Development refers to the process of the making of Journey. During this process there were ideas, concepts, and various other things that had to be cut or changed before release, because they did not seem fit, didn't work out, or because of time constraints. Below is a list of changes during development, until the release of Journey.
Characters[]
- The protagonist went through a number of major revisions starting as a very detailed "ninja warrior" and gradually transformed into a simple, almost abstract figure found in the final version.
- Ancestors in beta version had a glowing symbol on their chest. These symbols can still be found in game files but are not used in the final version. Details can be found in the Symbols article.
Gameplay[]
After release, some patches improved the gameplay.
See Dive Boost (DB)#Trivia, to learn more about intended flying techniques.
Environment[]
. . .
Story[]
// Not sure where to put this, but here is an interesting comparison of how the story, the mood and the landscape all intertwine in Journey:
The Three Act Structure (story)
The cross-section (art)
The actual cross-section / path (levels)
Unused Glyphs[]
There are two unused texture files that each show an alternate set of glyphs; these files give some clues on how the story developed. They include images that give better details on how the war machines work, how the land got covered in sand, and even the six Ancestors with their name symbols showing.
 Unused murals, with the transparent background replaced with black
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There is also an unused Tower glyph. This glyph has a mix of dark and light colors (suggesting that it might be unfinished), and shows different terrain that what is used in the final version.
| Glyph appearance
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There's also another unused glyph which you can actually find in the tower OOB area.
| Glyph appearance
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Some early glyphs were included in the files on the PS3 public beta at one point or another, but apparently never made it into the files of any final release. They include early ideas like bird war machines and a rocket ship.
| Glyphs in beta update .pkg from June 22, 2011
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Ancestor symbols (beta version)[]
Journey game files also include three unusual symbols called "Graveyard", "Barrens", and "Desert" (shown below).
These symbols do not appear to be used in the final game. In Journey beta version they appear on the chests of the Ancestors in cutscenes.
Level symbols exist as 3D models rather than flat textures.
Developer mistakes[]
NOTE: Starting this section under Development as I can't think of a better place at this stage Qtzl3000 (talk) 02:44, 14 July 2021 (UTC)
The following elements can be found in the final version of Journey (checked on PS4 and PC), but are apparently mistakes made by the developers. They are not OOB and can be explored by players of any skill level.
- Chapter Select, alternative painting reveal sequence
- Broken Bridge, Invisible ancestor gravestone near the HL (right side).
- Pink Desert, terrain shadow for non-existing rock (Glyph ruin, on the east side of the map).
- Underground, red glow in the corridor after Ambush WM (described in the OOB article).
- Tower, misplaced sound effect on one of the metal grates (the one facing the first symbol) and some other grates
- Tower, misplaced camera adjustment trigger in the north-west chamber near the top of the tower.
- Snow, incorrect textures on WM wings (first WM ruins after the bridge).
- Credits, some of the stars may appear in front of the mountain not behind it (sunrise scene at the very end).
Chapter Select, alternative painting reveal sequence[]
An incomplete version of the first Secret Painting reveal cutscene was left in the game. The sequence consists of a special sound effect and camera movements but no actual painting is revealed.
To activate this version, go to the broken temple on the east side of the map where the secret painting is revealed, and chirp 31 times (long chirps). This can be done from either side of the wall so long as you're close enough to the hidden marker that counts chirps.
The video below shows this sequence:
This was probably one of the work-in-progress versions of the sequence, and the number of chirps could be used to choose which version would activate: a version with one chirp would be the "current" version, and a "backup" version would be set to a much higher number to avoid activation whilst keeping both sequences in the game.
Broken Bridge, shadows not like bridge parts[]
Missing bridge shadow on the west side (first bridge OOB). Other bridge shadows are not realistic in the game either.
“
If the Sun was where it is in the game the shadows would be much longer and flatter (and at a different angle too).
But if I use the last platform as reference we can see that the shadows are all over the place.
„
— Qtzl3000
See image, that shows shadows "as they should be".
Pink Desert, shadow cast by non-existing ruin[]
This mistake can be found in Pink Desert on the east side of the level where one of the two Glyph ruins is located. Look carefully at the shadows next to it. One part of the shadow is cast by a non-existent piece of the wall that was removed in the final version. Remnants of that wall can still be found in Level 9.
Misplaced shadow as seen in-game
Same area in Level 9 (working PD version)
Full ruin as seen in Public Beta
Tower, misplaced grate sound effects[]
When the wayfarers walk on metal their footsteps make a distinct sound. In the Tower level, one of the trigger regions controlling this effect is misplaced: the metal platform near the bottom (the one that points to the first secret symbol) is horizontal but its sound effect box is placed diagonally as if the platform broke off. As a result of that, only a small section of the platform furthest from the center makes the intended metal grate sounds whilst most of the length sounds like regular stone. The video below explores this effect:
Perhaps at some point that platform was meant to be broken (like the first one to the left of the first shrine) but this was changed later on and the associated trigger box didn't get updated.
An interesting consequence of this misplaced trigger box is that the metal grate sound effect can also be heard on the little roof near the start of the platform as demonstrated in the video.
Other similar mistakes[]
Sound effect boxes are also misplaced on various other elements in this level:
- Sound effect boxes are also misplaced on some of the lantern platforms at the top of the tower, and they are completely missing on the platforms further up above each lantern (except the last one which the player is expected to step on normally).
- Missing sound effects on two small grates on the top platform
- Effect boxes span beyond the grates boundary in central galleries (big grates in the middle)
These effects are easy to observe but may not be obvious at first without headphones.
Tower, unused camera adjustment[]
Journey uses various camera adjustments (called "hints") to subtly influence the player's visual experience. One such case is zooming in slightly in front of secret paintings or when walking into teleport chambers in Chapter Select.
