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Journey |OT| Perfect Strangers

N

Neiteio

Member
Ra1den said:
I see. I completely disagree with this. First off this sort of thing is rather common across many games, having to advance gradually while repeatedly taking cover. It adds variety. There's nothing pretentious about it, it varies the gameplay up from just walking around everywhere without a problem. But yes, you have reached the foot of the mountain, and now the Journey becomes perilous, with snow, wind, among other things. Why should it just be business as usual?
Click to expand...
Other games with cover often have something more to them, like return fire. I'm not asking for a shooter, obviously (my avatar is a parody), but I am saying it's not fun standing behind a person-sized rock, waiting a set period of time, then walking 10 feet to the next one, waiting the same amount of time, then walking 10 feet to the next one, etc. It's definitely not fun and one of the weakest design elements in the game, but as already noted, it only happens a couple times in the game.

By your logic, why include the snow at all? Why not just make it a nice happy trek up a grassy mountain, encountering no resistance. Do you even know what you are asking for?
Click to expand...
I was asking for them to make the perils interesting.

Especially considering that the part was easy, it's not like it was annoyingly difficult or anything.
Click to expand...
You're right the cover sections are not difficult. It just doesn't add anything, and comes off as being there merely to dramatize the "struggle."

And it is a complete non-critique to say something was put in to "make it feel" a certain way. You can say that about ANY feature in ANY game.
Click to expand...
It's a bit more heavy-handed here, to put it lightly. Again, I like the game. I just don't feel it's the revelation some make it out to be. Maybe I was expecting too much.
 
E

Eppy Thatcher

God's had his chance.
Bought it last night around 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning ... beat it around 3:30 and took my tiiiiiime on a few of the levels.. looking to expand mah scahf and just soak it all in ...

I met up with 6 people on my first playthrough and 5 of them were on the first 3 or 4 levels. Just before the first big sand surfing section I met up with my bff and within 5 minutes we had a kind of language down. just walking forwards or moving from one section to another i would send out a beat and he would repeat it back.. beat box/repeat ... with the half sized big call for laughter whenever one of us would mess up... I think he was almost as new to the game as I was because when we got into the underground the entire experience changed. He was no longer just my bounding buddy who was cool and stuck around and was nice to recharge off of ... now he was my BEST fuckin friend. Standing behind a pillar watching the air snake thing move down the hallway waiting for a chance to go a little further.. out of the corner of my eye i see him accidentally slide down the hill and into the spotlight... the entire time i was MASHING THE SHIT out of my call button .. trying in vain to get his attention to where i was hiding. as soon as he was attacked i broke cover and flow over to him, synched up and helped him fly his ass out of the middle of the room... where he pointed out a upgrade shiny thing i would have completely missed otherwise... by the time we were ascending the mountain in those blizzard conditions we were the best of friends. We both got nicked by that flying snake asshole again in the snow... but managed to get out of there fairly quickly. for the last half of that snow level we were walking perfectly in sync keeping each other warm the entire time.

This game is freaking amazing. The ethereal and random nature of the online is sooooooo satisfying. I felt like i made a true friend
and deep down inside I smiled thinking about him beginning his second life in the desert at the same time as i was starting mine. :)

I really want to find someone who can guide me to all the secrets. Also.. my interpretation of the story:
The civilization in a tribal/non tech fashion work much as they do in the game... powering and living off the cloth. Their lives conclude when they ascend the mountain and become one with the stars. They see and admire their ancients every night. One day they figure out how to use this cloth as a source of energy for other things.. including powering more cloth and lighting towns then cities then their whole world. Eventually they extend themselves beyond their means and begin to wear their cloth dry of energy. Instead of working together to move past this in any meaningful way they attack each other for the last remaining peices of cloth and lock away their reserves for safekeeping. The war sets in and brother kills brother until their whole world is a ruin while their forefathers look down in sadness. As a chance to redeem themselves their ancestors pull the souls of the fallen out of their limbo and task them with a journey they are destined to repeat forever until they can reach the top of the true mountain and join the rest of the enlightened kind in the stars.

