That's kinda the backstory I got as well except that it appears
perhaps war broke out between 2 factions/tribes and that they were ultimately decimated. In a later pictograph, it shows a star returning and the reborn figure wears a brown cloak whereas the original inhabitants wore white. Maybe each of them is forced to make a final journey, perhaps unknowingly with an adversary from the previous life before being able to finally ascend. Maybe it's the companionship/setting aside of differences that's the final journey.
it looks like there was definitely a war that broke out, it shows two sides using the machines that were initially created, I suspect this is the 'trigger' that I discussed in the first post I made, after the war ended both sides fell and their human connection had been destroyed (shown with the scarf splitting in two on the pictograph) - all that remained were the remains of the civilization and the machinery itself (perhaps it is impervious to destruction) The 'redemption' I mentioned I now think is them being reborn and given a second chance, to ascend the mountain and rejoin with those they lost the connection with due to the war.
Went through my third online playthrough (did one offline for symbols/glyphs.) I'm trying to make a habit of quickly writing down the names of those I spent a lot of time with so I can send off a thank you note. It seems like a polite thing to do!
Went through my third online playthrough (did one offline for symbols/glyphs.) I'm trying to make a habit of quickly writing down the names of those I spent a lot of time with so I can send off a thank you note. It seems like a polite thing to do!
Why are people judging the game length based on the time of one playthrough? I think almost anybody will play through this several times. And I mean they will WANT to. Can't say that for most games. So I think saying this has around 10 hours of gameplay is more accurate.
Why are people judging the game length based on the time of one playthrough? I think almost anybody will play through this several times. And I mean they will WANT to. Can't say that for most games. So I think saying this has around 10 hours of gameplay is more accurate.
you were dead for the last part of the game? To me it seemed like you either got revived by the white dudes before making the final ascent, or you actually never died at all and got saved by them. But then shooting off as a star in the end wouldn't really make sense, I guess, so maybe you're right. But then again, most of this game doesn't really "make sense".
I think that's the beauty of this game. I was never a big proponent of the "games are art" theory, but after playing this, I believe that it's possible for a game to be considered art. The fact that we all have our own individual interpretation of the game's theme, just like with a painting or a work of literature, proves that this is a work of art.
If I try that it's pretty unreadable, sadly :< My phone cam isn't so great. I just hope I got their names right. I wish they made it easier to find the people you've journeyed with.
Anyone else wish that this experience was a bit more fleshed out, mechanically, and expanded to a full fledged game ala ICO?
The art and music are just too amazing to just be for a 2 hour game. It was 2 hours of pure joy, but I'm left wanting more.
And with Team ICO dropping the ball lately, there really hasn't been a studio that could pick up the slack with a similarly artistic style and ethereal vibe.
it looks like there was definitely a war that broke out, it shows two sides using the machines that were initially created, I suspect this is the 'trigger' that I discussed in the first post I made, after the war ended both sides fell and their human connection had been destroyed (shown with the scarf splitting in two on the pictograph) - all that remained were the remains of the civilization and the machinery itself (perhaps it is impervious to destruction) The 'redemption' I mentioned I now think is them being reborn and given a second chance, to ascend the mountain and rejoin with those they lost the connection with due to the war.
Sounds like a solid theory to me. I love the pictographs but they can be a bit tough to decipher..."bird, bird, giant eye, man doing this..."
Anyway, I'm gonna go play offline for a bit to collect a few remaining glyphs. Played 2 rounds already co-op and it's by far the better experience. Dare I say even integral to the story and experience?
Anyone else wish that this experience was a bit more fleshed out, mechanically, and expanded to a full fledged game ala ICO?
The art and music are just too amazing to just be for a 2 hour game. It was 2 hours of pure joy, but I'm left wanting more.
And with Team ICO dropping the ball lately, there really hasn't been a studio that could pick up the slack with a similarly artistic style and ethereal vibe.
I think the game length is the way it is because they want to have it possible for you to beat the game with a single partner. A fully fleshed out game would not allow you to do that. I like the length of the game and feel like it may overstay its welcome if it were say 5 hours long.
Why are people judging the game length based on the time of one playthrough? I think almost anybody will play through this several times. And I mean they will WANT to. Can't say that for most games. So I think saying this has around 10 hours of gameplay is more accurate.
To get 10 hours out of it you'd have to play through it 6-7 times or so. Many people will do that, of course, but will most? I highly doubt it. Once you've been through it once you've basically seen everything the game has to offer, and after that it becomes about repeating the experience with different people (unless you're playing offline, in which case I think the replay value drops significantly).
