diff --git a/src/platform.h b/src/platform.h
index 2a21894..e755b4c 100644
--- a/src/platform.h
+++ b/src/platform.h
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ bool platform_get_fullscreen();
 void platform_set_fullscreen(bool fullscreen);
 void platform_set_audio_mix_cb(void (*cb)(float *buffer, uint32_t len));
 
+uint8_t *platform_load_asset(const char *name, uint32_t *bytes_read);
+uint8_t *platform_load_userdata(const char *name, uint32_t *bytes_read);
+uint32_t platform_store_userdata(const char *name, void *bytes, int32_t len);
+
 #if defined(RENDERER_SOFTWARE)
 	rgba_t *platform_get_screenbuffer(int32_t *pitch);
 #endif
diff --git a/src/platform_sdl.c b/src/platform_sdl.c
index a702e5a..6a07968 100755
--- a/src/platform_sdl.c
+++ b/src/platform_sdl.c
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 #include "platform.h"
 #include "input.h"
 #include "system.h"
+#include "utils.h"
+#include "mem.h"
 
 static uint64_t perf_freq = 0;
 static bool wants_to_exit = false;
@@ -10,6 +12,9 @@ static SDL_Window *window;
 static SDL_AudioDeviceID audio_device;
 static SDL_GameController *gamepad;
 static void (*audio_callback)(float *buffer, uint32_t len) = NULL;
+static char *path_assets = NULL;
+static char *path_userdata = NULL;
+static char *temp_path = NULL;
 
 
 uint8_t platform_sdl_gamepad_map[] = {
@@ -223,6 +228,28 @@ void platform_set_audio_mix_cb(void (*cb)(float *buffer, uint32_t len)) {
 }
 
 
+uint8_t *platform_load_asset(const char *name, uint32_t *bytes_read) {
+	char *path = strcat(strcpy(temp_path, path_assets), name);
+	return file_load(path, bytes_read);
+}
+
+uint8_t *platform_load_userdata(const char *name, uint32_t *bytes_read) {
+	char *path = strcat(strcpy(temp_path, path_userdata), name);
+	if (!file_exists(path)) {
+		*bytes_read = 0;
+		return NULL;
+	}
+	return file_load(path, bytes_read);
+}
+
+uint32_t platform_store_userdata(const char *name, void *bytes, int32_t len) {
+	char *path = strcat(strcpy(temp_path, path_userdata), name);
+	return file_store(path, bytes, len);
+}
+
+
+
+
 #if defined(RENDERER_GL) // ----------------------------------------------------
 	#define PLATFORM_WINDOW_FLAGS SDL_WINDOW_OPENGL
 	SDL_GLContext platform_gl;
@@ -317,7 +344,37 @@ void platform_set_audio_mix_cb(void (*cb)(float *buffer, uint32_t len)) {
 int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 	SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_VIDEO | SDL_INIT_AUDIO | SDL_INIT_JOYSTICK | SDL_INIT_GAMECONTROLLER);
 
-	int gcdb_res = SDL_GameControllerAddMappingsFromFile("gamecontrollerdb.txt");
+	// Figure out the absolute asset and userdata paths. These may either be
+	// supplied at build time through -DPATH_ASSETS=.. and -DPATH_USERDATA=.. 
+	// or received at runtime from SDL. Note that SDL may return NULL for these.
+	// We fall back to the current directory (i.e. just "") in this case.
+
+	#ifdef PATH_ASSETS
+		path_assets = TOSTRING(PATH_ASSETS);
+	#else
+		path_assets = SDL_GetBasePath();
+		if (path_assets == NULL) {
+			path_assets = "";
+		}
+	#endif
+
+	#ifdef PATH_USERDATA
+		path_userdata = TOSTRING(PATH_USERDATA);
+	#else
+		path_userdata = SDL_GetPrefPath("phoboslab", "wipeout");
+		if (path_userdata == NULL) {
+			path_userdata = "";
+		}
+	#endif
+
+	// Reserve some space for concatenating the asset and userdata paths with
+	// local filenames.
+	temp_path = mem_bump(max(strlen(path_assets), strlen(path_userdata)) + 64);
+
+	// Load gamecontrollerdb.txt if present.
+	// FIXME: Should this load from userdata instead?
+	char *gcdb_path = strcat(strcpy(temp_path, path_assets), "gamecontrollerdb.txt");
+	int gcdb_res = SDL_GameControllerAddMappingsFromFile(gcdb_path);
 	if (gcdb_res < 0) {
 		printf("Failed to load gamecontrollerdb.txt\n");
 	}
@@ -325,6 +382,12 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 		printf("load gamecontrollerdb.txt\n");
 	}
 
