Any plans to make a real Windows version?

[Rekrul]

I don't have a PS3. I was enjoying playing the flash version (downloadable copy) until I came here to the forum and found out that it was pointless, since there's no way to pass the second level.

Why not produce a real version for computers? Not everyone owns game consoles.

[thatflOwerguy]

You know there's a version for the PSP too right? (on both download and on UMD) Just checking

Although I highly doubt any new version of the game will come out, it was release what, 4-5 years ago now?

[Rekrul]

You know there's a version for the PSP too right? (on both download and on UMD) Just checking

What makes you think I own a PSP? Or that I want one? After all the crap Sony has pulled (rootkit on CDs, removing promised features from the PS3, their war against modders, etc) it'll be a cold day in hell before they get any of my money.

Although I highly doubt any new version of the game will come out, it was release what, 4-5 years ago now?

Well, it kind of sucks that that all the effort was put into the consoles and that the Flash version is nothing more than an incomplete demo on a system it's not even available for. There should be some kind of notice on it so that people who don't have a Sony system know not to waste their time playing it.

[thatflOwerguy]

Wow..... do you take any medication? I think you might need to continue doing so, if you do.
I gave a response, which was a fair response, there's no need to be THAT angry is there.

Sony have a 3 game contract with TGC (so Amish once told me, who will probably confirm this for me) so those games at least, are with Sony and Sony systems like PSN release on the PS3 and PSP only.

[Amish_Gramish]

Well, it kind of sucks that that all the effort was put into the consoles and that the Flash version is nothing more than an incomplete demo on a system it's not even available for. There should be some kind of notice on it so that people who don't have a Sony system know not to waste their time playing it.

Just hold your horses a little.
If it wasn't for Sony:
thatgamecompany wouldn't exist.
flOw would never have been anything other than part of (key word is part) Jenova Chen's thesis statement for graduating from college.
Flower would have never changed the minds of hundreds of thousands of gamers.
Journey would not have been made.
Many people would never have been touched emotionally by games.
And many more people would still believe that games can never be considered as art.

flOw wasn't made as a demo for the PS3/PSP versions, it was just made as a way to show the Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment system that Jenova was talking about in his thesis. flOw PS3/PSP came about when Sony signed a three game deal with TGC about Cloud, and there was no way that TGC could make Cloud PS3 with the knowledge that they had about working on the PS3 at that point.

Journey is the last game of thatgamecompany that's part of the three game deal with Sony, so just look out for any news regarding their fourth game and what it's going to be on. Who knows, it might be on the PS3 again, the 360, the Wii, the PC, or even some crazy futuristic video game console.

And you should play Cloud. It's another game that Jenova Chen came up with when he was back at USC. It's also a "full" game, but keep in mind it was made by college students and even though it has something like 400,000 downloads, it doesn't have an 8-10 hour storyline like games that people pay $60 for.

Here's the download link:
http://download.cnet.com/Cloud/3000-755 ... 16843.html

[Rekrul]

I know this is an old post, but I never came back here to read the replies. Recently someone told me that there was a Windows version of FlOw, so I came to check it out. Unless I'm mistaken, it seems to be nothing more than the Flash version packaged with a player.

Just hold your horses a little.
If it wasn't for Sony:
thatgamecompany wouldn't exist.
flOw would never have been anything other than part of (key word is part) Jenova Chen's thesis statement for graduating from college.

Did Sony also impose the restriction that FlOw be a console exclusive and not come out for any other system?

If so, all I can say is that console exclusives suck. There is is a long list of games that I would happily buy if I could run them on a computer. But I can't because they're "exclusives".

If Sony didn't impose that condition, then I have to wonder why the developers didn't port the full game to other systems and increase their potential sales.

Flower would have never changed the minds of hundreds of thousands of gamers.
Journey would not have been made.
Many people would never have been touched emotionally by games.
And many more people would still believe that games can never be considered as art.

FlOw is a beautiful art game. Too bad it can't be played on anything but Sony consoles.

flOw wasn't made as a demo for the PS3/PSP versions, it was just made as a way to show the Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment system that Jenova was talking about in his thesis.

Maybe not, but that's what it's become. It's pointless to play the Flash version, or the downloadable Windows version, because after a certain point, there's nothing more to do. It's like playing a game of Space Invaders where after you clear the second wave, the game just sits there. It doesn't continue, it doesn't end, it just goes into limbo. It's pointless.

Journey is the last game of thatgamecompany that's part of the three game deal with Sony, so just look out for any news regarding their fourth game and what it's going to be on. Who knows, it might be on the PS3 again, the 360, the Wii, the PC, or even some crazy futuristic video game console.

