Terry, this is brilliant. Consider me a fan of your work, you have a great mind for this stuff. (Perhaps my only complaint would be that the ending was a little abrupt and a bit of a downer)
Your stuff definitely reminds me of Suda51′s surrealist sense of style, albeit minus the ridiculous violence and dream-like parody of badassery. :p Even if I don’t ‘get’ everything that goes on, it still contains this bizarre sense of wonder that I love. I still hold that you’d probably really enjoy Killer7 if you manage to get past its oddities (I know you gave it a shot awhile back but I’m not sure how far you got)
Love the music in this one, too, you do have a talent for it. It has a kind of purity of purpose to it that’s just fantastic and really enhances the mood. Very Robyn Miller-esque in that way, again.
I really hope you keep this up, I seriously enjoy playing your creations.
[...] in the same outcome. Terry “Xoldiers” Cavanagh just released a game called “Pathways” that plays with the concept of agency. It turns out we don’t have any. Let me [...]
dash on
February 26th, 2009
Hi – just played and enjoyed your game ‘Pathways’ would you object to me posting on and hosting a copy of it on inappropriatebunny.com?
Hey Terry, Amazing work! Just finished, I’m going to show it to some of my friends now. Such a sad game but very contemplative. At some parts in the game I felt I was playing the imagination of the woman at the beginning imagining where the man was heading off to including wild ideas like fighting a monster and then in the same game being in some kind of d-day like battle. I love how you leave plenty of room for interpretation. There’s something really interesting when you go and try and hit the back button for the first time and being surprised that you can’t go backward and thinking about why you cant go backwards and what that means. Can’t wait to see your next work.
[...] ci sta passando sotto agli occhi di tutto, ma il tipo di sensazioni che trasmettono giochi come Pathways, sono ancora merce rara. Nato dalla mente di Terry Cavanagh, Pathways entra a far parte del [...]
Great game !!
One of the bests in this “game art” scene, the thing that you just can’t comeback and change your decision is wonderful, and all the paths are really great, which one with your own great end. I just didn’t like too much the dragon one, I think you could have ended better, but that’s ok.
The end of it all is kinda speechless.
Great job, really great job and I’ll keep my eyes on all your coming work. Congratulations.
Cheers from Brazil.
I’m glad this has gone down so well – I didn’t expect this kinda response at all! Thanks for the comments I find it pretty interesting that some of you tried waiting with the girl in the black dress!
@dash: Feel free to link to it if you want
@Josiah: I was enjoying killer7, I just haven’t had a chance to get back to it yet…
Anon:) on
March 2nd, 2009
I might comment later on this precious gem but WOW, is the music availabe in mp3?!
Anon:) on
March 2nd, 2009
ModPlug Player w/ the *.it files works, too…
Cade on
March 3rd, 2009
I loved it and the ending was like a cormac mcarthy novel. Empty and bleak. very sad.
[...] что прошел Pathways. Управление проще некуда: иди вперед и в нужных местах [...]
Slyphidine on
March 5th, 2009
Truly wonderful. Really moving game.
tim on
March 5th, 2009
terry,
i got goosebumps from this several times. you dont get that with grand theft auto…
the first thing i did when the game started was to try and get a menu up/work out my options in terms of interactions. ha. i tried to wait by the girl too; though i honestly didnt expect anything to happen. hmm.
really really like your stuff. just goes to show how much potential for the form to develop there is.
[...] Back è l’ennesima dimostrazione della genialità di Terry Cavanagh, creatore del recente Pathways. Quello che inizialmente può sembrare un affascinante platform dalla difficoltà sempre crescente, [...]
Samael on
March 6th, 2009
I do wish there was a way to find her, though…
Andy on
March 6th, 2009
This is such a great game, just really sad
Kristofer S on
March 6th, 2009
Absolutley beautiful game. Thank you for making this!
chris on
March 6th, 2009
cool game.
Ithmeer on
March 6th, 2009
I love it! Truly sad. You should continue to explore interactive art, as this especially is a quite beautiful game. So simple too, only two buttons. I liked the part where you were backing up against the wall. Even though the main character wanted more than anything to run, he could only back away in fear. Keep up the good work! I also enjoyed Don’t Look Back, by the way.
Lazith on
March 7th, 2009
I really really wanted to play this but every time I try I get an error that states “Error setting switch handler”. Solutions to this problem are welcome.
miggy on
March 10th, 2009
I’ve got to say this is a very amazing game! i just love how theres no back key… it really got me thinking how well that fit in with the whole meaning of the game. this is really good i hope that you continue with your work.
[...] “twist” and a similar aesthetic. On this guy’s website is another game called “Pathways” that is basically a choose-your-own-adventure; kinda hard to call it a game, but it has an [...]
I must say, this recent week has been critical in how I shape my idea of art in gaming, the idea of interactivity. First I played The Graveyard, released through steam which I thought was simply poor. Poor premise, poor execution. I thought to myself, “I’m glad STEAM is releasing these kind of games, but this is a horrible piece of work. A commendable endeavor, but all together a wasted endeavor.”
Then I find Pathways.
Pathways has made me reconsider my stance on the quality of artistic statements in video games. Many video games suffer from what I’ve heard best described as the “GTA Problem,” where basically the interactivity bestowed onto the player undermines the narrative and message the game creator bestows onto his work. Grand Theft Auto has this problem, mainly in Grand Theft Auto 4, where we assume the role of a reformed immigrant. The story would like Niko Bellic to be reformed, to change his ways but to be ultimately forced to commit crime. However, when not dictated by the story, the PLAYER is free to make Niko Bellic do whatever he wishes, whatever crime the player wishes to commit, Niko Bellic the idea commits too. The story and theme thus are dashed to bits, ultimately futile in its statement.
However, with all its vagueness and preoccupation for message, Pathways makes it virtually impossible to contradict itself. The game mechanics that allow Player input amplifies the nihilism inherent in “choice.” Pathways makes the player aware the lack of consciousness in his or her choice. For once, the salient techniques of video games, that is, the relation between the player and the creator, is maximized to the extremes it can go, and creates not only a complete experience, it creates the awareness of a paradox in video games today: Free choice in a pre-determined world.