I could have said that a lot more eloquently but .. that's the jist i took away. Sofuckingood.gif
 
R

Ra1den

Member
Neiteio said:
Other games with cover often have something more to them, like return fire. I'm not asking for a shooter, obviously (my avatar is a parody), but I am saying it's not fun standing behind a person-sized rock, waiting a set period of time, then walking 10 feet to the next one, waiting the same amount of time, then walking 10 feet to the next one, etc. It's definitely not fun and one of the weakest design elements in the game, but as already noted, it only happens a couple times in the game.
Click to expand...

You need to take it in the context of the rest of the game. As you well know, the gameplay is quite minimalist. Having an element like this fits in perfectly, a simple obstacle, but an obstacle nonethless. Asking them to go beyond simple stuff like this is like asking for a different game. Sure it may have improved things if they had the budget or whatever to make a more full fledged experience, but considering the product they ended up with, this is a perfectly suitable element of it.

I respect your opinion though. I personally found this part to be quite enjoyable. During my second playthrough my partner kept getting pushed back during the later later parts, and it was cool having to wait for him and cheer him on. I don't see how this is in any way inferior to the rest of the game design. In other words, if somebody finds this lacking, I imagine they would find the rest of the gameplay lacking also.

I might also point out that mountains actually do have snow and fierce winds, so it is perfectly logical for something like this to be in the game. I fail to see how this can be considered heavy handed, this is what mountains are actually like.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
Ra1den said:
You need to take it in the context of the rest of the game. As you well know, the gameplay is quite minimalist. Having an element like this fits in perfectly, a simple obstacle, but an obstacle nonethless. Asking them to go beyond simple stuff like this is like asking for a different game. Sure it may have improved things if they had the budget or whatever to make a more full fledged experience, but considering the product they ended up with, this is a perfectly suitable element of it.

I respect your opinion though. I personally found this part to be quite enjoyable. During my second playthrough my partner kept getting pushed back during the later later parts, and it was cool having to wait for him and cheer him on. I don't see how this is in any way inferior to the rest of the game design. In other words, if somebody finds this lacking, I imagine they would find the rest of the gameplay lacking also.

I might also point out that mountains actually do have snow and fierce winds, so it is perfectly logical for something like this to be in the game. I fail to see how this can be considered heavy handed, this is what mountains are actually like.
Click to expand...
I appreciate you being patient as I share my thoughts. I was afraid I'd be attacked for not having experienced the same impact with this game as many others.

Again, I feel it's a good game. I would recommend it to anyone. $15 is a good price. And it may be one of those slow-burner titles, where my appreciation of it grows with time. I just feel it's several shades shy of its potential, and nothing spectacularly new.

Sand-surfing is incredible. I would've loved to have been able to sand-surf at will, just like how I could fly around at will in Flower. I know, it would've been a whole different game. But sand-surfing is easily the highlight. There's nothing quite like it in any other game; it's like snowboarding on a constantly undulating ocean, and at sunset looks like you're slicing through liquid fire.

Another effective bit was the introduction of a certain something down in the tunnels. Seeing that something on the prowl was effectively eerie, and works especially nice when you're wondering where your partner is and if he/she is OK.

I just feel the cutscenes and level structure break up the flow too much, making an already short journey shorter, and the gameplay was a bit too restrictive for the sake of effect. But I'll be repeating myself if I explain why again.
 
Mikey Jr.

Mikey Jr.

Member
What is the earliest point someone can join your game?

How does the MP work anyways? If someone gets too far ahead, it kicks them out and brings someone else in thats closer to you? Still confused about that.
 
S

Satch

Banned
I need class to end faster so i can go home and play journey again. it is all ive been thinking about since i woke up!
 
A

Auron_Kale

Member
Mikey Jr. said:
What is the earliest point someone can join your game?

How does the MP work anyways? If someone gets too far ahead, it kicks them out and brings someone else in thats closer to you? Still confused about that.
Click to expand...

First level I believe - which is the broken bridge level.

MP happens at random. Look for a section of your screen to glow white - that indicates someone's around; the brighter, the closer they are to you. If they get ahead, they get ahead - no kicking occurs. You can call out to them if you want them to find you.
 
