Jenova Chen

Lore & Background

Chen was born in Shanghai on October 8, 1981, and lived there until 2003. His parents were a middle-class family. His father worked in the software development industry. Chen earned a degree in computer science and engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and later did a minor in digital art and design at Donghua University. He moved to the United States to earn a master's degree in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. While at USC he met Kellee Santiago, and the two decided to work together on games outside the mainstream. After graduating, Chen and Santiago formed Thatgamecompany in Los Angeles. They signed a deal with Sony for three PlayStation Store games. Chen worked for Maxis on Spore for a brief period. He was named to the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 list in 2008.

Reader's Guide

Chen's first major game was Cloud, released in 2005, which won a grant of twenty thousand dollars from USC. His master's thesis was on dynamic difficulty adjustment, illustrated with Flow, a Flash game made with Nicholas Clark. Flower was Thatgamecompany's second game, intended by Chen to provoke positive emotions. Journey was released on the PlayStation Network on March 13, 2012. Chen also worked as creative director on Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019.

Did You Know?

• Chen chose the English name Jenova after a character in Final Fantasy VII.
• His game Cloud was partially based on his own childhood hospitalizations for asthma.
• Flow became the most downloaded game on the PlayStation Network in 2007.
• Chen designed Flower as 'an interactive poem exploring the tension between urban and nature'.