Tale of Tales: The Path, A game loosely based on Little Red Riding Hood Options

[Ranma]

Okay, there's a small company that I've grown quite fond of. They call themselves Tale of Tales. They make short games that aren't necessarily very fun, but they are pieces of art and they usually teach life lessons.

This game, "The Path," is loosely based on the story "Little Red Riding Hood." You get to play as 6 different girls whose ages range from 9 to 19.

At the beginning of the game you are on a path. The game tells you "Go to grandmother's house...and stay on the path."

Of course you can go straight to grandmother's house, but you don't learn anything that way and the game calls you a failure. The point of the game is to get you off the path. So, you finally venture off the path and you quickly become lost. Since you are lost in the woods you are desperately trying to find your way back. Each girl has an assortment of items that only they can collect. These items reveal a bit about each girl...watch out for the wolf.

The wolf isn't really a wolf, but some sort of danger to each girl. I don't want to spoil it, but I will say that each wolf is different. My favorite character, Ruby, is the typical goth girl. She sees the world as dark and bleak, and she doesn't think much of her future. She sees each flower in the forest as something that will eventually die and fade away. She even mentions at some point that she might take up smoking, because it shortens one's life. I wonder what her wolf might be...hmmmmmmmm.

Anyway. It's a great game, and you really feel like you are lost in the woods. At some points the forest is fun, and beautiful. You really want to explore it because the designers did an excellent job creating it. There are other times when you are afraid for your character. There are obvious danger signs and you know that this area is unsafe...but your character really wants to be in that place for some reason or another.

Here is a link to two trailers, and the official website. I bought it for 10 dollars. I'd say it was money well spent. There is also a free demo version, but I heard you could only play as the "forest girl" in that version. It really is a great game about "growing up" and "coming of age." It also teaches a few lessons as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf85VrslkPQ...PL&index=15

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adj0flt1-7U

http://www.tale-of-tales.com/ThePath/

[Another Morning]

It looks really interesting, although it would be the kind of thing I'd have to play with somebody else in the room and in broad daylight XD And if nothing else, I want an mp3 of that piano track in the trailers.

For ten bucks, I could probably pool some money with a friend and make them play it with me XD

[Ranma]

It's really not that scary though. It's sold as a "horror" game...and because I thought it was a horror game I let myself become frightened...

But it really isn't scary. it's just you, walking in the woods, facing your "wolf."

The only thing that could be considered scary is 1. Some music tracks are kind of creepy, and 2. When you finally get to grandma's house after meeting a wolf it's pretty scary. But those scenes last about one minute and thirty seconds long.

Great game...but it's so hard to get people to play it. My roommates watch me play it and they say "It doesn't look fun."

"That's not the point. This game isn't that fun, but it is interesting."

Edit: Oh, each girl has a little "live journal" on the official website. For some time people have been able to talk with the girls. However, after a certain day, they all posted something very similar and then they stopped posting as if they vanished...mysterious.

This post has been edited by Ranma: Sep 14 2009, 6:23 AM

[Another Morning]

Yeah, I've been here reading about it and watched a few eps of an LP and my brother is like "It looks boring," but I think it looks interesting. The problem being that apparently the guy doing the LP doesn't get everything and I get kind of OCD about that...so hopefully I don't get too frustrated at him >_>;

[Ranma]

"LP" ?

[Another Morning]

LP = Let's Play. Basically, somebody plays through a game (sometimes while making a commentary), and records it then puts up the videos for people to watch.

[Ranma]

Ah, okay. I'm familiar with the "Let's Play" but not with the shortened "LP." I learned something new. SUCCESS!

[Another Morning]

And knowing is half the battle!

The other half is violence.

[Ranma]

So true!

[Another Morning]

So after watching part of the LP, I went digging around on the official forums for answers since I suck at metaphorical/symbolic recognition. o_< And I've been doing this for like...a good few hours. wtf I haven't even played the game

And the site said that it normally doesn't work on MacBooks so I may not even be able to ><

[wkw427]

Trailers are supposed to hype a game. I watched both of them and seriously expected them both to be screamers.. .. Doesn't look interesting to me.

[Another Morning]

That's what I like about the game, is that it's not just a cheap scare where things jump out at you and make loud noises. It's scary, but because of the atmosphere and what it makes you think is there.

[Ranma]

Yeah, if you're expecting a screamer, don't bother with the game. The story is hidden within the creepy atmosphere. Each character reacts differently to everything, and it's also a game of symbolism. It's bascially a game about growing up...
Also, Another Morning, you can try to download their free demo. If that works, the game should work just fine.

This post has been edited by Ranma: Mar 8 2010, 8:22 AM

[Another Morning]

Oh man I got obsessed with this game for a few weeks after I read about it here XD Even if I never played it orz;

But yeah, I'm gonna download the demo over Spring Break and see how it works on my lappy.

[Ranma]

I still love it. Ruby is still my favorite character. I let my friend play it and he beat it in (quite literally) 10 seconds.
He walked into the woods and found the wolf almost immediately. It took me half an hour to an hour the first time I played. lol.

[Another Morning]

XD Nice. The guy I watched do the LPs was like that, too. He just ran straight for the wolves.

[Ranma]

To me that's boring though. I prefer to walk around the woods and explore ^_^

[Another Morning]

Yep, that's what I plan to do. ...if I don't chicken out because I'll most likely end up playing by myself orz

[Ranma]

It only gets scary if you let it. I must say though, I got lost in the woods once when I was a kid. This game definitely reminded me of that time.