F

Fine Ham Abounds

Member
Neiteio said:
Again, I like Journey. In many ways I think it's great. It's just not the revelation in game-as-narrative it's being made out to be. The game is very linear in a gamey way, with levels that are literally book-ended by cutscenes you watch but don't play. In that sense it -is- jamming something down your throat. The cutscenes are open to interpretation but they're still cutscenes. I'd much rather I actively discover the story during gameplay itself, much like in Flower where the last level is literally transforming all around you as you play -- no cutscenes necessary.
Click to expand...

I think I get your point a bit better now. I don't totally disagree, it obviously worked better for me than it did for you though. I have to stress that for me, the gameyness is exactly what I loved about it.

I don't think the game is a revelation either, and as I mentioned I would have preferred some more danger. But for me, it is something special that's finally taken me to a place I'd been expecting games to take me since the conclusion of the SNES days.
 
Seth Balmore

Seth Balmore

Member
This game is the gift that keeps on giving. I just finished my 3rd journey, best one yet.

I went through the last 3 levels with the same companion, who was really keen of roleplaying in his/her own way. All was well until we reached the end and s/he was nowhere in sight :( thought I had lost him/her at the last possible moment and I was gutted. I decided to climb as fast as possible and wait at the peak to see if s/he appeared, and to my surprise I found him/her already up there waiting.

Now what got to me is that after chirping a bit in acknowledgement s/he started walking around randomly in what appeared to be circles. After a moment s/he stopped and started chirping again. I panned the camera instinctively and saw...

"thx", written in the snow.

I replied with "<3", which got a lot of chirps out of my companion. We proceeded to complete the journey.

It's absolutely amazing to partner up with someone who takes the companionship concept to heart. Thank YOU for waiting for me, Blue-Dragon- ;_;
 
N

nofi

Member
Auron_Kale said:
First level I believe - which is the broken bridge level.

MP happens at random. Look for a section of your screen to glow white - that indicates someone's around; the brighter, the closer they are to you. If they get ahead, they get ahead - no kicking occurs. You can call out to them if you want them to find you.
Click to expand...

Second level. At the end of the first you can see a distant character, that's the clue.
 
Chuckie

Chuckie

Member
I just did my second journey and boy were you guys right. It is so awesome with an anonymous partner.

I met in level one, and we continued till the end together.

I too lost my compagnion in the final flying level... but he was there waiting... and we lost eachother again right before the final snow part... but I waited for him... and there he was... together we walked chirping into the bright light
 
F

forrest

formerly nacire
Had my third playthrough today. I had my white robe on and kind of got to play shepherd. I was with the same companion from the beginning all the way to the end. I led him/her to all of the symbols, secrets, etc. and it was awesome. I've had some video game experiences elicit emotions in the past, but nothing quite like Journey does. In a year of stellar titles to come, Journey holds my spot for GotY thus far. Something amazing will have to dethrone it. As excited as I am for titles like Diablo3 and Darksiders 2, I just don't think either will be this special.

HansAlRachid thanks for another great Journey!!! ^_^
 
R

Ra1den

Member
Seth Balmore said:
Now what got to me is that after chirping a bit in acknowledgement s/he started walking around randomly in what appeared to be circles. After a moment s/he stopped and started chirping again. I panned the camera instinctively and saw...

"thx", written in the snow.

I replied with "<3", which got a lot of chirps out of my companion. We proceeded to complete the journey.
Click to expand...

ARE
YOU
SERIOUS


This is unbelievably cool. I never thought of something like this.
 
A

Auron_Kale

Member
nofi said:
Second level. At the end of the first you can see a distant character, that's the clue.
Click to expand...

Ah never noticed the distant character.

Glad the week's almost over as I'll probably just play Journey again on my JP account for fun and listen to Austin Wintory's soundcloud for the weekend. Oh and putting some hi-res Journey artwork onto my new ipad.
 
S

ScOULaris

Member
Seth Balmore said:
This game is the gift that keeps on giving. I just finished my 3rd journey, best one yet.

I went through the last 3 levels with the same companion, who was really keen of roleplaying in his/her own way. All was well until we reached the end and s/he was nowhere in sight :( thought I had lost him/her at the last possible moment and I was gutted. I decided to climb as fast as possible and wait at the peak to see if s/he appeared, and to my surprise I found him/her already up there waiting.

Now what got to me is that after chirping a bit in acknowledgement s/he started walking around randomly in what appeared to be circles. After a moment s/he stopped and started chirping again. I panned the camera instinctively and saw...

