Environmental Analysis of Journey

[@journeration1]

best game analyzer on the website drops another mastahpiece

[@modernclassicalmusic8942]

He’s criminally underrated

[@journeration1]

@@modernclassicalmusic8942 100% agreed

[@MrFr2eman]

This is such a pleasant surprise, I've recently replayed Journey after many years and for the first time started noticing the themes you talk about, but couldn't dig as deep and elaborate as you do. Wonderful video! You also made me realise how the gameplay in combination with environments and music reflects the journey of the white-robes. The section, where you're gliding fast through the sands comes to mind, it has up-beat mood and music, incredibly beautiful and shows you the biggest achievments of white-robes, large city is often on the background, but you only get glimpses of it, all the while you're rapidly going down and in the end you fall into a dark, hostile place. I imagine that's how white-robes felt when they were expanding too fast, reaching for the stars, while in reality they were designing their own downfall.

[@TheGemsbok]

I think your analysis of the 'slide' chapter there is absolutely terrific---a compelling reading of the gameplay and tone of that section, which never occurred to me earlier. Thanks very much for sharing it!

[@Griff-co]

This is one of my new favorite videos of yours; it feels like a conclusion to the "trilogy" of your Factorio and Pikmin vids, with the Factorio one saying there's no particular environmental message, the Pikmin one showing the importance and strength of environmentalism in its narrative, and then this one about Journey fully embracing it and its "muted optimism" (that's such a great way to describe it!) I've never really heard someone delve into the possible timespan between human and total extinction, but that's such an interesting idea and comparing it to Flower is so fitting (although I like the game, I always found its message kind of basic since it assumes this amount is "a long time.") I had never even heard of Journey until now but it seems great. Probably one of your most inspiring analyses!! And that final line is incredible!

[@Nabrashaa]

This is actually a really inspiring video 0.0

[@thecountbassy_]

Excellent as usual, always looking forward to a Gemsbok analysis.

[@JuliusCaesar103]

The editing is on point, a thoughtful video as always.

[@emeritus5418]

Great video as always. It'd be interesting to see you discuss your approach to game criticism in some non-scripted setting. I appreciate that you come at this medum from a more educated, formalized angle, which is very rare.

[@TheGemsbok]

Thank you! I do have some notes for a potential (scripted) video that covers my approach, so that might surface someday. Not sure about unscripted, although I might do something in a more relaxed format to celebrate if the channel ever reaches 25,000 subscribers.

[@emeritus5418]

@@TheGemsbok Does it count if I make 7000 alts?

[@TheGemsbok]

Hahaha, jeez . . . 7000, huh? Nah, I don't think that'd count-strong personal preference for subscriber counts that correspond to people.

[@5000_People]

This was fantastic, great to hear these perspectives

[@franklinshure960]

Now that you mention it, the way the animation for the flying has the character lean all the way forward and then twirl does seem like it's designed to twist the scarf

[@convincingmountain]

love the relevant bits of text from non-game sources... like, this is a video game narrative, but the topics it's talking about have been talked about by other people, in other forms. rly gets my noggin a joggin. thanks mister gemsbock

[@KaroSword]

Journey was such a beautiful piece to experience back in 2012... i wonder if Gen Z will have such a niche but deep gaming experience ..... only thing i can think similar in a completely diffent scale is Death Stranding oddly enough....

[@mr.beamless1609]

Maybe Undertale? But actually that came out almost ten years ago already, so idk.

[@Yogkog]

I also find it pretty weird that the “experiential art” genre seemed to have trailed off in the past decade. 7th gen consoles have a bunch of “canonized” art games but I really can’t think of one that’s made a huge splash recently. Besides Death Standing, which imo is too mechanically complex to be in the same league as stuff like Journey or Braid. Maybe Outer Wilds?

[@Moissanite_]

I just found this game, like literally I played it for the first time finished it in an hour and immediately wanted more, I didn't even know it existed till a interest pin showed up 🤷‍♀️

[@mr.beamless1609]

Ha the timing of the BOTW clip had me rollin. Nice.

