Platform: PC/Console Game

Flow is a simulation game created by Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark. It was originally released as a free flash game in 2006 as Jenova Chen’s master thesis project and received over 100,000 downloads within the first two weeks of its release. It has been played over 3.5 million times (as of 2008). It was reworked by Chen’s later company, Thatgamecompany, for release on the Playstation 3 in 2007.

In Flow, the player plays as an aquatic microorganism that evolves by consuming other microorganisms across a series of two-dimensional planes representing a surreal biosphere and abyss. The game’s design is based on Chen’s research into dynamic difficulty adjustment and on psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s theoretical concept of mental immersion or flow.

It has received multiple awards and has received widespread critical acclaim including being named Best Indie Games 2007 by Wired, becoming the number one downloaded PlayStation Network title in 2007, and receiving the Best Downloadable Game Award at GDC 2008. It is considered by many to be a work of art.

FEATURES

• Wide range of gameplay from simply swimming around to strategical evolving and intensive fighting for survival
• Small risk, small reward; Big risk, big reward
• Control the balance between speed and turning leaves space for hardcore player to master.

TEAM
Xinghan “Jenova” Chen
Nicholas Clark

Download the game, and learn more about its development on Jenova Chen’s website!