Abstract

Journey is a game famous for its visuals and sound design, along with the emotional experience of playing. While the game eschews standard practices in video games, like having strategy, complex gameplay mechanics, or dialogue, it is nonetheless able to leave a deep impression on its players. This impression is due to a number of factors, but some of the big ones are the interplay between meaning, connection, and the sublime. In Journey, you play with other players who you can’t talk to as you wander around a desolate, yet beautiful, landscape. There is a massive mountain in the distance that you’re wandering towards, and so you and the other players that you encounter have a shared experience of the sublime. This experience creates connections with other players, despite your inability to talk to them or message them in any way. The game’s narrative is rather straightforward, but the storytelling, world-building, and overall game design are done in such a way that you cannot help but consider the problem of meaning. Your journey to the top of the mountain accomplishes nothing, yet you are compelled to do it over and over. By playing with these different themes, and weaving them into each other, Journey creates an unforgettable experience.