Triggers

Triggers in video games, activate scripted sequences; pre-defined series of events that occur when triggered by player location or actions that play out in the games engine.

Some scripted sequences are used to play short cut-scenes that the player has little control of.

A certain place or thing that a Wayfarer can hit / activate / walk through, that makes the game react.

Overview
This article gives information about Journey specific triggers.

For newcomers: an introduction to triggers. Learning where and why things change in the game, can be


 * exciting, when a War Machine suddenly does something else then normal
 * meditational, if you move very slowly towards a place, to find out where exactly "that thing" happens
 * scientific, finding out more about timed triggers will take some patience. There are tricks that need an exact waiting time (up to several minutes) to work, though this belongs to Expert Mode. You can help and expand the Wiki with your findings!

For longterm players: a growing list of "well known triggers", which are (ab)used by Expert Mode players. Through playing around with triggers, you can change things, compared to normal gameplay.

The range of tricks, also called Glitches on this Wiki, is wide. From getting to know, where you start dying and dont need to walk anymore, the famous War Machine Capture, to glitches that are known to exist, but specifics unknown.


 * Using triggers out of order
 * not hitting certain triggers
 * a Companion hitting a trigger "for you", see also The ID rule
 * timed glitches, like fleeing from a Carpet. You need wait and fly away from the Carpet at the right moment, perfect timing.

Types of triggers
Triggers have many parameters that define their behavior; perhaps the most important distinction is:
 * One-off triggers activate certain key events/sequences and can only be triggered once. Example: WM Ambush trigger, once the standing WM was destroyed, the trigger can not be activated again.


 * Area triggers cause certain effects while the player is in a certain area (some work the opposite way, enabling certain actions/changes as long as the player is outside the area). Example: music playing in certain distinct areas; recharging in magical goo is also caused by an area trigger.
 * Timed triggers. When activated, most triggers will produce an immediate outcome, but in some cases things happen only after a certain amount of time has passed. There are also events defined by a scripted level "timeline" which are not activated by triggers but may appear after a certain time from the start of the level. Examples: a music loop stops, new shooting star is generated etc.

How is it triggered?
Chirp The sound that you can create.

If the visible bubble reaches for example: a Banner, the 4 stones to the side of an Ancient Glyph or a certain Carpet in Pink Desert... the trigger is "hit" / activated.

Touch Banners, the stones at the Glyphs and some other things can be activated by touching them, as well.

In many cases "the thing" and a certain sound is triggered.

Glowing cloth is also activated through touch. Its active only as long as the touch lasts.

Walking to a certain point or area Triggers are usually invisible boxes or planes or other geometrical figures placed inside a level. Think of them as a certain point or area, a line that you have to cross etc.

The activation of those triggers can only be recognised through observing the triggered change in the game.

Example image shows the shooting star falling. It is triggered by entering a certain area. You could be in a valley and not looking up, thus not recognising the activation; though you can hear the sound of the falling stars.

Activated by in-game timer or automatically by the game Rarely the game decides for the player when a trigger should start. A good example is the flight through the vortex at the beginning of Paradise level.

If the player won't do anything, the game will shoot them into the vortex automatically.

What is triggered?
Basically everything is triggered somehow, looking from a programming point of view.

Here are some obvious triggers:

Level transition

Activating this trigger forces the game to load a different (the next) level. The trigger is normally in a corridor between levels (not all have a corridor).

Save

The game saves into a file at several points. The main saving points are between levels and at the credits. This means, if you quit a level and restart the game, you will start at the beginning of that level. Tough Paradise is an exception and quitting in this level, makes you start in the Snow (PC versions give you the option to restart Paradise).

The game of course keeps track of things that happen within a level from start to end. Example: how many Carpets were freed in Pink Desert.

Some things might be stored, even when "chapter selecting" or using the quit to title (PC versions only).

Vision, cutscenes and camera movement

The vision at the end of levels is triggered upon stepping into the light circle (after activating the stones around the statue).

Cutscenes like the Whale in the Tower level, leaving its room and camera zooms. Often cutscenes take away the players control over the Wayfarer or camera, for some seconds.

