The Path Comments by Kieron Gillen

darleysam: The bit you're annoyed with is basically just it being Little Red Riding Hood the game, man. It's the starting point.

I only now realise you haven't played it - I thought by your specificity of problems you were talking about experience rather than a generalised annoyance of stuff.

KG

Yeah I've not played it, but I've seen videos of it being played, I've read enough comments from people that have played it and both liked and hated it (including the very postive review on RPS), and had enough information to decide that it's not worth my money. My complaints are based on how through all this, I've not seen any evidence to convince me that the artistic consideration behind the design stretches beyond "well this is meaningful, better throw that in". It's something I've fallen into myself on a number of occasions and have tried to improve, and it really bothers me to see people rely on it.

sold

@ darleysam

This isn't Halo. This isn't something you watch on YT played by others, look at its screenshots or read up on Wikipedia. It's not a revolutionary game, but it's definitely artistic and highly interesting (and that's what games should be as far as I am concerned - interesting first, fun second).

What's Halo got to do with it? Watch a video of someone playing Penumbra: Black Plague and it's still enough to make you tense and feel immersed. I've enjoyed plenty of 'interesting' games. Got Pathologic just the other day off the strength of the review on here, and it's completely sucked me in. I've got absolutely nothing against something with good ideas that puts traditional 'entertainment' by the wayside (although by having these good ideas and encouraging you to engage with them, that is its own form of entertainment).

The Path makes Pathologic look like the gamiest game in the world.

(Which, in essence, it is. It doesn't really attempt anything new at all. It just throws a hell of a lot into the mix.)

I didn't really like The Path.

Worth the punt? Undoubtably.

Enjoyable experience? - Not really but that isn't of course what it's aiming for.

A worthy piece of art? Debatable. I can think of plenty people who will love it and fair play to them, but it just wasn't really for me.

i see it as having bought a ticket for the cinema and thinking the film was pretty average.

What's Halo got to do with it? Watch a video of someone playing Penumbra: Black Plague and it's still enough to make you tense and feel immersed.

Really? I'd be bored out of my mind watching someone else playing Penumbra. In fact, I thought that game was horrid until I've decided to try it.

"i see it as having bought a ticket for the cinema and thinking the film was pretty average."

I think OrgasmicMutton makes a great point here. While this - note that I still haven't tried out this game, scratch that, thing - looks to be very atmospheric, I don't know if this is something people who play videogames, even people who value the artistic merits of games like ICO, Shadow of the Colossus amongst others, really want. I know it's not Tale of Tales' point to create something the people want. But than again, isn't that what this industry, even most indie developers, aim to do? Selling their stuff, trying to make a living? Distributing their product (they sell it, it's a product, period) on one of the biggest digital distribution platforms on offer is, in my humble opinion, actually a huge contradiction. Because, if you frankly don't care about the needs and urges of a possible audience, why in the world would you want to put it on the big display for everyone to see? I find this a little contradictory and it leads me to the next question. Is this medium suited for this kind of, for lack of a better definition let us call it this, experiment?

I think not. Most people pay for games to have fun. And of course, this game is not for everyone. As the reviewer, who did a great job in even attempting to review something like this, points out, this is some sort of interactive entertainment. But it looks to me the story and the message, if any of these things are to be considered as such in this game, are a lot better suited to make a film. An arty film, yes. A film that probably not too many people will see and like, sure. Call me a purist, but I think games should remain games. Meaning you have to do several things to obtain a certain goal. That is, usually, not dying. Also, by letting you know that you will have to die in order to succeed in the game, I submits a lot of the possible tension that could have been. Reciting Penumbra, you really have no clue if you are going to live to tell the tale or not. You bond with your character and the characters you meet in a superb way. The tension is all around and I think it's not there when you engage in this experience. Again, maybe I have it all wrong and should try it out before making comments. From a cinematic point of view, I'm pretty sure you will be able to keep your audience on tiptoe at all times, simply becasue you don't know what is coming next and what it all means. From a gaming point of view, that doesn't work at all.

Also note that I am not aiming to slash this experiment at all. I'm only arguing this could make a far greater film than a game. I'm all for forwarding narrative and experience in games to unknown heights. I loved Fahrenheit and I think Heavy Rain will do great as well. Those games were little experiments as well, but they never were conceived as art and stuck with more traditional game design and concepts than this one. I think that's the way to go if we are ever to lift this industry from the shooter-fighter-rps-stereotypes it has been in for quite some time.