[@Zarith7480]

Another wonderful analysis, thanks!

[@TheGemsbok]

"Caleb, were you making a little tent out of my jacket?"

[@matthewglenguir7204]

This channel has one of the best literally analysis in the entire platform. Sad to see how underrated it is

[@DarnMyNameDoesntFi]

Holy shit, an actually salient thesis on environmentalism. I've always struggled with the "doomer" aspect of how ecological crises are portrayed both in media and in the news, and no one these days seems to be capable of respecting the nuances of the problem, and you just drop it in the middle of an analysis of Journey. I hope more people come to understand in the near future that, like you say, we can at any point attempt to steer the path we are taking in the "right direction" and it's never technically too late to try, until of course, it is. My dad always told me "The best time to start is yesterday; the second best time to start is today". No exceptions for efforts on larger scales.

[@cbl1199]

This game truly shine if you manage to find someone else when exploring, because it is actually a co-op game with a very interesting way to go at it! Alas due to the game age, it is quite rare and unlikely to find others players, for you can't really start the journey with them, you have to find them as they wander the desert just like you are. But it really make it an unforgettable experience when you come across another person, either by seeing them waltz in the air from afar, or by hearing them sing aloud, for from that point on you both start to support one another like long lost kinmens now reunited, all the way to the heavenly abode. There is something intrisincally cathartic in spontaneous cooperation, a lonesome and somber journey suddenly turning into a wanton adventure to the highest of peaks, where you support one another through thick and thin, camaraderie born out of necessity that turn into cooperation so profound and honest you or they may find themselves eager to sacrifice oneself merely for the chance to continue forward together. I had the luck to meet another player who was eager to stay by my side for the entire journey when I first played years ago, and I must say that it can drastically alter your interpretation of the game and its intended message, for the better that is. Words can hardly describe the sadness when came the last trek atop the snowy summit where we both fell a few seconds apart face first into the snow, out cloaks torns and reduced to mere scraps as we sung to restore our mutual health a many times, until our voices could no longer be heard nor felt, nor can they describe the catharsis that came when I saw him while soaring into the spirit realm and we joined together for a last dance amidst the clouds.

[@tomorrowland8026]

Always considered Journey overrrated - this video is the first time I am reconsidering that. Real nice work

[@dorkmoonblade4315]

I played the game 1 year ago and I actually got a partner for most of my journey! I am very thankful for my luck. Incidentally how much time did you spend to write a video of this quality? Also have you played Outer Wilds? It's possible you have, and it's definitely a game that lots of people have talked about already, but if you don't know about it, I think you might enjoy it.

[@TheGemsbok]

The article version of this one took a little over a month to write. It would've been faster if I hadn't decided a read a couple books for research (the two quoted here that aren't by Steinbeck). The video version then took about three more weeks to produce. I haven't played Outer Wilds, but have had my eyes on it (via Steam wishlist) for at least a year. I don't know much about it, except that many people think very highly of it. I definitely intend to play it in the not-too-distant future.

[@luloglisci9678]

Nice video!! Do you plan on covering TGC’s other games (Flower and Sky)?

[@mrickard3621]

I LOVE JOURNEY. Don’t stop believing!!! Arnel Pineda has BECOME STEVE PERRY HE ABSORBED HIS SOLE!!! Stone in love highly UNDERrated! YeS!?

[@TheGemsbok]

Yes.

[@Squirberus]

Hey dude enjoy your videos a lot, you seem like a pretty freakin smart guy. I have two questions regarding your vids man. Where the heck do you find these wild sources like that letter and all those philosophical texts? Were you a philosophy student? You seem to have them at the ready, or just do excellent research. Second what software do you edit on where making each word appear in time with speaking isn't terrible(like in your parts with the pic and quotes)? If it is terrible, well, I get you. If you have to keyframe that as well then, dang. Actually one more - is the person who does portraits a friend or person you commission? Not trying to use them or anything, just curious how you have such a consistent source if they aren't your own work. Like if there was a collection of philosophy ones i would get it but there was like Jonathon Blow in one vid and stuff. Anyways hope you can shed a little light on some of these. Also I really enjoyed this vid. I like the mechanical ones but your philosophical or ones where you pick out details or some interesting aspect are just phenomenal.

