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Would you explain Journey to me please? I don't get it.
- Thread starter SteveWinwood
- Start date
learnedhand
Member
Easily dismissing the game as "artsy", and those who enjoy it as people who "don't get out enough" is kinda insulting to be honest. Personally, it struck a nerve with me.
To be sure, I can find enjoyment from the shooting galleries, timed platforms, and contrived fetch-quests that define most games. But they quickly blur together. But there were moments in Journey that I can still recall today. It may sound corny, but it touched me on a more human level.
It made me feel isolated and melancholy. The symbolism behind the cold climb up the mountain, as your movements begin to labor, followed by joy as you soared and floated to the heavens, made me feel "something". This game was not about some random hero or villain.
It was about me.
I'm older. Well past any grand notions or fears about my life. "Maturity" is too loaded a term. But maybe "perspective" might explain such differing opinions.
Maybe the hype created unrealistic expectations. That's happened to all of us. Maybe it's not your type of game. Maybe you just didn't "get it". But I hope someday you do.
To be sure, I can find enjoyment from the shooting galleries, timed platforms, and contrived fetch-quests that define most games. But they quickly blur together. But there were moments in Journey that I can still recall today. It may sound corny, but it touched me on a more human level.
It made me feel isolated and melancholy. The symbolism behind the cold climb up the mountain, as your movements begin to labor, followed by joy as you soared and floated to the heavens, made me feel "something". This game was not about some random hero or villain.
It was about me.
I'm older. Well past any grand notions or fears about my life. "Maturity" is too loaded a term. But maybe "perspective" might explain such differing opinions.
Maybe the hype created unrealistic expectations. That's happened to all of us. Maybe it's not your type of game. Maybe you just didn't "get it". But I hope someday you do.
Navigate that world is just exhilirating. Exploring it to find every single secret to reach that final goal
is always rewarding. Finding a partner that knows how to maximize the chirp effect to dance in plain air is moving. Austin Wintory soundtrack is superb and perfectly interwoven with the action and the emotional beats. Watching those little hints of a great ancient civilization with a rich cultural history makes my imagination run wild with images of Mu and Atlantis. The whole cyclical theme that permeates Journey (hinting the player to replay the game again and again) makes me reminisce about The Eternal Recurrence. In the end all of this makes for the best game for me.
the white robe
swirlyglasses
Member
Personally, I don't feel the 'art experience' is forced upon you in Journey in the same way as Dear Esther. In Dear Esther, you walk super slow, and have no obvious game mechanics. In Journey, movement feels good, the game has limitations (the scarf limit) and you have an obvious goal (the mountain).
This makes Journey a game for me, and Dear Esther an art exhibit.
I'm the guy who (unwittingly) ignited this more recent game/non-game conflict. (For the record, I have no problem with what I call "non-games," and just shared a take on parameters for one particular award category.) Let me tell you, I loved the hell out of Dear Esther. It's far less a "game" than Journey -- in fact, I would absolutely call Dear Esther a non-game. But I feel Dear Esther is far more emotionally effective than Journey. Not because of its dialogue, which frankly is a bit too purple for its own good, but because of the sorrow and mystery infused in every nook and cranny of its world. I think that without any weak attempts at gameplay to diminish it, its emotional component actually worked better.
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded. During that period, the band released a series of hit songs, including 1981's "Don't Stop Believin'", the top-selling catalog track in iTunes history. Its parent studio album, Escape, the band's eighth and most successful, reached #1 on the Billboard 200 and yielded another of their most popular singles, "Open Arms". Its 1983 follow-up, Frontiers, was almost as successful in the United States, reaching #2 and spawning several successful singles; it broadened the band's appeal in the United Kingdom, where it reached #6 on the UK Albums Chart. A lot of interesting reactions and interpretations of the game in the OT are great.
Agreed -- also, in Journey you have a dual health bar and energy bar, not to mention a jump button more complex than most platformers (and more original) and a sing button which has a multifaceted game function as area effect energy restorer, sometimes healing, and really (intentionally) limited communication in coop.
Likening the two games is absurd, and reflects badly on the level of discourse.
*edit* It was better without the picture
Oh, we're talking about this Journey?
Well this changes everything.
EDIT: I just realized the scarves in Journey the game are a symbol for hair metal band hair, aren't they.
blame space
Banned
there's no way i'm paying money for this after flower
WELCOME TO GAF!