Terry Cavanagh, you have created not only an ambient, deep, thoughtful experience, but one that is so profound that the only applicable analogy I can think of is the infinite chasm: This game is like an abyss, where staring into it, directly confronting and processing what had just happened is simply deafening.
purple-tangerine on
March 12th, 2009
Wow, that was really cool. Like choose your own adventure (I loved those books ) I like how you couldn’t go back/left.
“Hurry, she worries when you’re away…”
Grant on
March 13th, 2009
Hey man, Just played through it, incredible. Just incredible. I, like many of the other commenters seemed to, also waited by the black haired girl to see what would happen. I think that’s interesting.
gaaabara on
March 14th, 2009
This game made me cry… and brought back memories of prince of persia and supaplex
Gabe on
March 14th, 2009
I thought this game was very well thought out. It made me produce every kind of emotion… except happines. I was scared when there was the giant fish thing and when the mafia guy was going to beat me up. I was sad when i would leave the house over and over again and when you can never find her at the end. I had a sence of adventure when the king gave me a quest to kill the dragon and exploring the dragons lair talking to the wounded as i passed by. But because of the ending of this game, I am left with a whole because i never got to see her again. But that is also what makes games and movies these days so bad because no one has the guts to give something a open ended ending of a plain bad one. Im glad to see someone finaly step past that fear if you realise it or not. Thank u for this experience… or experiences.
Anonymous on
March 14th, 2009
omg, i was only able to cry while playing it and always seeing her saying she worries every time i left
On my own pathway on
March 14th, 2009
I’ve been trying for a couple minutes now to write down what this game is, how it makes me feel, or what this game makes me think about.
When I first looked at this game I thought “Hmm, probably not very good.”
In moments I’ve become a different person from the one I was when I thought that.
But I can’t. I can’t describe something like this in words. I can’t make anyone understand what I felt when I played… No, not played. This was not “fun” in sense. It was something more, something that denies explanation. Well still, I can not make someone else understand what I felt when the story unraveled like an origami angel, just like I can not understand what someone else would feel if they watched the paths bloom into flowers before them.
Terry, out of all the games out there, however long and well done, I prefer Pathways. No violet first person shooter will ever be as good in my eyes as the gold that is Pathways, no Role playing game, nothing. Pathways is and always will be my favourite.
Thank you Terry, for this little piece of gold in a world of bitterness and greed.
[...] проект Terry Cavanagh — Pathways — было сложно назвать игрой в привычном для нас [...]
Máni on
March 15th, 2009
Such a game is too much for words.
K on
March 15th, 2009
After playing Don’t Look Back, I went to this site to see what other masterpieces you might have created. This game in particular is really amazing.
Anonymous on
March 15th, 2009
dont look back touched me, particullarly because i only realised the meaning of the name before i finished it
Edwin on
March 16th, 2009
Hey, I was on armorgames and played your game “Don’t look back” and i loved your style, pathways is also awsome, i like it when the theme gives me the chills
JonyBoy on
March 16th, 2009
great game,well played out
ScoobyDoo on
March 17th, 2009
i cant figure out how to play pathways… i feel retarded but i just dont know what i need to download or w/e to be able to play the game… any suggestions?
CharleyDeallus on
March 18th, 2009
I enjoyed Don’t Look Back and came here to see if there were similar games. I found this game very sad but very interesting as well…very nice.
Anonymous on
March 19th, 2009
Every time I try to open the game it instantly says there’s an error with it and closes it before I even get to see a start screen or anything. Any ideas?
I LOVED Don’t Look Back and wanted to try more games.
Matanui on
March 20th, 2009
Any of you guys know Breaking Benjamin? This reminds me of the song firefly, Gives me the same feeling. Same with dont look back, theres just no way to describe it.
Ches on
March 20th, 2009
Good game but i want happy end.
Блин ну реально скажите же как в конце идти чтоб он нашёл таки свою жену?
Please))
Anonymous on
March 20th, 2009
I seriously seriously love your games.
Both pathways and don’t look are so full of emotion and make me feel the same way as when I was kid playing my first videogames.
I’ll keep an I on you website and I hope to see more games like these.
Thank you for everything.
Hykeush on
March 22nd, 2009
I’m play Pathways and Don’t look, and both has the same style as Yume Nikki. Simple graphic, lack of text, simple and even pointless gameplay, but full of emotion, deep story, really imaginations in background, original gameplay and very sad ending. I like all 3 games, and i really recomend Yume Nikki to everyone like your games. (just, think as Yume Nikki is really long, and is quite end find the ending whinout a Faq)
Anonymous on
March 23rd, 2009
This is the only game that’s managed to pull a tear from me. Beyond brilliant. This is one of the greatest games I’ve ever played. Thank you for creating something this incredibly wonderful. You bring life to the indie game community.
Anonymous on
March 26th, 2009
the ending is so sad! Great game though. A perfect blend of old-school graphics and modern programming
Anonymous on
March 26th, 2009
nice story, very creative, you would make a great game designer
eric on
March 26th, 2009
nice, i just happened to stumble upon dont look back i think it was called, so i followed that game to this website. good stuff and keep it up!
Bradley Rose on
April 1st, 2009
You can also consider me a fan of your work. Both this game and Don’t Look Back were deeply moving. I respect you, man. I am proud to consider you a peer within the games industry. Consider your work to now be a source of inspiration for my own work!
I’m with Josiah Tobin. This game is a masterpiece.
Event it made me cry, seriusly
sahmurat on
April 6th, 2009
Terry you are genious…
I’m serious. How did you do such a game like this?
Lots of people spend their years and millions of dolars and can’t make a game like you did. Because they don’t know what is emotion. You made a game based on emotion.
“pathways” is the best game ever, anyway, no one can do better, even you Terry I’m telling the truth, this game saved my life.
Thanks a lot.
AmyTaylor on
April 10th, 2009
I am not a computer game person at all but I really do love your games. This one was so interesting but simple. I also really enjoyed Don’t Look Back. I can’t wait until the second one comes out.
