To: The Game Industry
From: Gen Katz, Editor
Topic: Go All The Way
Date: Feb 2010

Make walkthroughs, WALKthroughs.

I just finished reviewing Konami's Walk It Out, a game focused on getting people up from the couch and into a healthier life style that started with Nintendo's Wii Fit. There have been a spate of these workout type games - some not so different from the likes of a Jane Fonda DVD.

Walk It Out is aimed at the casual gamer, where you walk across an island and by clicking on icons as you pass, furnish the island with trees, lampposts, farms, apartment building. But, in spite of the day/night difference and people waving you on - it's a pretty cartoony, un-captivating world.

For me to walk - I want to get deep into environments like those found in Myst, The Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, maybe even Grand Theft Auto - New York edition, or some Medieval enchanted land. Game play should not hinder the exploration, just add to it. Think of walking though Avatar. I've heard comments about wanting to be in that environment - to walk though it - not to play the story, to experience it themselves. People are maxed-out, busy, stressed - they could use a respite - a place to take down the pressure, beyond games.

And it's not like a travelogue that shows you the photographer's view. Travelogues don't let you choose your own view and directions. Think of those countless wonderful environments - going to waste. WALKthroughs - a good way to maximize assets.