Flower

Gameplay
Flower was the second game created by thatgamecompany. The player starts off as a gust of wind that one flower petal is moving with. As the player reaches flowers on the ground, petals from that flower go with the player. The more petals the player has, the faster the player moves. When the player touches a flower in the middle of a circle of dead grass or near a dead tree or something, that thing is revived. It can also activate windmills or lights in some levels. Most levels have an objective of restoring life to all plants in the level.

The player moves the wind with the Sixaxis PS3 Controller. There are six main levels of Flower and one bonus level where the credits play. The player can speed up the wind by pushing any button on the controller. It is impossible to fail in a level. Levels take the form of dreams made by flowers. The wind has no hit points, the only thing that can happen is that some flowers leave the wind. There are no time limits so the player is free to explore and do whatever he or she wants to to find hidden trophies or just beat the game as fast as possible. There is no speech or story guidance throughout the game however in each level, the player starts close to where the previous level ended. In the credits level, the player hitting a flower results in a crew member's name appearing above it, until the end of the level where the camera zooms out and points skyward where credits roll as normal.

Production
Flower is a PS3 exclusive game that was announced on September 24, 2007 at the Tokyo Game Show and released February 12, 2009. It was designed by Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark. Jenova Chen was the creative director in the game, while Nicholas Clark was the lead designer. It was made in a unique genre of gaming to induce positive emotions. Unexpectedly, it was a huge success. The game was praised for its visuals and music, composed by Vincint Diamante, which has uplifting moments when the player does something good. Whenever a player hits a flower, there is one chime-like note of music which builds into a complicated melody when the player hits many flowers in a row. At the Spike Game Awards, it was named the "Best Independent Game of 2009," and it won the "Casual Game of the Year" award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. There are PSN trophies in this game. Chen described the game as "an interactive poem exploring the tension between urban and nature." Chen, who felt that the main goal of a video game should be to invoke emotions in its players. He wanted it to be a work of art, and not just a "fun" game for people to sit around and play.