THE ART OF JOURNEY CONTINUES
Journeys are works of art. They do exactly what great masterpieces do—they both transport you and transform you.
Image: Courtesy of The Art of Journey. Art from game.
Journey was nominated for every significant game-of-the-year award, winning many. It won Game of the Year at the 2013 DICESummit. And it continues to be a top seller.
It is, at once, ancient and full of the future universe. You experience yourself as a faceless, shrouded figure who must cross a vast desert to get to the goal. It is utterly lonely until you cross paths with other somewhat similar figures that are trying to get to the same mountaintop.
There are no conventional protagonists. Two players can connect to help each other move forward. They forge an emotional bond, yet they remain anonymous to each other. Along the journey, they solve puzzles and explore the remnants of a forgotten civilization.
No words are spoken or seen in the game. Communication is limited to a simple musical chime which also serves to transform dull pieces of cloth to vibrant red, allowing the players to progress through the game levels.
The sights are stunning. The soundtrack is haunting. And you play like you’ve never played before.
Music: Courtesy of Austin Wintory via SoundCloud.
Journey’s score, composed by Austin Wintory, was the first video game score ever nominated for a Grammy. It won the 2013 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Original Music.
The music dynamically responds to the player's actions, building a single theme to represent the game's emotional arc throughout the story.
Image: Courtesy of the Art of Journey. Artwork from game.
Wintory worked closely with sound designer Steve Johnson to create a soundtrack that would dynamically tie in to both the actions of the player and sound effects caused by nearby game objects. It feels as if it is unfolding in real time along the journey.
In an interview with USA Today, Wintory stated, “My hope is the score provides a seamless and continuous emotional experience for the player, so that as atmospheres and moods change, so too does the score.”
Photo: Courtesy of US and the Game Industry. Tina Guo.
Tina Guo’s soul-wrenching cello gives life to the wilderness, calling the players forth towards the light on the horizon, and demanding emotional surrender.
The cello begins the game as "immersed in a sea of electronic sound," before emerging on its own and then summoning the full orchestra, as the players move towards the mountain.
Image: Courtesy of the Art of Journey. Artwork from game.
The music moves through an emotional arc, leading players along in the adventure, with flutes, drums, and an ocarina. Dangers and obstacles pepper the players’ paths, as string tremolos, percussion, and electronics carry on.
After Journey’s release, the soundtrack reached the top 10 of the iTunes Soundtrack charts in more than 20 countries. The Journey soundtrack was released, as a stand-alone, this past summer.
Last month, Wintory guest-conducted “Nascence” and “Apotheosis,” two pieces from the Journey score, with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra as part of a performance of “The Hero’s Journey: A Symphonic Tribute to Comic Con.” It fulfilled a lifelong dream for Wintory, a Denver native, who had spent many many childhood hours listening acutely, in the audience of the CSO. It was his initial training ground.
Watch the video of the Wintory/CSO performance below.
Video: Courtesy Fergd.
Image: Courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment America. The Art of Journey Book.
The story is presented in The Art of Journey
The Art of Journey comes bound as an debossed, hardcover book filled with gorgeous concept art, intricate pencil drawings, and 3D models printed in full color on art-quality paper. Additionally, the book pushes the boundaries of traditional print with its "augmented reality" feature, powered by the Daqri 4D platform.
Video: Courtesy The Spirit of Classical Music.
Journey® Art Director, Matthew Nava, signed the first 500 pre orders. Unsigned copies of, The Art of Journey, will be available on Amazon this holiday season.
Stay tuned as Chen’s journeys continue. His latest game in-the-works also features non-verbal communication. It is still 2 years away from release.
Photo: Image Courtesy of That Game Company. Flower.
Chen is clearly into the experience of beautiful journeys. Check out his earlier works, including FlOw, released in 2007, which asks players to guide a microorganism on a journey through a series of underwater landscapes. Another early game, Flower, is all about the journey of a single petal across a spectrum of environments.
Read more about Beautiful Journeys, as they relate to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact in our posts throughout this week, including Beautiful Journeys in Film Now, Epic First Ever Journeys, and Juniper Journeys.
Get busy and enter the BN Competitions, Our theme this week is Journeys. Send in your images and ideas. Deadline is 12.08.13.
Photo: Courtesy of InterActiveMediaSW.
Also, check out our special competition: The Most Beautiful Sound in the World! We are thrilled about this effort, together with SoundCloud and The Sound Agency. And we can’t wait to hear what you’ve got!