Keep making games =)
Berkan on
April 11th, 2009
Brilliant and beautiful game.Incredible music that creates an amazing atmosphere.
I really thought you lost someone dear to you and you became kind of obsessed with the meanings of “turning back” or “looking back” when i played this and dont look back one after the other.
And i want to say it again,i loved the music in these games.
Excellent game, now I know two of your games (this one and “Don’t look back”) and I’m looking forward for more. Best regards from Uruguay.
Beef Eater on
April 14th, 2009
Cool game, thought provoking. But no matter what you do, the game always ends the same, despite its concept of different paths. IMO, interactivity is kind of the point of games and should be expanded upon, not taken away.
Interactivity is the point of this game, Beef Eater.
jfaulken on
April 15th, 2009
Terry, any chance of an OSX build? Or am I just missing it?
Negentem on
April 18th, 2009
You fire my imagination and will to create!
Thanks!
Sometimes the interpretation of your game’s events seems quite hermetic. But I would do the same, it is YOUR creation afterall.
Play at your own risk ^ ^.
Justin on
April 22nd, 2009
Really sad ending but otherwise, good game.
ymme on
May 3rd, 2009
well I downloaded but there is a bug o cant play it at all but i rlly wish i could
Meh on
May 12th, 2009
Wow what a bunch of emotinal cry babies.
If a nice but simple game like this can make you cry of feel super sad.. I really don’t want to see how you people handle a real tragic story.
OF course that doesn’t mean that this game is bad, on the contrary it’s pretty good considering it’s simpleness since it does tell a nice basic message to those that play it.
Good job Terry but be careful of comment from people who overblow the emotional impact they got from the game. Last think you want is to limit yourself cause of what others have said including me.
Valen on
May 12th, 2009
Please,keep ‘em coming.
Anonymous on
May 18th, 2009
I haven’t felt this way about a game since I played “Passage.” Thank you.
marcinpasko on
May 19th, 2009
I really like these games. All of them says about somethink. This game says probably about running double life. It says that everyone has got his own mask that allways plays someone different and changes it in case of situation. But up the end everythink will be mixed
Cob on
May 20th, 2009
You are a videogame artist, and I really want to thank you for that. You should be proud. I have been linked here by the Motion-Twin site, which are also great artists in, of course, different ways. I hope you realize you are part of the cultural future and I hope you will hold on to your projects.
No pressure ! love =) (I also tried to stay with the lady in black, which I think is the cutiest among them)
This is some great Game with great Story. More of this Stuff!
emilio on
June 4th, 2009
very emotional.
amzing again!
ookla on
June 10th, 2009
dude, congratulations, this is an experience, not a game.. don’t look back rules
Feitan on
June 20th, 2009
Please, there is a way to find her? (srry for mmy english)
Anonymous on
July 3rd, 2009
the game is amazing, it tells you to appreciate all that you have in life, somtimes i laughed, somtimes i nearly cried, but i think thats what it means =(
薛晓东 on
July 4th, 2009
Hello!my name is 薛晓东, I live in china.THis is a nice game! I feel very happy! my QQ644094885,哈哈,有中国人吗?
Tabs on
August 1st, 2009
Dear Sir,
It’s a wonderful concept/art piece. You should be proud of the way it turned out. The multiple interpretations of the opening scene, based on one’s pathway, is great. I love how She changes in her relationship to the player, depending on where the player chooses to go.
The only thing that I think I miss here is the ability to choose *not* to act. Inaction is as much a choice as motion is, and it could be that there are three or more pathways available, depending on whether the character moves forward or refuses to. I’m not just talking about choosing to stay with the dark-haired girl who speaks to you, but choosing not to leave the first scene, or the scene with the second female, choosing not to move forward in battle in any fight scenario, etc. This isn’t a suggestion that someone move backwards – I prefer the way you have it set up. But, if, say someone doesn’t move for a set period of time, indicating the refusal to pick a new path, the consequences of the player’s actions might be interesting.
But that’s only a thought. As it stands, “Pathways” is awesome, and I’m happy to play it.
In case anyone’s still reading this thread, I’ll note that I made a little remix of Pathways, which is available here.
shadowminded on
September 11th, 2009
wow. even more emotional than dont turn back. PLZ MAKE MORE OF THSE MOVING PXEL GAZMES (ima pxiel games addict ^_^ any pixelated game amuses me but urs r da bes t^_^)
Jin on
September 18th, 2009
this is the most incredible game that i ever seen in a long time, you become one of my heros.keep like this.
I love Don´t look back too
[...] mirar atrás hasta que no llegue a la superficie, si incumple la norma, su amor desaparecerá. Pathways en cambio trata del cambio de vida que tiene el personaje dependiendo del camino que escoja, [...]
I’m from korea. This game is very nice!
I don’t even know how to explain it
Anonymous on
October 21st, 2009
That screenshot is teasing! I tried to find her!
I really thought it could have something to do with the order in which you go trough the eighth pathways, but — I dont think anyone has enough time to brute-force that >.>
[...] final game of his that I’ve looked at is Pathways, another game without much gameplay value but that is priceless in terms of storytelling. The only [...]
eponymous on
December 6th, 2009
i feel like some of the scenes were not really complete, particularly the war scene, which ends on a blank mire, or the dragon, who is never pictured in favor of simple blackness. this strikes me as laziness.
[...] mentions: Pathways (Terry Cavanagh) [Windows, freeware]- Such simple graphics, such a moving message. And Yet It Moves [...]
girish on
December 22nd, 2009
Hi Terry,
Hope you monitor new comments.
I wont probe, but I guess it is safe to presume that both pathways and don’t look back are in some ways autobiographical. Even if it is not so, I found it strange that we (the player) start out assuming that the 1st woman is the wife of the player, only for one of the paths to flat out contradict it by making her the mother! And atleast one path(the cheating on the wife path explictly makes her the wife) The final narrative can be interpreted with both the woman as wife and woman as mother motif. Why did you do that?
cheers,
girish on
December 22nd, 2009
Just one more thing, (as feedback!) I donno about others, but I found the “message” in don’t look back more moving precisely because the herculean “efforts” of the on-screen character and me as the player were the same. The world he moved through echoed the storyline you were telling too. Here, you are just pressing the right arrow and waiting for the story to unfold!
