The Path is an indie horror game -- and I'm not even sure it'll be a game in the conventional sense of the word -- created by Belgian developer Tale of Tales, due out on March 18th. As I mentioned on Friday, I stumbled across the game's web site and was intrigued enough to start a brief email exchange with the developers about their artistic influences. As an example, they sent me a link to these creepy doll makers in Korea (if you want to have trouble sleeping tonight, click here and here).

But they also told me about some of the artists whose work inspired the look of The Path.

After the jump, read about Tale of Tale's unique interaction with the artists who inspired them.

That's Ginger on the left. She's one of the characters in The Path, which consists of six different representations of Little Red Riding Hood, each a girl at a different age, and each representing a different aspect of the fairy tale.

But that picture wasn't drawn by Tale of Tales. It was created by a Maltese artist named Lisa Falzon. As Tale of Tales explains on their blog:

The design of the characters of The Path was inspired by the work of several artists and illustrators. As a way of paying tribute to these people, we are inviting them for a short interview, conducted by the six Red Girls themselves. We're also asking them if they can pick one of the characters and make a drawing inspired by her design. As a way of making the circle complete.

Using the girls from the game as interviewers is actually a canny gimmick. If I'm not mistaken, there's a reason Robin asks a simple question about Miss Falzon's subjects being happy, Carmen asks Miss Falzon whether she had a boyfriend, and Ruby gets at the more grotesque aspect of Miss Falzon's recent pictures. In the process of paying homage to artists they respect, Tale of Tales is also telling us something about the characters. They're laying groundwork for the game.

I've been told there are upcoming interviews with Ray Cesar and Fuco Ueda, two other artists Tale of Tales sites as influences. And it seems that Tale of Tales founder Michael Samyn has been doing occasional interviews for the last two years. How often do you see that? A developer curious and inquisitiveness to want to interview other developers? In the interviews, you can get a glimpse of Tale of Tales' philosophy. From the interview with American McGee:

Fairy tales are often about growing up and learning how to live with others. As a result, they deal with sexual maturing and relationships (family, friends, lovers). It is a modern misconception that fairy tales are innocent stories with not much relevance.

And:

I'm very happy that you put art and narrative before game play. Too many game designers put too much focus on gameplay, in my opinion, while indeed, it is only one aspect of games, and as you point out, not necessarily the most important one.

In an interview with author Chris Bateman, you'll find what looks like a charming bit of naivete:

Do you know why the few games that succeed in appealing to a larger and more diverse audience (The Sims and Grand Theft Auto), have not started a revolution in the industry? Why are developers and publishers still content with selling a few million copies of their first person alien shooter when they could be selling several more millions with a more sophisticated, inclusive design?

What an endearingly optimistic take on the development process. It's a bit like a little kid telling you that when she grows up, she's going to be President of the United States.

I still have no idea what the actual gameplay is going to be when The Path is released, but I'm more curious than ever to see how it turns out.