The same effect can be observed in the north-west gallery at the top of the tower: when walking into the central part of the gallery the game adjusts the camera similar to Chapter Select, but there are no other triggers or effects in the chamber. All the other similar chambers in the tower are completely inactive, so this is most likely an oversight (in fact, the trigger ID in the Tower chamber has the same ID as one of the camera adjustment triggers in Chapter Select suggesting that the elements were "copy-pasted" from there).
The video below shows the location and the effect:
The effect is subtle but clearly visible (best experienced if walking from the inside of the chamber towards the entry, looking at the wayfarer from the side as demonstrated in the preceding video).
The shape and size of the camera trigger match the octagon in the middle of the chamber, but the trigger is somewhat misplaced: it's located closer towards the entrance and only covers half of the octagon on the floor.
Incorrect textures on WM wings[]
This mistake can be observed in the Snow level. Right after crossing the cloth bridge, as you enter the Patrol Field walk past the Whistling Stone and inspect the two War Machine wings lying in the snow. These wings use a wrong texture (War Machine body) and as a result some defects can be observed if looking carefully. Most notably, grate patterns on the side of the wings are misplaced (these grates are normally used on WM body and head segments).
There are two more wings further in the same valley which also use incorrect base textures, however those are a different model and the defect is almost unnoticeable in-game because of snow. Curiously enough, the first two wings are both right wings (GuardianWingR in game files) and the two further in the valley are both left wings (GuardianWingL).
These four wings are the only four WM wings (out of 61) in the entire game that use incorrect base textures and are apparently an oversight. Since these wings are mostly covered in snow and use a similar albeit wrong texture, they appear normal at first sight which is probably why this mistake wasn't spotted by the developers or testers.
The screenshots below show the best view of the WM wings with incorrect texture, and a regular WM wing for comparison.
Grate pattern
Solid
Isolated view
Levels[]
Broken Bridge[]
As seen in the video "Journey: Public Beta", there were more stones to activate the vision. After the last stone at the right you can still find one of those, though it is invisble. Related: Developer mistakes.
From Broken Bridge trivia:
- In the original concept, this area was called "Waterfall".
- The infinite sliding around in the sand might be also a left over from early game development: The Story of Journey, Youtube video.
Pink Desert[]
The released game ships with Level_Bryan aka Level09 which is a copied snapshot of Pink Desert circa mid-2011, it was supposed to be used with credits but ultimately the idea scrapped early and they've forgotten to remove the level, we can see many aspects from the public beta here albeit a little altered. Since it's playable via save editing please refer to Level_Bryan for more information on the level itself.
Paradise / Credits[]
Mask drops on the left side.
Mask dropping animation[]
Fellow traveller "Alazar88" experimented with the code of the game and found unused triggers. Those reveal a hidden set of unique objects and animate them, adding a subtle but significant event to the final cutscene if they're triggered at the start of the "End Animation" timeline.
As your wayfarer walks into the light, they appear to drop their mask on the ground. The mask's eyes have a glow effect, although it's the kind that disappears when the camera gets close, so it's not really visible when zooming in to see the mask clearly.[1]
Sources[]
Information about Journey development, art, ideas and changes has been collected from a variety of sources, some of the most significant ones are listed below:
- Developer's gameplay commentary on PS3 Collector's Edition DVD (playlist): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzAuaNl2-0PY0nbYaAGO5LTjVuZt_PrU3
- The Road Less Travelled, The Making of Journey from PS3 Collector's Edition DVD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UpewuVnLuU
- Preview and Beta footage (including in-game and early trailers / pitch videos)
- Journey concept trailer (2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI9EIlSD1HI
- Journey prototypes and early builds footage (playlist): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdfzpkmmLqU&list=PLvsjJ4xD-kloD-N30yBOoUPAZTrX3fpR8
- Journey first official trailer (late 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL-fRYM8x4Q
- Journey Game Talk - Interview Video (June 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD4AJdDDymU
- Journey Gamescom trailer (August 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0CFTmdZgmc
- Beta Underground footage (late 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4O_8dVbcaU
- Closed Beta playthrough (playlist): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL52DA53BD38C9F80E
- Journey Trailer - A Musical Journey (January 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNHtReya_p0
- Journey Development Diary (March 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shdlJ6pJ3sk
- Journey Launch trailer (March 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61DZC-60x20
- Game Developer Conference presentations:
- Jenova Chen, "Designing Journey": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGCkVHSvjzM
- Matt Nava, "The Art of Journey": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoHrwAacTwo
- John Edwards, "Sand Rendering in Journey": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt2yYnBRD3U
- Robin Hunicke (producer) at GameCity festival in Nottingham UK; October 26th 2011: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KasceIfLySg
- The Inspiring Story of Journey Creator Jenova Chen (IGN Unfiltered #27): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zJdF0z2ppU
- Theories about Journey (Jenova Chen's D.I.C.E 2013 Keynote speech): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S684RQHzmGA
- The Art of Journey art book (978-0985902216)
- JOURNEY - Complete score with text commentary (by Austin Wintory): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAw87rrzBhY
Videos, Documentaries about Journey Development[]
Journey™: Public Beta - Full Walkthrough[]
The video was uploaded to YT on 2011-07-12.
Journey Debut Trailer[]
The video is a reupload of a trailer from E3 2010
Some of the sources above have been edited together in this video by Tonton Hazuki:
The story of Journey - Artworks, prototypes, beta,[]
commented by thatgamecompany developers.
2019-05-31
Why Journey's last song was the hardest to compose[]
2019- 11-18
How Journey Was Made and Why The Developer Went Bankrupt[]
2020-03-15
- ↑ '''Alazar88''', 2021-10-15 on Discord #history-lesson.