OXCGN’s Interview with ThatGameCompany

Kellee Santiago & Aaron Grommesh on ‘Journey’

by exterminat

©2011 Nicholas Laborde

Our industry is anything but lacking in creative geniuses, from the likes of Kojima and the Metal Gear series, all the way to small independent developers like ThatGameCompany and their upcoming Journey.

ThatGameCompany has given us epics such as fl0w, where you moved around and ate things. And let’s not forget Flower, where you made flowers grow.

All humor aside, TGC has a very unique style with their titles and everything they make is a work of art.

Their third PSN title, Journey, was announced at E3 2010, and we know about as much now as we did then.

Eager to learn more, I bugged ThatGameCompany for answers. Kellee Santiago and newly-recruited Aaron Grommesh teamed up to collectively make me go away!

Nicholas: I know you guys at ThatGameCompany are a creative bunch that could make anything a piece of art. With that being said, how did Journey come out as a concept? Was it an idea you wanted to explore that eventually became reality? Or, was it surmised with the intention of creating a different type of online experience?

Kellee: Wow, well thank you so much! Journey, as with most of our games, kind of started with both. I think what has made our games successful so far, is that we don’t develop games in a vacuum. That is, we very much take into consideration the platform we are working on, the marketplace, and of course, the players. The development team is constantly evaluating ideas on these levels in order to create something that will not only successfully communicate the initial idea, but will communicate it to the largest audience possible.  For Journey, the concept for the theme and the setting came from ideas that had been floating in Jenova‘s head for awhile. We also knew we wanted to make our third PS3 title an online game. 

Nicholas: Journey is, as the name implies, about a journey through the desert and what you find along the way. The thing in particular that peaks my interest is our character. Who is he, and what makes him unique?

Aaron: This is also part of the mystery of the game.  Your avatar simply shows up on screen and you get this urge to go on a journey to the mountain.  Through exploring you’ll find out different things about the civilization and what happened.

Nicholas: Call me crazy, but I’m kind of interested in how sand plays into the overall title. Could you elaborate on that?

Kellee: With the theme of wanting the player to feel somewhat small in relationship to the world, the setting of a desert quickly emerged – it’s such a harsh, unforgiving environment. At the same place, we wanted the player to feel invited to explore this world – to simply enjoy being in it. We took a trip to the Pismo Beach dunes at the beginning of development, and were really inspired by the interaction you have just walking through sand. It inspired a lot of what you see in the game.

Nicholas: The kicker about Journey is that you can meet a partner online to join you on your crusade, but you have no communication with them, be it auditory or visual. You don’t even see their name! How does this play out into the overall style and tone of the title, and is there any type of interaction with your partner?

Aaron: We actually do have a communication ability in the game. One button lets you “call” out to your partner, but that’s basically all you can do to communicate other than perhaps moving your avatar in the direction you want the other player to go. Journey is about mystery and bonding with someone, so Journey is an experiment into connecting with people without knowing anything about them. That can be part of the mystery as well, because you could be playing with a ten year old girl, a 75 year old grandparent, or even your next door neighbor. You don’t know where they’re from or what language they speak, so you have to try to communicate in ways that your partner will understand.

Nicholas: Just what type of “ancient force” are we discovering on our path?

Kellee: The goal of Journey is to discover what happened in this world, why you are there, and what your purpose is in it. I won’t reveal any spoilers!

Nicholas: Considering TGC’s track record, I feel silly for asking this, but is there any type of combat or battle scenarios in Journey?

Kellee: Sounds like you know the answer to this one.

Nicholas: If there was one thing you could ask of the community for when Journey hits shelves, what would it be? (In terms of interpretations, impressions, etc?)

Kellee: We don’t want to ask anything…. we think players should come to our games (and any game) as they are, and come to their own conclusions.

Nicholas: Last thing: I know you guys are going to put a secret oasis somewhere in the desert where we can tend to flowers, right? *hint hint*

Kellee: Haha, I dunno, but that’s a fun idea!

Until next time…

I learned a lot from this interview. As most “intellectual people” would, I assumed that ThatGameCompany was full of robots manufactured at the same place as Tim Burton and Abraham Lincoln.

Kellee and Aaron proved me wrong, if only for the moment.

We shall undoubtedly see Journey at the mammoth five hour Sony E3 media briefing. And of course, every single question that Kellee and Aaron creatively darted here will be answered.

ThatGameCompany reigned victorious this time around. But don’t worry, TGC.

I’ll be back.

And you’ll need five people to handle me.

• OXCGN Anticimeter

Highly Anticipated

©2011 Nicholas Laborde

xxxxxx

Filed under: Console gaming, E3 2011, Editorial, Game Industry News, Interviews, Oxcgn Special feature, PS3 News, Software News & Updates, Xbox 360 Tagged: | Aaron Grommesh, Flower, Game, Jenova Chen, journey, Journey info, Journey interview, Kellee Santiago, Online game, PlayStation Network, PS3, PSN, Sony, TGC, that game company, thatgamecompany, Video game