My Four Favourite Moments of Journey

Welcome all! To anyone who's been reading this blog, it's been quite a while since I've written a post. But now I've played Journey.

I know that in my very first post, I specifically said I was going to "steer away from obvious examples of artistry in gaming, like Journey". Now that I've actually played the game, though, I feel obligated to write something about it. After all, Journey offers an experience that truly is a work of art in and of itself.

So, here they are: my four favourite moments of Journey. (Spoilers!)


1. Finding the Other Traveler

Credit: Indie Gamer Chick

I started playing with almost no knowledge of the game, so coming across the second traveler was a shock and delight. I used the circle button to chirp in glee when his gaze met mine, and he chirped back. We ran around each other like children at a playground, twittering all the while. Eventually, he showed me how to turn Journey's iconic cloth into smaller, usable pieces by chirruping near one of the cloth-shredding mechanisms. Then, we had a blast seeing how high we could go by chirping to each other to recharge our scarves. Since my companion had no gamer tag or anything of the sort, I performed several experiments to see if he was simply an AI. For one test, I stood still at the entrance to the next level to see if he would go on ahead. He didn't, but I realize now that it wasn't because he couldn't; he was just being patient. Wow. Thank you, Adrian-APCD (I learned that was your name at the end of the game), for all the power-ups you helped me find and for all your forbearance towards me. It broke my heart when you lost connection near the end, and I had to go on alone.

2. Sand Surfing in the Sunset
Everyone who's played Journey will know the part I'm talking about. Midway through the game, Adrian-APCD and I surfed down a spiraling structure filled with sand, jumping and chirping all the while. The sun was setting behind the mountain, causing the sand to shine golden and the pillars around us to cast long shadows. There was nothing "game-y" about this segment; it was just two travelers on a magical thrill ride. What an experience.

3. Dodging the Giant Rock Serpents

Credit: Charleston Hokama

When I saw the ESRB rating for Journey, I noticed it had the descriptor of "mild fantasy violence." I wasn't sure what that would mean for a game that seemed to have no enemies whatsoever - but I would soon find out. The first rock serpent (or "Guardian", as they are officially known) bursting out of the sand really did scare the shit out of me, since I had encountered nothing dangerous thus far. I crept to the side of the underground hall in an attempt to avoid their red searchlights, but they discovered me anyway, and ripped my scarf to pieces - the same scarf I had been lovingly growing for the entire game. It took Adrian-APCD's courage to get us out of there: he bravely surfed down towards a Guardian and jumped right over it, and I ran the hell after him. It may be called mild violence, but getting tossed about by those giant mechanical monsters was far more gut-wrenching than getting shot to pieces in a "violent" shooter.

4. Those Final Cold Moments
Journey's ending is truly special, but for me, it's the section right before which resonated most. I had come so far to reach the peak with the pillar of light, but the mountain did not welcome my dedication. Instead, it sent freezing winds to hurl me back to the desert, and a bitter cold that consumed not only my scarf, but also the cloth creatures I'd grown to love. Step after shivering step, I inched closer to the summit - but the raging blizzard ended my hopes. I watched my traveler collapse into the snow with a solemn understanding. Not all journeys are meant to be.

And in my interpretation of the game, that is where the traveler's life really ended. The white-robed priests of ages past woke me, but only in a spiritual sense - I could not physically reach the mountaintop. And so it goes - there cannot be rebirth without death.

Lanayru Sand Sea from Skyward Sword: Bittersweet Echoes from the Past

Start from 2:54 to see the Lanayru Sand Sea in all its glory. Credit: Youtube user SasukeIII

While both Wii Zelda games were excellent in their own right, ultimately, I felt that Twilight Princess's world was built with a complexity and care that wasn't always present in Skyward Sword.

An exception, of course, is the Lanayru Sand Sea. The desert area in general had already impressed me with the Timeshift Stones - an ingenious twist to time travel mechanics - and Lanayru Mining Facility, probably the most atmospheric and unique dungeon encountered up to that point in the game. The Sand Sea, however, is in another category entirely.

When I first boarded the ship equipped with the Timeshift Stone, I was amused that the sand around it had turned to water, as it would have been in the past. As I motored along, the motion was so smooth that I didn't realize what was actually happening: the consistent radius of the Timeshift Stone allowed the boat to sail, even as the water it had passed over seconds ago caught up with time and reverted to sand.

I swore in amazement as small islands and atolls popped up all around me, and the sand dispersed to reveal bright coral and limestone rock. I was creating beauty in a desolate world, only for it to disappear moments later.

As tantalizing as Knights in the Nightmare's themes of decay and restoration are, Skyward Sword adds a melancholy slant with the fact that the restoration is only temporary. This creates a great appreciation for the splendour of the Sand Sea's harbour past, and a sadness for its loss that surpasses a standard time travel approach.

Exploring Games' Artistic and Literary Merit

Game reviews are incredibly useful resources, as well as interesting testimonials. However, they can also be quite shallow, dodging spoilers and sticking to elements that the greatest common denominator will care about.

I wish to go beyond simply reviewing games. Indeed, I wish to analyze games from an artistic, almost literary point of view, for many modern video games approach the depth of a great painting or novel - people are just unwilling to look at them from this perspective.

Furthermore, I intend to steer away from obvious examples of artistry in gaming, like Journey or Braid, and instead focus on the art inherent in games not designed to be as such.

This blog is not for everyone, but for those who try to look at games from the eyes of a scholar, as well as those of a player, you may have found a kindred spirit.