Journey

It's been a while since I've felt this way playing a game.  No, seriously.  As a person who has played more than 400 video games in his lifetime, I can safely say I've seen a lot.  Strategy games, RPGs, sidescrollers, management, simulation, platformers, shooters, games about photography, driving, sports, independent properties, franchise games, handhelds, consoles, a computer, 2D, 3D, motion-controlled, light guns, mouse and keyboard, microphone commands, cartridge, disc based, massively multiplayer, splitscreen...

There's so much more I could list if I wanted to.  For a while, I've been feeling pretty jaded about games.

But after playing Journey, I was blown away.  After I completed it the first time, I got up from my couch, let my jaw hang open slightly, and paced while holding the side of my head, hands pulling my hair and eyelids back.  It's a feeling, a mood I barely remember experiencing, but I know it instinctively.  It's like the first time I figured out a video game all over again.  Very few games inspire that kind emotion.  I can remember Portal and Shadow of the Colossus... and that's about it.  When I was younger, I'm sure I experienced it a lot more, but I have trouble remembering those years for no apparent reason.  I could likely point to Super Mario World, Legend of Zelda, and a couple other games though.

 In Journey, you play as a figure wandering the desert.  The clothes your character wears responds to cloth with the same pattern and design, and when you use your character's indistinct shout command, the cloth will also respond.  You can pick up little balls of energy in the shape of glyphs that increase the length of your scarf, which can store power that you can use to jump.

The environments are very beautiful.  The camera is often utilized to give great shots, and the simplicty and abstractness in forms is effectively utilized to guide the player.  Usually, some object in the distance becomes your target, and one you reach it you begin exploring the area, looking for a way to progress.

This often involves the use of the previously mentioned cloth, which appears in many forms.  It can flutter around in a mess of scraps, it can be shaped like a jellyfish, or my favorite, when the whales made of cloth show up.  All of these forms recharge your jump ability and allow you to float, and the cloth scrap tornados can be used to jump great distances when you use your voice.

All of these elements are demonstrated very well.  There's no real tutorial to speak of, but once you figure out how the cloth mechanics work, it becomes easy to figure out what the next step should be, whether that means moving from jump to jump, walking across a bridge made of cloth, riding a cloth whale, or using the shout to activate monuments.

Journey has multiplayer, but it is not like any other I have ever seen.  For starters, you cannot choose to join anyone's game; all you can determine is whether or not you want other nomads to appear.  If you do enter another person's game, the only thing that identifies them is a symbol - you know nothing else about them.  I don't know if it's a matter of the game's actual audience being friendly or the enforced anonymity (until the journey is completed), but so far I've had very cooperative companions.  Maybe it's because there's no way to harm your companion in any meaningful way; the worst anyone can do is simply walk off or not stick with you.  Cooperating does have benefits, though.  Since the nomad characters wear the same kind of cloth that is charged by the cloth creatures, nomads can charge up each other if they stand next to each other.

It's tough to communicate anything; you can only make an indistinct shout noise, and you can either do it fast or do it loud.  I usually just spammed the voice button whenever I wanted my companion to look at me or find me, since any time a player shouts, the direction they are in is highlighted by white on the edge of the screen.


Spoiler Alert!

I'm going to talk about my play-through.  If you ever intend to play the game and want to be untarnished when doing so, GO NO FURTHER!

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Okay, here we go.

Everyone starts out in the desert, and I was no different.  The game wastes no times in demonstrating the controls, the elements of the world, and so on.  This very first part I played alone.

I walked towards the ruins in the distance, and discovered lots of the things I described earlier.  I started growing a magic scarf, could jump around, and so on.  The first thing I walked through seemed to be a graveyard.  There were lots of headstones, staggered and strewn about in the shifting sand.  I wonder what who or whatever left the ruins behind  looked like.

One of the destroyed building had a large blank wall with a few monuments beside it.  Walking close to the monuments activated them.  I decided to shout to see what happened, and all the monuments began to glow.  A mural then appeared on the wall.  I didn't know what to make of it, so I left.

I found another monument in the desert, but this one was different.  It had glyphs on it.  When I shouted, a spot lit up on the ground, and my character automatically walked to it and sat down.  I was shown a vision after my screen faded to white, of a figure similar to my character but in white.  I was also shown an Aztec/Incan-esque mural, which I would later figure out was a mural of my journey.

I moved on to the next area, and here is where I met my companion that would stick with me for the rest of my journey.   All I could identify him by was his icon, which looked like a little fist, and I took to calling him Fist.  I'm not sure Fist was a he, but I'm gonna just use it for convenience.  Fist didn't seem to explore to like exploring a great deal, but he kept close to me pretty well.  When I met him, his scarf was shorter than mine, and it stayed shorter than mine for the rest of the game.

