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INDEPENDENT APPS · 2026

Paths of Wonder

In development
My contribution
Writing, product design & engineering
Current chapter
Reader built · stories and testing ongoing
Explore
Explore Paths of Wonder

Choose a door.
Become part of the story.

Paths of Wonder began with a dad’s wish to write stories where children could take the lead.

Name the hero, name a piece of the world, and decide what to do when things get strange.

Paths of Wonder library interface study, showing three illustrated doors in an open book.
Library interface study. Three illustrated doors give each authored adventure its own atmosphere; this image is a design study, not a released app screen.Select image to enlarge

THE NEED

Let the reader steer the adventure.

I wanted to write branching stories where children could recognize themselves in the adventure. The reader needed to get out of the writing’s way.

I write the branching stories and built the reader around them. The engine separates story data, navigation, and reader state, so a branch can change without redesigning the app.

02 · THE MAKING

The craft behind the choices.

  1. Choose

    Three worlds to explore, from a neighborhood full of malfunctioning robots to a strange starship and a land running out of magic.

  2. Name

    Readers name their hero and part of the world. Those names become part of the authored story.

  3. Decide

    Choices lead to different scenes and endings, giving a second reading somewhere new to go.

  4. Return

    Each book keeps its own local progress and reading preferences. Stories, fonts, and artwork are bundled into the iOS app.

WHAT WORKS TODAY

The reader is built. The stories are growing.

  • Three authored adventures are in development, with choices that lead to different scenes and endings.
  • The reader is packaged for iPhone and iPad, with local progress and reading preferences for each book.
  • Stories and testing remain in progress. The planned October 2026 launch depends on that work being ready.

BUILT WITH

React · Vite · Capacitor · Custom story engine

Last reviewed September 2026