Journey (2012 video game)

The robed figure running in the desert along with another player's figure. One of the figures' scarves is glowing as it charges due to proximity to the other player.

In Journey, the player takes the role of a robed figure in a desert. After an introductory sequence, the player is shown the robed figure sitting in the sand, with a large mountain in the distance.[1] The path towards this mountain, the ultimate destination of the game, is subdivided into several sections traveled through linearly. The player can walk in the levels, as well as control the camera, which typically follows behind the figure, either with the analog stick or by tilting the motion-sensitive controller.[2] The player can jump with one button, or emit a wordless shout or musical note with another; the length and volume of the shout depends on how the button is pressed, and the note stays in tune with the background music.[3] These controls are presented pictorially at the beginning of the game; at no point outside of the credits and title screen are any words shown or spoken.[1]

The robed figure wears a trailing magical scarf which allows the player to briefly fly; doing so uses up the scarf's magical charge, represented visually by glowing runes on the scarf. The scarf's runes are recharged by being near floating pieces of red cloth, or a variety of other means.[4] Touching glowing symbols scattered throughout the levels lengthens the initially vestigial scarf, allowing the player to remain airborne longer. Larger strips of cloth are present in the levels and can be transformed from a stiff, dull gray to vibrant red by singing near them. Doing so may have effects on the world such as releasing bits of magic cloth, forming bridges, or levitating the player. This, in turn, allows the player to progress in the level by opening doors or allowing them to reach previously inaccessible areas. The robed figure does not have visible arms to manipulate the game world directly.[3] Along the way, the player encounters flying creatures made of cloth, some of which help the player along. In later levels, the player also encounters hostile creatures made of stone, which upon spotting the player rip off parts of the figure's scarf.[2]

In each level, the player may come across one other player temporarily connected to their game. When players approach each other they charge one another's scarves. They cannot communicate with each other beyond patterns of singing. Players can help each other by activating strips of cloth or showing paths, but cannot hinder each other and are not necessary for completing any level.[2] When two players finish a section at the same time they remain together into the next one; otherwise, they are connected to new players when they move on. While all the figures generally look the same, individual players can be told apart by unique symbols which are shown floating in the air when they sing and are displayed on their robes at all times.[5] Players may also gain decorative patterns on their robe with successive playthroughs which can be distinguishing.[6] The entire game takes two to three hours to complete.[2]

Journey is a wordless story told through gameplay and visual-only cutscenes. The player's character begins near a small sand dune in a vast desert. Walking to the top of the dune, the character can see looming in the far distance a large mysterious mountain with a glowing crevice that splits its peak. As the character approaches the mountain, they find the remnants of a once-thriving civilization, eroded by sand over time. Scattered throughout the ruins at the end of each area are stones where the traveler rests and has visions of meeting a large, white-robed figure in a circular room. Art adorns the walls, describing the rise and fall of the player character's civilization, which also mirrors the player's journey. As the player journeys into the remains of a once sprawling city at the base of the mountain, they find they must also contend with roaming, ancient, and hostile automaton weapons left over from a war that ended the civilization.

A vision shows the traveler crumble before reaching their destination, but the traveler chooses to continue on. Eventually making it safely to the mountain itself, the traveler begins to make their way up it, struggling as they enter the colder climates and encounter deep snow and high winds. With the crevice still a fair distance away, the traveler falls and collapses in the snow. Six of the white-robed figures appear before the character and grant the traveler new energy, allowing the player to reach the summit of the mountain and walk into the crevice as the screen fills with white. The player is then shown the game's credits, playing over the ending cinematic scene. This scene shows a shooting star emanating from the crevice and traversing the path the traveler took through the ruins, and shows glimpses of other robed travelers heading towards the mountain. Eventually, the star comes to rest at the sand dune where the game began, and the player is given the option of starting the game again. As the credits end, the player is shown the usernames of the other travelers who shared part of the journey.