Objects

Certain in-game objects can be activated by a trigger. For example: History Lesson Shrine, shooting star, glyph etc.

Non playable characters

change their behavior, after hitting the trigger. A Carpet may fly away from you or tries to hug you, a War Machine comes to life or a Jellyfish is purring.

Music, sounds, melodies

upon hitting certain triggers, those are turned on or off.

Wind

in the Snow level strong wind appears when the player get inside specific areas like Death March plateau or whistling stones valley.

Surfing

not only in the Sunken City level but also in Paradise and Underground are instances of forced sliding. See also Surfing, Slides and Drops.

Freezing in Snow

if the player goes into a specific area their Wayfarer will be affected by freezing or will warm up.

and so on

For more information see Triggers, In-depth information.

(Well known) Triggers
List is probably not complete, but gives an overview about things that causes changes in the game; like music, camera etc.

In the trigger-list below, not every cutscene or forced camera movement will be mentioned. The list should focus on "usable" triggers.

If you add a t

Suggested form to present triggers:

Sort OOB triggers below in-game triggers.

If the list is getting long for a level, should be sorted south-north.

Start with "type of trigger" like WM trigger, music trigger, wind trigger etc. or a descriptive name.

Add a picture that marks the trigger place (add copyright info and Category:Triggers - Images]].

Title card screen
Camera and music trigger. Activated by going to a specific area.

The trigger "line"/area is not only on this hill. You can experiment to get screenshots, where the title card shows up at a different place.

Nick running away
NPC and music trigger. Activated by going to a specific area (these are actually two separate triggers close together, so it's possible to trigger music but not Nick).

Activation of online mode
Special kind of trigger that starts multiplayer. Activated by jumping down from the first platform (probably just leaving the platform, the specific area of that trigger is unkown to the Wiki atm)

Glyph camera
Camera trigger. Activated by going into the cave, camera is slightly movable, but kind of stuck as long as you are in the cave.

The stuck camera is used for the Cave Boost.

This one makes the use of the Headbonkers Cave entrance to OOB a bit complicated. After entering and trying to go up, the camera shows the Glyph and you can not see yourself.

OOB
At the North side of this OOB are several level transition triggers.

This cutout from a map shows the bigger level transition triggers in pink.

Though there are several smaller spots, to the North and along a line from West to East. It feels like they are along the line of the North wind wall, shown on the map.

Pink Desert

 * First carpet release - NPC and music trigger. Can be activated by interacting with banner or going to a certain spot.
 * Carpet release from broken WM - NPC and music trigger. Can be activated by interacting with banner.
 * First carpet lift in factory - NPC trigger. Activated first by interaction with player. Later activated by going to a specific area.
 * Investigation/clarifcation: carpet lift triggers. After which point will carpets pick you up even from the bottom? At which places.. Frederick ride - NPC trigger. Carpet Chase

Just to mention it: The disconnect at "around the small tower" is probably related to some triggers and maybe one of the player did activate one, while the other did not. Shooting star symbol falling? Factory music?

Sunken City

 * Several cutscenes: Getting inside tunnel, flying into the rest area, falling down to the pit etc.
 * Activating four banners and flyers release. Sometimes some of the banners are already activated/triggered. See Missing banners in rest area.



Fall down into the pit
The "dramatic falling music" can be also triggered at the place shown in the image. Further navigation help should be added.

Underground
Triggers in this level are important for War Machine Glitches.

Most WM glitches are related to the OOB in this level.


