Queer Gaming: Flânerie in The Path

The Path, developed by Tale of Tales (Harvey & Samyn), is presented as a unique exploratory experience, diverging from typical gameplay structures. It’s described as a ‘short horror game inspired by older versions of Little Red Riding Hood, set in modern day.’ Unlike games focused on defeating monsters or solving puzzles, The Path offers players almost aimless wandering through a dark forest. This unconventional design, funded partially by non-commercial art grants, resulted in positive press reviews (Onyett, 2009; Miniblob, 2009). However, gamer reactions were mixed, largely centered on whether it should even be classified as a ‘game’ (Harvey & Samyn, 2010; Onyett, 2009; Miniblob, 2009). This initial reception sets the stage for the article's deeper analysis of the game's unconventional nature and its challenge to established gaming norms. The game's ambiguous nature and lack of traditional game mechanics already hint at the deeper themes to be explored.

The article challenges the common negative perception of video games as unproductive, a view reinforced by societal biases rooted in older traditions like Protestantism which labels play as ‘the antithesis of work’ (Butler et al., 2011). This criticism, however, is argued to be inapplicable to The Path, which explicitly counters the productivity-idleness dichotomy. The game's slow and unrewarding gameplay, far from being a flaw, becomes a core element of its analysis. By focusing on The Path, the article aims to transcend this binary and explore how gaming can escape heteronormative time constraints. The concept of the player as a flâneur is introduced, suggesting that The Path facilitates a ‘queer time’ experience through its unique gameplay mechanics. This sets the framework for analyzing the game's anti-establishment aspects within the broader context of societal views on leisure and productivity.

The Path's experimental design is presented as characteristic of independent games, contrasting with the constraints of AAA titles. The game's aimless wandering in mysterious woods is highlighted as a departure from mainstream conventions. The article uses The Path as a strong case study for a queer deconstruction of gaming, building an argument applicable to other independent titles with similar gameplay, such as Journey (thatgamecompany, 2012) and Flower (thatgamecompany, 2009). These games, as noted by IGN (2009), diverge from the fast-paced, violent, and sensational elements prevalent in mainstream gaming. This comparison underscores the unique position of The Path within the broader landscape of video games, emphasizing its role as a form of artistic expression rather than mere entertainment. The comparison aids the argument that The Path isn't just an oddity, but representative of a larger trend.

The article delves into The Path’s narrative structure, highlighting the ambiguous desire to find the wolf, the uncertain deaths of the characters, and the exploration of diverse stages of femininity. These elements are presented as potentially queer interpretations of the Little Red Riding Hood tale, drawing parallels with feminist and queer adaptations, notably Angela Carter's tales in The Bloody Chamber (1982). Carter’s retellings, where female desire, sexuality, and independence transcend the heterosexual male gaze, are used to support the argument for a queer reading of The Path. The article directly contrasts the game's seemingly simple goal (reaching Grandma's house) with the hidden objective of finding the wolf, implying a purposeful subversion of expectations. This thematic analysis shows how the game’s mechanics deliberately confront and challenge traditional fairy tale tropes and their societal implications.

The article discusses scholarly interpretations of The Path, primarily focusing on its self-reflexive and deconstructive aspects. Scholars examined how the game breaks the assumed contract between player and game, challenging traditional goal setting and reward mechanisms (Ryan & Costello, 2012; Huizinga, 1955; Juul, 2005; Suits, 1978). While initially appearing to follow this contract, The Path ultimately establishes a new, exploratory contract, emphasizing hidden secrets within the virtual space. The game uses ludonarratological techniques—metaludicity, allusive fallacy, and illusory agency (Ensslin, 2013)—to highlight its subversive intent. However, the analysis argues that previous interpretations overlook the game’s dissidence and its potential as a queer narrative. It emphasizes that The Path's core elements not only queer the original Little Red Riding Hood tale but also the very concept of gaming itself, challenging conventional definitions of fun and reward.

One of the key challenges in studying video games is their overall length. However, the author notes that games are intertextual and function as both text and hypertext across different platforms. This allows researchers to engage with games without playing them repeatedly. The use of walkthrough videos on platforms like YouTube is highlighted as a crucial methodological tool. YouTube serves as a significant database for video game walkthroughs, enabling the researcher to access and rewatch specific moments, cutscenes, and dialogues without repeatedly replaying the game. This flexibility significantly aided the study of The Path, allowing for detailed analysis of specific gameplay moments. The author combined this approach with over 13 hours of personal gameplay, including two complete playthroughs, and supplementary viewing of walkthrough videos by CinnamonToastKen (2013). This multi-faceted approach demonstrates a sophisticated methodology for navigating the inherent challenges of video game research.

