Journey: share your emotional experience (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

[weasels]

The very recent PSN game is awesome. and when playing it, I found so many different emotional experiences, and only from a 3 hour or so long game. I was amazed at how powerful this game was too me. My experience got me thinking what others took from this game and that it might be cool to share some of those with each other. Now I don't want to ruin the experience for others who have yet to play it, so i labeled the post possible spoilers so we could be free to discuss the details. also don't let my post be a downer in anyway...im choosing to say what im about to say on purpose. I want to share this.

Personally for me, the sense of companionship was quite important for me. early on i gained a friend and we were inseparable. At one point I was sure he died (im sure all that have played know what I'm talking about), and the feeling I felt was almost of extreme loss. recently I have been thinking about my uncle, who passes away not too long ago., For some reason the feeling of losing my friend was strangely familiar to the feelings i felt when I lost my uncle. I knew that this loss is nothing like a real death, but i couldn't help making comparisons. soon i realized my digital friend was alive, and while relieved, it made me think about how so much I wished my uncle had never died. beyond this realization, the ending was a particularly interesting surge of emotions as once again i thought i lost my friend...only to find him waiting for me on the other side.

[weasels]

eh, if a forum mod wants to delete this post, go ahead.

[flex wood]

Should just merge the three journey threads actually

[noiseredux]

might actually be better to keep this the spoilers thread instead.

When I first started, there was definitely just a feeling of confusion. I really didn't know what I was supposed to do or where I was supposed to go. Just that everything looked pretty. And I think that confusion and wonderment adds to this feeling of innocence.

I met a companion at one point and we made it to the underwater area with the big glowing lights in the center that has water that continually rises. I felt really confused at that point, but my companion figured it out quickly and was always a few moves ahead of me, guiding me. It felt reassuring.

Then there was the underwater area with those big creatures that attack you. We were walking together and then SUDDENLY this thing was on me! It threw me my companion took cover. When all the dust had settled, I was alone. I genuinely felt a bit upset. I know this was just a gamer who was avoiding an enemy and moving on in the game. But I felt abandoned. I felt like suddenly the odds were stacked against me a bit more than when I had someone to help me.

And of course, the end. The snow. I wanted so badly to push forward. And I watched myself move slower in that snow. And I watched someone collapse in front of me, and for a split second I thought that if I just kept pushing the analog stick up, then I'd make it. And when I went down, I just felt hopelessness. The whole journey had been a failure.

The ending, I suppose is supposed to be rejoiceful. It's a rebirth and all. But I still felt a little sad, thinking about my journeyman lying there in the snow.

[retrosportsgamer]

Going into my Journey experience, I knew only what was shared in the Yard Sale Gaming preview (a review with absolutely no spoilers). Now, I did pick up from that piece that the game was only 1.5 to 2 hours long. This was in the back of my head for my playthrough but once you realize the goal of getting to the top of the mountain where the rocks are split, time matters little.

Now I played the game in bursts - so I would play from save point to save point, often then disconnecting to go back and watch TV with my wife (or whatever). Because of this, I encountered probably 6-8 people on my run.

To be candid, I wasn't sure at first if this was another online player, or a NPC that was there to guide you through the game. I thought of the latter as a little insulting - I mean, the game is not difficult by any means so why would I need a guide?

The first person I encountered must have been on his second run as I could barely keep up. He wasn't interested in sharing or letting me do much of the work. In fact, I almost lost him in the open desert part (perhaps he disconnected).

I found the second half of the game more teamwork-oriented. We mimmicked at each other to let each other know where we were, and I often subconsciously would use the same patterns as the other guy to mirror. We both got splattered by the monster, and he did die (or disconnected) right at the end of the underwater level as I saw him half way into the ground (and you get the achievement).

The climb through the snow and wind was rewarding. We stayed close, and powered each other up to get through. I was a little more crafty than my partner, and his tumble off the wall led to me going after him. Not sure if it was the same guy, but on the final ascent, I was the one who died; he (or she) didn't stay close enough and my last image was them coming back to check on me (as I faded out). That was pretty powerful.

[Stark]

Finished this for the first time this weekend. Loved it, it was awesome!

The first person I encountered must have been on his second run as I could barely keep up. He wasn't interested in sharing or letting me do much of the work. In fact, I almost lost him in the open desert part (perhaps he disconnected).

I may be the only person that was really annoyed by the forced online multiplayer at first. And I think it is the person I first connected to. Bascially this is how it seemed to me: I have this online a-hole, constantly hitting the button (is it mimick?) and then running ahead and doing stuff without me and spoiling it for me.

Eventually I just disconnected and came back later and the next person restored my faith in humanity and I had a good experience with the multiplayer.

[weasels]

Finished this for the first time this weekend. Loved it, it was awesome!

The first person I encountered must have been on his second run as I could barely keep up. He wasn't interested in sharing or letting me do much of the work. In fact, I almost lost him in the open desert part (perhaps he disconnected).

I may be the only person that was really annoyed by the forced online multiplayer at first. And I think it is the person I first connected to. Bascially this is how it seemed to me: I have this online a-hole, constantly hitting the button (is it mimick?) and then running ahead and doing stuff without me and spoiling it for me.

Eventually I just disconnected and came back later and the next person restored my faith in humanity and I had a good experience with the multiplayer.

you can actually deactivate the online feature. best way would be to turn off the internet connection. but i think the pause menu has something where you can choose.

[Stark]

you can actually deactivate the online feature. best way would be to turn off the internet connection. but i think the pause menu has something where you can choose.

Yeah I could think of a few ways to do it, but I'm glad I didn't. Anyone who is turned off by this should stick it out. In the end I found it to be one of the best multiplayer experiences I've ever had.

[Gamerforlife]

You know I actually felt myself connecting with the creatures in this game too. I think everyone talks about their connection with other players. I love seeing those creatures communicating with me and helping me fly through an area. Also, when I saw one in need of help I immediately rescued him. Then there is that part later when you see one fall out of the sky into the snow and you can't seem to revive it. I found that genuinely sad.

I had an odd experience of finding another player sitting down in one area. Nothing I did got his/her attention. So finally, I sat down next to him and stayed there for a while. I actually got a trophy called reflection. Maybe that dude was meditating or just taking in the scenery I thought. In retrospect, the player probably just had the game paused

One really memorable moment happened when I was pushing through the snow stage. The monster swooped down and snatched my partner away. The game is very visceral in how these things go after a player and it does kind of shock you. After a minute or two though, I saw another player far behind me. Possibly the same one, he was frantically sending out those communication bubbles. I backtracked to his location and it was like he calmed down and we finished the game together. I think this game does am amazing job of making people feel helpless and creating a sense of co dependency. It's actually rather fascinating.

Amazing game. I finished my third playthrough today. I amazed that I encounter other players every single time I play. I may have to disable the online at some point because I want to explore a bit and when I run into other players I feel obligated to press on forward with them rather than go through the game at my own pace. I think Thatgamecompany is a very special development studio that the game industry really needs right now, especially if Team Ico is no more. No one else is making games like these.