Secret Paths (video game)
{{Infobox video game
| developer = Purple Moon
| genre = Interactive novel
}}
Secret Paths in the Forest is a video game developed by Purple Moon. The game was designed to be episodic,{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/1997/09/purple-moon-finally-rises/ |title=Purple Moon Finally Rises |magazine=Wired |publisher= |last1=Eno |first1=Jennifer |access-date=2018-04-02 |archive-date=2018-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401150219/https://www.wired.com/1997/09/purple-moon-finally-rises/ |url-status=live }} and spawned sequels entitled "Secret Paths to Your Dreams" and "Secret Paths to the Sea”, which were released under Mattel after its 1999 acquisition of Purple Moon.
Plot and gameplay
The game sees characters return from Rockett's New School, where in a treehouse they reveal their deepest fears and thoughts. An example is Vietnamese-American child Minh, who is unhappy at the discordance in her parents' cultures.{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_n6oDQAAQBAJ&q=%22Secret+Paths+in+the+forest%22+OR+%22Secret+Paths+to+Your+Dreams%22+OR+%22Secret+Paths+to+the+Sea%E2%80%9D&pg=PA83|title = Brenda Laurel: Pioneering Games for Girls|isbn = 9781501319792|last1 = Kocurek|first1 = Carly A.|date = 2017-02-09|access-date = 2021-03-01|archive-date = 2024-05-01|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240501192016/https://books.google.com/books?id=_n6oDQAAQBAJ&q=%22Secret+Paths+in+the+forest%22+OR+%22Secret+Paths+to+Your+Dreams%22+OR+%22Secret+Paths+to+the+Sea%E2%80%9D&pg=PA83#v=snippet&q=%22Secret%20Paths%20in%20the%20forest%22%20OR%20%22Secret%20Paths%20to%20Your%20Dreams%22%20OR%20%22Secret%20Paths%20to%20the%20Sea%E2%80%9D&f=false|url-status = live}} Secret Paths to Your Dreams acts as diary software akin to Rockett's Adventure Maker.
Production
The game was designed as a result of years of market testing the way boys and girls respond to games differently, something which was heavily discussed at the time in video gaming literature.{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/millionerds/1998/02/sugar_spice_and_everything_nice.html|title=Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice|first=Michael|last=Lewis|date=4 February 1998|publisher=|via=Slate|access-date=2 April 2018|archive-date=2 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402163152/http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/millionerds/1998/02/sugar_spice_and_everything_nice.html|url-status=live}}
A 30-second TV spot for Secret Paths in the Forest played on network and cable stations in New York and Chicago in late 1997.{{cite web|url=http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/purple-moon-taps-hoffmanlewis-promote-its-cd-roms-girls-41625/|title=Purple Moon Taps Hoffman/Lewis To Promote Its CD-Roms For Girls|publisher=|access-date=2018-04-02|archive-date=2018-04-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401150006/http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/purple-moon-taps-hoffmanlewis-promote-its-cd-roms-girls-41625/|url-status=live}} In 1998, Purple Moon held a Sea World Treasure Trove promotion, part of which included the selling of this software at Sea World.{{cite web|url=http://adage.com/article/news/purple-moon-courts-sponsors-girls-site-balances-revenue-children-privacy-issues/66061/|title=PURPLE MOON COURTS SPONSORS: GIRLS SITE BALANCES REVENUE NEEDS WITH CHILDREN PRIVACY ISSUES|date=27 April 1998|publisher=|access-date=2 April 2018|archive-date=2 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402101443/http://adage.com/article/news/purple-moon-courts-sponsors-girls-site-balances-revenue-children-privacy-issues/66061/|url-status=live}}
Critical reception
In December 1997 alone, Secret Paths sold 23,539 units in the United States, according to PC Data.{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980213091131/http://gamespot.com:80/features/girlgames/index.html| url=http://gamespot.com:80/features/girlgames/index.html | title=The Games Girls Play: Who Says Girls are Afraid of Mice? | author=Slaton, Joyce | archive-date=February 13, 1998 | work=GameSpot | url-status=dead }} An article in The New York Times noted that young female playtesters enjoyed the title due to allowing them to see their own experiences played out through video game characters.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/05/technology/it-takes-a-child-to-raze-a-village.html|title=It Takes a Child to Raze a Village|first=Steve|last=Lohr|newspaper=The New York Times|date=5 March 1998|publisher=|access-date=2 April 2018|archive-date=2 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402101433/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/05/technology/it-takes-a-child-to-raze-a-village.html|url-status=live}} In 2017, Vice retrospectively looked at the game as a "(now adorably primitive) digital tool for building visual narratives".{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/hallucinatory-artscape-imac-altars-marina-fini-san-francisco/|title=Kneel at iMac Altars Inside This Hallucinatory Artscape|date=6 August 2017|publisher=|access-date=2 April 2018|archive-date=2 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402102014/https://creators.vice.com/en_au/article/bjmqkq/hallucinatory-artscape-imac-altars-marina-fini-san-francisco|url-status=live}} The Wow Climax: Tracing the Emotional Impact of Popular Culture thought the game wholly embodied the juvenile goth tradition of revealing secrets to how the adult world works and giving the players tools to deal with it.{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ACBcKivfRRwC&q=%22Secret+Paths+in+the+forest%22+OR+%22Secret+Paths+to+Your+Dreams%22+OR+%22Secret+Paths+to+the+Sea%E2%80%9D&pg=PA203| title=The Wow Climax: Tracing the Emotional Impact of Popular Culture| isbn=9780814743119| last1=Jenkins| first1=Henry| date=2006-12-24| access-date=2021-03-01| archive-date=2022-11-27| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127004054/https://books.google.com/books?id=ACBcKivfRRwC&q=%22Secret+Paths+in+the+forest%22+OR+%22Secret+Paths+to+Your+Dreams%22+OR+%22Secret+Paths+to+the+Sea%E2%80%9D&pg=PA203| url-status=live}}
The title was one of the top fifty selling entertainment titles over the 1997 holiday season. It became one of Purple Moon's most popular games,{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/jobsonworks/how-rocketts-new-school-was-the-mean-girls-of-90-uvg2|title=How Rockett's New School Was The Mean Girls Of '90s Games|website=BuzzFeed|publisher=|access-date=2018-04-02|archive-date=2018-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524081820/https://www.buzzfeed.com/jobsonworks/how-rocketts-new-school-was-the-mean-girls-of-90-uvg2|url-status=live}} and critically acclaimed.{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/1999/03/18/technology/mattel/|title=Mattel buys Purple Moon - Mar. 18, 1999|website=money.cnn.com|access-date=2020-08-03|archive-date=2018-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809122554/https://money.cnn.com/1999/03/18/technology/mattel/|url-status=live}} The game was nominated by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in the category of PC Family/Kids Title of the Year during its inaugural awards ceremony.{{cite web|url=http://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idGame=786|title=D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details|first=Academy Of Interactive Arts &|last=Sciences|website=www.interactive.org|access-date=2018-04-02|archive-date=2018-04-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402163135/http://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idGame=786|url-status=live}}