Take a look at the early concept doc that eventually became Road Not Taken

Developer Spry Fox hasn’t been shy about exploring the defining elements of its game Road Not Taken, but an initial concept doc shared by studio co-founder and game designer Daniel Cook takes this exploration one step further by offering a look at the early ideas that kicked off the game’s development. 

It’s always interesting to take a look back on design documents after a game is finished to see which early concepts stuck with a game from pitch to release, but documents like this are especially useful for game developers and designers looking to refine their own pitches and initial concepts.

The document describes the game, then called Off The Path, as a casual, non-violent roguelike. The bulk of Cook’s initial concept zeroes in on the core mechanics envisioned for the early idea and details ideas for the game’s map, movement, and options for interacting with objects. 

Cook said that the initial concept shares some mechanical similarities and rough thematic elements with Road Not Taken, but explained that the document mostly represents a starting point.

The document in full can be found on Google Drive. To learn about some of the noteworthy elements from the final version of Road Not Taken, take a look at Cook’s talk about of the game’s emphasis on narrative and his deep dive into its movement system.