All in all, I think it's great somebody makes attempts like these (it fuels great discussions for one) but I don't think it's really the way to forward the gaming medium to the next level. Either people are not ready for it yet, or people will never be ready for it. You can vaguely compare it to some film majors in the fifties who experimented with different screeningtechnologies. At that time already, people were experimenting with 3D-projections but the audience didn't care for it one bit. So maybe one day...

Please note that my mother tongue isn't English and that I spent a lot of time writing this comment. You have the full right to disagree with my opinion but please do so in a respectful way, even if you think what I say doesn't strike you right for s***. I know it's the internet but hey, one can always try :-)

I know it's not Tale of Tales' point to create something the people want.

This is incorrect. See our mission statement:
"The purpose of Tale of Tales is to create elegant and emotionally rich interactive entertainment. We explicitly want to cater to people who are not enchanted by most contemporary computer games, or who wouldn’t mind more variety in their gameplay experiences."

MS

As a film, I think The Path would be dull at best, atrocious at worst.

Most of its big innovations come down to the way we - as players - interact with the world. Be that controlling the characters, or simply the way we follow its directions. Moving the girls around the world is obtusely slow, but there's a reason for that. The removal of direct interaction control is similarly intentional, and brings with it something important to the table. In a funny way, despite being crazily unlike any other game you'd expect to play, it's also something that could only work in this medium.

The Path's atmosphere is excellent, but it's not something I found to be particularly noteworthy. As Kieron says upthread, it's impressive, but not always overwhelming. Plus, I kind of expect this "sort" of game (ie. a narrative-driven one, linear or otherwise) to be heavy on atmosphere. If it's not, it's a bit of a failure - whether that atmosphere is deeply disturbing or just a hell of a lot of fun.

Sidetracking remarkably, it's interesting to hear your thoughts about the way "death" is used, in both this and other games. It's something I'm writing a feature about at the moment (funnily enough, based largely on a discussion I had with both Michael from Tale of Tales and Kieron earlier today). Penumbra is impressively tense, but I'd argue it's not - and never is in any game - because you're worried you might die. I mean, what's the worst that can happen? You have to quickload - big deal. Penumbra is impressive for a number of reasons, but I don't think death has anything to do with it. Not your death, anyway - two of its most impressive moments involve the horrific demises of NPCs. And, y'know, I'd argue that the notion of "killing" the player character is largely a little bit silly in general. There's nothing remotely linking the end of a life with the need to launch a save game. This, of course, is an entirely different field, one that gets very meta and boring unless you're well into that sort of thing. Like me. I'm devoid of a fun soul.

Anyway, one of the most horrible things about The Path is a combination of these two aspects. The fact that you know these girls are going to die, and the fact that you know you'll have to put them into the position where this is going to happen. If it were a film, you could shout at the screen at their sheer idiocy for talking to these creepy strangers. When you're the one forcing them to do so, then, well, you've no one else to blame.

(Interestingly, I've seen a few players say they're specifically avoiding killing the girls. Still exploring the forest, seeing all there is to see, but choosing to go back to the path and enter grandma's house without being ravaged by the wolf. I think it says a lot about the emotional power of The Path that people are connecting enough with its characters that they just can't bare to do the horrible things the game requires for its terms of success.)

On a broader note, the flaw in your argument - one you admirably concede, to be fair - is that you assume "gaming" to be about purist fun. Increasingly, I'd argue, the medium's name is a misnomer, as people do start to become interested in this sort of thing as interactive art/entertainment/whatever. If you claim games should remain rigidly stuck in traditional formula, then... well, if that had been the case from the start we'd still be making black and white sports games. Is The Path really such a big shift, at the end of the day? The first time I saw it running, at the end of last year, I was surprised at how 'gamey' it actually was. I mean, flower gems?

Man. I've gone way off-topic. Summarily: no, The Path isn't an enormous gaming revolution. It's an impressively auteristic, often thought-provoking yet deeply flawed experience. It's really, really worth playing, as long as you're open-minded enough. But no, it isn't the future of the medium, probably. It's uncompromisingly niche, and at best it'll become a cult classic - but that's never, ever a bad thing.

