Faceplant (FP)

Faceplant is a trick commonly used by advanced players in which they make their Wayfarer falls face-first into the sand or onto anything else within the environment.

What is it?
You might have seen your companion stumble and fall on the ground with their face in the sand - that's the famous Faceplant.

The wind or an attack can make you fall too, but Faceplants are almost always deliberately done.

It's not too hard to learn - sometimes people are able to show companions "how to faceplant" in-game. Both need to be patient and observe each other's movements.

The faceplant is one of the major communication tools in Journey for regular players.

We really recommend learning the FP, especially if you would like to express that you are not the normal casual player.

What is it good for?
It can (and is) used as a sign to identify experienced players."newbie (EU): would you say, if you see someone faceplant upon meeting, you d assume they also can fancy fly and know about OOB? -InF- the Glue Stick™: Most likely, yeah. I can't ever recall meeting someone who faceplanted and didn't do those other two things as well."

- conversation on discord 2020-02-29

Some player do a Faceplant as a Reddie (Red Robe) to tell you "I might be red, but I can do fancy stuff".

FP is not only used for fun, but also to say:


 * I messed up
 * Hahaha we are failing
 * I need a short break
 * So much joy I fall on my face for you
 * Just lay here for a while and enjoy ("The soil truly is magnificent here, don't you think?")
 * Can you copy me? Do the same as I do --> FPJ


 * Have a look at the gallery, there are some images to show funny positions and other FP styles! Some Companions try to get certain poses, fall nearby the Companion, its a little game you can play, if your companion joins in...

Faceplanting is so much more than just falling.

General hints
Those are valid for any device, controller, keyboard or iOS.

It's recommended to use a controller anyways, but if you don't have a controller, Faceplanting is still possible using just the touchscreen (see "On iOS" below for some suggested methods).

As a starter tip, "Try to simulate that you are wiping some sticky dust off your screen and you should fall easily." Although it may work in some cases, it is not reliable and is very hard to do.

The 4 methods are for controller movements. The technique is the same for keyboard/mouse, but you will need to figure out how to imitate the movements, see Faceplant#Faceplant with mouse and keyboard.


 * Start with walking forward. This helps with:
 * Do not walk over your scarf
 * Try to keep your Journeyer in a straight forward position where its back faces you. If you walk sideways it will be very hard to get a FP. (Keeping your Journeyer straight seems to be harder on the PC version for some reason. )
 * Once you got the positioning right, do one of the 4 controller-methods explained below or the follow the recommendations for keyboard/IOS. Practice so you can transition immediately to the controller-method of your choice, with no pause after the walking.
 * As shown in the image below, the start point for the movements (left stick position) is always on top, because you start doing the movements while walking forward.
 * The movements need to be done real quick.
 * If you see yourself starting to fall you are on a good way, if you just stop walking or walking around it might be too slow. Start to fall means the Journeyer lifts a leg and bends forward.

The four methods explained:
Explanation starts at that moment when you feel ready to fall. See hints above.

The colored background circles show the full range the stick can go. Its not little movements, you need to be quick to do it.


 * 1) The half-circle method  A quick half circle downwards, followed by a wiggle to top and bottom again.
 * 2) The flick method  Just start wiggling quickly down and up. Some people said this version is harder/less reliable then method 3 or 4 for them.
 * 3) The circle pull method  One full circle, then pull down. Might be the most common used method.
 * 4) The spin method  Two full circles (end with a quick movement to the side). Twirl left stick really fast in circle. Need some forward motion.

Further hints:
"I am changing how i hold the controller when doing a faceplant.

The right hand holds the controller stable, grab the "handle on the bottom".

The left hand goes in a more horizontal position at the left stick. either thumb or the whole inner side of my hand touch the stick and wiggle it forward back (method 2).

I noticed that i used to pull camerastick down too and thought for long time that helps, but i think it just helped to grab the controller stronger to wiggle fast enough on left side. "

Video: FP spin method, circle-pull FPJ
and more in detail.

'''CAPTIONS REQUIRED (EN + JN + auto translate). Skip to 1:30.'''

Method 1:
Hold A to start walking left. Then, alternate between pressing D & A quickly. Holding D first then alternating between A & D also works. Unlike the second method, it can be done during cutscenes where the player has no control over the camera.

Method 2:
If mouse sensitivity is set to high and you also have enough space to move your mouse wildly, this is much easier than method 1. You hold W and spin the camera around the character by pushing your mouse to the left or right. This method is demonstrated in the video below.

Method 3:
I found that a fairly consistent way to faceplant with mouse and keyboard is walk forward with the camera forward, quickly turn the camera behind and back to the front and when you start to stumble press s.

IOS-SMALL-75x43.gif On iOS
"Still under investigation, seems to involve walking forward and then jiggling the walk button up and down, as opposed to side to side or in a circle. It doesn’t seem to require doing anything to the camera angle, but then again, I haven’t figured out an easily repeatable method yet."

- Binchiestboye

If moving the "walk" controls up and down doesn't work, you can Faceplant by making your Wayfarer walk forward, then quickly and with a large movement, rotate your "steering thumb" 1.5 circles around in either direction so your thumb ends at the bottom edge of your screen (essentially, the touchscreen version of a fifth Faceplanting method similar to the Spin method above - attribution for this method to be added later). This method brings reasonably consistent results with some practice.

Reversed Faceplant / Backplant
At some places the wind throws you on the back, let's call this reversed faceplant, although its not triggered like the normal FP. Related to the Backplant is The Tumbler, a trick that is possible at the same places where the Backplant happens.

Drunken Faceplant
Faceplant at certain places where you do FP but it looks like it throws you delayed to the ground. Very fast from standing to laying, as if the ground became magnetic.

Works at stairs and thresholds. List needs to follow...

Quotes
"Imagine a culture where a standard form of greeting was to fall on your face- wait."

- rebmakash, 2020-04-26 on discord

"I learnt to faceplant

And now I can't stop

No one should have that kind of power"

- Ehnila, 2020-06-19 on discord

""Faceplant Jump Syndrome" community: "Read my FP, face planting is a sophisticated way of self expressing, its interpretation is highly contextual" :D"

- Funny definition of faceplant at the PS4 forum

"Thats so cool!!! I probably stared at the downed body for like ten minutes hahaha I thought the game was bugging out.

I'm so gonna try that next time!"

- anelrad on reddit, after finding a "dead body" and getting the explanation for it.