Jenova Chen, the director of Journey, in 2007

Journey was the last game made under a three-game contract between Thatgamecompany and Sony Computer Entertainment, the first two being Flow and Flower. Development of the game began in 2009, after the release of Flower. The 18-person development team for Journey was composed mainly of creators of the company's previous games; co-founder Jenova Chen was the creative director and Nick Clark returned as lead designer.[7] Kellee Santiago, producer of Flow and Flower, did not reprise her duties, concentrating instead on her role as the company's president, and was replaced by Robin Hunicke.[8]

When development began, Sony expected the game to be completed in a year, rather than the more than three it finally took.[9] Thatgamecompany always expected to need an extension; according to Hunicke, they believed finishing the game within a year was "unrealistic".[10] Development ended up taking even longer than anticipated, as the team had difficulties paring down their ideas for the game and maintaining efficient communication.[10] Over the course of development the team grew from seven to eighteen people.[7][9] At the end of the second year, when Sony's extension had run out, the game did not spark the emotions in the player that the team wanted. Sony agreed to another one-year extension, but development ultimately exceeded even that.[11]

The stress of the project led to the feeling there was not enough time or money to complete everything the team wished to, which added to the stress and caused arguments about the design of the game. The developers ended up reducing the overtime they spent on the project to avoid burning out, though it meant further delays and risked the company running out of money as the game neared completion. In a speech at the 16th annual D.I.C.E. Awards in 2013, Chen admitted the company had indeed been driven to bankruptcy in the final months of development and that some of the developers had gone unpaid at the time.[11] Hunicke described the solution to finally finishing the game as learning to let go of tensions and ideas that could not make it into the game and be "nice to each other".[9]

The game is intended to make the player feel "small" and to give them a sense of awe about their surroundings.[12] The basic idea, as designed by Chen, was to create something that moved beyond the "typical defeat/kill/win mentality" of most video games.[13] The team initially created a prototype named Dragon that involved players trying to draw away a large monster from other players but eventually discarded it after finding it was too easy for players to ignore each other in favor of their own objectives.[13]

The developers designed Journey like a Japanese garden, where they attempted to remove all the elements that did not fit, so the emotions they wanted to evoke would come through.[14] This minimalism is intended to make the game feel intuitive to the player, so they can explore and feel a sense of wonder without direct instructions. The story arc is designed to explicitly follow Joseph Campbell's monomyth theory of narrative, or hero's journey, as well as to represent the stages of life, so as to enhance the emotional connection of the players as they journey together.[15][16][17] In his D.I.C.E. speech, Chen noted that 3 of their 25 testers had cried upon completing the game.[11]

The game's desert setting is largely based on the Middle East, and incorporates Arabic culture, art and architecture. Jenova Chen and art director Matt Nava did not want the setting to be too Western or Eastern, so they felt the Middle East was an ideal middle ground. In addition, Journey also incorporates Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, drawing from Chen's childhood in China.[18][19]

The multiplayer component of Journey was designed to facilitate cooperation between players without forcing it, and without allowing competition.[14] It is intended to allow the players to feel a connection to other people through exploring with them, rather than talking to them or fighting them.[12] The plan was "to create a game where people felt they are connected with each other, to show the positive side of humanity in them".[14] The developers felt the focus on caring about the other player would be diluted by too many game elements, such as additional goals or tasks, as players would focus on those and "ignore" the other player.[14] They also felt having text or voice communication or showing usernames would allow players' biases and preconceptions to come between them and the other player.[20]

Journey was released on March 13, 2012, for download on the PlayStation Network.[21] A PlayStation Home Game Space, or themed area, based on Journey was released on March 14, 2012, and is similar in appearance to the game.[22] A retail "Collector's Edition" of the game was released on August 28, 2012. In addition to Journey, the disc-based title includes Flow and Flower; creator commentaries, art, galleries, and soundtracks for all three games; non-related minigames; and additional content for the PlayStation 3.[23] In September 2012, Sony and Thatgamecompany released a hardcover book entitled "The Art of Journey", by the game's art director Matt Nava, containing pieces of art from the game ranging from concept art to final game graphics.[24]

On July 21, 2015, Journey was released on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 4, ported by United Kingdom studio Tricky Pixels;[25] owners of the digital PlayStation 3 version of the game were able to download the new version for free.[26] The PlayStation 4 version of the game features improved graphics over the original, with a higher resolution and frame rate and improved texture quality.[27][28] According to Tricky Pixels, the original PlayStation 3 game was "a masterpiece of PlayStation 3 programming" and porting the game to the PlayStation 4 was "an immense technical challenge".[27] Annapurna Interactive published ports of Journey for Windows and iOS in 2019, developed by Inline Assembly.[29]