+
+
+	gamepad = platform_find_gamepad();
+
+	perf_freq = SDL_GetPerformanceFrequency();
+
 	audio_device = SDL_OpenAudioDevice(NULL, 0, &(SDL_AudioSpec){
 		.freq = 44100,
 		.format = AUDIO_F32,
@@ -333,10 +396,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 		.callback = platform_audio_callback
 	}, NULL, 0);
 
-	gamepad = platform_find_gamepad();
-
-	perf_freq = SDL_GetPerformanceFrequency();
-
 	window = SDL_CreateWindow(
 		SYSTEM_WINDOW_NAME,
 		SDL_WINDOWPOS_CENTERED, SDL_WINDOWPOS_CENTERED,
@@ -357,6 +416,9 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 	system_cleanup();
 	platform_video_cleanup();
 
+	SDL_free(path_assets);
+	SDL_free(path_userdata);
+
 	SDL_CloseAudioDevice(audio_device);
 	SDL_Quit();
 	return 0;
diff --git a/src/platform_sokol.c b/src/platform_sokol.c
index 709fb43..f6ca41c 100644
--- a/src/platform_sokol.c
+++ b/src/platform_sokol.c
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 #include "platform.h"
 #include "system.h"
+#include "utils.h"
+#include "mem.h"
 
 #if defined(RENDERER_GL)
 	#ifdef __EMSCRIPTEN__
@@ -17,6 +19,22 @@
 #include "libs/sokol_app.h"
 #include "input.h"
 
+// FIXME: we should figure out the actual path where the executabe resides,
+// instead of just assuming it's in the pwd
+#ifdef PATH_ASSETS
+	static const char *path_assets = TOSTRING(PATH_ASSETS);
+#else
+	static const char *path_assets = "";
+#endif
+
+#ifdef PATH_USERDATA
+	static const char *path_userdata = TOSTRING(PATH_USERDATA);
+#else
+	static const char *path_userdata = "";
+#endif
+
+static char *temp_path;
+
 static const uint8_t keyboard_map[] = {
 	[SAPP_KEYCODE_SPACE] = INPUT_KEY_SPACE,
 	[SAPP_KEYCODE_APOSTROPHE] = INPUT_KEY_APOSTROPHE,
@@ -246,7 +264,28 @@ void platform_set_audio_mix_cb(void (*cb)(float *buffer, uint32_t len)) {
 	audio_callback = cb;
 }
 
+uint8_t *platform_load_asset(const char *name, uint32_t *bytes_read) {
+	char *path = strcat(strcpy(temp_path, path_assets), name);
+	return file_load(path, bytes_read);
+}
+
+uint8_t *platform_load_userdata(const char *name, uint32_t *bytes_read) {
+	char *path = strcat(strcpy(temp_path, path_userdata), name);
+	if (!file_exists(path)) {
+		*bytes_read = 0;
+		return NULL;
+	}
+	return file_load(path, bytes_read);
+}
+
+uint32_t platform_store_userdata(const char *name, void *bytes, int32_t len) {
+	char *path = strcat(strcpy(temp_path, path_userdata), name);
+	return file_store(path, bytes, len);
+}
+
 sapp_desc sokol_main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
+	temp_path = mem_bump(max(strlen(path_assets), strlen(path_userdata)) + 64);
+
 	stm_setup();
 
 	saudio_setup(&(saudio_desc){
diff --git a/src/utils.c b/src/utils.c
index b6eeb4b..596e757 100644
--- a/src/utils.c
+++ b/src/utils.c
@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@ char *get_path(const char *dir, const char *file) {
 }
 
 
-bool file_exists(char *path) {
+bool file_exists(const char *path) {
 	struct stat s;
 	return (stat(path, &s) == 0);
 }
 