Ian on
December 23rd, 2009
Pathways reminds me of “the passage” which touches on similar themes and looks similar – Don’t look back is just that little bit too hard for me to stick out which is a pity because I want to see the end but overall this is VERY nice work well done!!
I like how freeform and open to interpretation the whole thing is. By playing through the paths, are we getting a sense of the history of the character? Are we seeing different potential futures? You can build a narrative in your head based on all the paths and choose what you want the game to mean. Very nice.
[...] quite long and costs money, except that that would be to the disparagement of his earlier free games, which are entirely proper in their own [...]
[...] wait! Doesn’t this look a lot like that Pathways [...]
sKOot on
March 27th, 2010
awesome!
S on
April 8th, 2010
Brilliant. Didnt make sense at first, but the diversion of pathways in life and the girl in black acting as philisophical mentor in the crossroads of his life made this illusion beautiful
nick on
April 16th, 2010
I like it because its like life and how most decisions in life you can turn back and undo. Great game!
[...] Si no lo habéis hecho aún, id aquí, descargad Pathways en 3 segundos y jugarlo en 5 minutos. No os [...]
Gaybillicious on
April 18th, 2010
I like it!
anonymous on
May 2nd, 2010
I don’t like how the black-haired girl is so… direct in her way of talking to you, would be nice if she spoke with a little more mysterious flair – to suggest that she knows what you’re going through, but not explicitly spell it out.
A great “game” – the inability to go backwards, is of course, significant to understanding the game’s theme.
I thought the order the events appeared on the 8th path was a clue to which order in which to do them to unlock the actual 8th path, I did it in the order (Grave, Drinks, Kid’s Drawing, The Beating, The Dragon, Becoming a Soldier, and having the affair) and nothing happened, is there a certain way to navigate through the events in the 8th path to unlock a new one, or did I just waste my time?
Gameguy602 on
August 9th, 2010
it’s still a good game without a secret ending, but when I notices on my second playthrough that the events of the 8th appeaered in the same order, I went into puzzle mode and wrote them down to do them in that order.
Bill on
August 27th, 2010
Once I figured out my thoughts of what was going on, I actually began to cry a little.
Great game, there’s too few of them out there that actually make you think.
[...] Dead Cites, Walker and Silhouette, Lost Pig, Fail Safe, Simon the Sorceror, Monkey Island, ZRacer, Pathways and Alabaster, and Adrienne showed us a bit of The Path on the [...]
[...] How to Raise a Dragon, I don’t want to review the game, so I’d just recommend downloading it here and playing it yourself. To me, these games are experiments, and ranking them strictly on how [...]
[...] já devem ter percebido que a jogabilidade lembra fortemente a de Pathways e Passage (ambos gratuitos). Pathways, de Terry Cavanagh, permite apenas que andemos para frente e, [...]
[...] Pathways jest grą freeware, można ją ściągnąć z tej strony; [...]
Paul on
July 15th, 2011
This game is brilliant
I like all your games though, I’d top this at number 2, followed by Don’t look back, and preceded by Judith
Hope to see more of these awesome games ^_^
Hi Terry, compliments for the beautiful game. I’d like to ask you something: did you maybe get inspiration from the first Silent Hill for this? I’ve found a lot of similarities between the two games!
I’d like to know if you wrote the phrase “Life is just a series of questions with no right answers.” If it wasn’t you, do you know who wrote the phrase?
Nice and interesting game! Greetings
Streaksy on
October 8th, 2011
So…. is the blond your wife or your ma? She starts off saying “don’t worry, you’ll find a job.” Then, at one point she says “My son a hero. I’m so proud”. Then later she’s upset that you’re banging Betty Rubble.
Every path is the same every time, so far. I don’t know if you can find blondie on the final run of you go to the right place, but no way am I mapping it so I can figure it out. ;/ I suspect there’s no ending.
Streaksy on
October 20th, 2011
Hello? I’m really asking about the blonde chick. I want to know.
[...] trochę bardziej skomplikowane graficznie i poruszające na prostsze sposoby – „Pathways” Terry’ego Cavanagh. To rzecz ewidentnie zainspirowana „Passage” – [...]
Nicolau! OMG, I loved Marvel Brothel, it changed my life!
For whatever that’s worth, I feel like this game has dated particularly bad for me – I can’t even play it anymore. I’m happy that it’s inspired other people to do better things, though (like every day the same dream for example).
Giordano on
December 5th, 2011
That’s interesting! To me, Pathways is still your best creation. Mainly because I think it has the perfect gift of “synthesis”. Since English is not my native language, I hope not much has been lost in the translation… Anyway, if I have to paraphrase this term, I’d say this game has a great amalgam and balance between the mean, the message and the length of the experience.
[...] dat mogelijk is met een interactief medium, dat niet eindigt als tragedie”, kwam ik het spel Pathways tegen. Het spel is gemaakt door Terry Cavanagh, die vooral bekend is van VVVVV. Hij is ook bekend [...]
[...] por Uma Esmeralda - RoboGueisha - Don’t Look Back - Pathways - Eternal [...]
Otend on
May 31st, 2012
This is a rather unusual and poignant work with genuine meaning behind it. I’m digging through your works currently, after playing VVVVVV, and they run the gamut from silly to… this. Keep up the excellent work.
[...] best known examples are Terry Cavanagh’s Pathways and AwkwardSilenceGames’ One Chance. Pathways is a bit unusual in that it sends you careening [...]
Great game with great atmosphere. Really love it. Sadly, there is a fatal bug that happens sometimes during 8th path…It crashes the game.
same to me
is it intentional
Sorry about that – the game just ends when it’s finished. I’ve just added a “the end” screen so it doesn’t seem like a crash
Nice game but i don’t understand it
great game! I love how the subsequent paths add new contexts , simple decisions in life can make a huge difference
keep up!
very very nice game! I really enjoyed it
Good job on this Terry. Glad you finished it; it was worth the effort.
Cheers all
Terry, this is brilliant. Consider me a fan of your work, you have a great mind for this stuff.
