In a new Gamasutra interview, Thatgamecompany co-founder and Journey creative director Jenova Chen shares the major weakness he sees in the industry's approach to its audience.
May 18, 2012
In a new Gamasutra interview, Thatgamecompany co-founder and Journey creative director Jenova Chen shares the major weakness he sees in the industry's approach to its audience. His biggest complaint about games? "They are not good enough for adults," says Chen. "For adults to enjoy something, they need to have intellectual stimulation, something that's related to real life. Playing poker teaches you how to deceive people, and that's relevant to real life. A headshot with a sniper rifle is not relevant to real life." The issue, he believes, is one of depth. "Games have to be relevant intellectually," he says. "Can games make you and another human experience an emotion that's deep enough to touch adults?" He approached this goal with Journey's collaborative multiplayer, and he says that he will continue to pursue it: "Making emotional games and making them intellectually relevant; making games where people can connect and come together," he says, is what he plans to continue to do. In the new feature, he discusses the future of his studio, his other creative drives, and whether he'd ever consider building a game with a big team -- and it's live now on Gamasutra.
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