The ratings boards strike again and give us fellow gamers a clue at what is to come in 2013. Siliconera recenty spotted listings and ratings for Duke War and Grave Diggers on PEGI’s ratings board. The names they found were some of the mini games that were recently released on the Journey: Collector’s Edition. Americans received the title this past fall, but our friends across the pond weren’t so lucky.

Journey: Collector’s Edition is most known for the PSN hits by thatgamecompany such as fl0w, Flower, and Journey, but the aforementioned games that showed up on the PEGI rating board were Duke War and Grave Diggers, two of the three titles that were also in the collector’s edition package.

Both games were created as a part of a 24hr Game Jam that have become so popular here in the indie community. One title that is noticeably missing from the listing was Nostril Shot. Either way it’s good to see that our European friends will finally be able to experience these games, albeit not in the nice package that North America received.

There is a natural barrier in the video game world. We are limited in our control, the gamepad and keyboard only allow us to do so much. Much the same is true for life. Only so much of what we do is in our control. To survive we need to work and eat. We need to take care of our shelter and pay bills. We control only so much about our lives. Video game developers have a unique role in the creation of video games in which they choose what the player controls.

Journey utilizes this notion of minor control. You see, Journey is linear. You cannot vary from the path at hand. You are travelling for the light at the top of the mountain. You are not sure why but you know you must reach that destination. The player can do nothing but move, jump, and sing. Journey leaves the player as a robed figure who has the chance of finding another robed figure to assist each other on the adventure.

Those players have no means of communication beyond a singing voice which acts in tune with the background music. The musical notes are the light form of a gesture. The gesture is unfamiliar, allowing two players to communicate in a way unfamiliar to the both of them. It can be likened to having to communicate with someone who speaks an unfamiliar language. All we have to communicate with are broadly interpretable gestures. The control of communication is stripped from us, and we are put behind a screen, unable to see the person who will assist us.

Truly, Journey is as close to real life as a video game can be. Okay, stick with me. Journey is an explanation, in an hour or two, of our lives. One aspect of Journey, which truly captures a portion of the human experience are the other players one meets online. They are temporary and fleeting. A player may lose their partner and never know who, how old, what race, or what gender that player truly was. But perhaps that player helped us in our goal of reaching the light. In the same vein our connections with many people are small but purposeful. They come along and we form bonds, though often short-lived, which allow us to have a better understanding of people and the world. They may not be a lasting memory but they were important in the big picture. They help us toward our end.

The end is what Journey may capture best. The light is this mysterious end. Be it to you what it may. Regardless if your ultimate end is simply heaven or death, Journey reminds us that we have no reason to work towards that beyond that it is the only end we know. It is our forced destination and is somewhat out of our control. Not only do we not know the purpose of our destination, other than that the mysterious place is where we will end up, but we try to rationalize why we must get there. Even though we do not and cannot truly know. We can only postulate.

So why is Journey important? I only ask myself because I believe you should ponder the question for yourself. Journey is an expose of small life lessons. Perhaps they are assumed by the player, but regardless they are important for reflective pontification. I am not here to tell you what I said is true. I am not here to teach you about life. But I believe Journey is purposeful and valuable to reflection. I know I found myself asking the following questions: “Why do I work toward the light? Why do I care about this person who is only a temporary fixture in my life? Why do I continue my journey, unknowing of the end?” The answers to each are so very personal. But Journey is incredible because it makes the experience similar to each player, no matter what your answers to those questions are.

Check out Journey on PSN, on Journey’s official website, or on Facebook. Also, check out developers thatgamecompany at their official website.

The Sparkle 2: Evo released on Desura for Mac and Windows today and is available for only $2.99.  The game is very reminiscent of Flow – where you control an aquatic creature and feed on other smaller beings to grow and evolve.  The game is a lot deeper than thatgamecompany’s Flow.  You become what you eat – you get to choose whether your sparkle becomes a fast and aggressive carnivore, a sluggish but fast-eating herbivore, or an omnivore. It’s very cool that you can get insight into your DNA strand and figure out what attributes and food you want to go after next.  Checkout the very cool gameplay trailer below:

As if three well-regarded games weren’t enough, thatgamecompany will apparently be dishing out several additional goodies for purchasers of the upcoming Journey Collector’s Edition.