[@TheGemsbok]

I primarily studied literature and literary theory, but branched into philosophy over time. Ultimately I wrote a thesis that combined both, focusing on philosophical materialism in the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe. But my main research focus has been philosophy for almost a decade now. The quotes in my videos are a mix of material I read previously and material researched for the project itself. In this one, for instance, I had read The Grapes of Wrath long ago and had that comparison ready-to-hand; I owned the essay collection containing the Fromm and Turner quotes for several years, but didn't read it until mid-2023 (around the time I was deciding whether to move forward with this project); and I read the entirety of the book Ecocriticism by Greg Garrard specifically for this project, while in the process of writing it in September and October 2023. I record all of my gameplay footage with Nvidia Shadowplay, edit all of my narration in Audacity, and do all of my video editing in Premiere. All of the quotes are manually animated by me, keyframe by keyframe. The caricature portraits are drawn by a good friend of mine, by request. He values his anonymity more than I value mine, which is why he prefers to be credited by just his initials. It's a delight to hear that you enjoy these analysis videos to such a great degree. I consider them to be the main focus of the channel. Things only end up weighted the other way by volume because projects like this one take at least four times as long to write and produce as lighter review-style projects. And since that's the rough ratio per minute of published work, and these also tend to be longer works by duration, they are much larger undertakings. There are some high-effort review videos that take a bit of extra time, but in general the lighter stuff lets me publish with relative consistency while heavier stuff percolates and progresses in the background.

[@Squirberus]

@TheGemsbok Man I cannot thank you enough for such a thorough answer. Yeah I have done a few videos - nothing, uh, intellectual, heh, but the amount of work it takes to edit and write etc is insane. It shows you put a lot of work into your writing and consistency between videos. I'm trying to find my footing in what i want to make, I can't help but pack my videos full of every thought and idea I have. That makes sense you have studied so much philosophy. I'm rather green there still but learning. Another game analyst, well, primarly MGSV at this point, is similar so I kinda figured.(futurasound productions if ur curious). Very cool that you read books specifically for projects. Tell your friend I like his work and applaud him for valuing his privacy. Makes sense he's your bud, I was just curious how you seemed to have one for everybody! And yeah alright. No easy way around keyframe by keyframe, word by word. Sigh. Well, at least we're not alone. Also Edgar Allen Poe is great. Thanks again. Always looking forward to the next vid.

[@TheGemsbok]

Poe's name is actually spelled "Allan," with two A's. It's a weird spelling, so that's a very common mistake. Hah. Anyway: Thank you for the kind comments! I will pass your praise along to M.R.P., and I wish you the very best of luck with your projects. (Also, if animating text discourages you from moving forward with your work at times, I'd recommend just not animating it; most creators don't.)

[@MrChocodemon]

It's so sad that youtube quality is so bad. This video on 1080p looks as if it was only 480p -.- Can your videos be seen somewhere else? Patreon? Nebula?

[@TheGemsbok]

Sadly, no, my videos are not hosted anywhere else. This video was hit particularly hard by KZbin's compression due to the monochromatic and hazy/dusty look of Journey. With that being said, I was annoyed enough at how aggressive the compression has been on a few of my recent videos (especially this one) that I'll be exporting all future game videos at 1440p or even 4K before upload. The raw footage will still be 1080p, but many uploaders report a better codec and 5-10 times as much bandwidth being allocated to their videos when simply uploading at a higher resolution.

[@MrChocodemon]

@@TheGemsbok That sounds like a stupid solution, to a stupid problem with a wonderful result. Thank you

[@maltoext6153]

can you do Sky: Children of the light as well ?