thatgamecompany: Eight USC Alumni Creating Experimental Video Games for the SONY Playstation 3 Network

December 12, 2007

thatgamecompany was founded in the Spring of 2006. Their focus is to create video games that communicate different emotional experiences the current video game market is not offering. They encourage innovation and experimentation and believe that their creative games will appeal to new, yet untapped, audiences.

The company is currently comprised of eight like-minded game makers, and earlier this year they completed their first commercial title, "flOw," downloadable for the Playstation 3, through the Playstation Network. "flOw" PS3 became a somewhat controversial title, as critics debated whether it was a game or not, and reaffirmed for some members in the game community that games are, in fact, art.

Through their games, the USC alum that have gone on to become thatgamecompany have also been a leading force in the new surge of independent game development. Promoting innovative games being made on the indie scene and offer a much wider range of content, thatgamecompany is working to push the boundaries of the medium.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominated flOw / thatgamecompany in the Innovation category. "flOw" has also been named a finalist for the Eighth Annual Game Developers Conference, read about their nomination here.

TGC's second title 'Flower' was also named Game Pro's Best of E3 2008.

All of the members of the thatgamecompany team are USC alumni:
Kellee Santiago (MFA '06, Interactive Media)
Jenova Chen (MFA '06, Interactive Media)
Martin Middleton (BS '06, Computer Science)
Rick Nelson (BS '03, Computer Science, MFA '07, Interactive Media)
Vincent Diamante(BA Electro-Acoustic Media'04, MFA '07, Interactive Media)
Nick Clark (BS '07, Computer Science)

With all of their recent success, the thatgamecompany team has been very busy. Kellee Santiago took some time to speak with USC Stevens about their innovative gaming work. Read about what they have done, what they are doing, and what comes next.

Help us understand what you are up to (Describe your work / research):
thatgamecompany strives to develop games that explore different possibilities for what games could be, and what they could communicate as a medium.

This journey began during our time at USC, when a number of us got the opportunity through the USC/EA Game Innovation Grant to create a game called "Cloud." The goal for "Cloud" was to create a game that gave the feeling of being a child looking up at the clouds and daydreaming. You play as a boy who is trapped in a hospital and daydreams he can fly through the clouds. It is non-violent, there aren't many definitive goals it was an experiment to see what we could do differently in a game and still create a compelling experience.

The game was, and is still, available for download on the internet. And the response we received for "Cloud" was really incredible, far beyond what anyone was really expecting or hoped for. This experience really encouraged us to keep experimenting with game genre. The positive response to the game also caught the attention of a number of publishers, including Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc.

Suddenly, we had this opportunity to make a living creating the new types of games we were interested in, as well as the ability to continue to experiment with game design, all in collaboration with a major publisher on their new platform (the Playstation 3). Sony offered us a 3-game deal, in which we would create our own studio, but work in their offices alongside experienced professionals, and in exchange we would develop three games for their downloadable distribution format, the Playstation Network. We just couldn't pass this up!

We've since developed our first PSN title, "flOw." "flOw " is a game about piloting an aquatic organism through a surreal biosphere where players consume other organisms, evolve, and advance their creatures into the abyss. It began as part of Jenova Chen's USC MFA thesis project on applying the psychology theory of "Flow" to games. It's a very relaxing game . . . called a "Zen" game. We are currently developing our second game for Playstation Network, titled "Flower."

What drives you to continue pursuing this area of study?
Games are still a relatively young medium, only 40 years old! The rules on how to make a game or what works in a game are still evolving, and it's extremely exciting to be a
game-maker in this environment. As video games as entertainment evolves, its audience is also growing and maturing, and we're starting to ask "What else is out there? What else can we do with games?"

Describe how your work might impact people's lives, now and in the future.
For our audiences, we hope to show possibilities for video games they haven't thought of. Interactive media as a whole is very powerful; as an artist, you are combining visual, audio, and interaction, creating an experience that reaches your audience in a way completely unique to video games. However, it's just now that video games are coming into their own as an expressive medium. The choices for experiences in video games in the past has been pretty limited, but that doesn't mean video games have to be that way thatgamecompany hopes to be an integral part of the change.

We also hope to inspire other developers to experiment with genres and create new types of games as well. As video games become popular media, developers have a responsibility to their audiences to provide them with a variety of experiences, not just the same games with simplistic themes over and over again.

Has anyone ever doubted that your idea could work? (Please elaborate.)
Oh my, yes! Although the rules for developing good games are still in their infant stages, the video game industry has been quite successful making the same kinds of games games based on competition, violence, and power plays for a number of decades. Until the recent explosion of digital distribution (through Wii Ware, Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, and countless internet sites), games were getting incredibly expensive to make. The more money it costs, the less risk you are going to take. So everyone doubted and still doubts if the kinds of games we are creating will work.

It's hard to push people out of their comfort zones, and we are absolutely including ourselves in this group. Sometimes we think what we are doing is great, and other times we think we are crazy. The thing is, you just don't know for sure if it works until lots of people play it. So we approach each project as an experiment.

What is the next step in the innovation process for you (and how might people help)?
Our next step is to refine our own process of developing experimental games, which we do with each game we develop. Another unfortunate side effect of creating innovative games is that there is no defined process of how to do it. It definitely brings to mind the adage, "If it were easy, everyone would be doing it." One of our goals is to refine our process so that we can teach others a viable method of completing and distributing games that are experimental.

What mistake taught you the most?
Developing flOw for the PS3 was an incredible learning experience. Then again, everyone says shipping your first title is always a huge milestone in one's game development career. Of course, you know there will be differences between working on a student project and shipping a professional product, but it's just one of those things you have to live through to truly understand! However, our goal is not just to make experimental games, but to discover a practical way of sustaining a studio making experimental games. So the experience of shipping flOw really got us a long way on that path.

What is the one innovation you can't live without?
Vitamin supplements. When you're a start up and crunching hard on a project, it's hard to get all your fruits and vegetables, but you can't afford to be sick!

Any tips for aspiring innovators?
The hardest part about wanting to do something innovative is that no one is going to just believe you. You have to prove it! So whatever your field is, learn how to quickly prototype ideas and gain the necessary skills to do so.

Three favorite things about LA:
LA has the highest concentration of game development studios.
The beach.
Awesome food.

Additional website links (to research center, company, etc.)

thatgamecompany Website: http://www.thatgamecompany.com

flOw PS3 Website: http://us.playstation.com/flOw

flOw Thesis Project Website: http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/flowing/

Cloud Website: http://thatcloudgame.com

BusinessWeek feature article January 14, 2008: A New Front In The Console Wars