According to an advertisement in the latest issue of the Official Playstation Magazine, the retail bundle will include not only the full versions of Journey, Flower and flOw, but also each individual game’s soundtrack, an exclusive set of mini-games, a collection of documentaries and even a Playstation Plus membership for an undisclosed length of time.

As revealed last week, a product listing on PlayAsia noted the existence of a product entitled “Journey Compilation,” sparking widespread rumours of a thatgamecompany collection that the developers themselves proceeded to confirm. It now appears as though the title of Journey Collector’s Edition has been outed as the compilation’s official moniker, meaning that the game that became arguably the studio’s standout title will indeed be given headline status in the three-game package.

If you weren’t already aware, the Journey Collector’s Edition will consist of all three games produced under thatgamecompany’s collaborative deal with Sony. Alongside Journey itself, the bundle will feature both flOw, the developers’ début console entry, and Flower, a highly-rated interactive experience that breathed new life into the pervasive “games as art” debate.

For more information on thatgamecompany’s ever-growing résumé in the gaming medium, head over to their official site.

It looks as though revered indie studio thatgamecompany’s three-strong Playstation 3-exclusive games lineup will be coming to retail stores later this year.

The news comes after Kotaku columnist Superannuation posted details of a product called Journey Compilation via Twitter. The finding was subsequently confirmed on thatgamecompany’s official Twitter feed, along with the revelation that the collection will include Journey, Flower and flOW, bringing together all three of the studio’s Sony-exclusive titles to disc-based media for the first time.

While a solid release date hasn’t been officially confirmed by either thatgamecompany or Sony, PlayAsia has laid down the marker for a potential August drop, a window that also falls in line with a since-removed product listing on GameFly.

Whether or not releasing these hugely-acclaimed intellectual properties in high-street shops will see a substantial boost in sales remains to be seen, but it’s fair to say that this move offers an ideal opportunity for latecomers to the thatgamecompany experience to savour three acclaimed products a what we’d hope would be a discounted price. And with Journey having already establishes itself as the fastest-selling Playstation Network title in history, who could bet against the indie upstart writing yet another chapter in its chequered legacy?

If you’re looking for more insight into how Journey took the gaming world by storm earlier this year, check out our review.

Five seems to be the number of the day, especially when concerning momentous news. In a press release sent out today, thatgamecompany, developers of award-winning games fl0w, Flower and Journey, have announced that they’re branching out a little. Previously a second-party studio working closely with Sony, they’ve now raised a fat sack of cash thanks to a venture capital firm, and are now going indie in order to seek their own blue skies. Word is that they’re courting distributors for upcoming titles already.

This is big news for sure. thatgamecompany have been pushing the boundaries of what people would even consider to be a videogame for years, and with massive, overwhelming success. Journey is a game with no dialogue, no conflict, no guns and no scores, but it’s also the fastest-selling game in PSN history. They’ve proven time and time again that games don’t have to have mega-scale budgets or killstreaks in order to be popular, and that people can and will buy games based on concepts as nebulous and avant-garde as tumbling flower petals and a desert pilgrimage.

It’s a marvellous success story so far, and it looks like they’ve got a long and profitable future ahead of them. Hats off the Jenova Chen and company, and we here at Indie Games Magazine wish them all the success in the world. Here’s hoping that some PC versions are on the cards, eh?

Last month, we reported on The Unfinished Swan becoming a PSN Exclusive game, but E3 has uncovered more gameplay and even more info on the incubation deal from Sony. According to Giant Sparrow, they received the exact same deal as thatgamecompany stating that, “it’s the same exact contract. They scratched their name off and put Giant Sparrow on there.” Despite wavering their indie status about, it’s good to know that Giant Sparrow can share offices in Santa Monica and be supported by Sony.

The most exciting part of the deal is probably the fact that Sony/Giant Sparrow will be producing 3 games as part of the deal. Thatgamecompany (Flow, Flower, and Journey) is certainly an esteemed company to be compared to but when your first game looks as good as Unfinished Swan and with the news of Kellee Santiago leaving thatgamecompany – I think there’s a new kid on the Santa Monica block to keep an eye on.

Of course as always, the most important thing is the game, which looks amazing:

The Unfinished Swan will be 2-3 hours in length and looks to continually offer new game mechanics throughout the experience. E3 has also revealed that this game isn’t simply black and white. The first world in the game is all about discovery and exploration as you paint the world with black ink, but developer Giant Sparrow has teased that each world will offer it’s own fresh mechanics.

