Journey

This week I would like to talk about a video game I played recently that really seems to channel an American Indian spirit and reminds me a lot of some of the folklore we have read in class.  The game is called Journey and it was developed by Thatgamecompany.  I'll break down the similarities into sections and provide video examples demonstrating each one.
     The first thing I notice is a general spiritual nature to the narrative.  Like the trickster tales and some of the other stories we've heard, Journey is light on logic but heavy on imagery and meaning.  We see lots of shape shifting energies and forces but we aren't provided with explanations.  Although the art style for the game is primarily influenced by Egyptian and Tibetan structures, I really feel like the nature of the 'journey' itself as well as the threats the protagonists face fits into an American Indian vein.  Cut scenes are shown to us with simple pictograms portraying the nature of the character's travels.  As far as I can tell, the ultimate goal is to attain entrance to a spiritual realm.  here is a cut scene that reminds me both of Chauvet cave and the simple illustrations from the trickster tales.
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izfG8C9yh1E
     Next I would like to mention the presence of the serpent as something associated with life and the supernatural.  As we've discussed before in class, many non-western traditions have positive serpent representations that were sort of buried in Adam and Eve stories.  Journey, interestingly, combines these two interpretations.  The serpent flies through the sky, wields great power, and contains life energy, but in a Western sense that energy is a perverted refined version of natural life.  Observe the ancient and powerful serpents of journey (which look again, very much like cave paintings).  (The serpent rises from its grave five minutes and fifteen seconds in)
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXRjrENlwSg&feature=relmfu
     Now the biggest part of this game that contains an American Indian influence, in my interpretation, is the multiplayer component of the game.  Now, normally in an online game, players are oriented aggressively towards other players.  It's some kind of shooting deathmatch.  Even if you have teammates, there are ways for them to bother you.  Their names hang above their heads as identifiers, their voice (insults and all) can come screaming through your TV if that player is wearing a headset with a microphone, and if they decide to be a jerk they can just kill despite the fact that you've been assigned as teammates.  Journey is different because it focuses on the bonding experience of human contact rather than the competitive part.  So if we divide this among the lines we've been using through out this class, normal multiplayer would be a highly European idea of competition.  In Journey's multiplayer, a nameless human can be dropped into your world through an internet connection.  You can only whistle to them, they can't hurt you, and you aren't even required to stay together.  This strips the players of all discernible qualities.  By doing so, they remove everything you might dislike about someone.  You become, simply, two beings with the common goal of reaching your destination.  By making you a blank slate, the game also reflects the broad characteristics of characters in Native American tales.  You are now the 'first man' or 'first woman' we've read about.  In fact, it's even less than that because you cannot tell the sex of your character.
     The game urges you to bond with another person, to walk close to them, to playfully whistle and lead them to things you've discovered.  At the very end, the new relationship you have formed is symbolized by walking through a gradually narrowing crevice, which forces both of your silhouettes to become one.  The crevice seen I was talking about can be seen four and a half minutes in.  (I encourage everyone with a PS3 to purchase this game, it's the most beautiful game ever made and the only to reflect this very nonwestern mode of goal seeking)
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD1tkTQD708