I ran into Fist as he was trying to make a cloth bridge.  I quickly followed suit and began helping with the effort, sticking close and shouting.  Even if we couldn't speak or recognize each other beyond the icons and the actions, there was something comforting about the connection that seemed to form regardless.  It didn't matter where we were going, or why, or even how.  We were simply brought together, and that is enough.

We continued exploring, climbing a spire, investigating more ruins, sliding down a large dune hill that seemed to take ten minutes to traverse as cloth birds flew with us and the harsh sun caused the tumbling sand to glitter like jewelry.  We ended up underground, where everything was much bluer.

The underground was where Fist and I first met something dangerous.  The cloth eaters.  They don't have any universal name I know of, but they fly, and when first introduced they eat a scrap tornado of magic cloth that powers you.

Fist and I both went on not fully comprehending the danger until a blue light shone on us and then turned red.  We were both blindsided as a cloth eater charged and struck us.  We were knocked away, and part of our scarves had been eaten.  I wasn't sure if we could die then, but I resolved either way to avoid them in the future.

Eventually, Fist and I ran into an underground tower.  As we powered it up, it caused the air to glow and fill with sigils like the ones our characters had.  We found out quickly that we could hover and fly however we wanted inside the magical air.

Once we made it to the top, we received another vision from the white robed figure after another fade to white.  The entire journey had been recapped, from our stroll through the desert to the climbing of the tower.  We were then shown the future; we would climb the mountain, where many others figures like us had, and we would succumb to the cold.

We trudged on anyways, marching right into the snow.  The snow moved like the sand, but it drained energy from the scarf.  Fist and I quickly discovered that being close to each other would overpower the cold chill, so we stuck close.  It was as if we huddled closely for warmth.  This didn't stop the lengths of our scarves from growing icicles.

Mountains are always treacherous.  Winds blew us around regularly, and we had to hide behind massive grave stones to move on.  As we went further and further up, the more our characters became covered in cracked sheets of ice.  We moved slower.  We could no longer fly or jump at will.  The ability to shout became a best a whisper drowned out by the howling vortex of wind.

There were more cloth eaters, too.  Flying around, completely unphased.  Fist and I had to use the dead bodies of other cloth eaters to hide in to get by.

Fist screwed up.  He had moved too slowly, and a cloth eater's spotlight caught him.  He hid in a corpse, but it was too late.  The cloth eater charged, and launched Fist far away.  I lost sight of Fist in the snow.  I panicked.  I thought for a moment that maybe I'd betrayed him somehow, by not doing well enough to guide him.

I panicked.  It's a very rare feeling to get in a game outside of competitive scenes, and even then it's not the same kind.  Virtual death almost always lacks permanence, and the cloth eaters are not really gruesome or disgusting. But if I lost Fist, I wouldn't be able to find him again.  If I did lose him, I'd have to complete my journey without him.  He had been there since the beginning.

I had become loyal and caring towards someone I didn't even really know in just two hours.  I wanted him there at the end, whatever that end may be. I would've felt bad if he wasn't, like a war veteran pouring out a drink for fallen friends.  The strangest thing about it is I have no idea what he felt.  The only things I could see of Fist were his movements and chirps.  Maybe that was all we needed.

Fist survived.  It took a while for him to get up, but he emerged from the snow.  We pressed on towards the summit. The light nested between the split peaks was close, but a storm rolled in.  Fist and I kept going, but we were blown left and right, and it had become so cold that every gust destroyed parts of our scarves until nothing was left.  The scarlet red cloaks with gold trim we wore were now just greyed out, a thick layer of ice drowning out the vibrant color.  The grace we used to move with was reduced to desperate staggers and uneven steps, and we could no longer speak.

Fist fell to his knees, then faceplanted into the snow.  I turned back and tried to walk into him and call out, but he didn't stir.  I only took two steps in front of him before I fell too.  It didn't take long to be buried in the snow.  The screen faded into whiteness.

My knuckles whitened as I held the controller.  That was it?  We were dead?  I could feel my hands shaking.  I waited.  This couldn't be the end.  Where was the vision?  It always came after the screen faded to white.

I had almost despaired, but the vision came. This time, there were many of the white figures, and they called out in unison.  My character's body lifted from the ground, started to glow, and grew a scarf.  I could see the light between the mount peaks, surrounded by clouds.  And suddenly, I surged forward into the sky, flying faster than ever before.  I kept flying until I hit the clouds, where I broke through and could see the mountain again.

