not. I bet these USC folks are utterly humorless about this silly project and envision me casually sauntering around and looking at leaves like a lobotomized moron with an interest in the Dalai Lama. I watched the Lama himself on CNN the other night. He said he gets turned on by women. My admiration for him went up a few notches. I also like that he wears blue glasses.

Here’s some clever wording from our friends at USC:

Walden, A Game simulates both personal and environmental life, modeling the basic personal needs outlined by Thoreau, as well as some of the more experiential concepts he described. Furthermore, the game takes advantage of the detailed notes that Thoreau took about the pond, and its surrounding landscape, flora and fauna.

The Thoreau that I know would have given this author an excellent ‘experiential concept’ by putting a shovel to the side of their head.