Thanks! :3WELCOME TO GAF!
ThanksVision
Member
It's an allegory for the simple nature of life and the relationships we find throughout it. No other medium can do this.
blame space
Banned
flower was awful and i bet this sucks too
That's the thing. Saying "it's all an allegory about the HERO'S JOURNEY AND LIFE" is a statement of fact, not an explanation or an argument about how Journey is compelling.
And other video games have done it better, in the guise of being actual games.
rudieboy77
Member
This game is fairly obvious in it inferences to Eastern religion and beliefs.
Flower is a piece of shit and Journey is incredible, so.
Boss Man
Member
I'm not one of the people who've said much about Journey, but I totally get it. I imagine others probably just felt it more than I did, but for me it was mostly just a beautiful experience not something mind blowing. Refreshing maybe.
The best thing that I can give you, if I understand what you're asking for, is that there were numerous moments in the game that felt kind of like the first time you go camping and you can actually see all of the stars at night, or the first time that you see the ocean.
I'm not saying that the game is as powerful as those experiences, I'm simply saying that it evoked that feeling- that's the part that I guess some people were more or less receptive to.
The best thing that I can give you, if I understand what you're asking for, is that there were numerous moments in the game that felt kind of like the first time you go camping and you can actually see all of the stars at night, or the first time that you see the ocean.
I'm not saying that the game is as powerful as those experiences, I'm simply saying that it evoked that feeling- that's the part that I guess some people were more or less receptive to.
I've camped all over and Journey doesn't even remotely approach the grandeur of the outdoors.
Nah, I think the most effective emotional moment in Journey is when you and your partner huddle together, trying to stay warm, shivering in the cold. But that was more out of empathy for the onscreen avatar than the anonymous player controlling the partner.
Still, a neat moment. Overall game is marred by more mediocre elements, though.
like what lmao. There is nothing mediocre about Journey.
Boss Man
Member
Like I said explicitly, that's not what I was trying to argue. Parts of the game are just awesome, in the literal sense that no one actually means when they say awesome.
Cutscenes chopping up the flow, the cocktease of sand-surfing (should've been way more of this), the awful stealth section, terribad platforming on air-ducts, the awful "wait for hard winds to die down" bit (I get it, I get it, it's supposed to make you feel close to your online partner by forcing you behind the same rock). Most of the parts are individally weak... It's really a "how does the sum affect you" sort of deal. I was a bit too cognizant of when and how the music kicked in to be emotionally affected by it, and a bit too aware of what they were trying to make me feel by having me journey with a silent partner I could only help or ignore. I appreciate the idea but the execution felt filmsy. Worth $15, though, and I still have it on my HDD.
Ah, OK. Fair enough.Fancy Corndog said:
ThanksVision
Member
Ugh I typed up a bigger response but it all disappeared, sorry. I'll paraphrase:
What other games? I'm aware of Passage but not any others. I found Journey compelling because of the obvious beauty in art and music. But what I really loved about it was how much you can infer about your partner through his/her actions. Whether they stay or leave you behind. Or whether they chirp back or not. Little things like that. It's unique and refreshing and I think we should be allowed to commend that.
Anybody who is upset that this is #1(not the person I'm replying to) is being ridiculous. Play the games you like, and be happy that our hobby is able to provide something for everyone.
Riposte
Member
did gandalf beat journey?
This post summarizes why I hate Journey.
It's basically just that, only pretty and boring. Something you can guess from the title and the information that it has a multiplayer focus.
And I hate that people are so proud of themselves for getting it.
POWERSPHERE
Member
People like to like things that make them feel clever.
AcceptableGhost
Member
Journey (and the rest of thatgamecompanys games) is what happens when you know how to exploit a target audience for money REALLY REALLY well. Thatgamecompany is made up of incredible businessman. It is the only way that something that lacks even a shred of substance could be so successful.
Pretty much.
That doesn't explain anything to me :/
I'm guessing this game only makes people emotional and others not is similar to how some people get scared of horror movies and some people don't?
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
Even though those things themselves are anything but? Hahaha.
