Joystiq

Channel Description:

Latest Articles in this Channel:

06/15/10--23:55: Journey: the third PSN game from thatgamecompany (chan 1679472)

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture



thatgamecompany, best known for flOw and Flower, has rather covertly announced another PSN exclusive. Journey follows the footsteps of its predecessors, offering "simple gameplay and accessible controls."

Unlike thatgamecompany's previous offerings, however, Journey is an "online adventure experience" that has players encountering strangers. According to the press release, traveling with others will "re-shape the experience -- creating authentic moments that they will remember and discuss with others."

It sounds a lot like Chat Roulette, doesn't it? The Journey begins on PS3 in 2011.
[Thanks, Stan K.!]


Gallery: Journey



Journey: the third PSN game from thatgamecompany originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


06/17/10--19:15: Preview: Journey (chan 1679472)



flOw = an experimental version of Pac-Man
Flower = a refined, perfected version of flOw
Journey = an online-enabled HD combination of Wind Waker, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.

These comparisons may not be entirely accurate, but it's the closest way I could convey the changing trajectory of thatgamecompany's design philosophy. Journey is the most ambitious (and potentially revolutionary) undertaking from the independent studio, yet it also draws the most similarities to what many would call "traditional" games. Like most every other game, there is a humanoid avatar, controlled by analog stick. You jump. There's platforming. There's also an incredibly evident game-like goal: to reach the top of a mountain, looming in the far distance.

At its core, Journey can probably be best described as a platformer, with a clear objective: get to the end. However, thatgamecompany isn't simply focusing on a goal -- instead, the experience is geared towards its title. Players are dropped in a gorgeous psuedo cel-shaded desert world. The character designs evoke Wind Waker, but the mesmerizing cloth and sand physics make the world feel even more alive. Like Team Ico's games, there is an incredible sense of loneliness to the world: there's no life, no foliage to be seen. There are remnants of a world lost, with a beautiful tranquility.

Gallery: Journey



Continue reading Preview: Journey

Preview: Journey originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


11/12/10--20:00: Thatgamecompany holding Journey playtest event in LA next week (chan 1679472)

If you're curious about thatgamecompany's enigmatic mountain-approaching PSN adventure, Journey -- and if you're curious about what you're going to do while you're in the LA area on November 19 -- the developer has something planned to satisfy both kinds of curiosity.

That night, thatgamecompany is hosting a semi-public playtest of Journey. If you're between 18 and 35, familiar with PSN, and able to make the journey to Santa Monica, then contact thatgamecompany (contact details after the break) and you might be among the lucky players invited!

Continue reading Thatgamecompany holding Journey playtest event in LA next week

Thatgamecompany holding Journey playtest event in LA next week originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


12/10/10--07:06: Journey's latest trailer keeps us believing (chan 1679472)



Journey isn't a game about transforming a landscape with the power of wind, or experiencing aquatic evolution, but about guiding your cloaked, scarf-wearing avatar through a world -- either alone or with another, unknown person -- and forever pushing towards the mountain in the distance. The game's latest trailer encapsulates a lonely tone and showcases Journey's gorgeous environments.

thatgamecompany president Kellee Santiago characterized the PSN-exclusive Journey as "a social experiment" in a recent interview with GTTV (much like her studio's previous two games have been), while creative lead Jenova Chen says he's hoping to evoke the feeling of awe and wonder that people experience while on a hike. Neither explains what the deal is with the scarves, though.

Gallery: Journey (12/10/10)



Continue reading Journey's latest trailer keeps us believing

Journey's latest trailer keeps us believing originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


12/17/10--16:00: Journey preview: Souls searching (chan 1679472)



I laughed when I first saw the scarf worn by Journey's main character. I couldn't help it -- the flair it adds to the enigmatic avatar renders the figure distinctly more charming than spooky. The scarf serves a more functional purpose, too: It's a gameplay meter, measuring your character's ability to fly. The scarf depletes as you fly; fill it back up -- and even lengthen it -- by completing puzzles and discovering secrets, among other things. There's actually a variety of scarves to be collected and equipped throughout the gameworld.

