Experience the Journey
by Orion_NGC1976, HSM team writer
Even before Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago founded thatgamecompany, I knew that they were onto something special with their USC project Cloud. With that first game – as well as their subsequent games for thatgamecompany – it was about creating a captivating environment for the user to explore, and not about how fast one could mash the ‘X’ button, killing things.
Each of the games thatgamecompany has developed have been very unique with its own unique world to be explored. Discovering how to interact in each of these worlds has also been a major part of these games. This is not to say that they are devoid of any challenges or dangers. There is a fine balance between being too challenging and not challenging enough.
This sweet zone of balance is what Chen called the Flow Zone. Jenova Chen wrote about Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory and how it applied to gaming in his thesis Flow in Games.
In this quote from his thesis, Chen describes the Flow experience:
“In order to maintain a person’s Flow experience, the activity needs to reach a balance between the challenges of the activity and the abilities of the participant. If the challenge is higher than the ability, the activity becomes overwhelming and generates anxiety. If the challenge is lower than the ability, it provokes boredom. Fortunately, human beings have tolerance, there is a fuzzy safe zone where the activity is not too challenging or too boring, and psychic entropies like anxiety and boredom would not occur. [Csikszentmihalyi 1990].”
Unsurprisingly, the first game thatgamecompany developed for the PS3 was called FlOw. Exploration and discovery, a flow experience, has been a major part of each of the games thatgamecompany has developed for the PS3.
With thatgamecompany’s latest release, Journey, they have added a new level of experience to the Flow Zone; the cooperative gaming experience to be shared with another player.
The challenge for thatgamecompany was to bring that same Flow gaming experience of their predecessors to a cooperative game and I think they have produced the right mix to stay true to this genre of gaming that they have created.
I must admit that even though I knew that Journey was an online game, I did not realize at first that the other figures that I happened upon were actually other people until the very end of the game when their user IDs were displayed.
With Journey, cooperative play is initiated by finding another person on your journey through the desert and up the mountain to the pillar of light that is at the summit. In Journey, initiating the cooperative play is not intrusive like it is in Little Big Planet, nor is there a lobby full of avatars like there is with DC Universe. You simply meet another player while on your journey.
I must say here, thatgamecompany has paid attention to all the small aspects of game play to keep it as natural as possible, which keeps you in the world of the game. You meet people naturally in the game. In the vast desert you never come up against invisible walls; it is the violent wind that marks the edges, which blows you backwards.
At any one time in the game, I have only been with one other person, which I think is perfect for this game. When going to the Journey space in PS Home, it was a bit jarring to experience it with a crowd of people, which was very unlike the experience of the game.
Your avatar in the game is robed in red. It is human-like, and then very inhuman-like. The head and face under the hood is not visible and is draped in darkness. Only a gold band around the forehead and two gleaming eyes are visible under the hood. The avatar has no feet; the legs only tapper into a sharp point and has no arms. In fact, by all appearances your character was probably made entirely of cloth, just as the creatures that you meet on your journey are. From its outward appearances, it is impossible to determine the gender of the player, but this does not matter.
This is a cooperative game, so there should be some way to communicate with other players in the game. To stay within the spirit of the games that they produce, thatgamecompany decided to limit communication to speaking by a tone accompanied by the display of a symbol in an alien language. This makes for some interesting exchanges, but surprisingly you seem to get the gist of what is being said. Quick bursts perhaps to get your attention and have you come to them. When someone helps you, perhaps two tones for the words, “Thank you” and then three for “You’re welcome,” matching the syllables of the words. Some exchanges are quite musical.
Since every player starts out looking very much the same, it is difficult to determine when your companion has changed users. Most of these early encounters in the game were with others that would interact with you for a short time, joining you for a short while and then off on their own.
After playing a couple of times, I decided that I would take it slowly and explore as much as I could. I lingered longer at the shrine picking up the glowing, swirling symbols, before meditating and teleporting to the next step on my trek up the mountain.