ThanksVision
Member
Lol "hate." It's a video game dude. Hating people you've never met over it is a bit over the top
I read this in my head in the voice of Pai Mei from Kill Bill Vol. 2, lol.
i think the more obscure allegorical story is that of the white robes usurping the divine power and cannibalizing their natural resources and ruining their civilization.
save for a few who actually don't get it, most really don't think the "life as a journey" story is a clever secret, and the game doesn't really present it cryptically. it's not a secret, so you're har-haring nobody really.
save for a few who actually don't get it, most really don't think the "life as a journey" story is a clever secret, and the game doesn't really present it cryptically. it's not a secret, so you're har-haring nobody really.
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Who's proud of 'getting it'?
MrCookiepants
Member
Well, on an audio/visual level it's inarguably one of the most beautiful games ever.
But the multiplayer experience is what takes it to another level. On my first playthrough in the first area, I came across a white cloak. This dude's scarf was about ten times as long as mine and he could jump much further than me. I was in awe of him. We greeted each other with our little chirps and it seemed like he wanted me to follow him. He guided me through the entire game. He was patient with me. Let me explore, helped find all the secrets.
Best moment was probably in that one huge desert area. We were kinda jumping around like idiots and I realized that when he chirped in the air near me, I could go a little higher. So we take a few turns chirping at the height of our jumps and all of a sudden we're fucking flying! I learned how to fly, not through some crude tutorial or anything like that; It just happened naturally. It felt amazing. No other game has nailed the sensation of flight like this.
Spoilers!
The game was over quickly, but it really did feel like we'd been on an adventure together.
After the credits rolled I got his PSN ID and sent him a thankyou message. Turns out he didn't speak english. :lol Really highlighted the fact that we'd been able to co-operate so well throughout the game without any means of verbal communication. So cool.
But the multiplayer experience is what takes it to another level. On my first playthrough in the first area, I came across a white cloak. This dude's scarf was about ten times as long as mine and he could jump much further than me. I was in awe of him. We greeted each other with our little chirps and it seemed like he wanted me to follow him. He guided me through the entire game. He was patient with me. Let me explore, helped find all the secrets.
Best moment was probably in that one huge desert area. We were kinda jumping around like idiots and I realized that when he chirped in the air near me, I could go a little higher. So we take a few turns chirping at the height of our jumps and all of a sudden we're fucking flying! I learned how to fly, not through some crude tutorial or anything like that; It just happened naturally. It felt amazing. No other game has nailed the sensation of flight like this.
Spoilers!
So at the end, after we'd both collapsed in the snow and I was flying towards the mountain alone. For a second I thought he didn't make it. We were reunited about halfway through the climb. It sounds stupid, but I was just so happy to see him I was almost in tears. When we reached the peak we were both spamming circle in excitement. Then he drew a heart shape in the snow for me. :'(
After the credits rolled I got his PSN ID and sent him a thankyou message. Turns out he didn't speak english. :lol Really highlighted the fact that we'd been able to co-operate so well throughout the game without any means of verbal communication. So cool.
From reading the OP, you seem to recognize that the developer had a very explicit goal to manipulate the emotions of the player and create a specific gambit of feelings, so I think you actually already get it. They clearly succeeded in this goal for many many people, even if others were turned off by the heavyhandedness. It's not very productive to imply people are artistically impoverished/moved by banality and humblebrag about Lawrence of Arabia and Le Petit Prince haha
Boss Man
Member
This reminds me of that thread a few months ago where a few posters were accusing people who like games like Journey, Flower, or art in general of being hipsters just trying to act sophisticated.
It would be like sitting somewhere reading a book and someone walks up to you and says, "Oh, books eh? I guess you think you're really smart. Whatever dude."
People like things. News at 11.
It would be like sitting somewhere reading a book and someone walks up to you and says, "Oh, books eh? I guess you think you're really smart. Whatever dude."
People like things. News at 11.
Oh yeah that guy was me.
blame space
Banned
no, people are allowed to not really like things.
I thought Flower was more impactful for me than this game with its unique gameplay style, serenity, and beauty of colors and vegetation. What really upsets me is that Papa y Yo didn't get as much love and it made helavu more than Journey. I guess i plowed through Journey without taking it all in.
The games music, presentation and co-op blew me away. The final moments of the game with me and my partner climbing to the top and chirping away at eachother as we slowed down to a walk knowing we were about to complete our journey. It's an experience I won't forget.
It's such a unique game and I think it deserves all the praise it's getting, same with The Walking Dead.
It's such a unique game and I think it deserves all the praise it's getting, same with The Walking Dead.