<s>
The	O
Path	O
is	O
a	O
psychological	O
horror	O
art	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Tale	O
of	O
Tales	O
originally	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
on	O
March	O
18	O
,	O
2009	O
in	O
English	O
and	O
Dutch	O
,	O
and	O
later	O
ported	O
to	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
by	O
TransGaming	O
Technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
inspired	O
by	O
several	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
fairy	O
tale	O
Little	O
Red	O
Riding	O
Hood	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
folklore	B-Application
tropes	O
and	O
conventions	O
in	O
general	O
,	O
but	O
set	O
in	O
contemporary	O
times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Path	O
was	O
announced	O
on	O
the	O
Tale	O
of	O
Tales	O
Game	O
Design	O
forum	O
on	O
March	O
16	O
,	O
2006	O
under	O
the	O
working	O
title	O
144	B-Application
,	O
on	O
the	O
pattern	O
of	O
their	O
first-started	O
,	O
on-hiatus	O
Tale	O
of	O
Tales	O
8	O
(	O
chosen	O
for	O
the	O
universal	O
,	O
language-independent	O
nature	O
of	O
Arabic	O
numerals	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
number	O
originally	O
referred	O
to	O
the	O
six	O
24-hour	O
periods	O
of	O
the	O
six	O
days	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
set	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
the	O
released	O
version	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
144	B-Application
coin	O
flowers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Justin	O
McElroy	O
of	O
Engadget	B-Application
commented	O
on	O
gameplay	O
mechanics	O
:	O
"	O
You	O
get	O
one	O
instruction	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
you	O
have	O
to	O
disregard	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Steven	O
Poole	O
of	O
Edge	O
opined	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
"	O
a	O
supremely	O
boring	O
collection	O
of	O
FMVs	B-Application
with	O
pretensions	O
to	O
interactivity	O
that	O
very	O
quickly	O
wears	O
out	O
its	O
joke	O
about	O
control	O
and	O
becomes	O
a	O
tedious	O
slab	O
of	O
nihilistic	O
whimsy	O
,	O
"	O
yet	O
noting	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
features	O
a	O
"	O
lugubrious	O
,	O
Lynchian	O
surrealism	O
"	O
and	O
that	O
"	O
in	O
its	O
ornery	O
and	O
precious	O
way	O
,	O
The	O
Path	O
is	O
a	O
triumph	O
of	O
atmosphere	O
,	O
coming	O
much	O
closer	O
than	O
the	O
cruder	O
shocks	O
of	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Silent	B-Application
Hill	I-Application
or	O
BioShock	B-Application
to	O
a	O
dramatization	O
of	O
what	O
Ernst	O
Jentsch	O
and	O
Freud	O
analyzed	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
uncanny	O
"	O
in	O
literature.	O
"	O
</s>
