JoinGame: I played Journey, and to me it was an experience similar to watching a movie, since I was constantly moving forward without very much hinders. It made me think of movies like Baraka and Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, where the images flow across the screen without speech or voice-over. These are beautiful and powerful movies, where music and atmosphere are extremely important. But these kinds of movies can be criticized for having uncomplex messages: the flow and lack of "telling" leaves the viewer with only simple messages. Like these: "Nature is beautiful.", "Society is corrupt", and "Humans in modern cities lead pointless lives". Would you say that a game like Journey can have a more complex message than these? Or maybe it doesn't need to?

How did the journeymen's (players) design end up looking that way?

PS: I did like how it ended up, though. :)

After Journey, fl0w and flower do you think you would be able to go into a big budget game (GTA, CoD, BF ect) and if so what expiriences would you bring with you into that process?

Does thatgamecompany have any specific guidelines about how you design interaction / gameplay? (What's too little? What's too much? What hinders emotional engagement? Do you have any criteria that features have to meet?)

In what way is a manuscript. Or story board needed to make a good game these days?
I've noted a increaseing use of what would be termed as movie methods or scenes to enhance the story

As i see in most films and games, the music and soundwork determines the whole experience. It gives us a spiritual blueprint that our senses then follow. What thoughts went into those exquisite vibrations?

Greetings, I just have a question or two here which I'd like to hear what you have to say about.

I am currently in highschool but in the future I'll be studying game design where I'll aim to become a character designer. Is there any tips you could give me? And also, what is the common sallary for a character designer?

Hi Kellee!
What type of game would be your dream game if you had unlimited resources and skills on your team?

So..as Journey was a somewhat short experience, though very impressive the time it lasted, are we gonna see dlc or expansions in any time soon?

I graduated with a merit in BA Game Art last year and have been spending all my time working on a portfolio and applying for jobs over the last year with very little luck. The amount of responses, even if it's just ones to say no, are so low that it's increasingly disheartening, especially as working in the games industry is all I've wanted to do for my whole life. Is there any advice you can give to a budding designer looking to get the foot in the door?
I've had experience on a short internship working with TT Fusion on Lego Star Wars 3, and am expertly versed in the use of 3DS Max, Adobe Photoshop and the Unreal Editor, especially the UDK, which I've been using for some 3 years now. Seeing as I have skills in other disciplines I would be quite happy to work in an art role and enjoy level design even more so than that, but it seems to be that there are increasingly less companies who are willing to take on a graduate, even on a contract basis.
Thanks in advance for taking the time.

Which education is better if one wants to be a videogame designer?
For example, can it be enough to have a bachelor in animation?

From my point of view, it seems as though thatgamecompany strives to make games that explore the emotions that build our sense of understanding. With flower I personally felt a deep relaxation, and for me that is a human emotion in itself, when all the things that trouble us and weigh us down is lifted off our shoulders. And more recently, with your critically acclaimed game Journey, I dare say you tried to unravel the very meaning of life, or rather, the meaning of our future. Why do we do what we do, why are we doing it, what lies at the end of the journey. But more importantly, what is the Journey about? How can we experience the journey without thinking too much ahead?

My question is this; Seeing as thatgamecompany strives to dig deeper into human emotion, what human emotion interests you the most? Which emotion would you be interested in to adapting to a game? And are there some emotions that are just too complicated?
Before I leave, I must thank you at thatgamecompany and yourself, on the behalf of me and one of my friends, Johannes, on making such incredible games. Thank you so very much.

Hi! Big fan of some of the story lines. love to write and imagine. I don't play that much, but creating fantasy worlds and storylines sounds amazing! For me anyway. Think i can learn much from you. maybe if i'm lucky and you are impressed we can talk about a job opening if there is any. know this is along shot, but it can't hurt to ask ;-) after many years of struggling to get full control of my AD/HD i finally started to write down all the ideas. and with my imagination and a brain that literally never stops thinking. But the things i can imagine out of nothing is just so fantastic that i just have to do something about this wonderful gift. I think i can do amazing things with the right guidance sending you my email and would love to hear from you. But, if not then i wish you the best of luck in the future and keep up the good work!
- Joe Andersen 26yr

How did you develope the grass system in flower? is it one 3d asset with a scripted random pattern, or how was your workflow?

First of all, I loved Flower and Journey, and especially how you put the aesthetic (particularly with Journey) and explorative experience at the center of your games. They really are something else, and I enjoyed playing and re-playing them so much. Journey was a stunning experience.

What inspired your simple and elegant style and symbolism in the game? Also, did you have a message with your design, ideological or otherwise? If so, what is it?

Thanks again for design that stand out

To which extent does you give creative freedom to the people making the sound. Do you have any tips as a game developers perspective what makes audio complement a game?

Thanks:)

Thatgamecompany seem to search for a certain aesthetic, and Journey can easily be seen as the evolution of the ideas that informed Flower. However, the most interesting thing about the game to me is how you've managed to create a silent sense of fellowship with the other player characters you meet on your way, which almost accidentally seem to create certain stories, informed by the mechanic. The most ingenious detail of the gameplay is how closeness to other PC's increase your own power, which in the end-game becomes sort of a necessity, but not quite. Are you interested in developing the idea of fellowship between players in other titles, and if so, how? And would you be interested in doing an mmo-game?

I'm new to the indie-genre. And I was wondering what indie games I should be on the lookout for in 2012. I already have Pid, developed by Might & Delight, and The Showdown Effect, by Paradox Interactive, on my wishlist.

Keep producing games. Much appriciated!

First, let me just say thank you, for two amazing games(I've only played Flower and Journey)! The atmosphere is fantastic, and you should've seen my face when I realized that the traveller I met in Journey was another player somewhere in the world. I was grinning from ear to ear, I loved that part! :)

Will we see more games like this in the near future? How long does it take to make these games, from idea to finished product? Take Journey, for example.

Just wanted to congratulate you on some fantastic games!
Can you share some details on what you are working on right now or planing for the future?
+ Any chance of getting a code for journey on PSN?

What program do "THATGAMECOMPANY"
use? And were can i get it?

How many persons are/was part of the development team in Journey?

did u program or just design the game??
and if witch language did u use?

Great game! It's just so easy, yet fulfilling. I especially liked the first time another being (player) showed up. Eventually me and a friend managed to end up together and finished the game sharing the experience using skype.

My question is:
Did you ever consider the option of having no instructions, or explanations at all in the game?

A lot of different people usually have an idea about what makes a good game, and how the process are in making it. Clearly, I think most of the question will be about how and not about how you should not.

Do you have some ideas about what people do wrong the first time, that usually destroys the process?

What inspired ThatGameCompany not to allow more flexible saving of game saves, e.g. being able to go back in time and restart from an old game save?

The games you are involved in does have some very beautiful aesthetics. Will we see more of this in games outside of the indie-genre as well?

What would a perfect prototyping tool for designing and sketching innovative gameplay be like? (for ThatGameCompany)

All the three games FlOw, Flower and Journey are fantastic and extraordinary games. If you have to name a game genre to catalog these three games, what would it be?

Any plans or possibility of seeing Journey on the PC sometime soon?

(I don't have, and will not buy a PS3 console.)

Why did you choose to include the dragons in journey, up to that point i felt i played something more than a game, but when i met the dragon i felt it sortof pulled into the reality that i was playing a game. Would it not be better if you would created a more looming danger that really did not affect you, but still scared the living daylights of you?

Was Journey inspired from other games? If so, what games?