People who say size doesn't matter are lying bastards

by sweep

I was reading the E3 edition of EDGE magazine and there is a criminally short article on Journey , the upcoming game by thatgamecompany for Playstation Network, creators of Flower and flOw. There is an interview there with the co-founder and games designer Jenova Chen . I have blogged before about the work ethic of thatgamecompany and I think the are a fucking stupendous developer. Each intervi...

I was reading the E3 edition of EDGE magazine and there is a criminally short article on Journey, the upcoming game by thatgamecompany for Playstation Network, creators of Flower and flOw. There is an interview there with the co-founder and games designer Jenova Chen. I have blogged before about the work ethic of thatgamecompany and I think the are a fucking stupendous developer. Each interview with Chen is alarmingly reflective and refreshing.

Anyway

he was talking about the design decisions for Journey and he mentioned a big influence was meeting some of the US astronauts, and how since their return to Earth they had become very religious. I don't have the article here but the reasoning was along the lines of: Everything you value in the universe is currently suspended above you on a planet the size of a marble. It's a sense of being truly overwhelmed, humbled even. That was the mentality Chen set out to create when designing Journey. That is why you are but a small character, slowly working your way across an endless desert towards your destination, a mountain etched permanently across the horizon. Chen argues that somewhere down the line, games forgot how to make you feel small.

This train of thought reminded me of Snide's Eve discussion on the bombcast a few weeks ago.

Dave exclaimed he "needed to figure it [Eve Online] out". I have a theory.

The trend with videogames is to make you the bearer of sole significance. Your actions dictate the future, the world depends on your ability to aptly wield the awesome power which has been bestowed upon you. You are Kratos, Master Chief, Nathan Drake, and if you fail the world will end. The future has already been written, your victory is reduced to a matter of time as opposed to skill. Putting it bluntly, the world revolves around you as the player. In Eve Online the player revolves around the world.

It's about making you feel like part of something bigger. Making you feel like a pawn, instead of the King. Or Queen. Eve online, like many other MMOs, encapsulates that sense of scale in a way that makes you feel insignificant - overwhelmed. But, through commitment, hard work and smart investments of both time and money, significance is reachable. There is always the distant potential to transcend insignificance. More importantly, there is the opportunity to do so despite the competition from an entire virtual universe of other players. It's the American fucking Dream.

And that's why you can't stop playing it.

Thanks For Reading
Love Sweep