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 […]
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…
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 Á¨ l’ennesima dimostrazione della genialitÁ di Terry Cavanagh, creatore del recente Pathways. Quello che inizialmente puÁ² sembrare un affascinante platform dalla difficoltÁ sempre crescente, […]
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 […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
By Terry
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 меÑтах […]
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 Á¨ l’ennesima dimostrazione della genialitÁ di Terry Cavanagh, creatore del recente Pathways. Quello che inizialmente puÁ² sembrare un affascinante platform dalla difficoltÁ 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 :P) 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 Ñложно назвать игрой в привычном Ð´Ð»Ñ Ð½Ð°Ñ […]
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.