Journey
Storytelling Reinvention:
utilizes randomly assigned online cooperative game-play to create unique story experiences for both players
Game Information
Release Date: March 13th, 2012
Developer: ThatGameCompany
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Rating: Everyone
Genre(s): Exploratory, Co-Op
Price: $14.99
Website: http://thatgamecompany.com/games/journey/
As of May 2012, Journey was the fastest selling Playstation game (1) and rightfully so. The main character is a robed, creature that starts in the desert with only one faraway pillar to move toward. Throughout the beginning of the game, the character finds groups of small square cloth floating in random spots. Touching the cloth gives the character's cape powers that allow him or her to fly for a temporary amount of time.
The multiplayer component of Journey is designed to facilitate cooperation between players without forcing it and without allowing competition. It is intended to allow players to feel a connection to other people through exploring with them rather than talking to them or fighting them”(2). Jevnova Chen and his development team struggled through budget constraints and time limits to the point where they didn’t think there was going to be enough resources to finish the game. Chen was devoted to creating his multiplayer masterpiece of peace.
Journey is a game like no other. Multiplayer interaction focuses on cooperation and helping other players. There are no distinguishing characteristics that define the other player. Journey is about taking a truly beautiful journey through some of the most gorgeous game landscape that the gaming world has ever seen. Without weapons or the ability to charge the character's cape, a secretive approach is needed to avoid the creatures instead of attacking or killing them. “The game is intended to make the player feel “small” and to give them a sense of awe about their surroundings…The basic idea for the game, as designed by Chen, was to create a game that moved beyond the “typical defeat/kill/win mentality” of most video games”(2).
References:
1. “Journey.” Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
2. “Journey.”Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
Researcher: Keely Bitton
