VIDEO GAME

Will such a game succeed? Some critics believe it would be better if people just went out into their gardens and enjoyed real nature. Wouldn’t six hours be better spent in the nearest neighbourhood playground or even taking a walk to the humble grocery store nearby instead of sitting in front of a computer? What could be more foolish than pretending to live in the woods, scrambling to survive without the most basic of necessities, thinking deep thoughts and enjoying solitude when we in the real world are said to be more detached and lonely than ever before?

Maybe it would be easier to persuade people to gain some respite from the hectic world of the 21st century by playing a computer game that requires contemplation and enjoyment of a simulated natural world than to get them out of the house and into the actual natural world. Not many of us have a garden that is more than a little patch of grass surrounded by a concrete porch and built-up house. Finding our way to the nearest urban park could be too much to ask when braving the traffic on the roads is now a challenge, even in the relatively small city of Kuching. Taking a walk to the nearby shops is hardly appealing, given the noxious exhaust fumes we inhale amid the rumbling lorries and squealing tyres as cars and motorbikes swerve to overtake only to brake abruptly at the roundabouts or traffic lights.

Getting to nature is now a challenge that many are finding too great to overcome. So, perhaps we should hope that Walden, A Game will succeed. It would certainly be a preferable alternative to six hours in front of a computer getting our blood pressure up, heart rates aggravated and minds scrambled in a simulated killing exercise.