The developers at Media Molecule have a penchant for texture. Their breakout franchise LittleBigPlanet oozes with tactile goodness, so much so that they practically invited a toy campaign all on their own. A couple of years ago, art director Kareem Ettouney regaled me with stories about the joys of fabrics and how he wanted LittleBigPlanet to feel…in an actually touchable way.

The studio’s new title, announced last fall, is called Tearaway for the PlayStation Vita and there aren’t a lot of details, but MM has started an adorable pinboard for all their real world creations. Not only is it a clever set of marketing to reach a new demographic (Pinterest is 70%+ female), games needs more tangible real-life crossovers and interactions with culture that aren’t just novelty swag. 

In a defense of the joys of print, a topic near and dear to our heart, Kathleen Parker quipped in the Washington Post: “With near-certainty, I can predict that no future adult will fondly recall the scent of a favorite, childhood laptop.” Parker is mourning the death of smell as an integral part of the reading experience despite the convenience of the Kindle. The reality is that digital innovation rarely leaves space for some of the more human elements, such as a touch, that can’t be replicated. There’s hope of course — a flexible e-ink device debuted at CES this week, but it’s not quite the same thing.

Of course, Tearaway is a videogame at the end of the day, but the more touchable the experiences the better to counter to coldness of our digital devices.

Anyway, look at this elk.