another potential classic from thatgamecompany, the makers of Cloud, Flow and Flower, comes in the shape of the enigmatic JOURNEY ... yeah, hold onto your "owner of a lonely heart" gags because this one's more than a little strange in a 'isolated in a vast alien landscape with nothing but the allure of an immense mountain to beckon you onwards' fashion. We do know this, it's a multi-player online experience, the company's first, so anything could happen ... one hopes the 'journey' is narratively driven somehow by the other players.
In one section of the desert where the sand moves like water in an ocean, players can “catch” a wave and ride it. Such experimentation will yield other discoveries.
The desolate sand dunes stretch as far as the eye can see. Players traverse the landscape at their own pace and with their own direction, but the mountain will always sit erect as a beacon of mystery. Your smallness is readily apparent each time the geographic feature falls into view.
Although seemingly devoid of life, players will happen upon other travelers making their way to the mountain. Chen could discuss few details about this multiplayer feature, but he likened it to hiking -- sometimes you’ll happen upon another hiker while heading to your own destination. You might even join up for a while. Or, you may decide you want nothing to do with this person and press on alone.
Chen hopes that Journey will re-imagine how we think about multiplayer in video games, and how we feel toward one another. Through the environment and the end goal, he hopes to elicit a feeling of small and wonder. [source BITMOB]
I'll post moving video of the game in action if/when tgc president Kellee Santiago releases it to the 'net, but for now here's an interview with game designer Jenova Chen courtesy of GameSetWatch.
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