(Perhaps my only complaint would be that the ending was a little abrupt and a bit of a downer)
Your stuff definitely reminds me of Suda51′s surrealist sense of style, albeit minus the ridiculous violence and dream-like parody of badassery. :p Even if I don’t ‘get’ everything that goes on, it still contains this bizarre sense of wonder that I love. I still hold that you’d probably really enjoy Killer7 if you manage to get past its oddities (I know you gave it a shot awhile back but I’m not sure how far you got)
Love the music in this one, too, you do have a talent for it. It has a kind of purity of purpose to it that’s just fantastic and really enhances the mood. Very Robyn Miller-esque in that way, again.
I really hope you keep this up, I seriously enjoy playing your creations.
~Josiah
Oh, also, my favorite part was the fantasy bit where you and those RPG archetypes go off to the dragon, felt so awesome and oldschool.
~Josiah
[...] in the same outcome. Terry “Xoldiers” Cavanagh just released a game called “Pathways” that plays with the concept of agency. It turns out we don’t have any. Let me [...]
Hi – just played and enjoyed your game ‘Pathways’ would you object to me posting on and hosting a copy of it on inappropriatebunny.com?
Hey Terry, Amazing work! Just finished, I’m going to show it to some of my friends now. Such a sad game but very contemplative. At some parts in the game I felt I was playing the imagination of the woman at the beginning imagining where the man was heading off to including wild ideas like fighting a monster and then in the same game being in some kind of d-day like battle. I love how you leave plenty of room for interpretation. There’s something really interesting when you go and try and hit the back button for the first time and being surprised that you can’t go backward and thinking about why you cant go backwards and what that means. Can’t wait to see your next work.
[...] ci sta passando sotto agli occhi di tutto, ma il tipo di sensazioni che trasmettono giochi come Pathways, sono ancora merce rara. Nato dalla mente di Terry Cavanagh, Pathways entra a far parte del [...]
Great game !!
One of the bests in this “game art” scene, the thing that you just can’t comeback and change your decision is wonderful, and all the paths are really great, which one with your own great end. I just didn’t like too much the dragon one, I think you could have ended better, but that’s ok.
The end of it all is kinda speechless.
Great job, really great job and I’ll keep my eyes on all your coming work. Congratulations.
Cheers from Brazil.
This is awesome stuff man.
This game lacks explosions!
j/k
I tried to stay with the black dressed girl for a couple of minutes, but nothing happened ;_;
Cheers from Russia.
The game is beautiful, thanks for work, Terry.
Great to see all the good comments – Keep up the good work and hope to see you soon…
I stayed with the girl in the black dress too.
Wonderful game!
Hehe, I tried to wait by the girl in the black dress to. Thought I was clever. :p
~Josiah
I’m glad this has gone down so well – I didn’t expect this kinda response at all! Thanks for the comments
I find it pretty interesting that some of you tried waiting with the girl in the black dress!
@dash: Feel free to link to it if you want
@Josiah: I was enjoying killer7, I just haven’t had a chance to get back to it yet…
I might comment later on this precious gem but WOW, is the music availabe in mp3?!
ModPlug Player w/ the *.it files works, too…
I loved it and the ending was like a cormac mcarthy novel. Empty and bleak. very sad.
[...] что прошел Pathways. Управление проще некуда: иди вперед и в нужных местах [...]
Truly wonderful. Really moving game.
terry,
i got goosebumps from this several times. you dont get that with grand theft auto…
the first thing i did when the game started was to try and get a menu up/work out my options in terms of interactions. ha. i tried to wait by the girl too; though i honestly didnt expect anything to happen. hmm.
really really like your stuff. just goes to show how much potential for the form to develop there is.
all the best.
[...] Back è l’ennesima dimostrazione della genialità di Terry Cavanagh, creatore del recente Pathways. Quello che inizialmente può sembrare un affascinante platform dalla difficoltà sempre crescente, [...]
I do wish there was a way to find her, though…
This is such a great game, just really sad
Absolutley beautiful game. Thank you for making this!
cool game.
I love it! Truly sad. You should continue to explore interactive art, as this especially is a quite beautiful game. So simple too, only two buttons. I liked the part where you were backing up against the wall. Even though the main character wanted more than anything to run, he could only back away in fear. Keep up the good work! I also enjoyed Don’t Look Back, by the way.
I really really wanted to play this but every time I try I get an error that states “Error setting switch handler”. Solutions to this problem are welcome.
I’ve got to say this is a very amazing game! i just love how theres no back key… it really got me thinking how well that fit in with the whole meaning of the game. this is really good i hope that you continue with your work.
[...] “twist” and a similar aesthetic. On this guy’s website is another game called “Pathways” that is basically a choose-your-own-adventure; kinda hard to call it a game, but it has an [...]
Love it
I must say, this recent week has been critical in how I shape my idea of art in gaming, the idea of interactivity. First I played The Graveyard, released through steam which I thought was simply poor. Poor premise, poor execution. I thought to myself, “I’m glad STEAM is releasing these kind of games, but this is a horrible piece of work. A commendable endeavor, but all together a wasted endeavor.”
Then I find Pathways.
Pathways has made me reconsider my stance on the quality of artistic statements in video games. Many video games suffer from what I’ve heard best described as the “GTA Problem,” where basically the interactivity bestowed onto the player undermines the narrative and message the game creator bestows onto his work. Grand Theft Auto has this problem, mainly in Grand Theft Auto 4, where we assume the role of a reformed immigrant. The story would like Niko Bellic to be reformed, to change his ways but to be ultimately forced to commit crime. However, when not dictated by the story, the PLAYER is free to make Niko Bellic do whatever he wishes, whatever crime the player wishes to commit, Niko Bellic the idea commits too. The story and theme thus are dashed to bits, ultimately futile in its statement.
However, with all its vagueness and preoccupation for message, Pathways makes it virtually impossible to contradict itself. The game mechanics that allow Player input amplifies the nihilism inherent in “choice.” Pathways makes the player aware the lack of consciousness in his or her choice. For once, the salient techniques of video games, that is, the relation between the player and the creator, is maximized to the extremes it can go, and creates not only a complete experience, it creates the awareness of a paradox in video games today: Free choice in a pre-determined world.
