Embedded is an illustrated and written commentary on Journey by the composer, Austin Wintory.

While the music is beautiful and the fan art and concept art chosen builds on the solitude and rapture of the game, what most stuck me here is that Wintory would return to the work at all.

Nearly every major motion picture release has director/cast commentary. It can be funny or it can be engaging or it can be boring, but either way it acts as a reflection upon the art after completion.

Videogames rarely contain this reflection. Sure, you have the making of videos and concept art, but this is process analysis--how something came to be. It is the breakdown of a piece of art into its mechanics. It is exactly what we expect of games--they are pieces held together, not cohesive and whole.

Commentary on what is complete allows us to learn not only of the process, but of what the artist thinks in retrospect. Did that work? Why? Did the execution match the expectation? It is a time to evaluate and reflect. I always find it fascinating.

So, watch below as Wintory combines artwork and words to explicate Journey. I found it quite enveloping. And, if you so choose, answer the guiding question: Should every game contain, or receive after release, a reflection by its creators?

It's great and a hugely personal look at his creative process. I'm surprised that you're surprised that he decided to do this, nothing about musical composition (or video game music composition) strikes me as something that the creators don't return to to have a look back at. Hell, I look back at and blog about software I've programmed. It's a great look back at a great OST and game and I do hope this sort of thing is more common, but this is more of the exception to the rule as Austin's a fairly transparent guy.