Harvard's Got Game

Admit it. The first time you got accosted by a swarm of fifty tourists in the yard, you felt like a rock star.

And then it started to get creepy—you realized that the tourists weren’t just interested in petting John Harvard’s distinguished extremity—they wanted a picture of you, an authentic Harvard student.

Can’t get enough of that unpleasant, mildly tingly sensation?

Thanks to Harvard College Interactive Media Group (HCIMG), you can now play yourself in digital form: You, a courageous Harvard student who looks a little like Mario circa 1985, must dodge zillions of identical (suspiciously Asian looking) tourists as you scramble to gather school supplies and deliver them to Annenberg before you get caught in the crossfire of three camera flashes (and then die). The game is called Yard Quest. It’s as awesome as it sounds. More after the jump.The old school graphics and sound effects are kind of cute, and Flyby was sad when we beat the only level in about 10 minutes. If the brilliant creators Adam Gold '11 and Frances Yun ’10 feel so inclined (and read this), we have some suggestions for levels two through four: (2) Dodge disaffected youths with blue dreadlocks in The Square (3) Bathe muggers in Cambridge Commons with pepper spray (4) Avoid previous hook-ups while doing an especially conspicuous (smeared eye-liner) walk of shame back to the Yard.

Beat the game? Watch overly zealous tourists take a picture of a squirrel.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Sven Storbeck