Upon entering the desert dunes on the other side, I noticed a figure in the distance that looked different from others I had seen in previous play-throughs. As I drew closer, I realized it was another player, but this player was dressed in white robes, with the longest strip of cloth that flowed behind their avatar. All the time while playing, I did not know the gender of the player, but I will refer to the player as a male for the purposes of this article.
It was like Luke Skywalker meeting Obi-Wan Kenobi; the novice meeting the master. The player also carried their character as if they had been on this journey before. He was relaxed and taking it slowly, whereas the others I had met would race around streaking to the next place.
The player seemed to greet me and I returned the greeting. He stayed close to me in order to keep my trailing cloth energized. Then we soared off over the dunes, riding on the kite-like cloth creatures. Upon arriving in the next area, we coordinated the releasing the captive small pieces of flying cloth from the three cages.
My companion waited on the ledge at the entrance to next area as I attempted to reach the symbol on a high ledge. After failing to reach it, I decided to not keep my companion waiting and joined him up on the ledge. We each gave an exchange as if to say, “Ready?” and “Ready.”
It was obvious that my companion had been through this game before; he showed signs that he had also learned how to avoid the sentry dragons. We both knew to take the high road through the tunnels, soaring through the windows in the separating walls. My companion gently helped me find the symbols without being overbearing or hindering my own exploration of the game.
At different points in the game, if one got ahead of the other, the one would wait for the other to catch up. He would also wait by the meditation spotlight for me to finish exploring the area before meditating and moving to the next area. One of the trophies is sitting with a companion for twenty seconds, and he knelt by as if to give an offering to help me achieve this trophy. I knelt and after thirty seconds or so had passed, we were off again.
All through the journey, we kept close together in order to keep our flowing cloth tail energized, which kept our flying ability at the ready. We skied down sand dunes and snow slopes together.
The flight up the waterfall is right near the summit. He reached the top of the waterfall first and did not go on, but waited patiently for me. As we both reach the top of the waterfall, we lingered there as if knowing that this was it – the game would be over soon, and we would be separated. We sat for a moment looking down at the waterfalls and the valley below, then we were off to walk together through the pass on the summit. He stopped right at the entrance and waited to enter the light together, walking side-by-side.
This was an amazing experience of companionship.
There are two hidden homages to their previous games FlOw and Flower to be found.
The music that Austin Wintory has created for Journey is just fabulous and is a great accent to punctuate different parts of the game. The music as you climb the waterfalls is truly amazingly emotional.
If you like the idea of going on a hike, exploring with a friend that you meet along the way, then this game is for you.
The next day, I Googled how to get the white robes and they are obtained when you find all the hidden symbols in the game and are awarded with the Transcendence trophy. Since then, I have earned my own white robes, with the help of others. Now it is my turn to gently help others on their journey. Hope to see you there.
- Exceptional execution of the Flow experience in a game.
- Unique cooperation game experience.
- Fantastic music and graphic.
- High re-playability.
- Great storyline.
- Wanting more.
- Unable to choose your in game companion.
March 21st, 2012 by Orion_NGC1976 | 12 comments
Father, husband, dolphy racer and sometimes Home world traveler.
I am in love with this game, and this company.
They are offering gaming experiences that I would almost swear are tailor-made for me, and people like me -- people who want more out of their games beyond the typical shoot/beat/hack-em-ups (like innovative storytelling and beautiful scenery, just to cite a couple of examples), but don’t have days upon days of free time to invest in a game in order to feel like they’ve completed it. And who crave a game that begs you to replay it often. No, it’s not nearly as long as you’d like it to be (perhaps therein lies its magic?), but it’s not so long that the thought of replaying it isn’t perceived as some mountainous chore.
I’ve yet to obtain Flow, but I do have Flower and Journey, and they both exemplify this.
And the “ships in the night” journeying you partake in with fellow gamers who are nameless until the end credits seems to symbolize a type of Utopian ideal as to what online gaming ought to be.