Terry Cavanagh, you have created not only an ambient, deep, thoughtful experience, but one that is so profound that the only applicable analogy I can think of is the infinite chasm: This game is like an abyss, where staring into it, directly confronting and processing what had just happened is simply deafening.
Wow, that was really cool. Like choose your own adventure (I loved those books
) I like how you couldn’t go back/left.
“Hurry, she worries when you’re away…”
Hey man, Just played through it, incredible. Just incredible. I, like many of the other commenters seemed to, also waited by the black haired girl to see what would happen. I think that’s interesting.
This game made me cry… and brought back memories of prince of persia and supaplex
I thought this game was very well thought out. It made me produce every kind of emotion… except happines. I was scared when there was the giant fish thing and when the mafia guy was going to beat me up. I was sad when i would leave the house over and over again and when you can never find her at the end. I had a sence of adventure when the king gave me a quest to kill the dragon and exploring the dragons lair talking to the wounded as i passed by. But because of the ending of this game, I am left with a whole because i never got to see her again. But that is also what makes games and movies these days so bad because no one has the guts to give something a open ended ending of a plain bad one. Im glad to see someone finaly step past that fear if you realise it or not. Thank u for this experience… or experiences.
omg, i was only able to cry while playing it and always seeing her saying she worries every time i left
I’ve been trying for a couple minutes now to write down what this game is, how it makes me feel, or what this game makes me think about.
When I first looked at this game I thought “Hmm, probably not very good.”
In moments I’ve become a different person from the one I was when I thought that.
But I can’t. I can’t describe something like this in words. I can’t make anyone understand what I felt when I played… No, not played. This was not “fun” in sense. It was something more, something that denies explanation. Well still, I can not make someone else understand what I felt when the story unraveled like an origami angel, just like I can not understand what someone else would feel if they watched the paths bloom into flowers before them.
Terry, out of all the games out there, however long and well done, I prefer Pathways. No violet first person shooter will ever be as good in my eyes as the gold that is Pathways, no Role playing game, nothing. Pathways is and always will be my favourite.
Thank you Terry, for this little piece of gold in a world of bitterness and greed.
Your game sucks
Such a nice experience. Than you, brother.
[...] проект Terry Cavanagh — Pathways — было сложно назвать игрой в привычном для нас [...]
Such a game is too much for words.
After playing Don’t Look Back, I went to this site to see what other masterpieces you might have created. This game in particular is really amazing.
dont look back touched me, particullarly because i only realised the meaning of the name before i finished it
Hey, I was on armorgames and played your game “Don’t look back” and i loved your style, pathways is also awsome, i like it when the theme gives me the chills
great game,well played out
i cant figure out how to play pathways… i feel retarded but i just dont know what i need to download or w/e to be able to play the game… any suggestions?
I enjoyed Don’t Look Back and came here to see if there were similar games. I found this game very sad but very interesting as well…very nice.
Every time I try to open the game it instantly says there’s an error with it and closes it before I even get to see a start screen or anything. Any ideas?
I LOVED Don’t Look Back and wanted to try more games.
Any of you guys know Breaking Benjamin? This reminds me of the song firefly, Gives me the same feeling. Same with dont look back, theres just no way to describe it.
Good game but i want happy end.
Блин ну реально скажите же как в конце идти чтоб он нашёл таки свою жену?
Please))
I seriously seriously love your games.
Both pathways and don’t look are so full of emotion and make me feel the same way as when I was kid playing my first videogames.
I’ll keep an I on you website and I hope to see more games like these.
Thank you for everything.
I’m play Pathways and Don’t look, and both has the same style as Yume Nikki. Simple graphic, lack of text, simple and even pointless gameplay, but full of emotion, deep story, really imaginations in background, original gameplay and very sad ending. I like all 3 games, and i really recomend Yume Nikki to everyone like your games. (just, think as Yume Nikki is really long, and is quite end find the ending whinout a Faq)
This is the only game that’s managed to pull a tear from me. Beyond brilliant. This is one of the greatest games I’ve ever played. Thank you for creating something this incredibly wonderful. You bring life to the indie game community.
the ending is so sad! Great game though. A perfect blend of old-school graphics and modern programming
nice story, very creative, you would make a great game designer
nice, i just happened to stumble upon dont look back i think it was called, so i followed that game to this website. good stuff and keep it up!
You can also consider me a fan of your work. Both this game and Don’t Look Back were deeply moving. I respect you, man. I am proud to consider you a peer within the games industry. Consider your work to now be a source of inspiration for my own work!
Cheers,
Bradley
Brilliant, very moving game. Keep ‘em coming.
I’m with Josiah Tobin. This game is a masterpiece.
Event it made me cry, seriusly
Terry you are genious…
I’m serious. How did you do such a game like this?
Lots of people spend their years and millions of dolars and can’t make a game like you did. Because they don’t know what is emotion. You made a game based on emotion.
“pathways” is the best game ever, anyway, no one can do better, even you Terry
I’m telling the truth, this game saved my life.
Thanks a lot.
I am not a computer game person at all but I really do love your games. This one was so interesting but simple. I also really enjoyed Don’t Look Back. I can’t wait until the second one comes out.
Keep making games =)
Brilliant and beautiful game.Incredible music that creates an amazing atmosphere.
I really thought you lost someone dear to you and you became kind of obsessed with the meanings of “turning back” or “looking back” when i played this and dont look back one after the other.
And i want to say it again,i loved the music in these games.
Excellent game, now I know two of your games (this one and “Don’t look back”) and I’m looking forward for more. Best regards from Uruguay.
Cool game, thought provoking. But no matter what you do, the game always ends the same, despite its concept of different paths. IMO, interactivity is kind of the point of games and should be expanded upon, not taken away.
Interactivity is the point of this game, Beef Eater.
Terry, any chance of an OSX build? Or am I just missing it?
You fire my imagination and will to create!
Thanks!
Sometimes the interpretation of your game’s events seems quite hermetic. But I would do the same, it is YOUR creation afterall.
