Thatgamecompany founder wants to make older players love games again

Jenova Chen, the man behind Flower and Journey developer thatgamecompany, wants to combat a trend of giving up and games as players grow older.

Speaking to [a]list, Chen spoke of his regret over one-time avid gamers losing interest in the hobby as they get older.

""We grew up with games, gaming is a very dear and important medium. But as we grow older, most of our friends stop playing games. They say 'I don't have time for this,'" he said.

"To me it felt really sad because the games that I really love are losing traction with people. Ten years ago when I came to the US I was hoping to crack the code and make games that still appeal to people who had grown up, who had given up games."

Chen said he had no idea how to achieve this goal at the time, but then he went to film school to study screenwriting and animation.

"The game industry is following the development path of the film industry. What I thought would be great if we can make people love games again. I want to see people coming back," he said.

Thatgamecompany's next project is still under wraps and at least two years away, but Chen has said he wants it to be accessible to the broadest audience possible and release on multiple platforms - hopefully because it's going to change the industry.

Thanks, GamesIndustry.