The mountain top was surprisingly calm; no storms, no hurricane winds, no falling snow.  There were tall red archways, that shined with light, guiding me up to the surface.  They reminded me of Japanese torii archs, that mark the entrance to Shinto shrines.

Fist was flying too, among jellyfish and whale cloth creatures.  Eventually, we made it to the top, where the mysterious light had been.  We began walking into it, chirping amongst ourselves as if we were having a conversation in gibberish.  It was the only way to express anything as we walked.

We disappeared into the light, and the game ended.  A meteor launched from the mountain, and went backwards through the path we went as the credits rolled.  Eventually, the meteor landed right where the game had started, but now it was night.  An achievement notification popped up, called 'Rebirth.'  After a delay, the game listed the people I had encountered (just Fist, or crcwl4, his Playstation Network profile name).


I feel like I should say more about this game, but this post is probably long enough as is.  I'd need to play through the game again to come up with any sort of meaningful analysis, criticism, or insight either.  Regardless, I will most certainly be playing this game several more times.

Lost Shadow: Complete!

Finally, it is done!  Or rather, the deadline has passed and I no longer feel like working on it anymore.  Leonardo da Vinci said "Art is never finished, only abandoned."

For the sake of ease and posterity I will post the comic in its entirety.

Page 1:  

I re-inked this page, specifically the shadow blob and parts of the dead guy's hair.  Now it doesn't look like a poor ink job.  Otherwise, no changes.

Page 2:

No changes here either.  I think this is the best page of the comic, personally.

Page 3:

I also like how this page turned out.  I had trouble with the doors, since I had forgotten how doors work in perspective.  Drawing Dick's Bar was tedious, but not particularly difficult.

Page 4:

I'm not happy with this page, but I was getting frustrated and tired and ran out of time.  I really am unhappy with the first panel; the chairs are not properly proportioned, and they look real messy compared to the other pages.  I also should've made the hand of the shadow more clear when it grabs the cup's shadow; a lot of people have been having trouble figuring out that the shadow took a drink.  They also didn't seem to notice that the cup's shadow disappeared either, which seems very obvious to me.  I guess I should've made the cup's shadow more dramatic or somehow draw more attention to itself.


I definitely learned a lot about inking, perspective, and shadows from this assignment.  Technical pens are great for consistent, straight lines when combined with rulers.  Blocking out the environment first helps greatly in the placement of less fixed objects.  Shadows bend and distort across surfaces very oddly.  Even though most shadows are blobby, they still need a degree of definition when trying to communicate specific actions.

As I reflect on this comic, I find that I learned a lot about how I construct images.  Without a strong background in anatomy, perspective, and lighting, I tend to use reference a lot.  More strangely, I usually cobble several different references together to make something.

Take panel 3 on page 2, where the raccoon is running.  I searched long and hard for a raccoon picture running at that angle, but couldn't.  I ended up combining a profile shot of a raccoon running with another random photo at that angle.  It seems to have worked, since everyone comments positively on the raccoon.

I find myself wanting a stronger background, in anatomy, perspective, lighting, shading, etc.  I'm not sure I have the time and inclination to dedicate a worthwhile amount of time or effort that would be enough to improve at the moment.  Soon, when classes end and my time becomes more free.  I think I can do better, and more importantly, I want to.

Lost Shadow: Pages 1 & 2

Lost Shadow has been quite a challenge to draw so far.  I've been trying to get a higher degree of realism than from what I normally draw, in a medium I am mostly unfamiliar with.  I tell ya, ink is unforgiving. 

I have, however, made some progress!  In fact, I have completed the first two pages.  And now that I have found a scanner large enough to scan these sheets, I can show them.

Let's start with page 1.  Click the picture for the full size!:

This page I tried inking with nib pens and an inkwell.  This didn't turn out so hot when I tried to erase the pencil lines since the ink in certain spots came off, specifically in the large shadow blob.  Nib pens are also frustratingly difficult to get straight lines out of, which is especially noticeable on the sidewalk.  It seems to do a wave, and sidewalks in general don't have waves.  I also need to fix line consistency; the distant parts of the sidewalk have to much ink, the result of me using too wide a nib with too much pressure.

This is also where the tracing paper and perspective studies in the earlier posts were used; as you can see, I used my own face to model the dead guy from.  The perspective issues have been hopefully resolved, although I think my right leg is slightly too long.

Of all the things I'm proud of on this page, it's the bushes in the first panel.  Not because they're particularly gorgeous or anything, but because I figured them out entirely on my own.  Just went out, looked at a bush at night under a street lamp, and translated it into ink.



