This aspect of the game serves as a conceptual backbone for much of the ideas and imagery featured, tying in perfectly with the other most important aspect of the game - a feminist critique of material western culture. For an examination of the feminist theory behind the game, go here. To read a more general review, go here. Please be aware that this article contains light spoilers.
Western Culture Prohibits Individuation and Wholeness of Girls
In the beginning of the game, the player is presented with six young girls of various ages, all seemingly content, each unique from her sisters. The youngest of these girls is nearly a toddler, while the oldest is on the brink of adolescence. Interestingly, this is the age where studies have shown girls actually have higher levels of self esteem than boys.
However, during adolescence, self esteem of girls plummets. This has become more and more true as our culture becomes more collectively media-centric. Girls struggle towards unattainable ideals and when they inevitably fail to meet the media’s impossible standards, their self image suffers. From a Jungian perspective, we could say that the wholeness we are born into as young children is shattered by the harsh and intolerant society in which we live. Furthermore, modern western society interferes with the ability of young women to individuate and regain their wholeness.
The Wolf as Societal Shadow
In The Path, this takes the form of the Wolf. The Path is loosely based around the strongly archetypal Little Red Riding Hood mythos. There are many, very old versions of this story, but in most of them the wolf seems to fill the role of the shadow (the woodcutter’s or the grandmother’s) or represent conflict between the masculine and feminine aspects of the self. In this game it seem that the Wolf represents the societal kryptonite for each of the characters. In some ways, this still presents aspects of the shadow self, as the Wolf is always a twisted version of the character’s positive attributes.
The Conflict Between Stereotypes and Archetypes
All six of the characters represent an aspect of girlhood or personality that is highly archetypal - and idea that is universal and powerful. The flower child, the young and curious maiden, the passionate artist, the young rebel - all these are examples of some of the archetypal energies found in the main characters. However, all of them seem to have corresponding societal stereotypes - two dimensional constructs created by the media that have on a conscious level taken the place of archetypes.
The eco nut, the slut, the airhead, the emo outcast are examples of such stereotypes. In this game, the main conflict truly is between stereotypes and archetypes and this conflict is deepened by the fact that it largely occurs within the player, not within the game itself. The game only plants the seeds, sets up the ambiguity that allows for stereotype application on the player’s end, only to contradict that stereotype at every turn.
The real battle then become between clinging to easy stereotypes that actually aren’t part of the reality of the game, or examining the reality of the game itself for answers, regardless of the unfamiliar ambiguity it may cause within players. In this way the game also incorporates social-cognitive psychology through confronting in players a possible intolerance for ambiguity, which may be something the gaming community may be more prone to because of high media exposure levels.
Archetypal Images in The Path
There are many archetypal symbols of the game, but the setting of the game as a whole seems to be key to the entire structure of gameplay. The character is in a huge, misty forest that is very much reminiscent of a dream state. A path cuts through the middle, leading to their destination. The player is told to stay on the path, but the game punishes players for blind obedience. The real object is to explore the forest, which really seems to symbolize the unconscious mind. To stay on the path leads to a safe but completely unfulfilling end. Deviating from it is rewarding, but ultimately painful - symbolic of modern society’s intolerance of individuality or deep self-knowledge.
The path also follows the notion that even though we may go different directions, we ultimately arrive at the same destination - the self.
The most blatant archetypal image in the game is Grandmother’s House. Houses are usually interpreted as being symbolic of the self when they occur in dreams, and definitely in The Path they contain the self of the character. If the character has not encountered the wolf, the house will be intact. But if the wolf has been met, one is immediately transported the house, which now contains all the horrors of the wolf’s encounter, and ultimately death.
The death that occurs seems mainly to be a death of the self, and it is clear that the death did not occur because of entering the house. Instead, from the character’s zombie like behavior directly after the wolf encounter, it is clear that the character has already been shattered - entering into the house simply allows us to journey through the soul of the character and bear witness to the destruction.
Ultimately, this is analogous for the destruction that society heaps upon the selves of girls. It is, in the game, a very emotionally difficult experience, but one that offers rewarding insight to players, especially those who are interested in Jungian Psychology.
 |