Play at your own risk ^ ^.
Really sad ending
but otherwise, good game.
well I downloaded but there is a bug o cant play it at all
but i rlly wish i could
Wow what a bunch of emotinal cry babies.
If a nice but simple game like this can make you cry of feel super sad.. I really don’t want to see how you people handle a real tragic story.
OF course that doesn’t mean that this game is bad, on the contrary it’s pretty good considering it’s simpleness since it does tell a nice basic message to those that play it.
Good job Terry but be careful of comment from people who overblow the emotional impact they got from the game. Last think you want is to limit yourself cause of what others have said including me.
Please,keep ‘em coming.
I haven’t felt this way about a game since I played “Passage.” Thank you.
I really like these games. All of them says about somethink. This game says probably about running double life. It says that everyone has got his own mask that allways plays someone different and changes it in case of situation. But up the end everythink will be mixed
You are a videogame artist, and I really want to thank you for that. You should be proud. I have been linked here by the Motion-Twin site, which are also great artists in, of course, different ways. I hope you realize you are part of the cultural future and I hope you will hold on to your projects.
No pressure ! love =) (I also tried to stay with the lady in black, which I think is the cutiest among them)
[...] Pathways [...]
This is some great Game with great Story. More of this Stuff!
very emotional.
amzing again!
dude, congratulations, this is an experience, not a game.. don’t look back rules
Please, there is a way to find her? (srry for mmy english)
the game is amazing, it tells you to appreciate all that you have in life, somtimes i laughed, somtimes i nearly cried, but i think thats what it means =(
Hello!my name is 薛晓东, I live in china.THis is a nice game! I feel very happy! my QQ644094885,哈哈,有中国人吗?
Dear Sir,
It’s a wonderful concept/art piece. You should be proud of the way it turned out. The multiple interpretations of the opening scene, based on one’s pathway, is great. I love how She changes in her relationship to the player, depending on where the player chooses to go.
The only thing that I think I miss here is the ability to choose *not* to act. Inaction is as much a choice as motion is, and it could be that there are three or more pathways available, depending on whether the character moves forward or refuses to. I’m not just talking about choosing to stay with the dark-haired girl who speaks to you, but choosing not to leave the first scene, or the scene with the second female, choosing not to move forward in battle in any fight scenario, etc. This isn’t a suggestion that someone move backwards – I prefer the way you have it set up. But, if, say someone doesn’t move for a set period of time, indicating the refusal to pick a new path, the consequences of the player’s actions might be interesting.
But that’s only a thought. As it stands, “Pathways” is awesome, and I’m happy to play it.
[...] wait! Doesn’t this look a lot like that Pathways [...]
[...] Pathways [...]
In case anyone’s still reading this thread, I’ll note that I made a little remix of Pathways, which is available here.
wow. even more emotional than dont turn back. PLZ MAKE MORE OF THSE MOVING PXEL GAZMES (ima pxiel games addict ^_^ any pixelated game amuses me but urs r da bes t^_^)
this is the most incredible game that i ever seen in a long time, you become one of my heros.keep like this.
I love Don´t look back too
[...] mirar atrás hasta que no llegue a la superficie, si incumple la norma, su amor desaparecerá. Pathways en cambio trata del cambio de vida que tiene el personaje dependiendo del camino que escoja, [...]
I’m from korea. This game is very nice!
I don’t even know how to explain it
That screenshot is teasing! I tried to find her!
I really thought it could have something to do with the order in which you go trough the eighth pathways, but — I dont think anyone has enough time to brute-force that >.>
[...] final game of his that I’ve looked at is Pathways, another game without much gameplay value but that is priceless in terms of storytelling. The only [...]
i feel like some of the scenes were not really complete, particularly the war scene, which ends on a blank mire, or the dragon, who is never pictured in favor of simple blackness. this strikes me as laziness.
I really wish there was a Mac version. I loved Judith and Don’t Look Back.
can I please have the song names? I loved them
[...] segundo de ellos es Pathways. Un juego-historia-experimento tan sencillo como un libro de “Elige tu propia [...]
[...] mentions: Pathways (Terry Cavanagh) [Windows, freeware]- Such simple graphics, such a moving message. And Yet It Moves [...]
Hi Terry,
Hope you monitor new comments.
I wont probe, but I guess it is safe to presume that both pathways and don’t look back are in some ways autobiographical. Even if it is not so, I found it strange that we (the player) start out assuming that the 1st woman is the wife of the player, only for one of the paths to flat out contradict it by making her the mother! And atleast one path(the cheating on the wife path explictly makes her the wife) The final narrative can be interpreted with both the woman as wife and woman as mother motif. Why did you do that?
cheers,
Just one more thing, (as feedback!) I donno about others, but I found the “message” in don’t look back more moving precisely because the herculean “efforts” of the on-screen character and me as the player were the same. The world he moved through echoed the storyline you were telling too. Here, you are just pressing the right arrow and waiting for the story to unfold!
Pathways reminds me of “the passage” which touches on similar themes and looks similar – Don’t look back is just that little bit too hard for me to stick out which is a pity because I want to see the end but overall this is VERY nice work well done!!
Any plans to release anything on mobile / iPhone?
I don’t get the controls.
[...] Terry Cavanagh’s Pathways (and unlike Aisle), the game is less about the player’s choices reflecting back on him or [...]
[...] Terry Cavanagh’s Pathways (and unlike Aisle), the game is less about the player’s choices reflecting back on him or [...]
Loved the game!
I like how freeform and open to interpretation the whole thing is. By playing through the paths, are we getting a sense of the history of the character? Are we seeing different potential futures? You can build a narrative in your head based on all the paths and choose what you want the game to mean. Very nice.
Really glad you liked it, Grenideer
Thank you so much for it, Terry.
I loved your game, very good narrative and a very interesting experience…
Wrote a longer review on my site, in French.
Cheers and keep up the good work !
I also loved Don’t Look Back and Judith. Huge Mac user and I’m hoping this and VVVVVV will be available!
Great game, at the first sight of the man i started spamming ctrl… Don’t know why though…
good game i liket it it was funplay it and u will see.
