A Little Journey at Comic Con

Posted by Kellee on July 24th, 2010

While we might not actually be showing Journey at this year’s Comic Con, Sony Santa Monica Designer Nathan Gary managed to get us a little representation.

But there’s a little backstory – around the offices at TGC we have been loving this new web comic, Axe Cop. Written by 5-year-old Malachai Nicolle and illustrated by his brother (and Eisner award nominee) 29-year-old Ethan Nicolle, Axe Cop is just the most awesomest awesome that ever awesomed.

Knowing that we felt this way, Nathan tracked down the Nicolles in San Diego, and got Ethan to draw our Journey character pairing up with Axe Cop to explore new worlds and fight crime:

Thanks to the Nicolles, for this really special shout-out!

Categories: Journey, Misc Comments: No Comments

flOw Re-imagined in Starcraft 2

Posted by Kellee on July 22nd, 2010

via Joystiq

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen a really unique application of the dark magic-fueled creation tools behind StarCraft 2, so we’re glad the video posted below could come along and decisively end our dry spell. Behold: Origins, a recreation of thatgamecompany’s microcosmic PSN title, flOw.

The game, created by Battle.net user Malu05, follows the familiar “eat or be eaten” structure of its inspiration, allowing players’ organisms to grow and gain new abilities as they consume smaller prey. It looks pretty neat and, with any luck, will be available to download when StarCraft 2 launches next week.”

Categories: Fan Art, FlOw Comments: 2

Featured Fan Art: LEGO Journey

Posted by Kellee on July 15th, 2010

From our favorite TGC LEGO artist:

Categories: Fan Art, Journey Comments: 2

TGC’s Third PSN Title: Journey

Posted by Kellee on June 17th, 2010

We are really excited to officially announce our current thatgamecompany project, “Journey.”

The inspiration for Journey came from Jenova’s feeling that in the modern world where man has so much power, we have lost an integral aspect of the human experience – awe towards the unknown. And we can see this in our video games as well. But don’t take it from me! Here’s Jenova to talk about it more:

“ In today’s society, man is powerful – We can travel at 60 mph; we can fly; we can connect with just about anyone, anywhere, at anytime. But on the street, people pass by each other ignoring the wonderful existence of other beings. We are overwhelmed by the attention needed to gain and execute our own power – just like we are in most video games. While we are doing that, we can become isolated and insecure deep inside our mind.

On the contrary, when we are hiking in the wild, we become tiny and weak again. These feelings make every other person we encounter much more important and enjoyable. We greet them, giving them genuine and useful help. We might travel together for a period, learn from and rely on each other. Struggling against the dangerous nature together, somehow, makes us warm and powerful inside. (This doesn’t make any rational sense, but somehow that’s how I feel. And I’m sure many of us do.)

While most video games offer the sense of empowerment in the online gaming experience, we felt the player will pay more attention to the other players if they are less distracted by the power, and the online gaming experience will be quite unique if it carries the feeling of awe towards the unknown. In a world where the majority of the players are distracted by technology, evoking a sense of awe and mystery could be very refreshing and powerful.”

To realize these goals, we aimed to create a world that feels vast and somewhat unfamiliar. And so the game begins with a character waking up in a desert, with no clues as to what might have happened before or what will happen later. There’s only a tall mountain in the distance, beckoning the player to set out and explore.

As you travel through the world, you may encounter a stranger who is on his or her own journey. But we don’t want to talk too much about the online experience right now. In part, because we really don’t want to inform your own experience of it; also, because we really enjoy seeing what happens when experiences come without explanation. But there’s plenty of time left for us to talk about it in the future…

One thing is for certain: we love getting to talk about a new project! It means that we can’t just navel-gaze about our own work anymore. It’s out there. You’re responding to it! And it also means we’re that much closer to getting the game into your hands. So we’d like to extend a HUGE thanks to everyone who has already expressed words of encouragement – they really do help!

Categories: General Comments: 53

Flower Makes The GameCola’s Top 50 List

Posted by Kellee on May 24th, 2010

The GameCola, a video games news and reviews site, has listed “Flower” as #45 on their Top 50 Video Games Ever Made list. It’s so awesome to see our humble little game among such incredible titles! Thanks so much to the folks over a The GameCola!

Categories: Flower, Press Comments: 1