Ok, so this is not really Japan related but I wanted to share this with my friends and those who perhaps appreciate the simple, clean aesthetics.
A week ago while stressing Japanese grammar, I found this very soothing and relaxing game called Flow. It is a flash-based game, played in a browser. Today I was amazed to see that Flow is being released as a PS3 title, with even better graphics and amazing gameplay.
A little more exploring and it turns out, “flow” is actually a concept defined in psychology:
Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields. (source: Wikipedia)
Not only is this game incredibly relaxing, but it is also so freshing to see that good games can be developed by independent developers and attract so much attention that they become mainstream on major platforms. Instead of solely focusing on next generation hardware, this game focuses on a simple concept and executes on it so well. Let’s hope we see more independent and creative titles from developers like this in the future.
If class / work / life / pets / whatever is stressing you out, go on and play flow. You won’t regret the experience.