thatgamecompany

Thatgamecompany is an American computer game development company founded by the University of Southern California students Kellee Santiago and Jenova Chen. The studio is currently developing for Sony Computer Entertainment and signed a contract for three downloadable games for PlayStation Network PlayStation 3 The first is a remake of Chen's award-winning flash game flOw, with improved graphics and sound, as well as a multiplayer mode and compatibility with the motion- sensitive controls of the console. The title was released in 2007 on PlayStation Store. The second PlayStation 3 game of the company, Flower appeared in 2009 on the PlayStation Store. The current game Journey was released in March 2012.

The Company's focus is on the development of computer games that elicit emotional responses among the players. thatgamecompany is not against action- oriented games, the founders believe, however, that there are already enough of them. When designing a game, the staff work from the beginning, what they want to feel the player, instead of the otherwise standard industry creating rules. The company plans no major blockbuster games to design, since in their opinion, by the pressure after high sales figures, the innovation would suffer.

History

In autumn 2005, Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago began establishing their own computer game development company thinking. Both were recently the computer game Cloud published in their final year as a master student in the Interactive Media Program at the University of Southern California 's School of Cinematic Arts, and have, which they had developed with other students. Thought the project was as an experiment to find out if a game to determine " anything else can be press than video games in the past," and to the public interest in such games. Due to the very positive reviews Santiago and Chen began establishing their own company thinking, so that they could continue to develop such games as cloud - in which the design is not based on rules of the game, but the evocation of emotions - after college graduation.

At this time won the digital distribution of popularity. Both saw this as an opportunity to develop without the high financial risk of retail sale games. thatgamecompany was founded on 15 May 2006, the same day as Chen and Santiago got their master degrees. Shortly after, she signed a contract with Sony Computer Entertainment, who were impressed by Chen's flash game flOw - a part of his master's thesis at USC. thatgamecompany should develop three games for the soon to be released PlayStation Network and received start-up support and office space in the Sony building in Los Angeles.

Originally thatgamecompany consisted of Chen, Santiago, John Edwards and Nick Clarke. Clarke had already worked with Chen on flOw. Santiago was the chairman of the company and the producer of the game, while Chen acted as lead designer, Edwards Lead Engineer and Clarke as another designer. Although they adapt pondered Cloud as the first title for Sony, they decided ultimately for flOw, since it was drawn up by design. They felt that it was easier to develop a cloud while they founded the company; Not a member of the team had experience with conducting a business name or the creation of a commercial game. During development, Chen worked briefly for Maxis on Spore. Some contract workers assisted thatgamecompany working on flOw, including Austin Wintory, the composer of the game.

At the beginning the company was assumed that the PlayStation 3 version of flOw will be completed within four months, in time for the release of the PlayStation Network in November 2006. As the game will appear on the market finally in February 2007, it did not include times more the " half of the original design. " According to Santiago, the competent Sony producer had suspected that they underestimated the development time and was not surprised by the move. The game was positively received; it was the best selling game on the PlayStation Network in 2007 and was nominated for the Best Downloadable Game of the Year award at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Interactive Achievement Awards 2008, as well as for the Best Innovation Award in the year at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts ( BAFTA ) Awards. Following the publication of an extension and a PlayStation Portable version of the game through the SuperVillain Studios has been developed. thatgamecompany was not involved in the development of both projects, up to ensuring the same design and art direction of the original, as they were with the development of their next title, Flower, busy.

Flower was to Santiago that game companys ' first game outside the safety net of the academic world. " Six to nine people were employed at different stages of development and Chen remained throughout the project at the studio. The music in the game was composed by Vincent Diamante, who was already working on cloud with Chen and Santiago. The development time was two years, but it was the team to three-quarters in the prototyping phase. After they had agreed on the elements of the game, Flower was developed in just six months. Just like the game flOw received positive reviews when it was released in February 2009. It was one of the ten best-selling games on the PlayStation Network of the Year and received several awards. After the release of Flower thatgamecompany moved into its own building in Los Angeles.

The most recently completed project of the company is Journey, which was released on 13 March 2012. It is the last game of that game companys three-game contract with Sony and was developed by twelve employees. To the team was not one of Santiago, which was replaced by Robin Hunicke as a producer, so that they could concentrate on the role of managing more.

End of March 2012, shortly after the publication of Journey, Santiago gave their withdrawal from the company known to take on new challenges. thatgamecompany works while on a new game.

Philosophy

If thatgamecompany, designed a game, they begin to decide which emotions and feelings to be evoked in the player. This is different compared to other developers who put their focus on rules of the game or genre characteristics. According to Santiago, the company creates emotional responses in order to show the breadth of possible experiences in video games, which are more than just stress and anxiety. Chen said that the games the company to evoke emotions rather than to convey a message; he changed in particular the design of flower, meant as early testers that the game for renewable energy advertises. Chen believes that he is " too young " is to make a game with a strong message. Santiago said that that game companys goal is "to create games that stretch the boundaries of video games as a communicative medium, and create games that appeals to a wide range of people. " She hopes to change the video game industry with this process, so that other company video games, as a mass product look more than a " creative medium ". According to Chen, the company therefore does not seek " blockbuster games at a big budget " to develop, since it assumes that the financial pressure and enlargement of the team would stifle innovation.

Games

In flOw, the player navigates in a series of two-dimensional levels one aquatic microorganism that develops through the consumption of other microorganisms. The game design is based on Chen's research of dynamic difficulty settings at the University of Southern California and on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's theoretical concept of mental immersion or flow. It was released on 22 February 2007 for the PlayStation 3. On 29 November 2012, the Museum of Modern Art announced the acquisition of 14 computer games, including flOw, for a new design permanent exhibition in the Philip Johnson Galleries from March 2013 known. In the notice, the title has been referred to as outstanding representatives in the field of interaction design. Criteria were, therefore, in addition to the visual quality and the aesthetic experience of all aspects that contribute to the design of the interaction, such as the elegance of the code or the design of the player behavior.

Flower was to be the " spiritual successor " of flOw. By using the motion-sensitive controller, the PlayStation 3, the player controls the wind that bears a petal through the air. Flying in the immediate vicinity of flowers leads to the fact that more petals join the player. Approaching of flowers can also have other side effects on the environment, such as the dyeing of a previously dead field or the activation of wind turbines. The game features no text or dialogue, forming the narrative arc only through visual representation and emotional clues. The game was also released for the PlayStation 3 on February 12, 2009.

Journey is another video game company. The player takes control of a clothed figure who wakes up in a desert, with a large mountain in the distance as the target. During the journey, the player can meet other players via the Internet, but only one at a time. Players can not communicate with each other and do not see the name of their partner, but they can help each other on request. The game was released on March 13, 2012 for the PlayStation and was the fastest-selling game in the American PlayStation Network all time.