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Playing with the Videogame Community The Path and New Forms of Interactive Entertainment Related to Videogames

Author ○ Marius Jigoreanu ○ Mjig@itu.dk Course Manager ○ Emma Witkowski ○ Ewitkowski@itu.dk

Computer Game Culture ○ IT University of Copenhagen ○ Fall 2012

Abstract: The fast expansion of the videogame industry puts pressure on the gamers’ community

when it comes to adopting new ideas and concepts that do not meet the conventions. The

Path is an interactive experience that was promoted as a videogame so it is marketed to a n

already existent audience instead to a non-existing one. The videogames consumers’

community is taken by surprise as it is not ready to receive a product that does not meet

the conventions of the medium. It provoked polarized responses because it does not meet

the expectations of the industry but also because the expectations of the gamer were not

meet. In order for such sort of interactive experiences to be correctly evaluated and

criticized, the videogames community culture needs to evolve and to borrow knowledge

from traditional mediums and cultures. Moreover such software should be promoted less

as a video game and more as an interactive experience.

In this work I am analyzing the meaning of TP’s impact. The significance of the received

experience will self-describe the community that engaged with the game. In this analysis I

am both addressing the negative as well as the positive reception of TP. I am discussing

issues related to the academic context, industry conventions, user’s expectations and

experience.

Keywords: The Path, interactive experiences, videogames, videogames culture, videogames

industry, videogame definitions

Raising the Bar

The Path (Tale of Tales, 2009) is a game that does not follow traditional design guidelines.

It is a challenge for both academics and the community to categorize TP. For example, in

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the academic context, scholars have come up with various definitions of videogames but as

Juul (2005) mentions, all have similarities. He tries to combine all of them into one for a

better inclusion. Even so, a product such as TP would only awkwardly meet the

requirements of such a definition. For instance, in his analysis of videogames definition he

mentions that rules are hardcoded and above discussion. Not only that as Aarseth (2007)

mentions, rules can be submerged through transgressive play, but TP subverts its own rules.

First thing that the user sees on the screen other than the explanation of the controls is

“Stay on the path.” TP uses this simple explicit statement only to create story, not to define

gameplay rules. If the user follows the “rules,” she will fail. In the case of TP it is expected

that the ideal user is a combination of what Aarseth calls transgressive play and implied

player, a transgressive implied player.

Moreover, in videogame studies there is a considerable amount of works (Dovey, Kennedy,

2006; Steinkuehler, 2006; Jenkins, 2011) that discusses about the dynamic of the community

and the culture that is formed around a videogame. This form of interactive entertainment

is subjective to interpretation at the community level. It is up for the community to make

sense of the experience. Rules are subverted. Good examples are moding, fan art, gold

farming or griefing, all social aspects of play that might or might not be empowered by the

rules. The social layer has even more agency in the case of TP. The game affords so many

interpretations that the meaning is sometimes created in the community, a co-created

interpretation. Turning to the community for answers is not uncommon and can have also

negative impact, creating a strong opinion that is unquestionable followed. In this case the

negative impact is about the expectations, where a considerable part of the community

maintained the idea that interactive experiences (mainly videogames) are solely made to

have fun with.

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Classic definitions of videogames are young and limited especially in the fast moving

medium of interactivity. For example, the technological advancements, the rise of indie

game development and games teaching schools facilitates the emergence of new concepts

and genres. Meanwhile, indie game journalism makes these new concepts visible to the

public so they benefit from a decent impact. New kinds of “games” are continuously

developed:

“In recent times, independent game creators have dared to explore beyond the

established boundaries of game genre and create new kinds of play previously thought

unachievable.”

(Ryan, Costello, 2012, p.112)

TP is an experience embedded with story. In order to better understand such a creation, we

can’t use refer to a traditional mindset, but an analysis of the narrative and the gameplay

would be more useful. The designers state that the game is inspired by older variations of

Little Red Riding Hood (The Path Website, 2009). This is what leads to the thought that a

narrative theory would be useful in analyzing the experience. Aarseth (2012) explains that a

narrative theory of games can be defined. Aarseth confirms the possibility of integrating

both narrative and gameplay into one experience, as videogames can be much more than

simply games:

“…it must be noted that “games” are not simply games, but complex software

programs that can emulate any medium, including film, text/novel, graphic novel,

and, for that matter, simulate board games and sports.”

