The visual style of thatgamecompany's Journey is dominated by gentle slopes, clean lines and flowing capes. The story of how the game's art design coalesced, however, is peppered with rocky starts, bumps and sharp turns.

At GDC 2013, Journey art director Matt Nava presented the artwork he created during development and showcased how the characters, creatures, and architecture of the game evolved over time. 

It was an interesting talk, in part because Nava summarizes creative processes, inspirations, challenges, and constraints that were encountered while formulating the visual aesthetic of what would become an award-winning game that was lauded for its art style.

Now you can watch it again (or for the first time, if you missed it in person) for free on the official GDC Vault YouTube channel.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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