Starker on 19/2/2019 at 10:01
I have not played Journey myself, but I've seen parts of it played by others. Certainly, it seems to be more closer to Proteus than to Gone Home, but exploration and figuring things out and piecing them together seems pretty central to Journey too. Sure, there's no concrete mystery to figure out and a lot is left to your interpretation, but at least to me it looked as if it was more about the journey than the destination.
Perhaps they should be called "journey games" :P
The way you see Journey probably depends a lot on how you define exploration games as well. For me, as someone whose player type is almost a pure explorer/spade, exploration games are games where curiosity drives you sideways, not forward. And I know I'd explore the hell out of Journey whereas someone with a different player type might make a beeline for the end goal or seek to find other players.
Thirith on 19/2/2019 at 11:37
I see what you're saying, Starker, but I think your impression of Journey isn't altogether accurate. It's not about whether people go straight for the end goal or not, it's that there simply isn't all that much to discover in Journey. There are a handful of identical upgrade items to collect, but it's not the kind of game where you find lots of unexpected nooks and crannies (unless I simply didn't discover them - there is usually one place that gives you some cryptical clues about the game's lore, but that's it). The environments are beautiful, but they are also quite uniform, with one set of dunes looking pretty much like any other. It's more about *being there* than it is about *exploring*, to my mind.
And yes, I hope a moderator moves much of this discussion to the other thread, as henke suggested, because it's not really about hyped new games at this stage.
Sulphur on 19/2/2019 at 15:39
Have you guys noticed that Journey's classified as an 'art game' on Wikipedia? And that art games are a subset of (actual classification here) 'serious video games'? That's some pretty creative labellifying. Me, I'd have gone with a brand new genre like 'third wave avant garde defloccinaucinihilipilification', but that's probably why people frown at my efforts to categorise things sometimes.
Starker on 19/2/2019 at 15:55
For me, exploration is about more than just discovering game mechanics or finding secrets. For example, I spent a lot of time in Shadow of the Colossus just riding around and looking at the wildlife and architecture, taking in the vistas, and collecting powerups. If that's not possible in Journey, sure, it might well be that I have the wrong impression about it, but from what I remember there seemed to be more to Journey than just a lifeless desert.
Thirith on 19/2/2019 at 16:06
@Starker: It's not a black and white thing. There are some touches of what you describe, but much less so than in Shadow of the Colossus. You won't find a neat little ruin or a secluded pond in Journey. The environment is beautiful, but it doesn't feel like a real place so much as it does like an archetype or a mood - "desertness", so to speak.
Some of that is in the eye of the beholder, though; I enjoyed the thing you describe about SotC but didn't find much of that in Journey, but it might feel pretty different to you.
@Sulphur: Personally, I'd just call the genre "First-Person Frank".
Pyrian on 19/2/2019 at 22:08
Quote Posted by Sulphur
Have you guys noticed that Journey's classified as an 'art game' on Wikipedia?
It's classed as Adventure/Art game on Wikipedia. And Action/Platformer on Metacritic. ...The only one of those I'd take issue with is "Action"...
Malf on 20/2/2019 at 16:47
Wotever; Flower most certainly isn't a walking sim.
There's a lot of light puzzling, and some definite challenge to be had.
Also, you...
fly.
And I don't think anyone's rushing to call it a flight simulator.
Thirith on 20/2/2019 at 16:55
Don't be silly. It's clearly a flower simulator. A flower petal simulator. A flying flower petal simulator. A third-person flying flower petal simulator. Clearly.
Jeshibu on 20/2/2019 at 22:38
If it's a simulator why don't I have a turn on engine button?