(Aarseth, 2012, p. 130)

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The novelty of TP is not solely achieved by the narrative but by its relation to gameplay. As

shown above, this does not mean that we can use a traditional mindset to discuss the

gameplay. This will only result in failure to accurately understand the game. The game-like

components (choices, actions, controls, challenges, etc.) are only employed to define the

story and have minimal meaning by themselves. Except the action of collecting flowers,

there is not much to justify a decent traditional gameplay. The system is used for conveying

the story and while it has agency on its own it would be a mistake to think that it is

meaningfully expressing the product’s qualities by itself. This unidirectional focus of

gameplay was defined before and it can only be useful to restrict the understanding of the

experiences of TP:

“…definitions prioritize the systemic nature of games, something that the older

definitions of games rarely do… though it must be said that some of these definitions

discuss play in general and not playing games specifically.”

(Stenros, Waern, 2011, p. 3)

As suggested by Stenros and Waern, seeking answers in older definitions of games and play

might be useful. Looking at the game as an activity is more fruitful than simply looking at

the system because it includes the agency of the player. In the case of TP, the experience

can be better understood if we look closer at play but without disregarding the systemic

properties of the game. I refer to play in the same way as Sutton-Smith (1997), Huizinga

(1971) and Schechner (2006) describe it, as playful, uncertain, loosely-bound activity. By

discussing about play I reveal the importance of play in regards to the system. If the user

can’t engage a playful mind it can’t experience TP to its full potential. Just like these authors

describe play from many aspects, I am also refereeing to more than one aspect of play. First

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the user can play the role of the character. Second, the character is playing in a childish way.

Third, the user plays the game. Forth and most importantly, the abundant symbolism, a

play of words, images and ideas. Each of this types of play add a layer to the experience and

can create ambiguity to the user that tries to make sense of it. Without playing with it (by

conveying meaningful interpretations) the experience will never be complete. Through the

activity of play, the user is more likely to self-discover herself rather than challenge the

(here) unimportant quantifiable aspects of the experience. By exploring meaning:

“Players unearth the operation of thought, of knowledge, of ritual, of behavior from

the fragments of systems left behind. We fiddle so that we might understand ourselves

through another’s implements.”

(Bogost, 2010, p. 6)

Above I have discussed the faulty context and also a solution to how to analyze an

experience such as TP. Such interactive software is best described at the intersection of

gameplay, narrative and most importantly, play. This discussion is necessary in order to give

an idea of what it is required from the player that wants to explore this experience. It is

apparently raising the entry level higher, at least if we consider the new ways of conveying

the experience. A new audience that has appeal to such entertainment software is emerging

and has nothing to do with what it is now known as gamers. I will furthermore discuss about

the game system, in order to set an even clearer context before the actual debate.

TP has been released almost four years ago (March, 2009) and it had the time to reach

maturity. During this time people that engaged with TP spend time on sharing their

experience and knowledge on the web. Empirical data from both the creators and from the

users as well from the critics can be freely accessed on the web. Discussions about TP on

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forums, on YouTube, on blogs and other channels. I will take in consideration all this

channels in order to have a clear idea about the significance of the community’s engagement

with TP.

About The Path

In order to continue the discussion I find it necessary to describe the product’s narrative

and game structure. It manages to subvert most conventions when it comes to game design.

It also manages to engage the user in an unusual way by risking to not provide a straight

see-through way to engage with the software. It requires an active imagination and

participation (The Path Website, 2009) from the user in order for her to fully experience

TP.

TP is a game about tragedy, where the gameplay’s only purpose is to empower the unfolding

of the narrative. It is embedded with pieces of story that are scattered all over the forest and

in the granny’s house. The purpose of this section is to go through the possible paths of the

game from a system point of view in order to provide an idea about what a user might

experience. This is achieve by describing the structure of the system/ narrative in a formalist

manner without regarding the subjectivity of the player. Because the experience that a user

might explore has a subjective character, I only briefly touch on the “content.”

The story begins in an apartment where the user can chose one of the six sisters. When one

of the girls is chosen, a bus drives and drops her at the beginning of a straight forest path.

Shortly after, the system informs the user to: “Go to the Grandmother’s house. And stay on

the path.” After a short event-less traveling on the sunny forest path, the girl encounters the

house. Inside, the agency of the player is diminished but the content is even more

expressive:

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“The journey has a dream-like quality, with long corridors and occasional strangely

important objects, more symbolic in nature than real.”

(Ryan & Costello, 2012, p. 114)

The only possibility is to move forward on a predefined structure. After passing a few rooms

and corridors the user reaches the granny’s bedroom. Soon after, the end screen shows

failure: the wolf was not encountered.