Yes, that would have been amazing. I loved most of what is there (although not quite as much as I love Flower), I just think there is way too little of it.
To get 10 hours out of it you'd have to play through it 6-7 times or so. Many people will do that, of course, but will most? I highly doubt it. Once you've been through it once you've basically seen everything the game has to offer, and after that it becomes about repeating the experience with different people (unless you're playing offline, in which case I think the replay value drops significantly).
I don't have much time for gaming, so games like Journey are absolutely ideal for me. It's easily one of the best PSN games I've downloaded and I hope its success encourages other developers to make games that focus on the quality of production and unique experience rather than an artificial need for length. I'll be replaying this one for years to come.
I think the game length is the way it is because they want to have it possible for you to beat the game with a single partner. A fully fleshed out game would not allow you to do that. I like the length of the game and feel like it may overstay its welcome if it were say 5 hours long.
But the game makes sure you have no idea if the person you're playing with is the same person as ten minutes ago or somone new anyway (of course you could notice them acting differently, but I had absolutely no idea that I had met eight different people during my first playthough, or four during my second), so why would this be so important?
And even if so, do people really not have the attention span to play for more than 1½ hours in one go? Sure, some people might not actually have the time to do that, but still, 1½ hours is so, so short...
But the game makes sure you have no idea if the person you're playing with is the same person as ten minutes ago or somone new anyway (of course you could notice them acting differently, but I had absolutely no idea that I had met eight different people during my first playthough, or four during my second), so why would this be so important?
And even if so, do people really not have the attention span to play for more than 1½ hours in one go? Sure, some people might not actually have the time to do that, but still, 1½ hours is so, so short...
Started it last night and finished it when I got home from work today. I had a freakin' AWESOME companion when I was playing last night, and I felt like shit for logging off in the middle of our Journey (it was getting late). A new chapter started, and he immediately took off, probably expecting me to be right by his side as usual. Instead, I stood in place pressing the chirp button until he turned around. He stood there, about 50-60 feet out, and signaled back with a single chirp before I vanished before his eyes (turned off my PS3).
Fortunately I found an equally awesome partner when I started up the game today, and that partner and I finished the game together about an hour later.
Some moments in this game were sincerely breathtaking to behold. I doubt that they will have the same impact on subsequent playthroughs, but I'll never forget that first journey. As was probably the primary intention of thatgamecompany when developing this game, what stood out to me the most was how natural the human interaction with other anonymous players seemed. This is co-op done in an intelligent, new way that inspires teamwork effortlessly. It is the game's greatest accomplishment, IMO, with the stunning aesthetics coming in second.
I will be playing through the game again very soon, though. Quick question:
What do I have to do in order to unlock the white robe? And are there other unlockables besides that?
Whom ever i Journeyed with knows me as the hamfisted rubbish gamer i am.. although i was drunk the entire time. Like a drunkard getting nursed home after a heavy night out.. i thank ye
Well, yes, but I'll admit I didn't really study each one close enough to immedately notice when it had changed.
Still, even though I'm just a tad disappointed with some aspects of the game and it doesn't quite live up to the incredibly high bar Flower set (to me), I'm feeling the urge to play it again. So who knows, maybe I will actually end up getting 10+ hours out of it.
Just finished this in one sitting and holy shit, what an amazing experience. Very short, but I don't regret purchasing it at all. Definitely gonna have to play through it a few times.
Started it last night and finished it when I got home from work today. I had a freakin' AWESOME companion when I was playing last night, and I felt like shit for logging off in the middle of our Journey (it was getting late). A new chapter started, and he immediately took off, probably expecting me to be right by his side as usual. Instead, I stood in place pressing the chirp button until he turned around. He stood there, about 50-60 feet out, and signaled back with a single chirp before I vanished before his eyes (turned off my PS3).
Fortunately I found an equally awesome partner when I started up the game today, and that partner and I finished the game together about an hour later.
Some moments in this game were sincerely breathtaking to behold. I doubt that they will have the same impact on subsequent playthroughs, but I'll never forget that first journey. As was probably the primary intention of thatgamecompany when developing this game, what stood out to me the most was how natural the human interaction with other anonymous players seemed. This is co-op done in an intelligent, new way that inspires teamwork effortlessly. It is the game's greatest accomplishment, IMO, with the stunning aesthetics coming in second.
I will be playing through the game again very soon, though. Quick question:
What do I have to do in order to unlock the white robe? And are there other unlockables besides that?