"thx", written in the snow.

I replied with "<3", which got a lot of chirps out of my companion. We proceeded to complete the journey.

It's absolutely amazing to partner up with someone who takes the companionship concept to heart. Thank YOU for waiting for me, Blue-Dragon- ;_;
Click to expand...

Woah, that's amazing! I never would have thought to do something like that (
writing in the snow
).

I also find it fascinating how some people refer to their companions as "he" while others say "she." The character is decidedly androgynous, so I guess it's natural for some people to apply different gender interpretations depending on how the companion acts.

I always refer to them as "he."
 
A

Auron_Kale

Member
ScOULaris said:
Also, how many hidden symbols are there in each chapter? I'm gonna try and unlock the
white robe
tonight.
Click to expand...

In front of each alter at the end of the levels, there are stones that correspond to how many symbols there are in each level. Stones that glow mean you've already got them.
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
Seth Balmore said:
This game is the gift that keeps on giving. I just finished my 3rd journey, best one yet.

I went through the last 3 levels with the same companion, who was really keen of roleplaying in his/her own way. All was well until we reached the end and s/he was nowhere in sight :( thought I had lost him/her at the last possible moment and I was gutted. I decided to climb as fast as possible and wait at the peak to see if s/he appeared, and to my surprise I found him/her already up there waiting.

Now what got to me is that after chirping a bit in acknowledgement s/he started walking around randomly in what appeared to be circles. After a moment s/he stopped and started chirping again. I panned the camera instinctively and saw...

"thx", written in the snow.

I replied with "<3", which got a lot of chirps out of my companion. We proceeded to complete the journey.

It's absolutely amazing to partner up with someone who takes the companionship concept to heart. Thank YOU for waiting for me, Blue-Dragon- ;_;
Click to expand...

That never even occurred to me. That's awesome.
 
R

Ra1den

Member
Auron_Kale said:
In front of each alter at the end of the levels, there are stones that correspond to how many symbols there are in each level. Stones that glow mean you've already got them.
Click to expand...

lol, I keep learning about new stuff in this game. First time through I didn't know a damn thing, not even how the scarf length worked. So cool to keep learning new things.
 
FrostuTheNinja

FrostuTheNinja

Member
I would give bloated impressions and such, but I'll just give a one word comment that kept coming to mind the entire time I was playing.

Beautiful.
 
A

Auron_Kale

Member
FrostuTheNinja said:
I would give bloated impressions and such, but I'll just give a one word comment that kept coming to mind the entire time I was playing.

Beautiful.
Click to expand...

I think my expressions throughout the game were like this:

D: -> :D (you know which part) -> XD (the end - especially since I had a partner)

During the credits, it was basically: *_* as the song is so damn beautiful
 
W

Warm Machine

Member
I find it intereresting that we have a game here that uses bloom, hdr, vignettes, brown, a monocromatic palette, lots of fog, and depth of field. I find the art beautiful because of the use of all of these techniques and without them the game would be a visually dull lifeless husk. The use of colour, lighting, and atmosphere in addition to audio plays on the emotions and senses to help tell the story.

Which is also interesting because, like I have held to over the last many years, is that the story in an interactive game is what happens in the game itself. Journey is distilled proof of this as there isn't a line of understandable dialogue in the whole thing. It is visual and interactive storytelling throughout.
 
S

Strawman

Member
I did a few playthroughs of Journey a few weeks ago, but solo and with no sound but it still blew me away. Been dying to see Gafs reaction since then! Finally got to play it at home with surround sound and with a partner and it was breathtaking. Easily my game of the generation so far.
 
S

ScOULaris

Member
Strawman said:
I did a few playthroughs of Journey a few weeks ago, but solo and with no sound but it still blew me away. Been dying to see Gafs reaction since then! Finally got to play it at home with surround sound and with a partner and it was breathtaking. Easily my game of the generation so far.
Click to expand...

Solo and with no sound?! That sounds like the worst first-playthrough experience imaginable for this game.
 
A

AEREC

Member
The game is pretty good as an alternative to most games out there but it isnt the jizz fest that most people are making it out to be.