Ok.. after playing the Path for the past 2 hours, 'completed' 3 times with 2 girls, i have 3 things to say...

1/ I'm never going into a forest again.

/looks around gloomy room....

2/ No matter how interesting that gloomy struture looks in the depths of the forest, DON'T LEAVE THE PATH...

/goes to check if front and back doors are tightly locked....

And 3/ I'm going to sleep with the lights on...

This isn't jump out at you scary. This is rot your brain, make you think you saw something in the corner of your eye, 'there-one-minute-gone-the-next' kinda scary...

BUT, that being said, it does have its more tender moments. Some of the interactions are quite touching, and the mood lightens, making you forget about the forboding situation you are in...

Great review, great interactive gamey experience, for $10, it's worth a look just to see games at a more experimental and thoughful level.

@darleysam and others - perhaps you are being too literal?

Who says the "path" which you have to stay on is the dirt track through the woods?

What if the path is the allotted fate/destiny of the girl that you have to stick to? Like one of the interpretations of Donnie Darko - that DD's destiny was to die in the jet engine incident, and that the rest of the film was showing what would have happened if he chose not to accept his fate.

This sounds intriguing - and would certainly find a home on the PSN - if they'll pay for Linger in Shadows and Flower, this would seem a natural fit.

Kieron: Thank you so much for reviewing this! Bang up job - you've really given people the information they need to ascertain if The Path will be up their alley (so to speak), without revealing too much and spoiling the experience.

I can't wait to play it, but unfortunately I have to. They say the MacOS version will be available 'late April' so fingers crossed it won't be too long!

Why release it for the PC? This would sell in droves on the Mac. Sure, noone would understand it, but boy would they look good having it.

Sounds like the makers set out to make art. I think we all know where THAT path leads.

lolife.se: They -are- making it for MacOS. It'll be available later this month. Although it doesn't sound like you're genuinely interested.. ; )

ShiroBen: When game makers set out to make art it leads . . to great, thought provoking and beautiful games? Is that your point?

Okay, not all the time, but frequently. Think Braid, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, just to name the obvious examples. Your comment sounds pretty pithy and completely unsubstantiated. I for one wouldn't have sustained an interest in gaming if no one was trying to progress and explore it as an emotional, artistic medium.

@Reihn - OKAMI DAMMIT!

I'm interested in this, but I was put off by the Endless Forest. A really good idea, but a terrible implementation. Crap controls, bad interface, and not enough depth to keep me coming back to it.

Still, it's pretty cheap, and I really like the way that games are mutating into a form of odd interactive 'entertainment'.

It does all sound like a rip off of Angela Carter's "The Company of Wolves" though!

Agreed, Chalee, agreed!

Also, if The Path takes your fancy, you should probably read Angela Carter's excellent short story "The Company of Wolves". It's prescribed as a text in many university Feminist Literature classes. As well as that, the I'd recommend the following films:

- Neil Jordan's adaptation of "The Company of Wolves" (as mentioned earlier by loopy) and, more obliquely,
- French writer/director Lucile Hadzihalilovic's 2004 film "Innocence".

Innocence is a mesmerizing, beautiful and not-altogether-literal film about a group of girls, aged between 6 and 16 who live at the centre of a dark, brooding forrest. It's very similar to the The Path in that way - although it's entirely different in most others. Highly recommended.

Edit: Hypercube: You beat me to it, sir. It, in this case, being 'mentioning Angela Carter'. : )

Cheap cost + intriguing review * Jarboe audio = Purchase

You can't argue with maths.

BremXJones: '$10. '

PlugMonkey:' £7.50 on Steam'

is this what the mighty pound has been reduced to? :( I couldn't have chosen a worse time to have a year abroad in America.

Anyway, I get the feeling I would really enjoy this game, almost certainly gonna buy it.

Oh yeah, I forgot to say - GREAT review!

I LOVE this sort of er 'game', I just wish I had a PC capable of running this one. Excellent review too.

@TheComedian

I got it for £6.80 something getting the standalone EXE and using paypal. Pay Pal was asking $9.99 for it.

/obligatoryanticroftopost

shut up you ass

/continue

Really? Some retarded ass was being a retarded ass?

I love my ignore list.. : )

Sounds like one you need to play if you're interested in the medium as a form. Will probably give this a go. Thanks for the great review!