If the user ignores the system’s suggestion to stay on the path and adventures into the

woods, things become more interesting. With every object that is found in the forest a

memory or a thought is revealed. The most important thing that can happen in the forest

is the Wolf encounter. Depending on the girl, the Wolf can be a handsome man, a girl in a

red dress, a water spirit, or something that is significant for her.

At the encounter, unclear cut scenes with a surrealistic theme are played. After that, the girl

is found on the front of the footbridge lying on the ground in the heavy gray rain. Inside the

house, depending on which objects were found in the forest and if the Wolf was

encountered the house will look different: rooms will appear and the objects and furniture

will look different, with a surrealist character. The house becomes darker, even scarier and

sounds that resemble the Wolf encounter can be heard from all around. The granny’s room

will look very different. For example, a large tree is erected through the middle of the bed.

After a series of unclear cut scenes and flashing images featuring the Wolf “attack” the end

screen is showing success, the wolf was encountered.

At this point it should be clear why TP provides an experience different from the usual. It

does not follow the conventions of game design, but most importantly it does not follow

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the community’s conventions. The expectations are subverted and instead of providing a

clear set of rules, it uses her active imagination as the main catalyst. In the following chapter

I am addressing one of the most important issues that TP dealt with, namely, its reception.

Ambiguity and Story

The Path was released on March 18, 2009… Since then, our Little Red Ridinghood-

inspired horror videogame has met with both mean-spirited criticism and over-the-top

adoration, and not much in between.

(Samyn, Harvey, 2010)

TP created polarized reactions on forums, blogs and online magazines. After consulting

forums and blogs where discussions about TP emerged, I understood how the community

welcomed the product. First of all, most of the forums, blogs and magazines are about video

games. Only a few exceptions exist but these ones are related to other kind of media such

as film and literature. TP was released around March 2009 but the data that I will discuss is

gathered recently, during November – December 2012. The wave of interest and the heat

associated with the launch had time to diminished and even cease. The developers

themselves wrote a postmortem blog post (Samyn, Harvey, 2010) where they explain what

went good and what went wrong with the game. They released a new product named Bientôt

l’été (Tale of Tales, 2012) —a game that carries their sigil— and TP was left alone.

TP started with its left foot in front as the software product was mistakenly promoted by

even its creators as a videogame. As shown above, while the interactive experience has

similarities with videogames, it shouldn’t be taken as one:

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“To classify Tale of Tales masterpiece of interactive adventure in storytelling artwork

as a game forces expectations on The Path and these expectations would do more

harm than good to this brilliant and memorable experience.”

(Edey, 2009)

While the authors did this because of marketing reasons it affected the image of the product

in front of the videogame community. In a later post, the designers mentions that some of

the decisions regarding the game-like aspects are there by accident, most likely because it

had to contained some game-like components since it was sold on videogames stores:

“But the score board at the end is really more of a bad joke. Don't worry about it too

much.”

“I confess that we only called it a horror game so it would fit in some category that

the games industry is familiar with.”

(MichaelSamyn, on Steam Users' Forums, 2011)

The way it was handled is that they tried to approach the community and to conduct the

discussion explaining what TP is really about. On the other hand, if they would have tried

to promote the experience as a piece of art it might have bounced on the art community

witch is even more pretentious than the gamming one:

“What freshman high school art class produced this?”

(Me, The A.V. Club, 2009)

The experience delivered by TP is inspired by versions of Little Red Riding Hood and it has

all the right to be analyzed by a community that engages with other forms of mediums, such

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as film and literature. After all, as Aarseth (2012) mentions, games are much more than

simple games. We just use this word to call a multitude of products that form the interactive

digital medium. Criticism from people that have knowledge in more traditional mediums

are to be considered fair, even though they question even the very nature of TP, the

interactivity:

“Is the experience of those cinematics that much better because you ran around the

woods for forty-five minutes bumping into things?

… All that said, kudos to the designers for embracing some genuinely "literary"

elements, like deep and profound ambiguity (and not just that trendy "moral

ambiguity").”

(Logoboros, The A.V. Club, 2009)

It seems that this user acknowledges and salutes the courage of Tale of Tales, but also

questions the validity of their design choices. It might seem a typical critique from someone

that prefers holding a book in her hands rather than a controller, but this is a very well

placed critique. It does not tolerate and does not forgive, but it speaks clear. This user would

not have feel frustrated if the designers would have made even better decisions into

engaging the player. Yet, two other users of the same community acknowledge the

importance of the interactive medium in this case:

“A big problem seems to be the "interactive" part; YOU, not some omniscient narrative

voice, push the little girls to their doom.”

