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Flower dev talks next PS3 game, Natal

By Guy Cocker, GameSpot UKPosted Jul 15, 2009 5:42 am PT

DEVELOP '09: thatgamecompany creative director Jenova Chen says his new Sony project will be non-traditional a la flOw, says Microsoft tech is "huge step."

BRIGHTON, UK--Even in an industry that relies on risk taking and novel concepts, Jenova Chen is in a fairly privileged position. At only 28, the creative director of thatgamecompany has complete creative freedom in his projects, thanks to a three-game deal that he struck with Sony. His first two games, flOw and Flower, have both offered unique game experiences, and his third game aims to continue his track record of innovation. He talked about all of these issues at the Develop conference in Brighton today and answered some questions about his development ethos.

Jenova Chen at Develop 09.

While he didn't leak any specifics about his next project, Chen did offer the slightest of hints. "It's really early in the process, a totally different game, but a natural extension of what will come after flOw or Flower. I can't use a first-person shooter engine to make this game," he joked.

Chen also let slip that he was having some slight technical limitations in terms of building the game with Sony, although he did say that the publisher enforced absolutely no creative restrictions on his games. He also claimed he was interested in the possibilities offered by Microsoft's Xbox 360 Natal technology. "It seems like Natal makes a huge step that I wouldn't have expected this year," he said.

Of course, most of his lecture centered on Flower, and although the session was titled "Games and Art," he spent little time talking about the latter. "I'm not an artist, I'm a computer science guy," said Chen, addressing the criticism that some of his games may be overly pretentious. "Art is a component with an input and an output," he claimed, showing graphs that focused far more on emotional involvement than artistic desire. Talking specifically of Flower, he plotted out the emotional intensity that he wanted players to experience in the game, and then told his artists and musicians to make visuals and music to fit.

Talking about his lucrative three-game deal with Sony, Chen claims that he originally tried to sign up with all the major Western publishers, but it eventually came down to Sony and Nintendo. His student game, Cloud, was originally shopped around, but it was only when Chen showed Sony flOw--a game he developed in three months as a side project--that Sony became interested. "Sony is very serious about games as adult entertainment," he said.

Questioned about exploring new emotions, such as love and hate, Chen claimed that he was interested in the whole range. "I love games about hatred," he noted. "God of War is a great game about hatred."

Jenova Chen provides an overview of the gameplay in Flower

63 Comments

  • Ryusennin

    Posted Jul 19, 2009 9:22 am PT

    @ Salarian

    I stopped taking you seriously when you tried to compare Prototype and inFamous. Then reading again your previous posts, I had a very good laugh.

  • SalarianChemist

    Posted Jul 17, 2009 12:46 pm PT

    Chrysus,

    Now lets look at the PS3 games you mentioned, and how I rated them.

    Uncharted - I rate it 7 since it's short compared to other games in its genre. There's no co-op mode, even though this game would benefit from co-op; it felt lacking. Once you beat it, there wasn't a reason to keep playing. This game is a great rental.

    Resistance 2 - I rated with a 7, but I have since tried to make it an 8. Gamespot doesn't allow a score to be changed. I originally thought the game didn't include co-op so I rated it a 7, but when I realized it did have Co-Op (unlike the first game) I tried to change the score, but I couldn't. Remember, Resistance is a series that falls behind games like Gears of War, Halo, and Call of Duty in the genre of "Shooter." So I believe 8 out of 10 is what the game deserves.

    InFamous - 7 is the score it deserves. The game is loaded with graphic glitches that are annoying. Poor sales of InFamous are further proof that people agree. This game series has some potential, but it isn't nearly as good as Prototype or Crackdown.

    Killzone 2 - 6 is the score Killzone 2 deserves. The disappointing sales of Killzone 2 are proof of this. Gamespot even pointed out that the newly released Killzone 2 was being outsold each month by Halo 3 -- a game that had been on the market for 21 months at the time. The lack of Co-Op in Killzone 2 is terrible for the 2009 era we live in, especially considering the first Killzone had split-screen co-op.

  • SalarianChemist

    Posted Jul 17, 2009 12:24 pm PT

    Lets look at the Xbox 360 games you mentioned and why I rated them with the scores.

    Mass Effect - I rated this a 10 because I believe it deserves such a high rating. Mass Effect won the award for Best Game of the Year and Best Action-RPG of the year from a countless number of websites, magazines, and newspapers. There is no doubt that Mass Effect is worthy of a score so high.

    Fable II - Fable is one of the most respected RPG series ever released. Fable II also won the award for Best Game of the Year, and it was actually included with the Xbox 360 for a time in the "Best Game of the Year" package. It deserves the score of 10.

    Left 4 Dead - I gave it a 10 because it deserves a 10. This is yet another game that won the award for Best Game of the Year.

    Gears of War 2 - This is the best Thrid-Person Shooter ever created, and has the best graphics of any console game released this generation. The inclusion of a 5-player Co-Op mode is amazingly fun! It deserves a rating of 10.