Journey received critical and commercial success worldwide. After its release, it became the fastest-selling game to date on PlayStation Store in both North America and Europe.[54] At E3 2011, prior to release, the game won awards for best downloadable game from 1UP.com, GameSpy, and GameTrailers.[55] After publication, the game was heavily honored at end of the year awards. Journey was selected as the best game of the year by IGN and GameSpot, among others.[56][57] Journey was an Interactive Narrative and Game + Play 2021 Peabody Award Winner.

The soundtrack was nominated for the Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 2013 Grammy Awards, the first video game soundtrack to be nominated for that category, though it did not win.[58] Additionally, the game won the award for best music and was nominated for the best graphics award from IGN, and was selected as the best PlayStation Network game by GameSpot.[59][60][61] At the Spike Video Game Awards, Journey won awards as the best PlayStation 3 game,[62] the best indie game,[63] and the game with the best music,[64] and was additionally nominated for game of the year,[65] best downloadable game,[66] best graphics,[67] and best song in a game for "I Was Born For This".[68] It received the 2013 Annie Award for video game animation.[69] It won five awards at the 2013 British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards: Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Game Design, Online Multiplayer, and Original Music, and was nominated for Best Game, Game Innovation and Story.[70][71] In March 2013, it won six awards at the annual Game Developers Choice Awards: Best Audio, Best Game Design, Best Visual Arts, Best Downloadable Game, the Innovation Award, and Game of the Year.[72] At the 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, Journey won eight awards, the most honors received of the night, which includes "Game of the Year", "Outstanding Innovation in Gaming", "Casual Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction", "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction", "Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay", "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition", and "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design"; it was additionally nominated for "Downloadable Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering", and "Outstanding Achievement in Story".[73][74]

Journey received high acclaim from critics who praised the visual and auditory art direction as well as the emotional response playing with a stranger created. It received the IGN Best Overall Game Award for 2012 and Ryan Clements of IGN described the game as "the most beautiful game of its time", saying, "each moment is like a painting, expertly framed and lit".[3] Jane Douglas of GameSpot concurred, calling it "relentlessly beautiful" and lauding the visual diversity of the world and the depiction of the rippling sand; Matt Miller of Game Informer added praise for the animation of the sand and creatures, saying the game was visually stunning.[1][2] The music was also complimented, with Miller describing it as a "breathtaking musical score" and Douglas calling it "moving, dynamic music".[1][2]

Reviewers were especially pleased with the emotional experience of playing the game, particularly with other players. Christian Donlan of Eurogamer described it as a "non-denominational religious experience" that, with the addition of another player, moves beyond metaphors and becomes a "pilgrimage" to the player.[4] A reviewer writing for Edge magazine said the emotional arc of the game hits with "occasionally startling power", while Patrick Shaw from Wired said the game made him feel a "wide range of emotions ... wonder, fear, even sadness". Miller said all three times he played the game, "each time, without fail, individual moments... managed to give me goosebumps, and those moments have remained on my mind for weeks afterward".[5][51] Joel Gregory of PlayStation Official Magazine praised the game's story for being open to the player's interpretation, leaving an ambiguity that drew him in.[49] The addition of an unnamed second player was described by Donlan as brilliant and as a "master stroke", and Edge said it made for "a more absorbing, more atmospheric experience".[4][5] In 2019, Journey was ranked 48th on The Guardian newspaper's The 50 Best Video Games of the 21st Century list.[75]

The few criticisms for the game centered on its length and pacing. Clements noted that not all players would appreciate a game with a "deliberate, melancholic pace" and short duration, comments echoed by the Edge review.[3][5] Miller noted the lack of complex gameplay elements in Journey, and Shaw was disappointed that the game was only a few hours long, though Douglas said the length was perfect.[1][2][51] Miller concluded the game could be compared to "a musical concert, a well-directed film, or a long-awaited book", while Clements concluded, "completing Journey will create memories that last for years".[1][51]

• Official website