(The Quirk, The A.V. Club, 2009)

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“…if the player weren't able to make those decisions and take all those actions, the

experience would be far less powerful. I felt like I got into the girls' heads to a small

but real extent. But without interactivity, it would just be a cautionary tale.”

(Chris Dahlen, The A.V. Club, 2009)

The above discussion was the most mature — both in the attitude but also in the quality of

the critique — discussion found on the web. It addresses both issues of interactivity and

also of the content, which demands at least a minimum knowledge in literature:

“…people were apparently asleep in literature class and don't understand that the

game is an allegory; I'm sure they are the sort who would be appalled at Plato, because

that bastard wanted to chain people up in a cave!”

(Einar, on TIGSource, 2009)

This comment found in a different source comes in response to many comments that

discuss TP in relation to sexual abuse. This theme was predominant on a few blogs. There

are plenty of such comments and even a full review on a popular web site (Burch, The

Destructoid, 2009). Two examples would look like this:

“Hmm... trailer was interesting, but then I took a look at one of the reviews. R***? I'll

pass - don't want to see that in a game :|”

(RMVX, on TIGSource, 2009)

“I can't believe you guys are actually interested in this game. Come on, it's a game in

which every ending is about getting raped, how artistic is that?”

(none, on TIGSource, 2009)

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Another response on the sexual abuse theme is addressing the core of the problem. The user

is not developing its own critical analysis of the product but uses a pre-constructed idea

that is easy to pick. A good example is the mocking of the female players by the male players.

I find it necessary to mention this part as well, because it spawns over a surprisingly large

area of the videogames community. The response from a member of the same community

is critiquing the abundance of offensive comments:

“So I guess we shouldn't be interested in Grand Theft Auto either because you can pick

up hookers and then kill them? :)”

(Paul Eres, on TIGSource, 2009)

The Game-like Issue

Until this point I have discussed mainly the reactions that the product provoked in regards

to its content. I also find it necessary to address the reception of TP in regards to the

gameplay element. This ties closely into the conventions and expectations of the

videogames community. When the tag of “videogame” was attached to this product it

became something that has to meet strict criteria. While TP is looking like a game from

outside, like a game that resembles a horror games such as Silent Hill (Konami Computer

Entertainment Tokyo, 2009), it certainly does not play like one:

“As horror it has little in common with other games of the genre, with no ‘‘monsters,’’

gore, or explicit violence. Instead, it employs a foreboding atmosphere, disturbing

imagery and unstated, off-camera violence to create a scene all the more unpleasant

because it is left to the player’s imagination.”

(Ryan & Costello, 2012, p. 113)

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As described in previous chapters, the game does not offer enough to satisfy a decent

gameplay, but still, a gamer would expect such a thing. Moreover the game breaks its own

rules and this creates even more ambiguity. There are no games that have no or

intentionality broken gameplay. This kind of opinion is a predominant one in most of the

forums, except two (the official forum and the forum where the users have an understanding

about film and literature that is superior to a typical gamer). Some typical comments would

look like this:

“I just kept moving forward and then there was a house and then it was over.

What was the point of that?”

(avoidobject, on TIGSource, 2009)

"And this is rather a problem. As a game, it's pretty boring."

(Tzsak, on IndieGames, 2009)

This predominant type of thinking is obviously one that can’t be used to fairly criticize TP.

The authors used well-known distribution channels such as Steam and other online shops

that sell videogames. All this shops promote videogames that are ease to categorize into

current genre typology such as FPS, adventure, horror, etc. Users expected the same thing

from TP without trying to make sense of it.

Partially, the disappointment was because of the expectations. Users expected to obtain a

short horror adventure game, as it was promoted and instead they got an excruciating slow

and broken game. This users did not tried to make sense of the experience maybe because

they did not seek for such a thing and because they do not have an appeal to it. But it is

clear that users also rejected the idea just because it does not follow the conventions and

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because it is not the most straight see-through story. Moreover there is also the risk of

misinterpreting the story in a simplistic way that promotes motifs such as sexual abuse and

cruelty, while

“The game works with the themes of the loss of innocence and awakening female

sexuality found in the original tale in a way that is confronting without ever being

gratuitous.”

