I Saw Something Beautiful Today

[Fappy]

So I was working remotely today (job OP) while my girlfriend was playing Journey for the first time. I had never played myself, but I knew enough about it to inform her of some things as she made her way through the early parts of the game.

Not too long after first starting she encountered a random player wandering around who helped her out a bit and then fucked off somewhere. I had heard that Journey's unique approach to player interaction had been praised by many, but wasn't impressed at this point.

Then she met another player.

This player had a more elaborate cloak (probably trophy related) and seemed to know what he/she was doing. While busy not working I watched her and this stranger travel across the land together, working together to solve puzzles and reach heights my girlfriend could not have made alone. Their only means of communication was this little visual queue that emulated a greeting and their movement. A few times this other player tripped over his/her own scarf and my girlfriend would run over, hit the "hi" button next to him as if asking if he/she was okay. Every time the other player would get to his/her feet and chirp in response as if saying, "Yeah, I'm okay."

Their subtle and limited communication was intriguing, but it was also kind of... sweet. Innocent, even. As they continued through the game they had to rely more and more on each other and it got to the point where almost no kind of communication was necessary for them to know what to do and how to help each other. There came a part where they needed to travel side-by-side and huddle up together to keep warm and neither ever deviated too far from the other.

Eventually, after a very feels inducing climax and finale, they reached the end of their Journey in a small, sand-filled valley. Obviously the final expanse to the end of the game. The two of them didn't go forward, however. They kind of just stood there, their avatars looking at each other for a moment. I could tell the feels were getting to my girlfriend so I said, "Make a heart in the sand!"

She did and moments later her new friend did the same. She shouted in excitement and started laughing until they both walked together through the final valley. She damn near collapsed from all the feels, from both the game itself and her experience with this complete stranger. As the credits ended she was sent a message from the person that said they had a great time and thanked her for being his/her friend during their adventure.

She collapsed and let out a huge sigh of feels. We talked about it over dinner for the next hour.

So yeah, I honestly can't say I've ever had an experience quite like that myself (despite living it vicariously through her), and was kind of shocked such an experience existed in today's gaming world. If there's to be a point to this thread beyond the story itself I will ask you: have you ever had a truly great, friendly experience with a stranger online (in a game or otherwise)? Did you have a similar experience in Journey specifically? What can games do more to facilitate this kind of friendly/cooperative atmosphere, which quite frankly gave me renewed hope in the humanity?

Discuss!

 

[Zhukov]

White cloak reportin'.

I keep telling people Journey is fucking fantastic, but do they listen? Noooooooo.

Anyway, yeah, the heart-in-the-sand thing (it was the area after the last ascent, small area with white sand/snow, right?) has actually become something of a tradition among Journey players. Which is kind of awesome considering there's barely any way to communicate in-game. It just seems to occur to everybody.

Also, I've had people message me after a Journey game and say thanks, same as happened for your girlfriend. Only game I've seen that induces that kind of behaviour.

 

[Silvanus]

I can't think of anything else, game or otherwise, that could give an experience quite like that. When I next visit my PS3-owning buddies, I'll stump up the money for Journey.


(By the way; just as I opened this thread to reply, with your avatar winking at me, the lyrics, "...with a one-eyed cat named wink" were playing. I kid you not).

 

[Fappy]

Anyway, yeah, the heart-in-the-sand thing (it was the area after the last flight, small area with white sand/snow, right?) has actually become something of a tradition among Journey players. Which is kind of awesome considering there's barely any way to communicate in-game. It just seems to occur to everybody.

Wait, really? Wow, that's pretty fucking cool. I wonder if that last area was designed with that sort of thing in mind or something. Like you said, it just occurred to me when I noticed the sand physics responding to her subtle movements.

Only game I've seen that induces that kind of behaviour.

I get the occasional "GG" message from people when I play fighting games, but that's it.

 

[Fappy]

(By the way; just as I opened this thread to reply, with your avatar winking at me, the lyrics, "...with a one-eyed cat named wink" were playing. I kid you not).

The experience described in my OP was just so magical its power still remains even now. It is warping reality ever so slightly.

Tread lightly, my friend.

 

[ThatQuietGuy]

Huh, I too wrote a heart in the sand after beating the game with one other player for the whole game, that player than drew an arrow through the heart I made. I didn't know it was/became a tradition, that's pretty cool. Also yes journey is great and should probably spearhead the game as art debate considering how many ways you can interrupt it.

 

[DoPo]

First of all, thanks for sharing that story - it was beautiful

Did you have a similar experience in Journey specifically?