-uint8_t *file_load(char *path, uint32_t *bytes_read) {
+uint8_t *file_load(const char *path, uint32_t *bytes_read) {
 	FILE *f = fopen(path, "rb");
 	error_if(!f, "Could not open file for reading: %s", path);
 
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ uint8_t *file_load(char *path, uint32_t *bytes_read) {
 	return bytes;
 }
 
-uint32_t file_store(char *path, void *bytes, int32_t len) {
+uint32_t file_store(const char *path, void *bytes, int32_t len) {
 	FILE *f = fopen(path, "wb");
 	error_if(!f, "Could not open file for writing: %s", path);
 
diff --git a/src/utils.h b/src/utils.h
index d8a838d..861ef54 100644
--- a/src/utils.h
+++ b/src/utils.h
@@ -71,9 +71,9 @@ bool str_starts_with(const char *haystack, const char *needle);
 float rand_float(float min, float max);
 int32_t rand_int(int32_t min, int32_t max); 
 
-bool file_exists(char *path);
-uint8_t *file_load(char *path, uint32_t *bytes_read);
-uint32_t file_store(char *path, void *bytes, int32_t len);
+bool file_exists(const char *path);
+uint8_t *file_load(const char *path, uint32_t *bytes_read);
+uint32_t file_store(const char *path, void *bytes, int32_t len);
 
 
 #define sort(LIST, LEN, COMPARE_FUNC) \
diff --git a/src/wipeout/game.c b/src/wipeout/game.c
index 4066c16..5fa8b72 100755
--- a/src/wipeout/game.c
+++ b/src/wipeout/game.c
@@ -502,13 +502,17 @@ static int global_textures_len = 0;
 static void *global_mem_mark = 0;
 
 void game_init() {
-	if (file_exists("save.dat")) {
-		uint32_t size;
-		save_t *save_file = (save_t *)file_load("save.dat", &size);
+	
+	uint32_t size;
+	save_t *save_file = (save_t *)platform_load_userdata("save.dat", &size);
+	if (save_file) {
 		if (size == sizeof(save_t) && save_file->magic == SAVE_DATA_MAGIC) {
 			printf("load save data success\n");
 			memcpy(&save, save_file, sizeof(save_t));
 		}
+		else {
+			printf("unexpected size/magic for save data");
+		}
 		mem_temp_free(save_file);
 	}
 
@@ -631,7 +635,7 @@ void game_update() {
 		// FIXME: use a text based format?
 		// FIXME: this should probably run async somewhere
 		save.is_dirty = false;
-		file_store("save.dat", &save, sizeof(save_t)); 
+		platform_store_userdata("save.dat", &save, sizeof(save_t)); 
 		printf("wrote save.dat\n");
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/wipeout/image.c b/src/wipeout/image.c
index 99be1f5..2b890e2 100755
--- a/src/wipeout/image.c
+++ b/src/wipeout/image.c
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "../types.h"
 #include "../mem.h"
 #include "../utils.h"
+#include "../platform.h"
 
 #include "object.h"
 #include "track.h"
@@ -229,7 +230,7 @@ void lzss_decompress(uint8_t *in_data, uint8_t *out_data) {
 cmp_t *image_load_compressed(char *name) {
 	printf("load cmp %s\n", name);
 	uint32_t compressed_size;
-	uint8_t *compressed_bytes = file_load(name, &compressed_size);
+	uint8_t *compressed_bytes = platform_load_asset(name, &compressed_size);
 
