Critical Path Project

Critical Path Project
Website type	Interview Archive
Available in	English
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Owner	Artifact
Creator	David Grabias
Website	www.criticalpathproject.com
Launched	July 23, 2012; 14 years ago
Current status	Inactive

The Critical Path Project (stylized CRITICAL///PATH) was a video archive of interviews with video game designers and developers.

Launched on July 23, 2012, Critical Path contained over 1,000 videos of interviews with over 100 developers, conducted between 2010 and 2016. According to director David Grabias, the project's goals include:

To provide a documentary-based venue for critical discussion about the art of making video games.
To provide developers with a place where they can come for inspiration.
To provide players with insight into their game experience.
To make gamers aware of the great minds behind the great games.
To document the current state of game development for future generations.

Topics covered in the interviews include violence in games, methods of storytelling, game mechanics, player interaction, psychology behind playing games, commercialism in the industry, and the future of video games, among others.

All clips on the site were available for free viewing online, and there were plans to release a full-length documentary in the future. According to its copyright notice, the site shut down in 2016, so the latter never happened. As of 2026, all the videos from the now inactive website are available on the Critical Path YouTube channel.

Interview Subjects

The site currently features video clips with interviews from the following notable developers, among others:

Discussion

A few quotes from the site have raised discussions between critics and fans alike. For example, Metal Gear Solid Director Hideo Kojima (famous for his cinematic narrative scenes) mentions that he's "not trying to tell a story." Sid Meier says he's "failed as a designer" when players use cheats, causing some stir with gamers when they discovered an all-powerful Sid Meier character in the latest Firaxis release, X-COM: Enemy Unknown.

The archive presents a variety of differing opinions from developers. For example, Cliff Bleszinski speaks about creating empowerment fantasies for players, while Warren Spector condemns the practice. Sid Meier says that "micromanagement is not fun" and other developers, like Fable's Peter Molyneux, Ultima's Richard Garriott, and others attempt to create games that give the player as much freedom and decision-making as possible.

References

1 2 Critical Path /// insights from the greatest minds in videogames
↑ Critical Path /// About Us
↑ Tipps, Seth "Games industry luminaries to feature in new documentary" Archived 2012-07-26 at the Wayback Machine, Develop-Online.net. July 23, 2012.
↑ Gilmore, Dave "Critical Path project provides introspection and institutional memory to game design", The Baltimore Sun. July 25, 2012.
↑ Conditt, Jessica "Critical Path, more than an archive of interviews with your favorite devs", Joystiq.com. July 23, 2012.
↑ Cocke, Taylor "Developers Talk Games in Critical Path" Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine, GameSpy.com. July 23, 2012.
↑ Duryee, Tricia "Game Gurus Finally Get Some Screen Time in Documentary Interviews", AllThingsD.com. July 23, 2012.
↑ Plunkett, Luke "Gamers “Really Loved Killing” Lara Croft, Because She Was a “Strong” Character" Kotaku.com. July 25, 2012.
↑ "Creators of 'The Sims,' 'Monkey Island,' 'Halo,' 'Gears' speak in Critical Path interviews" Yahoo.com. July 24, 2012.
1 2 Cifaldo, Frank "Have game designers failed when players are cheating?", Gamasutra.com. July 23, 2012.
↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray TheVerge.com. July 23, 2012.
↑ Cifaldo, Frank "How to know when your game idea is good enough to make", Gamasutra.com. July 24, 2012.
↑ Rigney, Ryan "Video Game Auteurs Define Their Industry In Critical Path" Wired. July 23, 2012.
↑ Kuchera, Ben "Critical Path shares insight from the industry’s leading minds, tackles “wall of white dudes”", Penny-Arcade.com. July 27, 2012.
↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray TheVerge.com. July 23, 2012.
↑ Kojima, Hideo "Story vs. Interactivity" CRITICAL///PATH Project.
↑ Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin "Man behind Metal Gear thinks "games shouldn't try to tell stories" : Probably the maddest thing Hideo Kojima's ever said" July 24, 2012.
↑ Rosenberg, Adam "Hideo Kojima Argues Against Storytelling In Games" Archived 2013-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, G4TV.com. July 25, 2012.
↑ Meier, Sid "Game Breaking" CRITICAL///PATH Project.
↑ GiantBomb.com.
↑ Bleszinski, Cliff "Empowerment Fantasy" CRITICAL///PATH Project.
↑ Spector, Warren "Adolescent Power Fantasies" CRITICAL///PATH Project.
↑ Meier, Sid "Is it Work or Fun?" CRITICAL///PATH Project.

External links

[criticalpathproject.com-1] 1 2 Critical Path /// insights from the greatest minds in videogames

[2] Critical Path /// About Us

[3] Tipps, Seth "Games industry luminaries to feature in new documentary" Archived 2012-07-26 at the Wayback Machine, Develop-Online.net. July 23, 2012.

[4] Gilmore, Dave "Critical Path project provides introspection and institutional memory to game design", The Baltimore Sun. July 25, 2012.

[5] Conditt, Jessica "Critical Path, more than an archive of interviews with your favorite devs", Joystiq.com. July 23, 2012.

[6] Cocke, Taylor "Developers Talk Games in Critical Path" Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine, GameSpy.com. July 23, 2012.

[7] Duryee, Tricia "Game Gurus Finally Get Some Screen Time in Documentary Interviews", AllThingsD.com. July 23, 2012.

[8] Plunkett, Luke "Gamers “Really Loved Killing” Lara Croft, Because She Was a “Strong” Character" Kotaku.com. July 25, 2012.

[9] "Creators of 'The Sims,' 'Monkey Island,' 'Halo,' 'Gears' speak in Critical Path interviews" Yahoo.com. July 24, 2012.

[gamasutra-10] 1 2 Cifaldo, Frank "Have game designers failed when players are cheating?", Gamasutra.com. July 23, 2012.

[11] Corriea, Alexa Ray TheVerge.com. July 23, 2012.

[12] Cifaldo, Frank "How to know when your game idea is good enough to make", Gamasutra.com. July 24, 2012.

[13] Rigney, Ryan "Video Game Auteurs Define Their Industry In Critical Path" Wired. July 23, 2012.

[14] Kuchera, Ben "Critical Path shares insight from the industry’s leading minds, tackles “wall of white dudes”", Penny-Arcade.com. July 27, 2012.

[15] Corriea, Alexa Ray TheVerge.com. July 23, 2012.

[16] Kojima, Hideo "Story vs. Interactivity" CRITICAL///PATH Project.

[17] Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin "Man behind Metal Gear thinks "games shouldn't try to tell stories" : Probably the maddest thing Hideo Kojima's ever said" July 24, 2012.

[18] Rosenberg, Adam "Hideo Kojima Argues Against Storytelling In Games" Archived 2013-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, G4TV.com. July 25, 2012.

[19] Meier, Sid "Game Breaking" CRITICAL///PATH Project.

[20] GiantBomb.com.

[21] Bleszinski, Cliff "Empowerment Fantasy" CRITICAL///PATH Project.

[22] Spector, Warren "Adolescent Power Fantasies" CRITICAL///PATH Project.

[23] Meier, Sid "Is it Work or Fun?" CRITICAL///PATH Project.