No, not Journey but actually Dota 2 of all places (I'd assume you know some stuff, but I'll also throw in explanations). I had two AMAZING games there. First was an all pick game. I was alone in the team, as in, I didn't play with a friend, but the rest of the team consisted of two groups of two friends. And we were matched against a full 5 person team. And if you have a full team, that's an enormous advantage in a game, as you can coordinate your actions way better. When I saw that, I felt really betrayed by the matchmaking system, especially considering I had been on a loosing streak until that point and it was my last game for the day wanting to just try and win one last game. But against a full team...things didn't look too good. And then their picks were Pudge[footnote]A hero that is incredibly good at killing single heroes, since he can pull them over from quite a distance and then destoy them alone. He's a monster in most public games, as it basically needs the cooperation of the entire team to stop him...which in a pub game against randoms is a bit lacking.[/footnote], Phantom Lancer[footnote]another really annoying hero who can actually swarm anybody and is almost unstoppable late game[/footnote], Phantom Assassin[footnote]especially adept at killing...stuff. Even heroes. Especially heroes.[/footnote], Lifestealer [footnote]a hero who is also adept at killing and as name suggests also steals life, which keeps him alive and able to kill more[/footnote], and Nature's Prophet[footnote]while not as dangerous as any of the rest, still pretty dangerous, as he can teleport anywhere on the map and is really good at trying to win the game by basically not being where the other team is and attacking that lane[/footnote]. In other words, they went for the throat and it was an overkill, with 5 people against randoms. And then we won. One of our players just used the microphone which did the entire game. Well, that and everybody actually playing focused. It was really good.

Second game was just a couple of days ago. It was me and a friend of mine playing All Random, which means that everybody gets a random hero (duh), as opposed to picking in any way. And the RNG really did a trick on us - we had 5 support heroes and we were facing 5 carry heroes (basically, the guys who win games while we were playing the...support). Me, my friend, and another guy were constantly on the microphones keeping constant flow of information and we owned the other team so hard, I kind of felt bad. It was actually so funny and at the same time so satisfying to get this underdog victory, that I can certainly rank it as the best Dota match I've ever had.

What can games do more to facilitate this kind of friendly/cooperative atmosphere, which quite frankly gave me renewed hope in the humanity?

I don't really know. MOBA communities are kind of infamous for being...vile. And yet, I managed to get some of my best experiences playing from them. So it seems that a game doesn't really need to do much to enable it, it's probably more about the players themselves. In that case, I suppose the answer is that games need to attract players that are friendly and compassionate.

 

[roushutsu]

I've had similar experiences in Journey, both as being the one helping new players and being guided to finding all of the little secrets scattered everywhere. God I love that game! Even in games that lean more towards co-op than competitive like say Team Fortress 2, I've never felt anything like it. I may hear people saying "Good game," or "Good job!" but that's about it. Not exactly an emotional connection of any kind.

 

[scorptatious]

Journey really is an amazing game. I'm kinda glad they didn't add voice chat in the game, otherwise moments like what you described OP would probably never happen.

 

[Fappy]

Without derailing the thread too much I did at one time watch American Beauty with a bunch of stoned friends in college once. After it was over we just sat around watching the title screen for a solid hour (it was the video of the bag floating in the wind). My friend, blazed out of his mind, just kept repeating, "It's the most beautiful thing."

Me being the only sober one there made it quite entertaining.

 

[swinkycat]

(OP's girlfriend here.)

Part of what was so touching about the other player's behavior (he/she is now on my friends list, by the way!) was how patient and supportive they were every time I derp-ed up. Like OP said, it was my first time ever playing the game, and it really took me a while to get a hang of the "flying" mechanic. There were several times when I messed up and couldn't quite make a jump, and fell down a significant distance (particularly in the "tower" level), and my Journey buddy jumped all the way down to help me back up again. I honestly had no idea what I was doing, and to have another more experienced person patiently guide me through the game was just really nice.

It was also really fun and exciting to figure out how to communicate with a total stranger using only a one-button greeting mechanic. I think the simplicity of the communication is really important in promoting a friendly atmosphere, because how can you be a jerk to someone if the only thing you can do is run around and say "hi"? (I'm sure someone somewhere has found a way, but it seems difficult.)

The atmosphere of the game itself is also just really beautiful. During some points of the game, OP and I were both just blown away by the gorgeous scenery and music, and the "final ascent" part of the game was very emotional. I don't want to spoil anything, but I think the "body warmth" mechanic was pretty freakin' ingenious and really helped to add to the emotional attachment between the two players (in my case, at least!) Also, I am not a particularly religious person, but the game came across as very spiritual and meaningful in a way that I enjoyed.

tl;dr, I had a really fun and heartwarming time for my first Journey playthrough, and I'm excited to play it again sometime soon (and hopefully meet another totally awesome stranger.)