I was hoping for a a little more exploration...I got a little excited on chapter 3 when it appeared to open up more but they just used very clever invisible walls (best use of invisible walls in a game so far though).
 
R

Risk Breaker

Member
Ra1den said:
ARE
YOU
SERIOUS


This is unbelievably cool. I never thought of something like this.
Click to expand...


Actually, as I was speaking to Seth on IRC I was also completing the game for a third time with a person that was amazing.

We met
while I was looking for the flower, and right as I found it he found me. I was pretty tired and was thinking of leaving, but he was so nice that I had to continue. He flew in perfect synchrony with me, so we could fly forever and get to places very fast, but we also taught each other some secrets :D Really, when you get to fly with someone that way, chirping with the same rhythm and all... fuck, this game is something else.

The thing is, after reading Seth's post I was ready to get to the end and write something on the ground, so I chirped like a maniac. And then, as I start drawing a "<3" on the ground, he does the same thing, at the same time!

Yes, at the same time. And he then did a clover around me. Needless to say that I cried some manly tears right after that, even if it was my third playthrough :)

I also met Cheesemeister along the way! So cool.
 
A

Auron_Kale

Member
Strawman said:
I did a few playthroughs of Journey a few weeks ago, but solo and with no sound but it still blew me away. Been dying to see Gafs reaction since then! Finally got to play it at home with surround sound and with a partner and it was breathtaking. Easily my game of the generation so far.
Click to expand...

I wish I could've beta tested this game, must've been an interesting experience. Especially since the music/sound is such an integral part of the game for me.
 
R

Ra1den

Member
Risk Breaker said:
The thing is, after reading Seth's post I was ready to get to the end and write something on the ground, so I chirped like a maniac. And then, as I start drawing a "<3" on the ground, he does the same thing, at the same time!
Click to expand...

So cool. I can't wait to try this on my next playthrough tonight.
 
B

boingball

Member
Got my companion trophy yesterday. Went in with my
white
scarf and joined with someone who was on his second playthrough. Helped him across the
broken bridge without repairing it
and showed him all the glyphs etc.. Stayed with him until the end. Got a friend request and big thank you afterwards from him.

So in your journey of playing the game you go from Child (walking towards your goal without knowing what is going on but being amazed by the world around you) to Explorer (subsequent playthroughs for collecting and learning) to Teacher/Sensei (helping other people in their exploration [/spoiler]and the white scarf actually indicating your sensei status[/spoiler]). Very satisfying Meta-arc as well.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
Strawman said:
I did a few playthroughs of Journey a few weeks ago, but solo and with no sound but it still blew me away. Been dying to see Gafs reaction since then! Finally got to play it at home with surround sound and with a partner and it was breathtaking. Easily my game of the generation so far.
Click to expand...

How can you play without sound ??? The soundtrack of this game is glorious ... i'm listening of the soundtrack since i've done my first playtrough and i feel great.
 
A

Auron_Kale

Member
I'm thinking for my next playthrough (after my week-long hiatus - again, I refuse to mess with my clock) I'll go around wearing my fancy red robe for fun
rather than my shiny white one
.

Wonder how many people I'll run into...
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
I'm extremely sick today but I bought this last week and haven't gotten to it yet because of ME3. Is this as relaxing and nondemanding as Flower? I feel like this would help cheer me up but I don't think I can handle a game that requires too much of me right now.
 
L

Lissar

Reluctant Member
RoboPlato said:
I'm extremely sick today but I bought this last week and haven't gotten to it yet because of ME3. Is this as relaxing and nondemanding as Flower? I feel like this would help cheer me up but I don't think I can handle a game that requires too much of me right now.
Click to expand...

Well, it isn't challenging in a gameplay sense, but it can be emotionally demanding depending on how you play it!

ScOULaris said:
Quick Question: Will the symbols that you've already discovered on previous playthroughs still show up on subsequent ones?
Click to expand...

Yes. Your scarf doesn't carry over and you have to rebuild it every time. But there is a way to check to see which ones you are missing if you are trying to collect them all.
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Lissar said:
Well, it isn't challenging in a gameplay sense, but it can be emotionally demanding depending on how you play it!
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was hoping for. Let's see if I can actually lift a controller then I'll give if a shot.
KuGsj.gif
 
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