 Journey is an indie video game developed by Thatgamecompany and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 . It was released on March 13 , 2012 , via the PlayStation Network . 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 . The only form of communication between the two is a musical <unk> . This <unk> also transforms dull , stiff pieces of cloth found throughout the levels into vibrant red , affecting the game world and allowing the player to progress through the levels . The robed figure wears a trailing scarf , which when charged by approaching floating pieces of cloth , briefly allows the player to float through the air . The developers sought to evoke in the player a sense of <unk> 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 . 