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

One of these days I really need to play Journey...

Anyways, the closest thing I've encountered is that I've been playing with this random dude in Borderlands 2 for a good while now. About a year now that I think about it, and he found me here even though he's not a member. He doesn't have a headset so we do a lot of communicating either through a quick message, or other means. So, I will see his little gamertag go up and down and when I go towards him I see he found some loot that he wants to share, and I've done the same thing. A lot of the time we get each other's attention by firing.

I remember recently we were in the Captain Scarlett DLC and we each got separate boats and just drove around into crap to see if we could explode. We've also played tag for a bit when we want a break from doing missions.

Best fun I've had while playing a game honestly.

 

[White Lightning]

Once in Dark Souls I was making a new Character, and I kept getting summoned by the same 2 guys. Turns out they were new and trying to play together. So I helped them all the way up to Seath then I went to the Forest to be a Forest Hunter. It was neat because all I had was the gestures while they were in private chat. They sent me messages after each area saying thanks.

Then when they went to fight Sif I invaded and killed them.

Good times...

 

[piinyouri]

Closest I've had was some encounters on Red Dead Redemption online. People joining my stronghold lootin' and generally being nice, helpful people.

And then there was the first time I played Conquer Online and the first random person I met was kind enough to run to town to buy me a pickaxe.

Another, first time playing the full game of Guild Wars 1. Me and my irl friend are in the first city, we've finished the quests in the area, so time to move to a new region. A guy in town was offering to escort lower level folks there. I had previously been ripped off by someone posing as a similiar figure and upon hearing this, he said "You get it for free because I've had that happen before and it sucks. : ]".

Course, it all fell apart because we got WAY out into the boonies, like between bum-fuck nowhere and the local monsters living room, and the guy timed out/lost connection or possibly, just left us.

 

[The Wykydtron]

As much as I ***** about Dark Souls, I once had a similar experience in one particular co-op boss fight. O&S of course. After getting carried like a baby through my own one by a probable smurf (because 1v2 is totally fair, 10/10, perfect game balance) I decided to try to help someone else.

One thing first. I was and still am fuckin' shit at Dark Souls. So was practically everyone else I was getting matched with. So the shitters help other slightly less shit shitters through boss fights whereafter they will hopefully be less shit.

Looking back it's probably textbook co-op play, y'know split them up, tank one and hope the other guy doesn't get mauled and so on. It took us so long though. We both had really crap weapons, were probably underleveled and prone to getting blindsided by everything. I even used some of my own Humanity to heal so he could concentrate on his own well being

After an eternity, we finally finished the empowered Ornst-Orste-howeverthefuckyouspellit with no health potions left at all and with barely a single digit of health between us, then as the final "YOU WIN" text starts to come up, it sets in our time together is drawing to an end and there are precious seconds on the clock before I go back to my own world. Then he waves me goodbye... So I wave back... brb got something in my eye.

I suppose the magic is lost on all the MLG swag guys who line up all day to help endless hordes of people go through boss fights with their end game gear and instagib it every single time. I swear they all forget how difficult it is for others when they have every inch of the map laid out, know every attack pattern and strategy known to man and build and level perfectly for maximum efficiency.

 

[Headsprouter]

I love interacting with players, online, without text or voice chat. That's why I love avatars/models that move around a lot. Like in Minecraft, the head movement is directly attached to a player moving their FOV. There's a similar effect in Chivalry and Borderlands, too. People can nod to each other and shake their head in a cute and funny way. Chivalry makes it even better with the in-game voices. Those are funny. Killing Floor has fun in-game voice, but the models aren't very emotive.

I should add, one hilarious thing in Chivalry is when players war cry like a mexican wave. Say, I scream "AGATHAAAAAAAAAAA", players charging behind me will likely join me, it's like brothers in arms kind of stuff.

I haven't had any encounters as significant as the one in the OP, but the little ones I have had have always got me grinning with my mouth open and laughing to myself like "I friggin' LOVE humanity!"

Ahhh, social interaction...I have a real love-hate relationship with it.

 

[Shinsei-J]

Is it sad that one of the first thing I thought after "My god all those feels I went through with someone I never talked to" was that because Fappy has a girlfriend that he's a little bit less Fappy...

Ok, more OT now.
This game amazed me, on my first run through I was helped a lot and shown all these different things by one person while never once talking but we comunicated. Both me and them ended up singing to each other and mimicing each other, it was beautiful. Once we ended, after we parted I felt something of a fleeting happiness that I expirienced it combine with a bitter sadness that something that had become so precious to me had to go but there in lies the beauty. It was a moment of both these emotions yet nether, all I can say is that I was about to cry.