Scarves, however, are not the focus on thatgamecompany's third PSN-exclusive, Journey. The focus, creative lead Jenova Chen told me at a recent press event, is to enable unique online experiences. "Everyone's on a journey towards a goal, and everybody travels through a similar landscape," he said of the game. "And at some point, their paths cross each other, and then they could be playing together."


Gallery: Journey (12/10/10)



Continue reading Journey preview: Souls searching

Journey preview: Souls searching originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


03/23/11--15:30: NYC: Come watch thatgamecompany's Kellee Santiago speak at NYU's Game Center (chan 1679472)



We've told you about New York University's Game Center in the past -- remember that time when Chris Hecker brought SpyParty and talked about all sorts of stuff? -- and we're here to do just that once more. Tomorrow evening, we're hoping you'll join us and several hundred friends in Room 6 of NYU's lower level, where thatgamecompany co-founder and president Kellee Santiago will be speaking to the "Challenges In Evoking Unique Emotions In Video Games." Maybe she'll even talk a bit about her company's new game, Journey? We certainly hope so!

Beyond her lecture, a discussion will be moderated by interim director (and Zynga New York creative director) Frank Lantz, with questions from the crowd also being solicited. The discussion begins at 7:00PM EST sharp, and we've dropped pertinent details after the break. Don't be late!

Update: NYU has updated its blog with a note about attendance, stating, "Thanks to your enthusiastic response, we have reached capacity for this RSVP-only event. There will be very limited extra seating opened up on a first come, first serve basis starting at 7PM. We encourage you to join our mailing list, follow us, or friend us for updates on future lectures and events. Thank you for your understanding!" So, uh, take that as you will! We're still going!

Continue reading NYC: Come watch thatgamecompany's Kellee Santiago speak at NYU's Game Center

NYC: Come watch thatgamecompany's Kellee Santiago speak at NYU's Game Center originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


06/03/11--11:40: Journey preview: A million little fibers (chan 1679472)



"Our goal is to expand the boundary of emotional experience that games can communicate," Jenova Chen, ThatGameCompany's co-founder and creative director told me following my preview session of Journey. And in the span of 30 minutes, I would run the emotional gamut from fear to confusion to acceptance and back to fear. Clearly, the journey is both metaphorical and literal.

The game opens with the fading of a white-hot sun, the dimming light revealing vast sand dunes. A beacon of light, emitting from a far-off mountain barely visible in the distance instilled in me a sense of urgency. Silently I stood for a while, ignoring my instincts in an attempt to soak it all in. There we were, the sand and I, alone. It was an almost comforting bleakness.

As I took my first steps forward, pushing the sand out in front of me like a sheet with a pocket of air trapped under it, I made it my goal to reach the light. Walking up and down dunes small and large, I eventually stumbled upon what I could only describe as a shrine. Suddenly, my character was surrounded with an aura that highlighted the folds of my clothes and gave me a the tiniest bit of a scarf.

As it happens, the game is less about me and mostly about that scarf.

Continue reading Journey preview: A million little fibers

Journey preview: A million little fibers originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


06/03/11--17:40: thatgamecompany's Jenova Chen tours the world of Journey (chan 1679472)



We'll admit it: we're kinda, sorta seriously smitten with thatgamecompany's third game, Journey. As if the two previews we've run didn't already tell you that! Anyway, this recent interview with GTTV is interesting, sure, but look at all that gameplay footage! Beautiful! Check it out after the break.

Continue reading thatgamecompany's Jenova Chen tours the world of Journey

thatgamecompany's Jenova Chen tours the world of Journey originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


06/23/11--16:45: Journey online beta beginning next week (chan 1679472)



You may soon have a chance to test out the online component of Journey, the latest evocative project from thatgamecompany (you know the one). According to comments made by Mike Snider, who makes up one half of USA Today's Game Hunters, an online beta is due to start next week. We'll let you know as soon as we hear more about gaining access.

While the developers are sure to extract valuable deta from the beta, we're more excited by what internet can learn from the playground presented in Journey. Wrapped in elegant textiles, players travel through a sparse and wondrous desert, choosing to dilly-dally, collaborate or simply go their own way. There's no hostility, jealousy or snark, and even the shouting seems gentle and polite.

Meanwhile, Joystiq's own sources indicate that some people are already playing the beta. NO, PLEASE, go on without us. WE HOPE YOU CHOKE ON EVERY GRANULE.

