A while back, I wrote about Journey and how it reflected the events that were happening in my life. I still find myself going back to that game, as my life goes in, seemingly, every which way. When I last wrote about Journey, I said that I was at the summit, and that I was about to enter into a world of chaos. It seems as though that time in my life has come and gone.
In the game Journey, right before the end, you fall. You are beaten, and thrown back and forth by the strong winds at the top of the mountain and you meet what is most certainly your end. Then, you are picked up. The gods of the game come to meet you, and beckon that you get back up. When you do get up. You fly like you have never flown before. You fly so high, that you breach the clouds. Up there, the air is clear and crisp, and the music is that of victory and relief. You have made it. As you fly, your character dances in the air with its companions that were there to help you along the way to the top of that mountain. When you reach the end of the game, you slowly walk towards the light at the top of the mountain and you are enveloped by it. The camera cuts to a wide angle shot of the peak, as a shimmering comet shoots out of the top of it. The credits roll as the comet travels through all of the areas that you traversed during the game. It's going backwards, towards the start of the game.
This is also how the game opens. With a shimmering comet zooming over the landscape, until the camera focuses on your character. That shimmering comet was you. Each new game of Journey is another trial that you must face. Life is a series of ups and downs. There are highs and lows throughout each journey that we go through in life.
I think that this is represented rather well in the second section of the game. In this area, you have to make a bridge. Players do so by finding large ribbons scattered throughout the area, and singing your song to them. The ribbons disperse and reassemble into sections of the bridge that is built. What's interesting about this is where the ribbons are kept. Throughout the section, there are these long grey.... things; containers that the ribbons are coming out of. Having gone through the game already, you would recognize these containers as the corpses of the dragons in the game.
The last time that I wrote about Journey, I said that these dragons are the manifestations of our fears, doubts, and all of the negativity that holds us back. Here they are now: defeated. In life, when we are working to overcome something, we have our doubts and fears, but we always make it through. We are able to overcome these obstacles, and we then can use them to make it past whatever life throws at us next. This is represented in Journey by these fallen dragons. Before, these dragons scared us, and even attacked us. Now they are a way in which we can build bridges that help us ascend and reach new goals.
Journey is one of the most beautifully crafted games because of moments like this. Its minimalist style lends itself to interpretation and discussions such as these. We need more games like this, where the game can speak for itself, and not rely on a thick script. A game where players can both enjoy the experience and find hidden meaning in it. I love Journey because of how it pulls this kind of stuff off. It is a game that is still helping me get through some of struggles in my life. I am sure that I will be going back to it again in the future when another obstacle obstructs my journey.
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