In Journey, the player controls a robed figure in a vast
desert, traveling towards a mountain in the distance. Other players on
the same journey can be discovered, and two players can meet and assist
each other, but they cannot communicate via speech or text and cannot
see each other's names until after the game's credits. The only form of
communication between the two is a musical chime, which transforms dull
pieces of cloth found throughout the levels into vibrant red, affecting
the game world and allowing the player to progress through the levels.
The developers sought to evoke in the player a sense of smallness and
wonder and to forge an emotional connection between them and the
anonymous players they meet along the way. The music, composed by Austin Wintory,
dynamically responds to the player's actions, building a single theme
to represent the game's emotional arc throughout the story.