If it's on a game console, I won't be playing it. Besides the fact that I dislike how today's consoles are completely tied to their online services (an online component is fine as an option, but consoles today virtually require it), I hate gamepads with a passion. I'm right-handed. I write with my right hand, I use a mouse with my right hand, I grew up in the 80s playing video games primarily with my right hand. Every single modern game console forces you to primarily use your left hand to control the game. I've never seen the PS3 version of FlOw or read anything about it, but there's no doubt in my mind that you steer your creature using either the D-Pad (left side) or the left thumbstick, with absolutely no option to use the right one for steering. This is the way every single console game is programmed.

Trying to play games this way is incredible awkward for me. I've tried to get used to it ever since the NES came out and I can't. It's like asking you to write with the wrong hand.

Gamers today will swear up and down that gamepads are designed for right-handed players. Give them an NES and an NES Advantage joystick and they will proclaim that it's a right-handed controller while happily using their left hand on the stick. Hand these same people a third-party Atari compatible joystick that is usable with either hand and virtually all of them will grip the stick with their right hand. For some reason, I seem to be the only person in the world who sees the contradiction in this. Strangely, you never hear left-handed players complain that game controllers don't have the movement controls on the right. In fact, left handed players of retro games will often complain that they can't use the stock Atari joysticks because they're meant for right handed people. I'm confused, if it's supposedly natural for right-handed people to control a game's movement with their left hand, shouldn't it be natural for left-handed people to control a game's movement with their right hand? I'm also the only person in the world who sees this contradiction as well.

And you should play Cloud. It's another game that Jenova Chen came up with when he was back at USC.

Cloud might be great, but it's not the game I want to play. I loved FlOw's look, sound and game mechanics. I want to play FlOw. I'm never going to own a PS3 or a PSP and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to play FlOw anyway (see above).

[Klowny]

I'm right-handed. I write with my right hand, I use a mouse with my right hand, I grew up in the 80s playing video games primarily with my right hand. Every single modern game console forces you to primarily use your left hand to control the game. I've never seen the PS3 version of FlOw or read anything about it, but there's no doubt in my mind that you steer your creature using either the D-Pad (left side) or the left thumbstick, with absolutely no option to use the right one for steering. This is the way every single console game is programmed.

Trying to play games this way is incredible awkward for me. I've tried to get used to it ever since the NES came out and I can't. It's like asking you to write with the wrong hand.

Gamers today will swear up and down that gamepads are designed for right-handed players. Give them an NES and an NES Advantage joystick and they will proclaim that it's a right-handed controller while happily using their left hand on the stick. Hand these same people a third-party Atari compatible joystick that is usable with either hand and virtually all of them will grip the stick with their right hand. For some reason, I seem to be the only person in the world who sees the contradiction in this. Strangely, you never hear left-handed players complain that game controllers don't have the movement controls on the right. In fact, left handed players of retro games will often complain that they can't use the stock Atari joysticks because they're meant for right handed people. I'm confused, if it's supposedly natural for right-handed people to control a game's movement with their left hand, shouldn't it be natural for left-handed people to control a game's movement with their right hand? I'm also the only person in the world who sees this contradiction as well.

I'm right-handed.

My guitar is a right-handed instrument. The fingerboard is worked with my left hand. The required dexterity falls to the left hand. All my right hand does is pluck the strings.

If I read Marvel Comics I don't complain about them not having Superman and Batman.

[thatflOwerguy]

I've never seen the PS3 version of FlOw or read anything about it, but there's no doubt in my mind that you steer your creature using either the D-Pad (left side) or the left thumbstick, with absolutely no option to use the right one for steering. This is the way every single console game is programmed.

flOw doesn't use either stick, it uses the controllers tilt system to move around.
So that lack of doubt perhaps should have been there, and it seems not every single console game IS programmed that way huh?

[Rekrul]

My guitar is a right-handed instrument. The fingerboard is worked with my left hand. The required dexterity falls to the left hand. All my right hand does is pluck the strings.

I don't play guitar, but that always seemed strange to me as well.

If I read Marvel Comics I don't complain about them not having Superman and Batman.

Yes, but comic characters aren't known for appearing under different brands. Video games have a long history of appearing on different systems.

In the good old days, you could get a version of most games for the C64, Atari (2600, 5200, 8-Bit), Apple, Colecovision, etc. Even today, many popular games are available for Sony, Xbox and Windows.

By not porting FlOw to computers, the developers have turned their backs on a new source of potential customers. I'd buy a copy if it was a complete game.

[ShiraCheshire]

Rekrul... Just take a deep breath, and feel the calm :)
You seem to have a lot of anger towards Sony. Just remember: Sony is not a person. Sony is a business, made up of many many people. Are some of those people the type that you would be completely justified in being angry at? Yes. Are all of them? Of course not.
I understand you being upset that you don't have a console to play games you want. I've been there. There will always be console exclusives though. If you refuse to buy a console or can't afford one, you have to accept that you won't be able to play some games. You have every right to boycott the bus, but it's a bit silly to then get angry that you have to walk to work, if you understand what I mean.