Here are some commonly asked questions about the gameplay within the Journey to Fine Life program.
What is the goal to playing the Journey to Fine Life?
This fictional world is made for you to visit and contains many of the ‘Great Wonders of the Ancient World’, along with plants and animal life. However, the world’s wonders have collapsed due to earthquakes and now need to be rebuilt. Your mission is to do that now in your Journey to a Fine Life.
The state that you find this virtual world in is a metaphor for our own modern lives. As the stresses of life wear on us, our foundations begin to crack, our minds, bodies and spirits weaken, and sometimes catastrophe strikes, and it seems as though our lives crumble around us. Inside of the world, you will repair each of these wonders, and as you do so, you’ll also be repairing, rebuilding and restoring your own mind, body and spirit as you do.
Do you need to have a Xen Sensor to play?
Yes. You can wander around and view the world via your avatar, but you will not be able to repair any of the worlds ‘wonders’ without a Xen Sensor, which is the primary goal of playing the program.
What steps do I take to get started?
- Plug your Xen Sensor into the USB port on your computer to get started
- Open the program
- Put the sensor ear clip onto your ear lobe, and be sure the heartbeat is visible on the glowing heart on the sensor
- From the main menu select Start Game
- From the Character Selection menu, either Customize or Select your avatar
- Lastly, from the Launch Game menu select your style of play or navigation, and the game will launch!
How do I select or customize my avatar?
From the Character Selection menu, click ‘Customize’ and you will be taken to the avatar customization platform. From there you can ‘randomize’ from a series of pre-set avatar figures and their dress, and choose one of them and edit from there.
Or you can change the gender from male or female and completely customize the avatar in any way you choose from the various options of clothing, shoes, accessories, as well as body shape and hair and eye color. Once you are satisfied press ‘Confirm’ and then you will to back to the previous menu where your new avatar is visible. Press Select one more time and you’ll be taken to the final Launch Game menu to begin playing.
How do you move around in the world?
You have three ways to move through the world. At any time you may hit the ‘Esc’ key and the Launch Game menu will pop up. From there you can move in the following ways:
Direct to Rebuilding – this will take you to a map, where you can move to each and every event directly. When you begin your meditation and then end it, you will immediately be taken back to this same map of the world.
Easy Navigation – this is recommended for those who do not regularly play a lot of ‘first person’ computer games. The avatar moves easily by clicking and holding the left button on your mouse, and then the direction your avatar moves in is as follows –
- W or Up Arrow – move forward
- A or Left Arrow – move left
- D or Right Arrow – move right
- S or Down Arrow – move backward
Full 360 Navigation – this is for more experienced game players and your avatar moves in all of the same ways as described above, but you will also be able to experience the full 360- sensation of being above or below your avatar.
How do I rebuild the various buildings or wonders?
As you approach each element or ‘event’ you will see a cushion with swirling lights over it if the element still needs to be rebuilt. When you approach the cushion, simply press the ‘E’ key to begin, and then choose your various preferences, clip on your ear clip for the Xen Sensor, and then begin to meditate. As you progress each piece will float back into its original place within the building or statue. A score of how much of each element has been completed is always visible. You may quit any event at any time by simply pressing the ‘E’ key again to pause play. Your settings will be saved from each time you play to the next.
How do I begin a meditating, and what do the various menu prompts mean?
Each time you meditate you will select your preferences from the menu, which will save your preferences as you play in each session. You will choose from the following:
Difficulty – on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being easiest and 10 the hardest, this sets your difficulty and precision needed based upon how closely you are breathing in time with the parameters you set on the timing of your breathing prompts
Breathe In, Hold Breathe Out, Hold – this allows you to customize your personal ‘timer’ as you meditate for how many seconds you breathe in or out, and if you wish to hold your breath also after each breathing cycle.
Find what feels most natural to you when you are first starting out, and do not force your breath. Some will naturally have longer or shorter breathing cycles, but a good way to start out is to set it for 5 seconds breathing in, and 5 seconds out, with no holds. From there see how you feel physically and adjust.
Audio Cue – some will wish to close their eyes or not focus on the measurements and breathing prompts so you can choose to have or not have a subtle chime to note the time of each inhalation and exhalation.
Once you’ve selected your preferences, press Begin, and you will levitate on your meditation cushion and begin your meditation. (The system will spend approximately a minute calibrating your selections.) Relax, breathe, enjoy and watch as you magically restore your piece of mind along with the element you are working on. You may stop or pause it at any time by pressing the ‘E’ key.
Do I need to repair the ‘wonders’ in a certain order?
Somewhat. You can repair them in any order except for the Lighthouse of Alexandria. This is the last element of the world you will need to repair and triggers the end of the game when you have completed that last and final goal.
Will my game data be saved?
Yes, between each and every event as you move about and repair one item or another, even if you skip around and only partially complete repair of one element, and then move to another, your level of completion will be tracked for you.
Can I go through the water?
Yes, you can swim in the world using the same movements as described above. Your avatar cannot walk through buildings or hard boundaries, but otherwise you may move around freely and explore the world.
Is there a boundary or ‘end of the world’?
Yes. You will see ships moving around and a distant shoreline. However, those places will have to remain a mystery for now, as you will not be able to function beyond the boundaries surrounding the world and we don’t recommend you try.
What if I get stuck somewhere?
At any time, just hit the ‘Esc’ key and you will be taken to the menu where you can reposition yourself within the game, change your style of play, or quit.
Can I start over?
Yes, from the Launch Game menu before you begin play, you can Reset Your Game Data. But note – this cannot be undone and there is a warning screen as well to be sure you wish to erase all of your data and start over.