 	uint32_t p = 0;
 	int32_t decompressed_size = 0;
@@ -263,7 +264,7 @@ cmp_t *image_load_compressed(char *name) {
 uint16_t image_get_texture(char *name) {
 	printf("load: %s\n", name);
 	uint32_t size;
-	uint8_t *bytes = file_load(name, &size);
+	uint8_t *bytes = platform_load_asset(name, &size);
 	image_t *image = image_load_from_bytes(bytes, false);
 	uint32_t texture_index = render_texture_create(image->width, image->height, image->pixels);
 	mem_temp_free(image);
@@ -275,7 +276,7 @@ uint16_t image_get_texture(char *name) {
 uint16_t image_get_texture_semi_trans(char *name) {
 	printf("load: %s\n", name);
 	uint32_t size;
-	uint8_t *bytes = file_load(name, &size);
+	uint8_t *bytes = platform_load_asset(name, &size);
 	image_t *image = image_load_from_bytes(bytes, true);
 	uint32_t texture_index = render_texture_create(image->width, image->height, image->pixels);
 	mem_temp_free(image);
diff --git a/src/wipeout/object.c b/src/wipeout/object.c
index e5f690b..f175221 100755
--- a/src/wipeout/object.c
+++ b/src/wipeout/object.c
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #include "../mem.h"
 #include "../render.h"
 #include "../utils.h"
+#include "../platform.h"
 
 #include "object.h"
 #include "track.h"
@@ -26,7 +27,7 @@ static rgba_t int32_to_rgba(uint32_t v) {
 
 Object *objects_load(char *name, texture_list_t tl) {
 	uint32_t length = 0;
-	uint8_t *bytes = file_load(name, &length);
+	uint8_t *bytes = platform_load_asset(name, &length);
 	if (!bytes) {
 		die("Failed to load file %s\n", name);
 	}
diff --git a/src/wipeout/sfx.c b/src/wipeout/sfx.c
index 50eed0c..8c3deea 100644
--- a/src/wipeout/sfx.c
+++ b/src/wipeout/sfx.c
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ void sfx_load() {
 
 	// 16 byte blocks: 2 byte header, 14 bytes with 2x4bit samples each
 	uint32_t vb_size;
-	uint8_t *vb = file_load("wipeout/sound/wipeout.vb", &vb_size);
+	uint8_t *vb = platform_load_asset("wipeout/sound/wipeout.vb", &vb_size);
 	uint32_t num_samples = (vb_size / 16) * 28;
 
 	int16_t *sample_buffer = mem_bump(num_samples * sizeof(int16_t));
diff --git a/src/wipeout/track.c b/src/wipeout/track.c
index 4466478..cd612cd 100755
--- a/src/wipeout/track.c
+++ b/src/wipeout/track.c
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #include "../utils.h"
 #include "../render.h"
 #include "../system.h"
+#include "../platform.h"
 
 #include "object.h"
 #include "track.h"
@@ -87,7 +88,7 @@ void track_load(const char *base_path) {
 
 ttf_t *track_load_tile_format(char *ttf_name) {
 	uint32_t ttf_size;
-	uint8_t *ttf_bytes = file_load(ttf_name, &ttf_size);
+	uint8_t *ttf_bytes = platform_load_asset(ttf_name, &ttf_size);
 
 	uint32_t p = 0;
 	uint32_t num_tiles = ttf_size / 42;
@@ -123,7 +124,7 @@ bool track_collect_pickups(track_face_t *face) {
 
 vec3_t *track_load_vertices(char *file_name) {
 	uint32_t size;
-	uint8_t *bytes = file_load(file_name, &size);
+	uint8_t *bytes = platform_load_asset(file_name, &size);
 
 	g.track.vertex_count = size / 16; // VECTOR_SIZE
 	vec3_t *vertices = mem_temp_alloc(sizeof(vec3_t) * g.track.vertex_count);
@@ -147,7 +148,7 @@ static const vec2_t track_uv[2][4] = {
 
 void track_load_faces(char *file_name, vec3_t *vertices) {
 	uint32_t size;
-	uint8_t *bytes = file_load(file_name, &size);
+	uint8_t *bytes = platform_load_asset(file_name, &size);
 
 	g.track.face_count = size / 20; // TRACK_FACE_DATA_SIZE
 	g.track.faces = mem_bump(sizeof(track_face_t) * g.track.face_count);
@@ -196,7 +197,7 @@ void track_load_faces(char *file_name, vec3_t *vertices) {
 
 void track_load_sections(char *file_name) {
 	uint32_t size;
-	uint8_t *bytes = file_load(file_name, &size);
+	uint8_t *bytes = platform_load_asset(file_name, &size);
 
 	g.track.section_count = size / 156; // SECTION_DATA_SIZE
 	g.track.sections = mem_bump(sizeof(section_t) * g.track.section_count);