Fri, Feb 08, 2013 | 01:35 GMT
Journey dev went bankrupt during adventure’s creation
Although the critical and commercial pay-off may have been worth it, thatgamecompany skirted financial disaster while working on Journey.
Speaking at DICE Summit 2013, as reported by Destructoid, thatgamecompany boss Jenova Chen said that at the end of the two years of development Sony had agreed to fund, Journey wasn’t finished.
Interestingly, it wasn’t a technical issue that troubled the developer; it just wasn’t happy with the game’s emotional impact, noting better results when one tester’s playthrough crashed before the ending.
Sony agreed to fund a third year of development, but thatgamecompany took even longer than that, and ended up bankrupt, unable to pay its employees even as they continued to work on the game.
At the end of a play session showing off the completed game, three of 25 play testers cried, Chen said, making it all worthwhile.
Journey wowed critics and quickly became the best selling PlayStation Network release of all time.
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Posted in: Adventure, DICE Summit 2013, PS3, Sony, indie
Tags: Jenova Chen, journey, thatgamecompany
5 comments
#1
Telepathic.Geometry
08/02/13, 2:15 am
I love hearing news like this, although it scares the shit out of me, how a great dev can be killed off by one unlucky turn…
#2
ps3fanboy
08/02/13, 9:10 am
if only ea and activision had been this dedicated to their games…
#3
Hellhound30x
08/02/13, 10:54 am
Okay, I’m sick and tired of hearing about Journey. I think I’m going to go and buy it to see what all the fuss is about! (got my tissue paper ready.) lol…
#4
xxJPRACERxx
08/02/13, 11:14 am
“three of 25 play testers cried”… I hope it was because they weren’t paid and not because of the game. I think someone crying because of a game have serious emotional problems. Crying for a movie is borderline (if you’re a man. Women are known to be more emotional so it’s ok)
#5
polygem
08/02/13, 4:27 pm
@4: someone holding back emotions is the one with emotional problems much more often…and because you name it, mostly men have serious problems with that, true.
that said, i didn´t cry but the game definitley moved me and gave me the wet eye, made me almost cry. it really is kind of a spiritual game. i mean, without spoiling anything it is a game about dying, rebirth, reincarnation, everything is connected…unique gaming experience. totally worth it. art.