Jenova Chen Quotes

I studied Computer Science when I was in my undergrad and minored in Digital Art & Design.

I don’t believe in a particular god, but I believe in the unknown. I believe that there’s something bigger than us.

Video games have always been a part of my life.

The struggle we went through in the last year of ‘Journey’ was pretty insane, and I think that is also why, when I was working on the struggle level, I was able to channel my own struggle into the game.

When I was a teenager, I felt my life was constrained by rules, school, my parents. I wanted to feel like I was empowered and different; that’s why superheroes, comics, manga, and video games filled my needs. When I got older, I realized power is not free; it comes with responsibility.

I would say ‘Flower’ had a story. It is told through the environment.

A strong story can move me to tears, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a science-fiction or fantasy world. It’s about what happens to a person, the choices they make. That’s what’s interesting.

If our games can help people, that’s the best reward we can get.

If you can imagine the delight of visiting a theme park where lasting memories are made, we envision ‘Sky’ will sometimes feel like that.

Seeing games become more of a young person thing, I feel like a toy I grew up with has been left behind. I don’t want to. I want this thing to be respected by adults. I want this thing to be growing with me. It’s important to have games that could be more nuanced and reflective of the real world and relevant to adults.

Thatgamecompany was founded with the philosophy that games are a form of entertainment, and entertainment is the food for emotion.

With ‘Journey,’ we created an emotional arc for two different scenarios. So, if you play alone, it’s a good game. You have what we think is a complete emotional arc. You will feel, I guess, a sense of transformation in the single-player. Because it’s a hero’s journey.

What I find the most interesting about games is the feeling of accomplishment. I think this is an emotion that cinema can’t do and books can’t do. You feel like you’ve personally accomplished something. You feel you get better at something.

Our vision is for games to offer a wide variety of different experiences and attract all kinds of gamers and nongamers.

The focus of ‘Flower’ is emotion and to make you feel peaceful.

If we can make great games for PS3 players… how many PS3 players are out there? If we can make great games for everybody, that’s a much bigger service. There’s no reason I shouldn’t do that.

‘Flower’ is about the sublime.

Humans are lazy but not stupid.

I feel like that nature has this great power.

I was not grown up in the U.S., nor in Japan. In order to create a video game that people around the globe can enjoy and relate to, I can’t draw things deeply rooted in the local culture that I’m not familiar with. That’s why we are not doing games about football or samurai.

For ‘Journey’ to create a sense of smallness and a sense of awe will encourage the players to be together and exchange emotions. When you put the two players together online and put them in a difficult environment, they will create a bond.

I was very impressed with the scope and scale and impact that came from originally one person making ‘Minecraft.’ It’s inspiring for me to think how our team can do more with less.

Every artist wants his or her work to connect with someone. I think that’s why people make art.

For adults to enjoy something, they need to have intellectual stimulation, something that’s related to real life.

When I designed ‘Flower’ I was thinking about making it a positive, almost like a self-healing experience. It’s like therapy.

Our goal is always to make games that can move people, that are designed for everybody so the whole family should be able to play it together, and that bring people together and really move them in a way.

Creativity is not talent but attitude.

At TGC, we are firm believers in the value of making games that respect our players.

I would rather see a game where you play to feel happier and to make other people like you and to make the people you care about happy.

I feel, as a game maker, we are responsible to make content that stretch the ruling structure and emotions so that everyone can enjoy.

I like technology, but the blockbuster games use it for the same thing over and over again.

A lot of the greatest artists, their work is always about life and the world. I think there needs to be that for video games.

In the free-to-play industry, the most money-making games are often coming from making people fighting against each other and really hating each other and wanting to revenge, so they spend more money to dominate.

A great painter can paint something really complex, but they can crystallize it into something really simple.

‘Cloud’ and ‘Flower’ are very much egocentric about my own expression. ‘Flow’ is more utilitarian, and ‘Journey’ is more about collaboration between various creative voices in the team.

‘Journey’ is a way for us to explore the crossing, the intersection of our lives between each other.

I just feel like I’m on a quest to fail if I try to even compete with myself.

When we approach games, we’re always emotional-focused, so if a free-to-play business model works against the emotion, we won’t use it. If it actually works well with the emotion, or if we can come up with a new way to do monetization that’s different and that’s unique for the game, I would go for that.

Each game we make, we like to introduce an emotion that is rarely experienced by gamers in the console game industry.

I always played games with my friends, but as I got older, my friends stopped playing.

I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.

There are many sides of the urban life that I dislike, but there are many sides I am deeply in love with and attached to.

Designing a game can be like a Japanese garden. It’s not what you put in but how much you take away.

I’m a perfectionist.