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Journey


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Journey Preview

 

We tour a mysterious, sand-consumed world in thatgamecompany's latest enigmatic entry, a title intent on engaging the senses as much as the thumbs.

 

What we're talking about: Journey, the upcoming PSN title from thatgamecompany, the innovative team behind previous not-quite-games Fl0w and Flower.

 

Where we saw it: Sony's New York City 2010/2011 press preview, where it stole the spotlight from some of the showier titles being demoed .

 

What you need to know:

 

The developer prides itself in creating interactive experiences that can't be conveniently slotted into any specific game genre. Journey continues this approach, continually evolving as players progress and not revealing its secrets until they've reached its conclusion. The team aims to inspire awe, ignite the imagination, and elicit emotional responses from gamers whose appetites crave more than headshot-ing zombies.

 

Journey wants players to feel small in its encompassing world, so it surrounds the cloth-based character in as-far-as-the-eye-can-see sand; vast, sweeping deserts, caverns, dunes and even mountains of sand make up the landscape, inviting exploration and experimentation. Only a towering peak in the distance hints at an ultimate destination and goal.

 

Navigating this stretching landscape is handled simply by minimal control inputs; the DualShock 3's motion tech moves the camera, while two face buttons--one for jumping, one for shouting--do the rest. This modest move-set allows you to surf atop waves of sand, shuffle through mounds of the grainy stuff, and float above it. A character in and of itself, the environment is meant to engage through immersive audio, visual and feedback cues.

 

Cloth also plays an integral role in Journey. In addition to your character being constructed entirely of fabric, the world is populated by it in different forms, from flag-like swaths to totem-hung sheets. While the team's been pretty quiet about its specific role, it seems it can be manipulated when interacted with; during our demo, for example, rags were vibrantly rejuvenated when the player jumped near them. It also seems extra fabric can be added to your avatar, possibly aiding in its ability to jump further and longer.

 

Journey encourages but does not require online interactions. Doing away with lobbies, voice support, name tags, and even a real presence of co-op or competitive play, its multi-player retains the developer's goal of shattering established conventions. That "shout" button we mentioned earlier is the only means of communicating with other players, and "pairing" with someone is simply handled by approaching them. Additionally, you can only be paired with one other player at a time, and you can sever the partnership whenever you wish.

 

 

Point in development cycle: While our demo was strictly hands-off, the game looks to be very far along. Sony would only reveal a release date of "2011."

 

My take: The daunting task of discussing this developer's titles within the established videogame lexicon is made more difficult when you're only given eyes-only access. That said, Journey seems to be retaining the appealing and artistic aesthetic that compelled players to download fl0w and Flower. Its mysterious, curiosity-piquing gameplay is equally intriguing; I practically begged thagamecompany's president, Kellee Santiago, to let me feel what it was like to tread the sand, if only for a moment--she politely shot me down.

 

Thankfully, Journey's character and environmental visuals don't require much discussion or hands-on time, as they clearly speak for themselves. Realistically flowing cloth, sand you can practically feel sifting through your fingers, and an engrossing world begging to be explored yield a beauty that wouldn't look out of place on an artist's canvas. In addition to the well publicized sun-baked, desert-like areas, Santiago also took us underground to blue-tinted caverns where the sand poured like water from holes in the walls.

 

On top of gorgeous visuals and genre-breaking gameplay, Journey's team is cryptically generating buzz about its non-conventional approach to multi-player. As expected, Santiago revealed little, but hinted that it was a very do-what-you-like experience, not confined within the usual online gaming parameters. And though it's not meant as a competitive or co-op experience, players can engage in impromptu races or get assistance from more experienced players. Rejuvenating tattered cloth and jumping long distances is also made easier when two tackle such tasks. We look forward to surfing the sand, pairing with other cloth-made wanderers, and finding out what secrets wait atop that way-off mountain when Journey soothes our senses sometime in 2011.

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  • 5 weeks later...
The Inspiration And Goal Behind thatgamecompany’s Journey

thatgamecompany, the developers of Fl0w and Fl0wer are working on a new PS3 game for the PlayStation Network, titled Journey. If you haven’t been keeping up, Journey is a game about simple exploration, and not much else.

 

 

 

Inspired by the art of Giorgio de Chirico, who was also the inspiration for the Japanese cover of Ico, the unique catch in Journey is that you can explore with other people, online. There are no multiplayer lobbies or matchmaking, but players can enter anyone’s game to cooperate and explore alongside them. Here’s a trailer to give you an idea.

 

 

 

Sid Shuman at Sony Computer Entertainment recently interviewed thatgamecompany founder, Jenova Chen, to ask just what Journey is about. Chen’s reply was:

 

 

 

“You will be…Journey-ing. Moving from point A to point B. [laughter] The problem is, moving is very boring. In World of Warcraft, you’re always moving…and waiting. So in Journey, we have things to spice up the moving. You can surf the sand dunes, collect cloth to fly over larger distances, cooperate with another player to get faster travel…sometimes you can ride things.”

 

 

The surfing element was added because the designers felt simply walking wouldn’t be fun enough, and adding a jump button would make players hop instead of walking.