By world two, you will be exploring a colorized city and influencing the growth of flora by throwing water balloons. I’m sure there will be plenty more gameplay surprises when the game finally releases, but there’s already plenty of innovative things going on here to get excited about. Good work, Ian Dallas, the game looks absolutely gorgeous.

The Unfinished Swan will be released on Playstation Network before the end of 2012 and will be compatible with the dual shock controller and Playstation Move.

With this week’s PlayStation Store update, those who haven’t already purchased and experienced the magic of thatgamecompany’s Journey can now do so via a demo.

It’s unthinkable that there are people out there who haven’t had the pleasure of playing through Journey at least once by now. Perhaps there are those who are not sure if the game is for them – after all, it’s certainly quite unique so some apprehension might be understandable. Regardless, the game picked up rave reviews just about everywhere, including at IGM of course as you can read here.

What is the game all about? We’ll avoid the easy answer which is to point you to the demo which is now available. Basically, with Journey, you start off in a desert and are not given any clear instructions throughout the entire game, though an ominous mountain beckons you in the distance. You’ll be exploring some beautiful landscapes, gliding and sliding as you go, and you’ll probably be accompanied throughout with a number of partners who resemble you – this is the game’s subtle use of multiplayer.

As said, it’s best to just go and download the demo without so much knowledge of the game and just to try it out for yourself. If you like it then you may as well make a purchase, you won’t regret it. The demo is only available for US customers at the moment but we’re sure it will turn up in other regions very soon.

More information on Journey can be found over on the game’s official website.

Via PlayStation Blog

It seems that Kellee Santiago isn’t the only one to have left thatgamecompany now that the studio has wrapped up their work on Journey, Robin Hunicke has also left.

It’s been a big day of news over at the thatgamecompany (TGC) offices. Firstly we hear word that Kellee Santiago, the studio’s co-founder, has left for pastures new, then it was announced that Journey is the fastest selling PSN game ever!

It was only a little while ago that Chris Bell and John Nesky went to work on their own award-winning game, Way, as well. Now it has come into the open that Robin Hunicke has also left TGC and has set-up a new office with San Francisco-based Tiny Speck. Robin seems very excited in her latest blog post about the move.

Tiny Speck recently brought on Katamari-creator Keita Takahashi to help work on their free-to-play MMO, Glitch. Keita was introduced to Tiny Speck by Robin originally and it seems she is the next one to join the developers over there.

Robin will take on the role of lead game designer over at Tiny Speck and will work alongside former EA colleague, Justin Quimby. Now reunited, Tiny Speck expect the pair “to contribute great things to Glitch.”

Glitch is described as a “web-based massively-multiplayer game which takes place inside the minds of eleven peculiarly imaginative Giants”. Players will be able to shape and build their surroundings as they learn new skills and interact within the confines of the ever-changing, persistent world of Glitch.

More information on Glitch can be found on the game’s official website.

Jenova Chen has announced that Journey is the fastest selling PSN game ever in both SCEA and SCEE regions; a huge triumph for thatgamecompany.

We knew it was big and we all knew that it’s fallen into the hearts of many, but did we really expect Journey to become the fastest selling PSN game ever? No, but we’re not surprised and we honestly can’t think of a better game to hold that title, find out why in our review. Journey is thatgamecompany’s third and final contractual title for PSN, havine delivered flOw and Flower before it, both great games in their own rights – but Journey really blows any previous achievement out of the water for the small studio.

Writing on the PlayStation blog, co-found of thatgamecompany, Jenova Chen, made the incredible announcement:

“Thanks to you all, Journey has officially broken PlayStation Network and PlayStation Store sales records, surpassing all games ever released on the PlayStation Network to become the fastest-selling game ever released on PlayStation Store, in both the SCEA and SCEE regions.”

Chen continues to describe how the many fan letters they received after their previous titles were released, all thankful and many of them very touching, is what help spurs thatgamecompany on to explore new meaning in the medium. The fan mail after the release of Journey is staggering though, Chen claims they have received more fan letters in the first two weeks of Journey‘s release than the entire three years of Flower’s.

As a thank you, Chen presented a piece of art from the studio to those who have supported them.

More good news comes for the fans as Chen also announced that the much requested for official soundtrack of Journey will be released on the PS Store and iTunes on April 11th, with a limited CD release coming sometime in the near future as well.

More information on Journey can be found on the developer’s official website.