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Jenova Chen recognized as top young innovator by Technology Review
One of the founders of thatgamecompany, the team behind flOw and the upcoming Flower, has been recognized by Technology Review's TR35 awards. Jenova Chen is being called a "top young innovator" for his work on game design, focusing on how "gaming can be an emotional journey for many different audiences and not just an aggressive experience for young males.""Jenova Chen exemplifies what it means to be an innovator. He pushes the boundaries of his industry, questioning assumptions about what gaming can be. Because of his breakthrough vision, the impact from his approach to gaming will be felt for generations to come," said Krisztina "Z" Holly, USC Vice Provost for Innovation and Executive Director of the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation.The upcoming flOwer took multiple accolades at E3, including our own award for Best PSN Game. Gamespot also awarded it Best Downloadable Game and Best Graphics.%Gallery-12750%
Jenova Chen talks about flOwer and Sony's interest in 'grown up gamers'
Not much is known about thatgamecompany's mysterious flOwer. The PSN downloadable was revealed at TGS as their big follow-up to the best-selling flOw, but few gameplay details have been unearthed. Jenova Chen talked to Gamasutra about developing another PSN title, and how the team has finally come to grips with the incredible power of the PS3."When we were working on flOw we didn't really use any SPUs, which is the biggest asset of PS3. Or, even if we used them, it was done by other programmers, not the programmers on our team," explained Chen. "But now, the team has caught up, and they've all started doing SPU programming. So that is really making a difference. We actually used the power of the PS3 this time."After flOwer's release, thatgamecompany is still obliged to producing at least one more game for Sony. Thankfully, it appears that Sony has been incredibly respectful of the development process. "So far we have had a great relationship with Sony. They totally understand what we are doing, and they appreciate what we are doing." Sony's quest for artistic games is something that resonates with both parties: "I think Sony is much more interested in making games stylish and artistic; more appealing to adults. On that aspect, I think they are the same as we are. Because we are making games for people who are, I would say, like grown up gamers, who expect to see more out of a game than traditional actions."
GDC08: Watch highlights of (the first half of) the Developers Rant
While you're reading our thorough coverage of the Game Developer's Rant (trust us, it's worth it), be sure to check out video highlights from the session courtesy of Mahalo Daily. Unfortunately we only have the first half of the session on film, so you're going to have to read the rest. (Warning: video NSFW)%Gallery-16726%
GDC08: Six things to take from Game Developers Rant: The Little Prince
5. "We don't need more three little pigs games, we need something like The Little Prince. Makes you try to think about your life"Jenova Chen (flOw) took the stage next, explaining that he can't just rant as a designer but also as a gamer, one who has been playing less as the years go by and is losing interest in trying the games. Fifteen years ago, he said, he was excited to playing racing games or kill Nazis (e.g. Wolfenstein 3D). Nowadays, though, there's not much interest and what he learns now is not much more than he does from a set of wooden blocks."We never say its too old to read books or watch movies or play sports. so whats the difference with games?" Chen notes that books are considered intellectual, movies emotional and sports social. "As grown up gamers, I don't want to see them abandoned because I'm too old." He specifies that there's not much more mature content "for people like us who still want to play games." He notes that he doesn't mean "mature" games like DOAX2 and Manhunt 2. ("We all know who cares about that," he quips, flashing a picture of hyperactive teen gamers.)Given the average age of gamers is 33, Chen said he wants games more emotional, social and intellectual. Focusing on intellectual, Chen said, "We don't need more three little pigs games, we need something like The Little Prince. Makes you try to think about your life" Next: Wonderful!
A numerical history, and future, of flOw dev That Game Company
On the first floor of Moscone's North hall last Friday, flOw developer That Game Company presented their storied origins. Co-founders Jenova Chen, who took a brief recess from the company to help on the DS version of Will Wright's Spore, and Kellee Santiago, met at the University of Southern California. "I don't see [video games] as being any different [than other interactive media], it's all story telling," Santiago said. Chen, who affirms that his proudest work is flOw and Cloud, explained their place in gaming with an ever-popular culinary allegory. Think of Gears of War as steak and World of Warcraft as chicken. Let's give lettuce a relation to Nintendogs and fish can be Brain Age. "Let's say you focus on chicken, but somehow you find a way to make it accessible and customizable," said Chen. The according Power Point slide shows the chicken transition into a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. "That also expands the audience or customers. How can you make existing games more accessible to wider audiences?" Does that mean flOw is a bowl of cereal? All we know now is that we're quite famished.
GDC 07: fl0w was almost on Wii
Jenova Chen, Kellee Santiago and the rest of the thatgamecompany team discussed their latest motion-controlled PS3 title fl0w. The game certainly would have been an incredible addition to the Wii library, considering its use of motion controls, relatively subdued graphics, and non-gamer-friendly gameplay. Santiago revealed that fl0w was pitched to two companies: Nintendo and Sony.Well, Sony won. Sony's aggressive approach to supporting new developers was what gave PS3 the edge. "They [Nintendo] weren't right for us at the time. Sony kind of came to us with the process of incubation ... They helped us get our studio started."Sony has proven at GDC that they care about developers through the announcement of Edge and extending their Network offerings to independent developers. When will Nintendo jump on the bandwagon, and give Wii owners the ability to download new, original content on the Wii Shop Channel?
Joystiq interview: Jenova Chen
Xinghan (Jenova) Chen has big dreams. A recent graduate of the University of Southern California's School of Cinema & Television, Chen focused his master's thesis on changing how game designers look at difficulty and redefine the concept of Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment. With two award-winning independent games (flOw and Cloud) under his belt as well as contributions to a multitude of other games, Chen's resume reads like an old professional in the gaming field. We had a chance to speak with Chen to talk about his thesis, its (mis)interpretations, and his current work with Maxis. Why did you choose this project as your Master's Thesis? The Master's Thesis has to have some contribution to the field that you want to be a master. For me, I have created so many games in the past I feel just creating another game is not contributing anything. I'm more interesting in coming up with another solution in better game design that can be used by other game designers to attract more gamers. For other industries, any kind of interactive design, the theories in this project are helpful.
