Hi gardeners,
The Garden Path is developed by one person - Louis Durrant! From creating art to composing the soundtrack, he's spent many years crafting the mysterious, beautiful Garden. It's an incredible labor of love, and the community team sat down with him for a chat to learn more about his inspirations and thoughts in bringing The Garden Path to life.
Who are you?
I'm Louis Durrant, I'm an illustrator based in the UK. I've had an interest in making games since I can remember, and started releasing my own in 2017, beginning with 'Crossing the Cold Valley', and then 'Kingdom Ka' in 2018, both short, linear adventure games. I've been working on The Garden Path since.
What is The Garden Path?
It's a game about gardening! Really I think of The Garden Path is a game you come back to, that you check in with from time to time. It's about the Garden at heart, and being in that space, and shaping the space in your own small way.
What were your inspirations?
I've always loved the sense of being lost in those early MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XI, and I wondered if I could capture a little bit of that, but without the pressure of combat or levelling up.
But the game is also inspired partly by my time as a boyscout. As I developed the game I realized there was so much inspiration that could be taken directly from the natural world. I really wanted to make a game where the flora and foliage isn't just there to fill the space, but where each plant is its own entity that you can harvest and analyze - from large maturing oaks down to the smallest clover you might not even notice.
What tree or plant is your favorite in The Garden Path?
I think I'd have to go for the Scots Pine. They really help define the area they're in because of their size, and I love their warm bark and the deep bluey-greens in their foliage. They also offer some interesting things to harvest, if you have your wits about you.
Who's your favourite character?
If I can pick a duo, I'd have to pick Weyley & Terracotta! They were a later addition to the game, but they arrived as I'd spent more time thinking about the history and story of the Garden, and so they really had that at the core of their design. I have the most fun writing the interactions between them, as it was a new challenge writing a duo that interacted amongst themselves as well as the player. The caravan itself has a real visual presence in the game too, and makes me smile whenever I stumble upon it in testing.
What's been the most challenging/rewarding part of developing a game solo?
I've always enjoyed figuring things out, and there's nothing quite as satisfying as every piece of the puzzle coming together and seeing it come alive.
It can be isolating at times, though. There's a great deal of pressure when you're the only person who knows the answer to something, or the only person who can fix something. Fixing bugs is fun (usually), but there's also the weight of knowing that a bug might have ruined someone else's fun, and you're the only one responsible. That’s something I’m constantly working through.
The Garden Path was surely no solo effort, and wouldn't be where it is today without so much hard work from the people who have come and gone, and helped along the way.
Any dreams for the future of carrotcake?
If the money and the interest is there, I'd love to bring some people on-board! carrotcake was never intended to be some solo crusade, and if I can find some like-minded people then I’d love to pick their brains.
We've all got ideas of video games we'd like to see be made, and I'm still no exception. But The Garden Path remains my priority so long as people enjoy playing it and I enjoy working on it.
If you'd like to meet travellers like Weyley and Terracotta or admire the in-game Scots Pines, come wander in The Garden Path! And if you already have the game, we would appreciate a review. It's one of the best ways to help a small indie dev, as Steam reviews help boost The Garden Path's discoverability 💚
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638500/The_Garden_Path/
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