External Links


Play Adrift 4 version online with Parchment
Plays well with this interpreter (Parchment) unlike the ADRIFT WebRunner and ADRIFT 5 Runner which do not play Adrift 4 games well.
Play this game in your Web browser.
Z-code version
Contains pathway.z8
Z-code version
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
ADRIFT 5 version
Requires Adrift 5 interpreter such as Frankendrift of Adrift 5 Runner
Requires an ADRIFT version 5 interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
ADRIFT 4 version - do NOT play with Adrift 5!!!
Contains pathway.taf
This version should NOT be played with Adrift 5 interpreters as Adrift 4 and 5 are not fully compatible.
Requires an ADRIFT version 4 interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links. (Compressed with ZIP. Free Unzip tools are available for most systems at www.info-zip.org.)
Quest 5 story file
Game ported to Quest 5.​8 by author
This game requires an interpreter program - refer to the game's documentation for details.

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Pathway to Destruction

by Richard Otter

Science Fiction
2005

Web Site

(based on 7 ratings)
2 reviews

About the Story

You have worked at the Institute of Transportation for nearly five years. As one of the engineering team in the Research and Development section, it is considered a highly respected position and is particularly well paid. In recent years it has become even more important, as with a growing population the global transport system is struggling to cope. A complete collapse has been predicted in a little under five years' time.

You are currently working on the Pathway project which is a new developmental Rapid Transit System (RTS). This holds out the promise of fast, efficient and cheap travel. You do not fully understand the science behind it but it has something to do with particles, magnetism and time travel. Basically, you arrive at your destination the exact same moment you leave your starting point.

The initial trials have been extremely promising and the first long distance test is now underway. The intent was for you to be 'particled' (as it is called) from one side of the planet to the other and then back again. They strapped you into a chair situated in the centre of the testing chamber and the senior technician on the project gave you the thumbs up sign from the control room. First your hands and feet started to tingle, then your vision blurred, then... nothing.

NOTES
Originally written with ADRIFT 4. Later it was ported to Inform, Quest and ADRIFT 5.


Game Details


Awards

1st Place - Finish The Game Comp 2005

9th Place - InsideADRIFT End of Year Comp 2005

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Number of Reviews: 2
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Reviewing the Inform z-code remake..., May 11, 2008

An experiment went wrong... society has crumbled... figure out what happened by collecting some conveniently scattered objects from around the world map! Its an age-old formula for text adventures (see e.g. GLOWGRASS) as it means no NPCs so no pesky mimesis-breaking "I dont know anything about that" type conversations. Add some occasional clumsy writing, and at least one moment of undirected wandering, and you have a potential recipe for tedium... but luckily there is enough evocative imagery (a city skyline described as "a row of sharp, jagged teeth") and fun puzzle-based gameplay (with hints) that it will keep you playing to the end. Credit to the author for daring to break away from his ADRIFT comfort zone (this review is for the full rewrite of his ADRIFT game in Inform) - I look forward to his future z-code efforts.

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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Interesting Sci-fi Game, March 22, 2008
by Jim Turner (Ireland)

This is a sci-fi game set in the future. I found the game very interesting if a little hard at times.

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Pathway to Destruction on IFDB

Recommended Lists

Pathway to Destruction appears in the following Recommended Lists:

Games Worth Playing by Jim Turner
Some of the games I liked best.

Older Frankendrift compatible games by Denk
Frankendrift was first published in 2021, which made Adrift 5 games playable on Mac and Linux and provides a lighter Runner for Windows as well, though without sound so far. So older Adrift 5 games may have been overlooked on those...

Polls

The following polls include votes for Pathway to Destruction:

NPC-less Exploration by Dannii
Supposedly one of IFs strengths is for exploring places with few other people, often abandoned places, but I can't think of many works which have zero NPCs and consist of a lot of exploration. Usually there's at least one NPC, or the...




This is version 22 of this page, edited by Richard Otter on 8 March 2024 at 6:28am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page