The researcher emphasizes their dual role throughout the study, functioning both as a gamer and a researcher. This dual perspective is highlighted as a strength of the methodology, allowing for an understanding of the game from both an experiential and analytical standpoint. By experiencing the game as a player, the researcher gained firsthand knowledge of the game's mechanics and emotional impact. This experiential understanding then informed the more rigorous analytical approach of the research. The interplay between personal experience and scholarly analysis is highlighted as a central feature of the methodology, ensuring both an intuitive and academic understanding of the game's complexities. This approach suggests the importance of subjective experience within academic video game research, enriching the scholarly analysis.

The Path's anti-ludic agenda is a central theme, directly challenging the norms of mainstream gaming. The article highlights how the game initially seems to embrace the ludic contract—the implied agreement between player and game regarding goals and rewards (Ryan & Costello, 2012; Huizinga, 1955; Juul, 2005; Suits, 1978)—by presenting a simple goal: reaching Grandma's house. However, this initial contract is quickly subverted. The true objective of encountering the wolf requires deviating from the path, creating an 'exploratory contract' focused on uncovering hidden secrets. The absence of rewards for actions like collecting flowers (144 in total), even though it encourages exploration, reinforces this anti-ludic approach. The player's satisfaction is not derived from achieving predefined goals but from the process of exploration itself. This intentional departure from traditional game mechanics challenges the very nature of what constitutes 'fun' in video games, prompting a re-evaluation of the player-game relationship.

The article connects The Path's anti-ludic nature to the concept of 'queer failure,' drawing on Halberstam's (2011) work and Ruberg's (2015) application of this concept to games. Halberstam conceptualizes failure as a vital aspect of queer political negativity, a rejection of heteronormative expectations. Ruberg expands this, arguing that 'fun' in video games, a guiding principle for game designers (Ruberg, 2015, p.110), becomes a site of heterosexist discipline. The Path’s failure to provide 'fun' in the hegemonic sense becomes a form of escape from this discipline, fostering a different kind of enjoyment based on exploration and self-discovery. The game's slow pace, which obscures the player's vision when running, actively encourages a slower, more deliberate mode of engagement. This further emphasizes the rejection of the fast-paced, competitive nature of many mainstream games. The game's structure, which provides no clear reward beyond the encounter with the wolf, is argued to reflect a queer resistance to prescribed narratives and expectations.

The Path is compared to Night in the Woods (Alec Holowka, Infinite Fall, 2017), another independent game that explores similar themes. Both games feature protagonists—the six Red Riding Hoods in The Path and Mae Borowski in Night in the Woods—who undergo a ‘queering process’ through flânerie. In Night in the Woods, Mae’s return to her hometown and gradual self-revelation through interactions with friends mirrors the player’s experience in The Path. Both protagonists reveal hidden depths and challenges to societal norms through slow, deliberate explorations of their respective environments. The comparison underlines how independent games can challenge typical game structures and use gameplay itself to explore themes of identity and self-discovery, subverting dominant narratives within the gaming landscape. This shared theme further supports the analysis of The Path as an example of how gaming can provide a space for exploring, and even challenging, societal norms.

The conclusion emphasizes The Path's complete embrace of postmodern flânerie. The game encourages players to make sense of the forest environment and the psyches of the Red Riding Hood characters. The absence of rewards, clear explanations, or linear progression contributes to an anti-chrononormative experience where time itself becomes irrelevant. While the game can be completed quickly if the player finds the wolves, its open-ended nature makes it virtually infinite. This limitless exploration contrasts sharply with the time-constrained, goal-oriented structure of many mainstream games. The deliberate lack of structure allows for a uniquely player-driven experience, where meaning is constructed rather than prescribed. This unstructured nature reflects the rejection of heteronormative time and the embrace of a more fluid, exploratory approach to gameplay.

The conclusion positions The Path within a broader context of independent games that challenge conventional gaming norms. These games are described as 'queering gaming' through unconventional gameplay that resists the automatic reward system often found in mainstream titles. Examples such as flower picking in The Path, admiring sunbeams in Journey, and randomly jumping on electric cables in Night in the Woods, illustrate this focus on aimless wandering and the shedding of productivity-based guilt. This approach offers a different view of video games, suggesting that the medium can serve as a space for queer appropriation and self-expression. By embracing failure and rejecting the pressure for constant achievement, these games offer 'new possibilities for existing' (MacKlin, 2007, p.252). The conclusion asserts the potential of video games to become sites of queer subversion, where players can enjoy not just playing but living 'in our own way, the wrong way' (Ruberg, 2015, p.122), rejecting mainstream pressures and expectations.