The Adventures of TinTin is a series of comic books created by a Belgian artist Georges Remi, who published them under the pen name Herge. It would go on to be one of the most internationally popular comic book series, as it was published in over 70 languages by 2007. The series largely featured a young man named TinTin who travels the world going on adventures with his ever-expanding crew. If this sounds familiar to Pathway, that's because Simon and Stefan Bachmann of Robotality took a lot of inspiration for their game's setting from the iconic Adventures of TinTin comic books.
In a recent interview with Game Rant, Simon and Stefan Bachmann describe their love for The Adventures of TinTin comics and how it inspired the setting and mechanics in Pathway. Pathway takes place in the 1930s, as the world begins to foster unrest before World War 2. The adventurers in Pathway, like TinTin, take place during the 1930s and encapsulate some of the events happening at that time. Pathway also gives players the choice of a diverse crew of adventurers, reminiscent of the many teammates TinTin would run around with on any given quest.
Growing With The Adventures of TinTin Comic Books
The Adventures of TinTin often features realistic events that happened around that time. In the 1950s, Herge was able to release the complete and canon versions of his comics. The various books have been remastered and released multiple times since, allowing different generations to enjoy the slapstick comedy and international adventures that TinTin would get up to. With the various animated, written, and playable adaptations since its conception by Herge, more kids have access to The Adventures of TinTin than ever before. According to the Bachmann brothers,
"The Adventures of TinTin were very influential to us as kids. We loved the crazy stories TinTin went through...Unearthing strange things with his team mates and then always just narrowly escaping certain doom."
Their favorite parts about the comics were the strange and unique stories that TinTin would experience through the course of the comics. Part archeologist, part-hero, and full time reporter, TinTin is wherever the story is, for better or worse. Herge has inspired generation after generation of adventurers with his stories about the young reporter and his dog, Snowy.
How TinTin Influenced Pathway
The Bachmann brothers go on to describe how The Adventures of TinTin had a direct effect on the characters in Pathway. According to Simon Bachmann, players may even notice the homages to Herge's famous characters while they're traversing through Pathway's campaigns. Whether he was referring to the heroes or villains, avid fans of TinTin will have to hop into the game to find out.
"We always thought of the 5 adventures in Pathway as comic books you read/play after each other: Unrelated stories but same cast, taking place in the one universe and time period."
Simon also states that the layout of the different adventures is also based on the comics and is how Robotality sought to make the games feel like separate journeys. Each new adventure is meant to feel like a new TinTin book. Maybe the story starts with similar adventurers, but it can lead to all kinds of unforeseen events. In this way, Pathway is a successor to that adventurous spirit found in the comics.
Out of all the thousands of interesting comic book IPs out there, it's a bit surprising that The Adventures of TinTin would be the prime inspiration for a game like Pathway. Some even thought that Pathway found its setting in Indiana Jones before the developers corrected it in a previous interview. It goes to show how the media and characters we value as children stay with us, at least in some form, as we grow up.
Pathway is available on PC and Switch.