(Ryan & Costello, 2012, p. 113)

A good response that addresses a known issue in today’s videogame community is showing

that if the user would have been rewarded with typical border-line sexual content as we see

in many MMOs for example, the user would have had a different opinion. This sarcastic

comment describes exactly this issue, by linking gameplay with sexual content reward.

“now i've collected all those flowery things and still she's dressed. not a game :(“

(krizzl0r, on TIGSource, 2009)

There are users that are part of the same community that responded to this kinds of

comments in a more mature way. They emphasized the values of the game through

engagement with the game and story. For example this comment shows the thought of a

person which went through the same process as an unsatisfied user but which managed to

pass this level of understanding.

“I liked The Path a lot. At the beginning I was even wondering why I liked it. The

controls where awkward, when walking it felt like slow motion, when running the

camera would pan so you could not see where you where going…”

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(hanzo, on IndieGames, 2009)

It is emphasized that a judgment based on pure mechanical aspects simply cannot reflect

the qualities of an experience such as TP. This user brings as an example Flower

(Thatgamecompany, 2008) to explain how meaningless the focus on mechanics is:

“It's a sad day when a game like this is judged purely on the most mechanical aspects.

The review reads more like a mainstream gamer trying to understand Flower than

anything else, the mechanics of the experience are looked upon and naught else.”

(Lucien, on IndieGames, 2009)

Even more precise, this user explains how he made sense of TP. The intensity of the

experience can be profound and tragic at time. It needs to be absorbed by actively

participating in the play of the story. Even though it is disturbing, Matt does not consider

that it is gratuitously offense:

“The Path’s theme of growing up through experience can be pretty profound at times,

but I also felt that there was an intense message of tragedy in it. The fact that it leaves

entirely up to you what happens between each girl and her wolf is brilliant, and to me

the most disturbing part of the game.”

(Matt "Steerpike" Sakey, on Tap-Repeatedly, 2009)

Even though there is a serious number of users that did not engage with the experience in

a pleasurable manner, there are also people which actively participated in the unfolding of

the story. The negative responses are partly justified by the misleading promotion lead by

the designers. The Path is not a game but has similarities to videogames. It is an interactive

experience that contains elements that resample a videogame. To purposefully name it a

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videogame brings offense to the product but also higher sales numbers. In parallel, the

designers subscribe themselves to the concept of “notgames,” on which websites there are

listed “notgames” such as TP, Bientôt l’été (Tale of Tales, 2012), Kairo (Locked Door Puzzle,

2012), Dear Esther (The Chinese Room, 2012) and Proteus (Ed Key and David Kanaga, 2012).

In The Path Post Mortem article the designers explain their decision and the difficulty that

they had with the non-game nature and the marketing of the project:

“On the one hand, we really want to create titles that show non-gamers how enjoyable

videogames can be. But on the other, ultimately, only gamers will buy our products. It

is difficult to resist the urge to give in and make our games more game-like. But if we

don’t explore the vast terrain outside of games, who will?”

(Harvey, Samyn, 2010)

Overall, the reactions on TP are highly polarized. The audience to which was promoted has

different expectations and while parts managed to cope with the different nature of the

product there were also serious negative reactions. The issue about the game-like

characteristics is not the only source for the negative reactions. The content of the

interactive experience suffered from the marketing decisions as well. The tragic nature of

TP and the story that tries to convey was often misinterpreted and translated into offense.

This negative impact reminds of the current issues related to gaming and gender. On the

other hand, the users that could immerse in the game reported unique experiences that

have not been meet before and is often associated with reading literature. Ultimately the

question is:

What is an interactive work of art that does not rely on competition, goals, rewards,

winning or losing?”

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(Samyn, 2010)

Conclusion

TP started with the left foot in front because the lack of finance. This is not characteristic

only to Tale of Tales but to many startup or indie studios. This resulted in week marketing

or better said a trick that the designers had to base their whole campaign on. TP was

promoted as a videogame even though the designers have had no intention into

transforming their game into one. This caused the target audience to react violently because

their expectations were not meet. It could have had a less hard impact if the designers would

have choose to promote the game in the most hones manner.

The videogame community proved that it was not completely ready to receive a new kind

of experience that is far from what videogame shops sell. The reactions reflected older issues

that the community has in regards to sexuality. It also shows how hard TP is to be digested.

The experience is bundled with story and symbolism that is not simple to pick. It requires

minimum knowledge of literature or at least of folk tales. TP was easily mistaken with an

offense while it tries to tell a folk tale, but through a contemporary medium.

