Most video game art books follow a certain template: Load up on concept art, show how the game evolved during production, add some commentary to connect the dots. Some lean more heavily on a studio’s history and others focus on technique, but it’s a proven formula that, in the best cases, has produced books that are themselves works of art.
I’ve been especially impressed by Thatgamecompany’s books over the years, though, because of what they’ve added to that template. Starting with The Art of Journey in 2012 and following with The Art of Sky in 2024, the studio has checked all the boxes you’d expect from an art book, then layered on custom interactive extras.
In The Art of Journey, that meant releasing an augmented reality companion app that let you see character models pop out of the book, and in The Art of Sky, it meant letting players scan a star to unlock a replica of the book in the game (which they could then use to learn about the game’s development from within the game itself). Both set a new bar by including digital bonus features as part of the art book experience.
As part of an effort to spotlight game-related books and documentaries, Polygon is running an email interview series with the people behind them. Check out the full list to read up on a Mega Man book, a Housemarque documentary, and others. Below, The Art of Sky book project director Cecil Kim and STAR feature designer Julian Jimsa discuss the history behind Thatgamecompany’s books and how the STAR feature came about.
Polygon: Back at Sony, you worked on some books with a group called Bluecanvas. Can you give a little history on what Bluecanvas was (is?) and what your involvement was in it?
Cecil Kim: While working at Sony, I met Justin Yun, the founder of Bluecanvas, an art magazine and online community platform similar to ArtStation but with a stronger focus on traditional art. I eventually joined the company as a partner and chief creative officer, helping spin off a game studio that became Section Studios. Thanks to my relationship with Sony, we were able to work on Art of Journey in 2012. We also published several game art books, including Art of Order 1886, Art of God of War Ascension, and Art of Homeworld. When we first discussed creating an art book for Sky, it felt almost like déjà vu, as both games were developed by Thatgamecompany! I also had [the privilege of] working closely with both Matt Nava [and] Jenova Chen on Art of Journey.
Would you draw a direct connection from those Bluecanvas books to The Art of Sky?
Kim: Yes, Bluecanvas was a boutique studio where creativity was our top priority, and we maintained a strong collaborative relationship with developers. Rather than simply handing off artwork images and writing captions for each piece, we aimed to create something that was more in line with the game’s experience and narrative structure. Art of Journey set a high bar for both quality and content, so we definitely referenced it and sought to continue the legacy of beautiful art books from Thatgamecompany.
What kinds of trial and error went into getting the STAR feature working in The Art of Sky? Were there other physical/digital crossover ideas you considered?
Julian Jimsa: We had two goals in mind with the STAR feature: to feel like a director’s commentary, and also a scavenger hunt. We wanted to give our players a behind the scenes look of the levels they know and love. It took many iterations to find the correct visual effects to expose the nature of our levels, and lots of time went into deciding which objects to frame during the cutscenes to enhance those visuals. Iterating on the flow of the experience was also crucial, especially because we wanted this to be a social, multiplayer feature that players could enjoy together.
Asking on behalf of my bookshelf: Why did you decide to make the Sky book similar dimensions to the Journey book, but not exactly the same dimensions as the Journey book?
Kim: The choice of dimension wasn’t based on a specific reason, other than our desire to make the book easier to hold, especially since we knew the Sky art book would have more pages than the Journey art book.