 * Ambush
 * S-shaped corridor WM appearance
 * Flyer eater
 * First patrol room WM flyover (triggered by walking through the portal between rooms; climbing through windows avoids this trigger, and it can be activated out-of-sequence later on just for fun. This trigger sends one WM to patrol in a normal play-through)
 * Second WM activation
 * WM circling patrol (in the room after the flyer attack room, if you stay in that room a WM will circle around there)
 * WM2 alert trigger halfway through the second hall (WM makes an angry sound and rushes towards the slide).
 * Second patrol room WM flyover (triggered by walking through the portal between rooms, similar to the first one can be avoided if climbing through windows or walking outside in OOB. This trigger sends both WMs to patrol)
 * A trigger a bit further after the collectible symbol: causes WMs to stop patrolling and position (hide) outside the slide start area;
 * Getting close to WM slide (makes WMs spawn in the slide area before the player can see it)
 * WM slide triggers (lots of them)
 * Transition to Tower (this level trigger is unusual because it's inactive until the History Lesson is completed, so going out of bounds and touching it before that won't activate level transition unlike in all other levels).
 * Transition to Tower (this level trigger is unusual because it's inactive until the History Lesson is completed, so going out of bounds and touching it before that won't activate level transition unlike in all other levels).

Tower
Skipping some Glyphs is used for several Glitches, for example Sideways Whale.


 * First glyph activation
 * Second glyph
 * Third glyph
 * Fourth glyph (ravingmadness: i think somewhere is a quote, about that fourth being special somehow? easier to disc there or so..)
 * Fifth glyph
 * History lesson - There are probably some glitches, related to watching the vision first, as well a music trigger (? ravingmadness: pls confirm or del this). OOB related: the Hidden Glyph in the Tower only glows after watching the vision.

Snow
In this level, there are also some War Machine Glitches possible, quite some still unknown.


 * Freezing area - knowledge where to unfreeze is usefull for going Snow OOB.
 * WM attack
 * Whistling stones - about when wind is triggered? Timed trigger only? Glitch: constant wind!
 * Freezing carpet - needs to be chirped at, from each player to be released for both. By skipping from start to the bridge directly (which trigger to skip is important?) you can see Floating carpets at the Carpet home path.
 * WM flyover - (Ravingmadness: should be mentioned at WM glitches and then linked here maybe: a companion made a WM attack me at the left turn after freezing carpet path to heater room..)
 * Heater room - after leaving it, it can not be activated again. (ravingmadness: i could be wrong, but i think i got it once to activate twice.. o0)
 * Getting into the patrol field
 * WM triggers (should be expanded)
 * Glyph cave
 * Entering narrow passage
 * Frozen courtyard
 * WM fly-by trigger (Frozen courtyard window, can also be triggered from the other side by going to the Hidden Valley OOB area)
 * Windy balcony
 * Death march and transition to Paradise (multiple triggers, see level map)

Paradise

 * Flight through vortex
 * Cutscene after coming out of the vortex
 * First music transition
 * Snow slide and second music transition
 * Entering waterfall and third music transition
 * Flying above waterfalls and fourth music transition
 * Flight towards the mountaintop
 * Landing on last walk plateau
 * Scarf reduction
 * Last walk camera
 * Entering the light
 * Entering the light

In-depth information
What may look like "a trigger", might sometimes cause several things.

In game a player might only recognise the direct outcome, but eventually music, flyers and other environment elements may have changed too, all with this "one" trigger.

Take this line and edit it to your wishes or remove for inserting a picture:



Take this line and edit it to your wishes or remove for inserting a big video in the middle, with caption:

Trivia
Triggers (especially music triggers) may work differently on the PC versions, maybe even between PS3 and PS4.

Having a Companion triggers different sounds / music. (verification for PC version.

Music is essential to Journey and is carefully integrated with its gameplay. As explained in the Developer Commentary video, having a Companion nearby adds new instruments to the active theme, most notably harp.


 * There are many more small triggers that create environment effects, for example the Flower sounds, or pretty much any localised sound effects are activated by stepping into small trigger cubes surrounding an object;
 * In Broken Bridge and other areas where bridges or bridge parts can be found, trigger boxes surround the middle part of the bridge (where metal grates are) and cause the sound of the Wayfarer's steps to change as if walking on metal rather than stone.
 * Sandfalls etc. are surrounded by triggers that react to the player's proximity with "running sand" sound effects of varying intensity.

Quotes
"Trigger are likewise friend and enemy. They can cause a disconnect or a reconnect.

Triggers in skillful hands, can cause wonderful miraculous things."

- ravingmadness "You could say the wms are triggered when they spot you..."

- DJ Thanos