Update: According to thatgamecompany's Twitter feed, further details of a "very limited" beta will come on Monday via its Facebook page and PlayStation Blog.

Journey online beta beginning next week originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


06/27/11--10:15: Journey closed beta starts tomorrow, open to select few (chan 1679472)



Following up on last week's report, thatgamecompany has revealed the requirements for taking part in the "very limited" beta for its upcoming project, Journey. According to a recent post on PlayStation Blog, the beta will be restricted to "the very earliest adopters of Flower" who are also PlayStation Plus subscribers. The beta will begin on June 28 (that's tomorrow!) and run through July 12. Those who qualify should receive an invitation via their PSN inbox soon.

For those who don't fit the criteria (remember, everyone's on PlayStation Plus at the moment), all hope is not lost. A "limited number of additional spots" will be made available via PlayStation Blog and some unnamed "media partners."

Finally, more invitations are being given away via thatgamecompany's Facebook page. You'd best hurry if you want one -- the Facebook giveaway closes at 7pm Pacific tonight.

Journey closed beta starts tomorrow, open to select few originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


07/13/11--08:00: Sony to invest $20 million into PlayStation Network and Pub Fund over the next three years (chan 1679472)



Sony believes in its Pub Fund initiative and the PlayStation Network, and is putting up the cash to prove it. Over the course of the next three years, Sony will commit $20 million in seeking out independent developers to create games like Papo & Yo, Okabu and PixelJunk Sidescroller. Brandon Stander, director of marketing for PlayStation Network, describes it as a commitment of faith in the Pub Fund and a goal to bring "innovative, different, unique gameplay" to PSN.

Continue reading Sony to invest $20 million into PlayStation Network and Pub Fund over the next three years

Sony to invest $20 million into PlayStation Network and Pub Fund over the next three years originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


07/19/11--13:53: Sony unveils San Diego Comic Con lineup, panels, crazy arcade cabinet (chan 1679472)



Sony's presence at this year's San Diego Comic Con is, like Qwark's chest, large and complex. Beyond bringing major retail releases like Resistance 3 and Twisted Metal for attendees to play, the publisher is showcasing a variety of wares from PSN indies like thatgamecompany's Journey and Minority Games' Papo & Yo.

The company is hosting several presentations on a handful of its games -- everything from Starhawk to Uncharted 3 -- along with with the chance to play a variety of unreleased PlayStation titles. If that weren't enough, the construction of a full Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One arcade cabinet specifically for SDCC 2011 should help to get you on board. Take an early peek at the cabinet in working order just below the break.

Continue reading Sony unveils San Diego Comic Con lineup, panels, crazy arcade cabinet

Sony unveils San Diego Comic Con lineup, panels, crazy arcade cabinet originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


07/25/11--17:00: Journey beta preview: Feeling small (chan 1679472)



During a PlayStation press event last week, I spoke with thatgamecompany executive producer Robin Hunicke, who told me that the team was "really really satisfied" with the feedback on the recently wrapped up Journey beta. "So many people wrote us to say that meeting a stranger online was a satisfying experience," Hunicke said. "It was exactly the kind of feedback we wanted." If that sounds as counterintuitive to you as it did to me, Hunicke explains just how thatgamecompany managed to make meeting strangers online (ick!) a not-awful experience.

Over the course of the two-week beta, 10,000 players - 5,000 in the US and 5,000 in Europe, according to thatgamecompany co-founder Kellee Santiago - helped the small dev test its networking code. The beta was a good source of positive reinforcement; the game's ideas worked. Not bad for the studio's first multiplayer game. The networking code, on the other hand, had a single bug. "But it was a really big bug," Hunicke said, laughing. It presented itself immediately and was patched just as quickly. For the next two weeks, the team gathered feedback and enjoyed hearing players write in, sharing experiences that matched the game's goals.

Gallery: Journey (E3)



Continue reading Journey beta preview: Feeling small

Journey beta preview: Feeling small originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


09/27/11--07:12: Journey floating to PSN in Spring 2012 (chan 1679472)



After teasing us with gorgeous footage, press demos, and a beta, Flower dev thatgamecompany today announced intentions to launch its next game, Journey, in Spring 2012. As with previous TGC games, Journey will arrive exclusively on the PlayStation 3's digital store.

