Title: Absurd Paths (prototype)
Date: May 2009
Absurd Paths started as a personal expression of frustration, confusion, and a general sense of feeling completely lost. I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. I wanted to convey with gameplay-as-narrative that one's path in life is often (usually) unclear. Sometimes our choices are between two or more different absurd paths. We bounce around from opportunity to opportunity, from decision to decision, and we don't always know where we're going. It's like water rushing down a hillside, smashing against every rock on the way down. Or, like a projectile shot from a cannon that gets knocked around until it reaches a definite goal. Then in looking back we can see the absurd paths we have followed and where they have led us.
This project was put on hold when I was accepted to the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon. It turns out there actually is a place for me (at least for now).
Press SPACE to play the prototype for Absurd Paths (you may need to click on the embedded Flash object first). The arrow keys angle the launcher back and forth, and the SPACE bar launches a projectile. After completing the last level, the game traps itself in an infinite loop of reliving that final level. Some may say that is just developer laziness. Others may think that it is altogether fitting given the subject matter. I leave it up to the player to decide for themselves.
This prototype is very short. It was only intended to make sure the core gameplay was engaging enough to pursue completely. There are many more ideas I would like to implement in the final version, many of which include different methods of firing the projectile or longer stages that scroll vertically as the player progresses.