For this critical play, I decided to play the recommended game Journey, a walking simulator produced by Santa Monica Studios and Annapurna Games, originally released on the PlayStation. I played the mobile version of the game on my iPhone, and this was my first experience with a game from the walking sim genre.
The game begins as our character, a slender figure bearing a red cloak, appears in what looks like a vast desert wasteland. The first gameplay mechanic introduces is the ability to pan the player’s view around their 3rd person character. Next, the player discovers the central movement mechanic, which is driven by the manipulation of a virtual joystick on the left side of the screen. At first, the player is restricted to trudging through the deep sand, moving quite slowly, especially uphill. However, this slow uphill quicky introduces the player to the downhill sliding mechanic, in which the character smoothly coasts down the sandy dunes in a manner that reminded me of the enthralling experience of snowboarding. These basic walking mechanics contribute to the game’s narrative by establishing the baseline capabilities of our character.
Over the next several sections of the game, it is revealed to the player that the character can jump, but only when the character encounters some of the magical, flying red fabric that appears in the second scene of the game. These mystic linens are attracted to the character, “charging” the red scarf that the character bears on top of their red cloak. When the player jumps, some portion of the “jump charge” that has accrued on the scarf is lost, forcing them to seek out more charge. The player also finds that through discovery of shining white orbs, their scarf will be lengthened. This allows the player to jump even higher, and even fly if they jump while in motion. These mechanics provide the player with a whole new way to traverse the desolate landscape, in which they are met with towering ruins that they must use their newfound vertical movement abilities to scale.
Furthermore, the character quickly encounters new versions of the flying red fabric, this time taking the form of flying carpets and even larger “carpet creatures”, which allow the player to jump higher, faster, and quickly recharge their scarf. The vertical movement mechanics enable the player to avoid plodding through the sand if they use their jump charge efficiently, forcing players to adapt their style of movement based upon where the magic fabric exists in each scene.
The movement mechanics introduced in this portion of the game promote the game’s narrative by establishing the player’s “allies” and enabling player progression. While end of level cutscenes give the player perspective on the actual levels they have progressed through, the mechanic that allows the player to lengthen their scarf, enabling them to jump/fly higher and longer, instills a sense of player progression into the actual movement abilities of the character.
