THESE GAMES ARE MADE FOR WALKIN’

Slower-paced narrative, puzzle, and mystery-based games have long held a place in the videogame medium; but in recent years, a subset of these games (sometimes called walking simulators) has received increased attention. However, little of this discussion has addressed the potential these games may hold for learning. In this paper, we analyze a sample of walking sims, drawing from popular and research literature, as well as the public work of teachers using games in the classroom, to examine the common elements of walking sims and explore the unique affordances that this type of game may
offer for learning.