"While there is still a ton of care and polish needed, we can't wait to finally deliver Journey, TGC's take on an online adventure game," creative director Jenova Chen writes on the PlayStation blog. "Like all our games, Journey is an experiment. In the end, it's what you think that matters."

Journey floating to PSN in Spring 2012 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


12/19/11--21:15: thatgamecompany's Kellee Santiago on Vita, and her ongoing argument with Roger Ebert (chan 1679472)



With Flow and Flower, Kellee Santiago and Jenova Chen's 12-person dev studio, thatgamecompany, completed two thirds of its three-game contract with Sony. And when Journey arrives some time in 2012, that three-game contract will come to an end, leaving Santiago and co. to an unknown future in the game industry. At a recent Sony press event in New York City, Santiago wouldn't say what the future holds for TGC ("Right now we're really focused on finishing Journey," she told me), but she did speak to her own interest in the PlayStation Vita.

"I could definitely see all of thatgamecompany's titles on the Vita," Santiago said. "But, as you said, we're a team of 12, so for us in each title we just try to focus on the specific platform we're distributing on, and then leave the future to the future." The studio's first game, Flow, ended up on Sony's last handheld system, so the idea of Flower and Journey ending up on the Vita isn't exactly a far-fetched one.

Given Santiago's apprehension at speaking about TGC after Journey, I instead prodded her about her interactions with famous (infamous?) film critic Roger Ebert. Had anything transpired since her last note? Santiago laughed before telling me, "He seems to have conceded that while he has his opinion, he can't really have it 'cause he doesn't play games anyway." In her last response, Santiago even offered to send Ebert a PlayStation 3 with Flower.

"We did send him a PlayStation 3 with Flower," she said. But has he played it? "At least of the last writing on it, he has not played it." Maybe she should've sent an employee to play the game for him as well?

[Image credit: TED Blog]

thatgamecompany's Kellee Santiago on Vita, and her ongoing argument with Roger Ebert originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


01/05/12--13:45: Journey: Behind the Music (chan 1679472)




Wondering what goes into crafting Journey's beautiful orchestral soundtrack? Thankfully, it has absolutely nothing to do with the stadium rock band of the same name, and everything to do with the Macedonia Radio Symphonic Orchestra. No joke!

Journey: Behind the Music originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


02/16/12--07:28: Journey ventures to PSN on March 13 for $15 [update: March 14 for EU] (chan 1679472)




Journey's developers at thatgamecompany refuse to dilly dally when it comes to seasonally tied launch windows, announcing this morning that Journey will arrive on March 13 for $15, effectively kicking off the spring season.

According to a PlayStation Blog post revealing the launch date and pricing, no bonuses are currently being offered for PS Plus members regarding the title, but, uh, you can also totally play the game on March 13 as well, unless you choose to hold out for a special offer, of course.

The release date announcement is just the beginning of a weeks-long trailer campaign leading up to thelaunch, so keep an eye out for more looks into the game in the near future. Should you need a fix right now, we've dropped a trailer above for you. You're so needy!

Update: The EU PlayStation Blog says that the game will arrive on March 14 in Europe.

Journey ventures to PSN on March 13 for $15 [update: March 14 for EU] originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments


02/16/12--08:30: Journey dev's next project to take online play one step further (chan 1679472)



When is thatgamecompany's Journey coming out? March 13, as it turns out. But what's next, you ask? Man, you're so impatient! Anyway, it sounds like the next project from TGC is just as online focused (or more so) than Journey, as a job listing for the indie studio's next game reveals. "With our last game, Journey, we began incorporating online interactions into our projects, and we'd like to take it a step further on our next game," the listing reads.

"While we're pretty experienced making games, we've never built a full scale online service available to hundreds of thousands of users. We're looking for someone to help us plan and build our online infrastructure in a way that scales," it continues, demanding direct experience "building a scalable online service." More ambiguously, the listing also requires applicants have a "desire to see the medium of games mature and increase in relevancy for people around the world." That sounds more like TGC to us!

Also of note, applicants are "more likely to enjoy this job" should they have a "desire to create something not just for core gamers but everyone you respect in your life." So, uh, if you don't respect anyone in your life, probably not an ideal job for you.

Journey dev's next project to take online play one step further originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments