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Journey closed beta starts tomorrow, open to select few
Following up on last week's report, thatgamecompany has revealed the requirements for taking part in the "very limited" beta for its upcoming project, Journey. According to a recent post on PlayStation Blog, the beta will be restricted to "the very earliest adopters of Flower" who are also PlayStation Plus subscribers. The beta will begin on June 28 (that's tomorrow!) and run through July 12. Those who qualify should receive an invitation via their PSN inbox soon. For those who don't fit the criteria (remember, everyone's on PlayStation Plus at the moment), all hope is not lost. A "limited number of additional spots" will be made available via PlayStation Blog and some unnamed "media partners." Finally, more invitations are being given away via thatgamecompany's Facebook page. You'd best hurry if you want one -- the Facebook giveaway closes at 7pm Pacific tonight.
Journey online beta beginning next week
You may soon have a chance to test out the online component of Journey, the latest evocative project from thatgamecompany (you know the one). According to comments made by Mike Snider, who makes up one half of USA Today's Game Hunters, an online beta is due to start next week. We'll let you know as soon as we hear more about gaining access. While the developers are sure to extract valuable deta from the beta, we're more excited by what internet can learn from the playground presented in Journey. Wrapped in elegant textiles, players travel through a sparse and wondrous desert, choosing to dilly-dally, collaborate or simply go their own way. There's no hostility, jealousy or snark, and even the shouting seems gentle and polite. Meanwhile, Joystiq's own sources indicate that some people are already playing the beta. NO, PLEASE, go on without us. WE HOPE YOU CHOKE ON EVERY GRANULE. Update: According to thatgamecompany's Twitter feed, further details of a "very limited" beta will come on Monday via its Facebook page and PlayStation Blog.
thatgamecompany's Jenova Chen tours the world of Journey
We'll admit it: we're kinda, sorta seriously smitten with thatgamecompany's third game, Journey. As if the two previews we've run didn't already tell you that! Anyway, this recent interview with GTTV is interesting, sure, but look at all that gameplay footage! Beautiful! Check it out after the break.
Journey preview: A million little fibers
"Our goal is to expand the boundary of emotional experience that games can communicate," Jenova Chen, ThatGameCompany's co-founder and creative director told me following my preview session of Journey. And in the span of 30 minutes, I would run the emotional gamut from fear to confusion to acceptance and back to fear. Clearly, the journey is both metaphorical and literal. The game opens with the fading of a white-hot sun, the dimming light revealing vast sand dunes. A beacon of light, emitting from a far-off mountain barely visible in the distance instilled in me a sense of urgency. Silently I stood for a while, ignoring my instincts in an attempt to soak it all in. There we were, the sand and I, alone. It was an almost comforting bleakness. As I took my first steps forward, pushing the sand out in front of me like a sheet with a pocket of air trapped under it, I made it my goal to reach the light. Walking up and down dunes small and large, I eventually stumbled upon what I could only describe as a shrine. Suddenly, my character was surrounded with an aura that highlighted the folds of my clothes and gave me a the tiniest bit of a scarf. As it happens, the game is less about me and mostly about that scarf.%Gallery-124915%
Around the world in eight days: A journey in Wurm Online, part two
My journey around the world of Wurm Online continues on today through the second half of the trip. In yesterday's story, we explored the eastern and southern shores of the map's mainland, and now we get to see the western and northern shores in all their glory. Although that southwestern-most tip of land is heavily populated, you're back to desolation when you make your way up into the cliff faces of the western shore. I spent one night in the side of a rocky mountain, only slightly protected from the elements as I chiseled my way into the rock just enough for a fire and shelter for the night. I decided to roleplay a bit during the trip, setting up proper shelter before I logged out of the game for the day. What's funny about this particular shelter is the fact that I discovered a very rare diamond only three squares into the cave. I've dug entire mazes of underground mines and never found a diamond before, so this was a sure sign that the rest of the trip was going to be bountiful. And it was! Follow along below for more.%Gallery-120997%
Around the world in eight days: A journey in Wurm Online, part one
Wurm Online is a unique MMO. I can't think of many other games that allow the freedom of Wurm, which may be why I still consider it my favorite online game to this date. For anyone who hasn't tried the game or heard me yammer on about it on the Massively Speaking podcast, I'll explain the basics. Wurm Online is a sandbox game created to allow players unbelievable freedom. If you've played Minecraft, you have the basic premise of Wurm, but multiply that experience by about 100. In fact, Markus "Notch" Persson was the co-founder and co-creator of Wurm before moving on to Minecraft and world fame. Wurm Online starts you off as a fairly inanimate and uncustomizable character whose goal is to simply build. Find a spot of unclaimed land, throw down a settlement token, and build to your heart's content. You cut down trees for wood, mine stone for ore, forage and fish for food, and use it all to create the world that lives within your imagination.
NYC: Come watch thatgamecompany's Kellee Santiago speak at NYU's Game Center
We've told you about New York University's Game Center in the past -- remember that time when Chris Hecker brought SpyParty and talked about all sorts of stuff? -- and we're here to do just that once more. Tomorrow evening, we're hoping you'll join us and several hundred friends in Room 6 of NYU's lower level, where thatgamecompany co-founder and president Kellee Santiago will be speaking to the "Challenges In Evoking Unique Emotions In Video Games." Maybe she'll even talk a bit about her company's new game, Journey? We certainly hope so! Beyond her lecture, a discussion will be moderated by interim director (and Zynga New York creative director) Frank Lantz, with questions from the crowd also being solicited. The discussion begins at 7:00PM EST sharp, and we've dropped pertinent details after the break. Don't be late! Update: NYU has updated its blog with a note about attendance, stating, "Thanks to your enthusiastic response, we have reached capacity for this RSVP-only event. There will be very limited extra seating opened up on a first come, first serve basis starting at 7PM. We encourage you to join our mailing list, follow us, or friend us for updates on future lectures and events. Thank you for your understanding!" So, uh, take that as you will! We're still going!
Nokia X7 press shot emerges with AT&T branding, subsidized hopes and dreams (update: canceled)
Is AT&T seriously gearing up to sell a subsidized Nokia smartphone once again in the US of A? Given the company's long absence from being included in any US carrier's smartphone section, it still feels more like a dream than an impending reality, but that image above is certainly hard to ignore. According to Pocketnow's sources, the first press images of the Nokia X7 are legitimate, and the AT&T branding isn't by accident. Purportedly, the Symbian^3-based phone will be hitting Ma Bell's shops as early as this month, bringing along an eight megapixel camera (with dual-flash), four speaker grilles (two of which have drivers underneath) and a ClearBlack display. Hit the source link for a look at the rear. Update: Our dreams have been dashed by Pocketnow, who says its original source was out of date -- AT&T had apparently planned to stock the X7 under the name "Nokia Journey" in time for a Mobile World Congress launch, but those plans have reportedly been canceled by AT&T itself. [Thanks, Ben E.]
Journey preview: Souls searching
I laughed when I first saw the scarf worn by Journey's main character. I couldn't help it -- the flair it adds to the enigmatic avatar renders the figure distinctly more charming than spooky. The scarf serves a more functional purpose, too: It's a gameplay meter, measuring your character's ability to fly. The scarf depletes as you fly; fill it back up -- and even lengthen it -- by completing puzzles and discovering secrets, among other things. There's actually a variety of scarves to be collected and equipped throughout the gameworld. Scarves, however, are not the focus on thatgamecompany's third PSN-exclusive, Journey. The focus, creative lead Jenova Chen told me at a recent press event, is to enable unique online experiences. "Everyone's on a journey towards a goal, and everybody travels through a similar landscape," he said of the game. "And at some point, their paths cross each other, and then they could be playing together." %Gallery-110295%
Journey's latest trailer keeps us believing
Journey isn't a game about transforming a landscape with the power of wind, or experiencing aquatic evolution, but about guiding your cloaked, scarf-wearing avatar through a world -- either alone or with another, unknown person -- and forever pushing towards the mountain in the distance. The game's latest trailer encapsulates a lonely tone and showcases Journey's gorgeous environments. thatgamecompany president Kellee Santiago characterized the PSN-exclusive Journey as "a social experiment" in a recent interview with GTTV (much like her studio's previous two games have been), while creative lead Jenova Chen says he's hoping to evoke the feeling of awe and wonder that people experience while on a hike. Neither explains what the deal is with the scarves, though.%Gallery-110295%
Panasonic's Evolta robot finishes 500-kilometer trek ahead of schedule
It may just be an elaborate stunt to promote batteries, but it's hard not to get a little caught up in Evolta's 500-kilometer trek from Tokyo to Kyoto, which finally came to an end this week after two months on the road -- ahead of schedule, no less. Aided by a team of "Evolta Sisters," the pint-sized robot hauled a dozen AA Evolta batteries in a cart the whole way, and guided itself by following an infrared signal from a device pushed in front of it -- a few other ground rules also allowed it to be carried up stairs, and the bot didn't walk at night or in the rain. Even still, 500 kilometers is 500 kilometers (or 317 miles, if you prefer), and that's a long way for any robot to walk. Head on past the break for a video recounting some of the journey.
Thatgamecompany holding Journey playtest event in LA next week
If you're curious about thatgamecompany's enigmatic mountain-approaching PSN adventure, Journey -- and if you're curious about what you're going to do while you're in the LA area on November 19 -- the developer has something planned to satisfy both kinds of curiosity. That night, thatgamecompany is hosting a semi-public playtest of Journey. If you're between 18 and 35, familiar with PSN, and able to make the journey to Santa Monica, then contact thatgamecompany (contact details after the break) and you might be among the lucky players invited!
Preview: Journey
flOw = an experimental version of Pac-Man Flower = a refined, perfected version of flOw Journey = an online-enabled HD combination of Wind Waker, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. These comparisons may not be entirely accurate, but it's the closest way I could convey the changing trajectory of thatgamecompany's design philosophy. Journey is the most ambitious (and potentially revolutionary) undertaking from the independent studio, yet it also draws the most similarities to what many would call "traditional" games. Like most every other game, there is a humanoid avatar, controlled by analog stick. You jump. There's platforming. There's also an incredibly evident game-like goal: to reach the top of a mountain, looming in the far distance. At its core, Journey can probably be best described as a platformer, with a clear objective: get to the end. However, thatgamecompany isn't simply focusing on a goal -- instead, the experience is geared towards its title. Players are dropped in a gorgeous psuedo cel-shaded desert world. The character designs evoke Wind Waker, but the mesmerizing cloth and sand physics make the world feel even more alive. Like Team Ico's games, there is an incredible sense of loneliness to the world: there's no life, no foliage to be seen. There are remnants of a world lost, with a beautiful tranquility.%Gallery-95384%
Journey: the third PSN game from thatgamecompany
thatgamecompany, best known for flOw and Flower, has rather covertly announced another PSN exclusive. Journey follows the footsteps of its predecessors, offering "simple gameplay and accessible controls." Unlike thatgamecompany's previous offerings, however, Journey is an "online adventure experience" that has players encountering strangers. According to the press release, traveling with others will "re-shape the experience -- creating authentic moments that they will remember and discuss with others." It sounds a lot like Chat Roulette, doesn't it? The Journey begins on PS3 in 2011. [Thanks, Stan K.!] %Gallery-95384%
Spiritual Guidance: Discipline and ICC raid buffs
Every Sunday (and the occasional weekday) Spiritual Guidance offers holy and discipline priests advice on how to wield the holy light and groove to the disco night. Your hostess Dawn Moore will provide the music. Last week, Blizzard activated the first stage of the scaling raid buffs in Icecrown Citadel. When entering ICC now, you'll see either Varian Wrynn's hair (and the rest of him, attached) or the conglomeration of cliches we refer to as Garrosh Hellscream. Each NPC grants a faction specific buff to your raid party which increases your health, healing done, and damage done by 5%. Periodically, the strength of these buffs will be raised a notch by Blizzard, thus allowing guilds of various commitment levels to see all of Icecrown Citadel. So, what does this little news item have to do with priests any more than the next other class? Well, if you're a discipline priest and your lip gloss be poppin' bubbles be poppin', you'll notice that they are not poppin' with any more oomph than they did the week before. That's because, for whatever intended or unintended reason, the buff does not apply to Power Word: Shield. Don't have a panic attack, disco priests. In this article I will be addressing the issue, particularly for non-priests who might have misconceptions about the validity of a disc priest. I'll also be rehashing some older arguments. That's right folks: it's that time again! When all of Azeroth asks! *Cue game show music* What good is a disc priest? Update: Blizz has announced in the notes for patch 3.3.3 that Power Word: Shield will now benefit from the ICC zone buff. While that makes portions of this article obsolete, keep reading to learn more about the benefits of bringing a discipline priest to your raid.
The Daily Grind: Leveling, the playing field
They might be called security levels, they might be split between ranks and levels, they might disguise themslves as skill grinds. But in pretty much any MMO you care to name, there will be levels of some kind. (The only exception that springs to mind is Second Life, and even that can be argued.) Generally, it's accepted that the most meat to the game will come after you've made it to the apex of the leveling curve, whether it's a low cap or a high one. But that's not when you started liking the game -- no, even though most players see it as an impediment to getting to the good part, the leveling game is what first hooks you on the game as a whole. So today, we ask a simple question -- what game have you played where you most enjoyed the leveling process? Forget all of the endgame nonsense, whether you had a broad endgame or a fairly narrow one. When did you just enjoy the path toward the endgame, perhaps even enough to be a bit saddened when it was over? Or have you always wanted to just get to the end without bothering with the whole "journey" element?