I recently played the VVVVVV demo and that made me take a look at some of the other things Terry has made…
This game is great! (that one too
)
It’s good that creative independent games developers like you are making things like this.
Pleeez make an OSX build!
I really liked it, and all the rest of your games. Keep it going for long!
[...] quite long and costs money, except that that would be to the disparagement of his earlier free games, which are entirely proper in their own [...]
I really love your games:D
please make an mac version!!
[...] wait! Doesn’t this look a lot like that Pathways [...]
awesome!
Brilliant. Didnt make sense at first, but the diversion of pathways in life and the girl in black acting as philisophical mentor in the crossroads of his life made this illusion beautiful
I like it because its like life and how most decisions in life you can turn back and undo. Great game!
[...] Si no lo habéis hecho aún, id aquí, descargad Pathways en 3 segundos y jugarlo en 5 minutos. No os [...]
I like it!
I don’t like how the black-haired girl is so… direct in her way of talking to you, would be nice if she spoke with a little more mysterious flair – to suggest that she knows what you’re going through, but not explicitly spell it out.
A great “game” – the inability to go backwards, is of course, significant to understanding the game’s theme.
[...] The Appetizer: Pathways [...]
Please consider porting this game to Linux (maybe using Gluon). That would really be awesome !
[...] Pathways [...]
I thought the order the events appeared on the 8th path was a clue to which order in which to do them to unlock the actual 8th path, I did it in the order (Grave, Drinks, Kid’s Drawing, The Beating, The Dragon, Becoming a Soldier, and having the affair) and nothing happened, is there a certain way to navigate through the events in the 8th path to unlock a new one, or did I just waste my time?
it’s still a good game without a secret ending, but when I notices on my second playthrough that the events of the 8th appeaered in the same order, I went into puzzle mode and wrote them down to do them in that order.
Once I figured out my thoughts of what was going on, I actually began to cry a little.
Great game, there’s too few of them out there that actually make you think.
Terry Cavanagh, you are too brilliant for words.
[...] Dead Cites, Walker and Silhouette, Lost Pig, Fail Safe, Simon the Sorceror, Monkey Island, ZRacer, Pathways and Alabaster, and Adrienne showed us a bit of The Path on the [...]
I’m sad now.
Amazing.
powerful stuff. I can try my life again and again but all the endings are sad!
animation remake of “pathways”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLZ8T0tiUe0
Oh wow, awesome!
[...] o momento que joguei Pathways pela primeira vez, passei a seguir com afinco tudo que é feito por Terry Cavanagh. Cavanagh tem [...]
[...] How to Raise a Dragon, I don’t want to review the game, so I’d just recommend downloading it here and playing it yourself. To me, these games are experiments, and ranking them strictly on how [...]
[...] já devem ter percebido que a jogabilidade lembra fortemente a de Pathways e Passage (ambos gratuitos). Pathways, de Terry Cavanagh, permite apenas que andemos para frente e, [...]
[...] Pathways jest grą freeware, można ją ściągnąć z tej strony; [...]
This game is brilliant

I like all your games though, I’d top this at number 2, followed by Don’t look back, and preceded by Judith
Hope to see more of these awesome games ^_^
[...] Pathways [...]
Hi Terry, compliments for the beautiful game. I’d like to ask you something: did you maybe get inspiration from the first Silent Hill for this? I’ve found a lot of similarities between the two games!
I love Silent Hill, but I’m not seeing the connection!
Lol, it’s funny, how works can go beyond the intentions of their developer… I see a lot of connections!
[...] Freeware – download [...]
I’d like to know if you wrote the phrase “Life is just a series of questions with no right answers.” If it wasn’t you, do you know who wrote the phrase?
Nice and interesting game! Greetings
So…. is the blond your wife or your ma? She starts off saying “don’t worry, you’ll find a job.” Then, at one point she says “My son a hero. I’m so proud”. Then later she’s upset that you’re banging Betty Rubble.
Every path is the same every time, so far. I don’t know if you can find blondie on the final run of you go to the right place, but no way am I mapping it so I can figure it out. ;/ I suspect there’s no ending.
Hello? I’m really asking about the blonde chick.
I want to know.
Intriguing little game.
[...] trochę bardziej skomplikowane graficznie i poruszające na prostsze sposoby – „Pathways” Terry’ego Cavanagh. To rzecz ewidentnie zainspirowana „Passage” – [...]
I liked this game, but I have to say I’m somwhat scared of the unanimous “I love this game it changed my life” comments.
Nicolau! OMG, I loved Marvel Brothel, it changed my life!
For whatever that’s worth, I feel like this game has dated particularly bad for me – I can’t even play it anymore. I’m happy that it’s inspired other people to do better things, though (like every day the same dream for example).
That’s interesting! To me, Pathways is still your best creation. Mainly because I think it has the perfect gift of “synthesis”. Since English is not my native language, I hope not much has been lost in the translation… Anyway, if I have to paraphrase this term, I’d say this game has a great amalgam and balance between the mean, the message and the length of the experience.
[...] dat mogelijk is met een interactief medium, dat niet eindigt als tragedie”, kwam ik het spel Pathways tegen. Het spel is gemaakt door Terry Cavanagh, die vooral bekend is van VVVVV. Hij is ook bekend [...]
[...] por Uma Esmeralda - RoboGueisha - Don’t Look Back - Pathways - Eternal [...]
This is a rather unusual and poignant work with genuine meaning behind it. I’m digging through your works currently, after playing VVVVVV, and they run the gamut from silly to… this. Keep up the excellent work.
This was pretty much brilliant.
[...] best known examples are Terry Cavanagh’s Pathways and AwkwardSilenceGames’ One Chance. Pathways is a bit unusual in that it sends you [...]
The first ever videogame I cryed in the ending.
You are a genius, Terry. Thank you.
Dmitry, from Russia
[...] best known examples are Terry Cavanagh’s Pathways and AwkwardSilenceGames’ One Chance. Pathways is a bit unusual in that it sends you careening [...]
[...] por Uma Esmeralda RoboGueisha Don’t Look Back Pathways Eternal [...]