    Lips - I gave Lips a score of 9.5 because it is the best karaoke game I've ever played. It comes with the two best microphones ever seen in the videogame industry. The microphones are motion senstive and feature cool lights. This game deserves a score of 9.5.

    Star Ocean - Star Ocean is one of the most well respected JRPG game series. The week this was released in Japan, Xbox 360 sales outsold both the Wii and PS3. There is no doubt that Star Ocean deserves its rating of 9.5.

  • izmickey

    Posted Jul 16, 2009 10:37 pm PT

    @SalarianChemist

    I was just asking, its just i usually see you post very highly of xbox or microsoft and either put sony down or not mention it at all. Jimmy Fallon is only one guy, just because this ONE man was interested in natal, it doesnt make it a FACT that natal was a champion. Others might have found ps3;s eye more interesting. This is why i asked, you have to be open minded.

  • SalarianChemist

    Posted Jul 16, 2009 11:21 am PT

    @izmickey:

    The answer to your question is "No" I am not a fanboy in regards to one console or the other. I always give credit where credit is due, which tends to make people happy.

    Similarly, when making a comparison between two products there is always going to be one product that comes up short. As a result, people who disagree with me end up accusing me of being a fanboy. It's like this with all people in all industries.

    The simple fact is that Project Natal was the champion of the motion-sensitive controllers shown at the 2009 E3.

    Consider that Jimmy Fallon invited the creators of Project Natal on his show because he was so impressed with what he saw at the 2009 E3. Jimmy Fallon didn't invite the creators from Sony, because he wasn't as impressed as he was with Project Natal. This is just a simple fact; it doesn't mean that Jimmy Fallon is a "fanboy."

  • lamprey263

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 8:54 pm PT

    I liked both flOw and Flower, they may be cheap downloads but they're really cool

  • Cheesehead9099

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 8:27 pm PT

    Well the flower game was kind of weird but pretty cool, so his next game must be awesome. As for the Natal thing, dont really care, never was into motion controls.

  • DeanoFantasy

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 7:54 pm PT

    Not everyone has the space in their bedrooms to project the interactive image the Natal demonstration video showed us I know I don't have room to jump around and duck and act crazy on a skateboard etc either way it would be interesting but I personally think this project Natal will be somewhat dumb-down to suit everyone's needs to make more people enjoy interactive games in the future, like say my grandad would like it but not something that's physical but something like an interactive puzzle game etc.

    It will be interesting to see what Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony come up with over the next few years, I know Sony have made some TV's with 3D technology built in ready so it would be good to see this in games in the future

  • NuKkU

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 5:49 pm PT

    Natal wont be in all games its impossible right now theres no way it can do FPS and most genres plus i rather have a controller in my hand i hate motion controllers its not just Natal i hate the Wii and i hate the new motion controller that Sony is making

  • izmickey

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 4:52 pm PT

    I just realized something. How can it tell when we shoot, or the distance or height to which we can throw grenades? Its hard imagining how it'll be integrated into FPS's like halo games like gears of war.

  • BladeTrinity114

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 4:46 pm PT

    Natal is cool but I am just wondering how it is going to work on games like FPS'. It just won't be able to do it. Thats why I prefer Sony's offering.

  • hatieshorrer

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 4:33 pm PT

    Im not surprised Chen clearly knows a good thing when he sees it Natal is a Huge evolution in video game controllers but unless MS bundles Natal with a X360 I think the original Natal will do poorly.

  • brendanhunt1

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 3:59 pm PT

    now i found and read the article, forget about point two.

  • MassacreMonk

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 3:08 pm PT

    Half of the people here praising Natal, won't even buy it.

  • brendanhunt1

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 2:53 pm PT

    @SalarianChemist
    5."Sony's developers were clearly embarrassed on the stage when the audience was so disappointed."
    I didnt hear any "boo" in the audience.

    6."I can easily see why the employees at Sony would be talking about how impressed they are with Project Natal"
    ???

    7. reminder that the sony motion control was a prototype

  • brendanhunt1

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 2:42 pm PT

    @SalarianChemist
    1."the developers couldn't even hit a bowling ball with a tennis racket"
    the remote tracked his movments perfectly,the racket stayed within his hands. i was just him that coundn't hit the ball.

    2. no one would ever use Natal with their pc.

    3.although i was impressed with Project Natal i woundnt call it precise and accurate. it was abit slow at tracking movments.

    4.Do you hate sony, not offending you but you always write negative things about them, i can't think of anything they could of done to anger people(except there exploding laptops)

  • Drkr_Zen

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 2:28 pm PT

    "Of course, most of his lecture centered on Flower, and although the session was titled "Games and Art," he spent little time talking about the latter."

    Get a clue, GS. Flower WAS art.

  • PSgamer99

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 2:09 pm PT

    seems like he was reluctant to work with sony, even though they were the only publisher that gave his company a chance

  • Zidaneski

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 1:48 pm PT

    Pshhh, I'm fine with any motion sensing stuff but only if I can use it while sitting down. Thinking how awesome Flower was with the motion controls I would love to see what he can come up with using natal or the wand thingie.

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