The ambiguity does not come solely from the content but also from the way TP is meant to

be played. It requires the active participation and imagination of the user. The story is

constructed in the head of the participant and it is not presented on the screen. This is not

the status quo in gaming industry. The community had trouble adapting to such concept.

Ultimately, the most interesting aspect of this experiment, as the authors call it, is that a

new audience is emerging. An audience that has no prior knowledge about videogames and

cannot be mistaken as gamers. Because of the indie videogame studious that are willing to

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take risks new concepts appear and even though they are not all successful as a triple A

company they succeed in at least creating awareness of a new wave. Games like Minecraft

(Mojang, 2011) proved that huge success can be attained.

The release of their new product Bientôt l’été, proves that they are continuing their path in

delivering experience that by no means can be named videogames. Even so, both gamers

and non-gamers are interested in such concepts. This product is even more provocative in

regards to the game-like components as the only relation to a videogame is the use of a

computer and a controller.

The popularization of Game Studies as a field in universities and the continuous growth of

schools that open courses related to game design can only be a good thing. Scholars and

students analyze new ways of interacting and creating meaning that is not restricted to

existing models. For instance Hærfest (TECHNICALLY FINISHED, 2009) explores how is it

to be a bat from the perspective of a bat. There are countless examples of experiments that

are pushing the limits of the interactive medium. Ultimately, if an audience for new models

is not existing, than one will emerge.

Academic References

Aarseth, E. (2012). A Narrative Theory of Games. In Proceedings of the International

Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (pp. 129–133).

Aarseth, E. J. (2007). I Fought the Law: Transgressive Play and The Implied Player. In B.

Akira (Ed.), Situated Play: Proceedings of the 2007 Digital Games Research

Association Conference (pp. 130–133). Tokyo: The University of Tokyo.

Bogost, I. (2010). A Slow Year (1st ed.). Open Texture.

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Dovey, J., & Kennedy, H. W. (2006). Interventions and Recuperations? In Game

Cultures: Computer Games as New Media (pp. 123–143). McGraw-Hill

International.

Huizinga, J. (1971). Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. Beacon

Press.

Jenkins, H. (2011). Interactive Audiences? The “Collective Intelligence” of Media Fans.

Juul, J. (2011). Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. The

MIT Press.

Ryan, M., & Costello, B. (2012). My Friend Scarlet: Interactive Tragedy in The Path.

Games and Culture, 7(2), 111–126.

Schechner, R. (2006). Play. In Performance Studies: An Introduction (2nd ed., pp. 89–

122).

Steinkuehler, C. (2006). The Mangle of Play. Games and Culture, 1(3), 199–213.

Stenros, J., & Waern, A. (2011). Games as Activity: Correcting the Digital Fallacy.

Videogame Studies: Concepts, Cultures and Communication. Inter-Disciplinary

Press, Oxford.

Sutton-Smith, B. (1997). The Ambiguity of Play.Harvard University Press.

Games References

Ed Key & David Kanaga. (2012). Proteus. Ed Key & David Kanaga.

Locked Door Puzzle. (2012). Kairo. Locked Door Puzzle.

Mojong. (2011). Minecraft. Mojong.

Tale of Tales. (2009). The Path. Tale of Tales.

Tale of Tales. (2012). Bientôt l’été. Tale of Tales.

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TECHNICALLY FINISHED. (2009). Haerfest. The Netherlands: NHTV University of

Applied Sciences of Breda.

thechineseroom. (2012). Dear Esther. thechineseroom.

Community References

Burch, A. (2009). Tale of Tales’ The Path costs $10, and a lot of patience - Destructoid.

The Destructoid. Retrieved from http://www.destructoid.com/tale-of-tales-the-

path-costs-10-and-a-lot-of-patience-125579.phtml

Edey, B. (2009). The Path. Game Focus. Retrieved from

http://www.gamefocus.ca/articles/410.html

Review: The Path. (2009). Tap-Repeatedly. Retrieved February 6, 2013, from http://tap-

repeatedly.com/2009/05/the-path/

Samyn, M. (2010). Not a manifesto. Notgames Blog. Retrieved from

http://notgames.org/blog/2010/03/19/not-a-manifesto/

Samyn, M., & Harvey, A. (2010, March). The Path Post Mortem. Tale of Tales Blog.

Retrieved from http://tale-of-tales.com/blog/the-path-post-mortem/

The Path. (2009a). Steam Users’ Forums. Retrieved February 6, 2013, from

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=559

The Path | Games | Game Review. (2009). The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 6, 2013,

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