Context of Practice Indie Research: The Path

The next game that I wanted to look at was The Path. This is a 2009 psychological horror art game inspired by several versions of the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, and by folklore tropes and conventions in general, but set in modern times. The game begins by the player selecting one of six sisters, of which is given the instruction when placed in the game 'Go to Grandmother's house and stay on the path'. As the player explores, and obviously deviates from the path and find many objects and items along the way that can be interacted with. Every object that one of the girl finds then appears in someway in the Grandmother's house, and some objects open up new rooms.

The design for the characters in this game are very interesting and look really nice. As they are all sisters, they do dress quite similarly, but each have there own slightly unique look to them, which makes it more interesting. As you enter the level each sister must find there own path to their Grandmother's house and meet up with characters and objects along the way, changing the final outcome of the game, eventually trying to find the wolf as each character. The game is very re-playable and content is added after each sister has found the wolf, giving this game something special about it as they is so much content to see and find. The characters all look very stylised as well, making them look quite unique and the whole feel of the game is very floaty and surreal.

The overall feel to the game sends chills down your back and is quite creepy as you wonder around this forest coming across unusual sights and objects and exploring everywhere to be able to see everything as that character. I also really like the layout to the level, you are told to stay on this path, but also given free-will to be able to just step right off it and explore, making the game very much non-linear; something which works well with a game that uses the environment to tell the story. which is where this game excels very well.

The environment that is used in the game is very eery and creepy and doesn't feel that welcoming, except for the path at the start as this is well lite and inviting you to walk down it. The forest, as you roam deeper, becomes darker and more sinister, not wanting to tread through it and the random items that are scattered throughout it do not help as they make you question why they are there. The game manages to do all this terrifically without actually having to speak to you, although there is some dialog that appears just to give you more clues, and creates a perfectly exciting atmosphere that keeps you wanting to play even though your hearts beating quickly and anything could be in the forest.