I had someone bail out on me in a similar fashion today D: But at least they were polite enough to signal that they were leaving. Before that I had someone leave after we finished the first level together, but he just vanished.
And about that:
You can get the white robe by finding all of the scarf symbols. I think the only other thing you can unlock is the designs on your robe as you finish playthroughs. They become more and more elaborate.
After playing through it once I'm going back for glyphs and symbols before my second playthrough. In the hub how can I tell how many of these I've acquired for each level? I read something about stones but I only see glowing stones in front of one of the levels. Sorry for the dumb question.
Which is totally understandable if you haven't played through it. It's a dive someone has to be willing to take, but I promise you, you won't be disappointed.
Just finished it. Ran into seven people along the way. Maybe it was because I was playing with my brother and we're pretty lighthearted about this stuff, but it's not the mindblowing experience some people made it out to be. It baits you into thinking it's going to end pretentiously (
the "death" on the snowy mountain
), and then keeps going, which I guess subverts your expectation and for some people creates a momentary emotional high, although the actual ending is not much better (
walk into the light
). What's great is the gameplay when surfing the sand -- it's like snowboarding but better, since the sand ripples like the ocean. And what's sort of great is coasting up the rippling pieces of cloth. But I don't feel a strong desire to dive back into it like I did with Flower, where simply bending the grass in the breeze and the sense of speed carving a path through the fields and cresting the hill was exhilirating. If there were more of the drop-into-surfing moments, Journey would be a lot of fun, but as it stands, it was a lot of pretty shading effects and some melancholic music, with some nice snowboarding mixed throughout. I really doubt this will turn up in many GotY lists when all's said and done -- can't imagine people replaying this many times without the magic wearing off and the stiff seams showing -- but it's worth a play-through, for sure. At $15, not shabby.
Just finished it. Ran into seven people along the way. Maybe it was because I was playing with my brother and we're pretty lighthearted about this stuff, but it's not the mindblowing experience some people made it out to be. It baits you into thinking it's going to end pretentiously (
the "death" on the snowy mountain
), and then keeps going, which I guess subverts your expectation and for some people creates a momentary emotional high, although the actual ending is not much better (
walk into the light
). What's great is the gameplay when surfing the sand -- it's like snowboarding but better, since the sand ripples like the ocean. And what's sort of great is coasting up the rippling pieces of cloth. But I don't feel a strong desire to dive back into it like I did with Flower, where simply bending the grass in the breeze and the sense of speed carving a path through the fields and cresting the hill was exhilirating. If there were more of the drop-into-surfing moments, Journey would be a lot of fun, but as it stands, it was a lot of pretty shading effects and some melancholic music, with some nice snowboarding mixed throughout. I really doubt this will turn up in many GotY lists when all's said and done -- can't imagine people replaying this many times without the magic wearing off and the stiff seams showing -- but it's worth a play-through, for sure. At $15, not shabby.
Yeah, the actual gameplay was a mixed bag. Like you said, surfing down the sand dunes was the best, and I also very much enjoyed jumping/flying, especially once you got a fairly long scarf. Didn't really enjoy most of the snow gameplay, too much walking against the wind with the great jumping/flying ability mostly taken away from you.
I don't want to say games are art, but I felt something unique while playing this game, I also loved the way the co-op is implemented and what it teaches us. Great game that I wished everyone could play. thatgamecompany/Sony I appreciate what you did with Journey. I spoke to me about many things that resonated with my emotions.
Past the 5th cutscene stone thingy. It's beautiful, but I'm still not really feeling the multiplayer. I'm 98% sure I'd think this was just as good alone.
I think the game length is the way it is because they want to have it possible for you to beat the game with a single partner. A fully fleshed out game would not allow you to do that. I like the length of the game and feel like it may overstay its welcome if it were say 5 hours long.
Just finished this. Wow, I had no idea I was playing with different people. I thought I was just hooked up with the one person the whole time. At the last segment, my wireless headphone batteries dies, I scrambled to grab a new set but my companion finished the game without me. :-(
I'm not one for random multiplayer, but it worked beautifully for me. You can really tell the difference between personalities, even with the minimalistic communication. Just perfect.
Past the 5th cutscene stone thingy. It's beautiful, but I'm still not really feeling the multiplayer. I'm 98% sure I'd think this was just as good alone.
You will feel differently once you reach the mountain.
Seriously, that ascent against the blizzard was incredible. Not being able to communicate as our 'voices' died down, huddling together simply because that was the only way we could 'communicate' anymore. My companion collapsed seconds before me. Such a powerful moment.