After experiencing great frustration with nib pens, I decided to switch to technical/disposable pens.  That way I wouldn't have to worry about inconsistent line width.



Page 2:

I am MUCH happier with this page.  It looks a lot cleaner, the ink is more even, and it sorta looks like I actually know how to draw.

This is largely because you can easily use a ruler with a technical pen, and that gives you very straight and crisp lines.  They're difficult to make really large, but this page wouldn't be served much by large lines anyways.

I also opted to use a brush pen to fill in large spaces rather than a brush and inkwell.  Sadly, I think I've used up most of the ink in it as a result (it was already old and used, but still).

Of all the things on this page, the people that I've shown it to beforehand really like the raccoon a lot.  It was rough trying to draw a raccoon walking/loping/running since there aren't many pictures of it from this downward tilted angle, but I think it turned out well enough.

Now that I reflect on it, there's this strange sort of balance of realism and abstraction going on.  The bushes are angular blobs containing angular blobs, the texture of the road and sidewalk are hinted at with little dabs and tiny lines, and even my face has a mixture of specific details like the eyebrows mixed with more simple forms like the hair.

I stole the sign from the internet, albeit it has been modified:

I hope no one sues me or anything!

Lost Shadow: Tracing

One trouble I've found with physical media is that it can be very hard to copy things with complete fidelity.  If an element needs to be repeated, it often ends up looking a little different if otherwise largely the same.

Thankfully, someone smart and cunning figured out that light shines through paper, and paper stacked up underneath other paper sheets becomes visible on the surface when a bright light is shone through the stack.  Especially thin and transparent paper makes the effect much more apparent.

Enter the light table and tracing paper.  When their powers combine, you have a quick and easy way of copying anything!  Hurrah!

This is what I needed to trace.  A picture of a dead guy's face.  Three times.


Thank you, tracing paper and light table.  I could never have done it without you.

Lost Shadow: Perspective Issues

As I try to draw this thing, I've rediscovered the challenges of drawing something in perspective.

As in, it's really hard.  Probably too tough for someone who hasn't done any serious drawing in around 3 years.

So to combat that, I've tried to brush up on my drawing skills and figure out how to make it all work again.

This here is a study for perspective on the opening panel of the comic.  There are multiple positions, but I think the one where the man is all sprawled out works best to convey that sense of deadness.  However, the angle is too high compared to the scenery I drew, so I got some help from my teacher.

He suggested something that looked more like this.  The angle is low enough so that the character's left arm is no longer visible.  It looks better, but still a little off somehow.  I'll continue hammering it out, and hope that it looks... okay by the end.

Lost Shadow: From Humble Beginnings

I've been thinking about an idea for a game lately.  Tentatively titled Lost Shadow, the game would be a survival adventure about a shadow that has become unlinked from its source, and how a shadow survives in a world where other shadows swallow up unbound shadows.

I also have a comics class, and we have been assigned a project: come up with a 4 page story.  I am going to use the opportunity to expand on the idea.  I'll start with the extremely rough page sketches.

Page 1

This sequence shows our dead human, lying under a street light.  Slowly, the shadow peels away from underneath.  Not much to say other than this is how I see the game starting out; require the user to hit the move buttons to slide out from underneath.

Page 2

After breaking free, the first mechanic would be demonstrated by some sort of animal (I quickly drew a raccoon) running up to or by the dead body.  The animal's shadow would impact the unbound, un-anchored shadow, and knock it aside; this would show that other shadows have mass.

Page 3

This sequence shows a drunk man opening a bar door, and stumbling out.  He would leave the door open, and allow the player controlling the shadow to go in.

Page 4

The shadow enters the bar.  The original idea I had for the haze is that distorted lighting by fog, smoke, and other things belonging to the gaseous ilk would be able to obscure the shadow, allowing it to stealthily move around.

Several ideas didn't make it into this conceptual comic.  One sequence I envisioned for the game would be to show another unbound shadow sitting by itself on a wall that is lit up by a car's headlights.  If the player strays too close, an in-game engine scene would play out where the man in the car that was reading would flick the lights, signaling to someone.  There would be an ethereal sort of scream, and the shadow that was sitting idly would mysteriously disappear.  It would serve as a clue, to avoid getting swallowed up in shadow.

Another thing that I'd like to show is how unrestricted the movement would be in terms of directionality.  If there was a lit surface, the shadow could essentially move on it.  For example, one scene would be the shadow encountering a lit pool, and then traveling along the bottom.

There are other mechanics I have not yet fully thought out as well.  For example, does non-natural lighting have different effects?  What would a neon light do, or a black-light?  I don't know yet.