(Also, interesting observation I made whilst playing it last night: ever notice how the gold accent around the hem of your red robe changes after a few replays? Very subtle way of telling how often a person has played the game, and what accomplishments they’ve achieved.)
Thank you for your comments Terra. You described it perfectly that the length of the game fits perfectly in the Flow Zone between being a chore to replay and being too boring to replay. I want to play it every day after work.
I pay more attention now to the symbol that represents the person’s name. I use this to identify when a new companion arrives and so I can match it to the ID name at the end that is displayed with the symbol. I do think that not knowing the ID of the person does force you to focus on the individual more and makes the experience more immersive.
There are a lot of details in this game that enhances the experience, when you pay more attention to these details.
Thank you for mentioning the gold accent on the hem that changes. Great observation.
It sounds like patience. I have yet to buy this game but if this game is offering that kind of experience, that would be something rare in games and these article descriptions that Orion, Gideon, Terra, and HearItWow have given about this game certainly qualifies as an experience.
Again, I need to get this game.
Great article Orion and Gideon!
I’m sold on it.
Thanks. I don’t think you will be disappointed in the game.
This sounds like something very different in gaming. I got Flow a long time ago when it was offered for free and played it through, finding it to be a different type of game i hadn’t experienced before. Great read Orion.
It is a unique experience and everything I know about you, Burbie, I am sure you will love this game.
I haven’t played a game in a really long time that has so captivated me like Journey. It’s also amazing to me how much you end up caring for the nameless players you meet in the game. In all my Journeys, both I and the other player would help, wait and make sure the other got through, it’s a wonderful lesson in empathy. The only problem I have with the game is earning that last don’t play the game for a week trophy, I can’t seem to stay away!
I hear ya, Ted. It is going to be a hard one for me too to not play the game for a whole week. And yes, it is amazing how quickly you empathize with your companion in the game and help and wait for each other. Now I just need to find that elusive flower in the desert.
I have a different take, and it’s based on the ‘Home’ space. First, it is so very atmospheric. I love the sights and the feel it resonates with. The arid land and rushing sound of wind and the occasional bell are hypnotic. There is a sense of lonliness and solitude in the midst of so many people. There are some odd challenges to the public space. There are no abilities such as ‘wave’ or ‘sit on ground’. There are no gamer tags or speech bubbles, so that each echo-like hello in the harsh wind has the eerie potential of being answered or go unheeded. I have actually made friends here, amongst them, our own terra-cide.This process is made more difficult when trying to figure out which avatar we are truly talking to. I have had to work out signs to identiify myself sans I.D. tags. Signs like being the slowest walker, or fast spins, help others around me determine who I am in this oddland. I did have an odd event happen here. I went to meet somebody there and when I arrived, as usual I could’nt find the person I went to meet. I stood for a moment and walked up the person I thought would be them. It was. That is real odd in this place. I love it. I just wish there was a personal space that mimiced this one. I would probably never leave.
Femaelstrom, thank you for posting your impressions/experiences in the Journey Home space. I haven’t really spent much time there (and I was alone), being too occupied with the game. Thanks again for your observations.
For those who haven’t checked out the Journey Home space and completed the minigame, I highly recommend you do. The reward is a giant-sized statue, in addition to the cloth companion you get when you first enter the space.
I played the heck out of Journey this past weekend, obsessed with collecting all the trophies and earning the maximum “embroidery” level on my charater’s cloak. It took a few hours, but I enjoyed every minute of it. This is one of the rare games that my girlfriend actually looked up from her laptop to watch, and she was completely enthralled by what she was seeing.
Seriously, is there anything more breathtaking than the scene where you’re surfing sideways down the long arched corridor, with the sun-framed mountain scrolling by in the background? Simply amazing.
I was so fasinated with the advertisement trial clip minigame in Home. I loved the sad music, the song of the wind and the mystical atmosphere. I found myself being disappointed when it ended. I wish there had been more.
I am definatley going to re-search so that I may obtain the full version. I want to continue my emotional admiration of this game.