Flower (video game)

Flower is a video game from Thatgamecompany, published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark designed it, and it launched on the PlayStation Network in February 2009. The game is a spiritual successor to Flow, a previous title by Chen and Thatgamecompany. Rather than aiming for challenge or traditional fun, Flower was built to stir positive emotions in the player. This approach came from Chen, who believed the main purpose of entertainment is the feelings it creates, and that most games cover a narrow emotional range. The development team treated their work as art, cutting any gameplay elements that didn't provoke the intended response.

In Flower, the player controls the wind by tilting the PlayStation 3 controller, guiding a single flower petal through the air. Flying close to other flowers makes them bloom, adding new petals to the player's trail. These actions also change the game world—reviving dead fields with color, activating wind turbines, or opening new areas. The game has no text or dialogue; its story unfolds through visuals and emotional cues. The music, composed by Vincent Diamante, shifts dynamically with the player's actions and the world's changes. There are no enemies, hit points, or time limits, and it's impossible to lose progress. A full playthrough takes about an hour.

The game is split into six main levels and a credits level. Each level is a flower in a pot on a city apartment windowsill; selecting it enters that flower's dream. The player's starting spot in each stage is near the end of the previous one, and over the course of the game, the player moves toward a distant city. Early levels focus on restoring life and color to the landscape. Later, the player flies through a nighttime field, lighting up strings of lights, and then enters a city full of menacing metal towers and washed-out buildings. The final two levels transform the city into a bright, cheerful place. As the player progresses, the city seen through the apartment window in the level selection screen becomes more vibrant. Finding three secret flowers in each level replaces the cityscape with a bright field and mountains. The credits level works like the main ones, but each flower reveals a name of someone involved in the game. The game includes PlayStation Network trophies, some objective-based and others focused on relaxi