I played Flower years ago when it first released. It was my first real experience with the SIXAXIS controller, and I wasn’t much of a fan. However, I liked how soothing and calm the game was (until level 5, ya jerks) so I completed it. I think I scored two trophies, the two that are given to you after the first level, and I put it away, never to play again. However, it didn’t stop me from picking up the game when it re-released on Vita. If anything, I just wanted to support thatgamecompany for their unique perspective on games. I loved Journey, and I thought maybe I’d give Flower another shot.
Fast forward a couple of years later, and I decided this weekend was going to be that shot. I enjoyed it far better this time around than I did back then (call it gaming maturity, if you will), and I have 95% of the trophies. I’m not going for that last one, because fuck playing level 5 completely unscathed. I was so close and then an electrical wire crashed down on me in the canyon. Whoever decided to make that a trophy, you suck.
The coolest moment while playing, however, did not come from securing that last trophy I was seeking. It instead came from the credits level, where you bloom flowers to release credits names to the stars. I thought this was an awesome way to do credits back in 2009, and while I still think so, I found something far more intriguing.
One of the developers is the son of a friend of mine. My eldest son goes to school with this friend’s twin sons. The twins are my son’s best friends, so we see this family a lot. It helps they live really close by. One of the first times I visited their house, they asked me what I did for a living, and at the time, video games was my main job (back in those Action Trip days). The dad said, “Oh hey my eldest son works in video games. Have you heard of thatgamecompany?” I was pretty much, “Uh, yeah, I love that studio.”This past summer, they hosted a July 4th party and this game developing son was there, Nicholas Clark. He and I talked a bit about the industry, how awesome Austin Wintory is, and what he was doing now, since he had just left thatgamecompany.
When I picked up Flower over the weekend, I knew there was a chance I’d see his name in the credits, even though I had no idea when he started there. He might have only worked on Journey, for all I knew. Nope, there was his name, right by Jenova Chen’s flower!
I had my, “How cool!” moment and then continued on to release more names into the stars. It’s when I rolled into the Special Thanks section I nearly fell over in shock. Evidently Nicholas’s special thanks went to his sisters and brothers, who are listed in the top image. Alex and Jonathan are my son’s best friends.
I replayed the level almost immediately, called for my son to come watch, and then took as many screenshots as possible. How awesome is that a developer thanked his brothers and sisters? His dad was not in the credits, but knowing Jim the way I do, he wouldn’t have wanted to be mentioned in a video game. Alex and Jonathan, though? If they don’t know already, they’ll be thrilled.
So hey, if you get the urge to replay Flower, maybe these names will mean a little something to you now too.
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