Anti-Aliased: Why leveling content is more important than endgame pt. 2
One of the comments last week complained that I was putting too much emphasis on the journey rather than the destination. Basically, the comment compared endgame to some sort of amazing weekend spa retreat in the Bahamas and leveling to the 30 minute long plane ride. Because, honestly, who cares about the journey, right? It's only one facet of the whole getaway. Let's take a look at that argument. "So why can't we put that type of fun into the entire game, rather than just one section?" Pretend, dear readers, that I've discovered a brand new land. A land filled with large breasted women, rivers of booze, and a zombie shooting range. I'll name this land Awesomesauce Island! Past that, I'll make sure that only one airport is built on the island and only one plane can reach that island. That plane, however, is a remake of the original Wright brother's aircraft except all the screws are loose, the pilot is blind, poisonous snakes are stuffed in your seat cushions, Samuel L. Jackson is banned from flying on the plane, and the in-flight movie is Paris Hilton's sex tape. Who cares about the destination again? Now you can see I'm phasing into the player side of things and beginning my argument as to why we should enjoy a better emphasis on leveling content -- because it's fun! There's something about endgame that people enjoy already. All of you have come to me with complaints the second I even put the word "endgame" in my articles. That means that you're having fun with it, and that's a good thing! So why can't we put that type of fun into the entire game, rather than just one section? It's akin to asking people to stab out their eyes with wooden spoons before they can ride the big roller coaster in the theme park. Painfully pointless. "Games are games because we enjoy the experience they provide." Games are games because we enjoy the experience they provide. The "endgame experience" should not be restricted to just the endgame, but the whole game. I'm not saying kill the lead up, or somehow make the entire game just like the endgame. What I'm saying is that I should be feeling the same levels of excitement and enjoyment as I progress towards the final destination. Every moment that I stay in your world, I should feel like I'm there to have a good time, not just kill 10 rats so you can pat me on the head and give me a sparkling new sword. Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who knows people are going to half read this article and then complain about how he's an endgame hater. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's over running Epic Loot For All! with his insane friends. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com.
Anti-Aliased: Why leveling content is more important than endgame
Hey there 'Aliased readers! I've got a bunch to cover this week, and it's mostly derived from last week's Anti-Aliased. Point number three on my short list of what MMOs need to learn was that leveling content was more important than endgame content, and that seemed to put people into a state of panic. Now normally I don't like revisiting topics when they create massive anger because revisiting won't do them any good. You'll still be angry, sending rabid squirrels in boxes to my house, and I'll still be wearing my protective suit when I open my mail.This, however, is a special case. I think one of the reasons we have such a divide is because we're not looking at it in the same way. I'm approaching this topic from more of a business angle rather than the angle of a player. So, this week, we're going to look at it from both the angle of the player and of the business-person, as well as take in your points and arguments from last week's comment discussion. It's like a Mythbusters Redux, except we're not going to be blowing anything up, sadly.
WoW Moviewatch: To Home for Christmas
Even Blood Elves want to come home for Christmas. For today's Movie Watch we present Baron Soosdon's depiction of a Paladin's epic journey through the Borean Tundra to be with his family. This video was created as the producer's entry to the WeGame Christmas machinima contest of 2008.As always, the images are crisp and visually stunning. Watching the video we get a nice tour of the Borean Tundra. There is very little action in this clip, more or less just one quick fighting scene during the opening credits. Aside from a couple of NPC interactions, the video is mostly a Paladin riding around. Emotes have a limited capacity to capture the true emotions of homecoming. I think Baron Soosdon did as good a job as he could, but I felt a little bit let down. The end should be heartwarming but it's just kind of there. If you're making your own epic journey this Christmas season, slow down and be safe. It's nasty out there.
ZVUE's 1GB Journey DAP comes with 22 tracks you'll never delete
Brace yourselves, dear readers. The item we're about to explain just might be is most certainly the best thing to ever happen to the digital audio player market. ZVUE's 1GB pre-loaded Journey MP3 player not only reeks of the early '80s in design alone, but this thing actually arrives with 22 Journey tracks loaded on (11 new joints, 11 of your childhood favorites). It's like buying Journey's greatest hits and getting a DAP for free -- go on, be good to yourself, it's only $39.88. Jump past the break if you need some encouragement / discouragement.[Via AnythingButiPod, thanks Dula]