 

 

 

The only two buttons the game uses are for “Calling,” which lets you communicate with other players and collect cloth patches, and another button for flying. Camera control in Journey is handled via the PlayStation controller’s motion-sensors. With Journey, Chen said, thatgamecompany hope to stimulate player’s brains, intellectually, emotionally and socially.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Journey into Mystery…

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The Journey Public Beta has been out for a few days now, and thankfully I’ve been able to spend quite a lot of time with it. It’s one of the most beautiful and memorable experiences I’ve ever enjoyed on PlayStation, and feels very reminiscent of ICO in terms of atmosphere. ‘Soft,’ ‘ethereal,’ ‘majestic’ and ‘tranquil’ are some of the most suitable adjectives to describe it, and it reminds you what a great platform PlayStation Network is for artistic games such as Journey.

 

There are not many developers like thatgamecompany that seem to favour uniqueness and emotion above all else, and they ought to be commended for making games that highlight the many unexplored territories of this exciting medium.

 

The Journey beta is 345MB and you’ll need to download a 60MB patch if you want to play it online. The sample allows you to play the first three areas of the game and see/interact with one other player who is playing the Beta at the same time as you. There’s no voice chat, however, and you can’t even see what the PSN ID of the other player is (even if you go to the ‘players met’ section of the XMB). Journey is designed to be an emotional, reflective experience, and I think the developers made the right decision by limiting the way two players can interact.

 

Journey is set in the desert and places you in the role of a mysterious robed figure with glowing eyes. A mountain in the distance becomes your assumed objective as you slowly make your way over dunes and through the ruins of some unknown civilisation. As the name suggests, Journey is not about reaching an end goal but rather about appreciating your slow, measured progress through the desert.

 

There’s a lot to see in Journey’s world, from windblown dunes of various hues to waterfall-like cascades of sand. The sky changes colour as you move from one area to the next, and this is reflected in the tone variation of the sand underfoot. There’s no HUD (heads-up display) at all, and this smart design decision eliminates any clutter from the beautiful backdrops you’ll encounter throughout your adventure.

 

Gameplay in Journey is a mixture of navigation and simple puzzle solving. You move around the desert at a fairly slow pace, but if you come into contact with floating red ribbons scattered around the landscape you gain the ability to fly for a short period of time. Sticking close to a co-op partner (if you’re lucky enough to find one) is best because every time you come into contact you both regain the ability to fly in small bursts. This sort of symbiotic co-op is one of the most affecting aspects of Journey, and it’s an unbridled pleasure soaring around the desert with your new ‘friend,’ just as it is when you reunite after separately exploring the different nooks and crannies of a ruin.

 

There aren’t many puzzles in the Journey beta, but the ones I saw essentially consisted of making large ribbons disappear with your ‘voice’ (you hold down Circle for a few seconds and release it to ‘sing’). These ribbons acted like levers and opened up a path through the different ruins where you found them.

 

There are invisible walls in Journey which prevent you from getting lost in the desert – these are represented by a gust of wind (just like in Flower) which churn up the dunes and push you back.

You can control the camera either by tilting the controller or using the right analog stick. I’m really glad the latter is an option (it must have been patched into the beta) because I recently read an interview with the developers where they said they didn’t want to support right analog stick camera controls because it didn’t feel organic or natural enough. I’m relieved they took a pragmatic rather than an idealistic approach in the end!

 

The music, sound effects and graphics in Journey are what really set it apart from the competition. The game is instantly recognisable from screenshots because of its unique colour palette and art design. Individual granules of sand sparkle in the sand and dunes ripple as you walk up their sides. Textures are smooth and suitably earthy, and there are plenty of beautiful lighting effects which infuse the game with an enchanting ambience. Animations like flying have a wonderfully artistic flair to them, and there’s really something ethereal about everything your character does. Movement and frame rate are a little on the slow side, which is a bit jarring after the speedy, 60fps flow of gameplay in Flower.

 

 

I’m certain Journey is going to be one of the best and most popular games on PlayStation Network when it releases later this year. Co-op is definitely more rewarding and enjoyable than singleplayer because exploring the unknown with another human being and being able to soar around without restraint is far more fun than having to trudge through the sand at a slow pace and on your lonesome.

 

From what I’ve seen of Journey so far, it’s going to be an intelligently designed game with a wholly unique and interest-piquing premise – one which stirs up the kinds of emotions and has the type of artistic sensitivity which propelled ICO into the spotlight back in 2001.

http://www.el33tonline.com/past_article/2011/7/5/journey_handson_preview/

 

yaar yeh game...zaabardast hoga...Indian psn mein lena nahi payega hum coz of cc :ack::thumbdown:

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I just know this is going to be a unique and beautiful experience after playing Flower and Flow. Plus with the 'anonymous' online where you can find anyone in the game world but without their psn id's, there's something to be had there. :good:

 

yaar yeh game...zaabardast hoga...Indian psn mein lena nahi payega hum coz of cc :ack::thumbdown:

 

:console: can't you arrange one transaction with family members/relatives cc?

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I just know this is going to be a unique and beautiful experience after playing Flower and Flow. Plus with the 'anonymous' online where you can find anyone in the game world but without their psn id's, there's something to be had there. :good:

 

 

 

:console: can't you arrange one transaction with family members/relatives cc?

None of my family members have cc...if they had itna jhamela hi nahi hota....and i dont want to ask the relatives....there is one relative though that i do ask sometimes though specially when they are here........but they live abroad ...and IIRC only Indian cc works with indian psn account right??

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  • 4 weeks later...

And this PSN fiasco has made me wary of putting the CC out there. :-/

 

Nothing will happen, it is encrypted anyway, and you can remove the card after you buy something.

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