Will Heavy Rain Be Heavy Fail, Or Will It Set A New Benchmark?

David Cage, Sony and Quantic Dream have been trying their best to get the Heavy Rain hype train full steam on course, and they've accomplished exactly that. For years now Quantic Dream has left gamers awestruck with the title's realistic visuals that promises to bring out emotions of in-game characters like we've never seen done before. The developer is promising a mature experience that will be something new to the gaming world; so obviously expectations are through the roof. But since the game is bringing so many new and unfamiliar experiences in an industry that has gotten used to 'more of the same', the question remains: will Heavy Rain fail hard, or might it be one of the biggest success stories in gaming history?

Founder and CEO of Quantic Dream, David Cage, has been making the rounds on various gaming websites and other media outlets promoting the game to the max. But it's not your conventional marketing strategy, in fact the path they're taking with advertising is one most developers dare not venture. In a recent interview with GameInformer, Cage was asked whether Heavy Rain was an adventure game and how did he feel about said genre being applied to the title. He gave the definition for what exactly an adventure game is and then uttered, "Based on this definition, Heavy Rain is NOT an adventure game," he told the website. "There is no inventory in the game, no objective to combine or examine, no puzzle, the game does not rely on everlasting dialogues. The story is through players actions and not through cutscenes and players actions have significant consequences on the narrative."

As it stands now according the Mr. Cage, the game can't be tagged under any genre, apparently it's not even a game anymore. That's what he told D'toid in a recent interiview adding even more hype, mystery and of course high anticipation if for nothing else, to see how the effort turns out.

"Heavy Rain is not a videogame anymore in my mind, because it breaks most of the traditional paradigms, but it's fully interactive," he told D'toid. "If the format becomes successful, we will probably have to find a different name for this type of experience," he concluded.

One of two things can happen, either Heavy Rain defy all odds and be successful at creating a new genre, or the game will fail miserably. I see no middle ground. But at least Sony and Quantic Dream must be respected for taking risks in an industry that offers no second chances.

Will you purchase Heavy Rain on day one, or are you staring away all together? Share your thoughts below.

12/22/09 Ernice Gilbert

David Cage agrees that adventure games are dead

How this could be true I have no clue. In fact in my humble opinion, adventure games are the best! So for one of the leading minds in the industry to agree with the notion that somehow the genre is dead comes off as a premature statement. In fact take any poll today and you'll find out that action/adventure games are at the top of a great percent of gamers favorite genre list.

The Quantic Dream boss man gave his opinion in a response to a question posed by GameInformer.

GameInformer: "Adventure games are dead" is a common phrase in the gaming industry. Do you think that discussion is even relevant in the current gaming landscape?

"I probably agree with the phrase. The adventure genre is one I really enjoyed but it has struggled probably because it's been unable to evolve with the games becoming outdated and of less interest," he said.

"Again, I'm talking about games based on inventory management, puzzle and dialogue choices.

"It certainly does not mean people lost interest in good stories and interesting characters, but more in the specific experience this type of games had to offer.

Leaping from discussing the action/adventure genre, Mr. Cage delved into what differentiates his title from the rest.

"Heavy Rain offers a new approach to interactive storytelling: it is not based on mechanics, it fully integrates real time 3D and cutting edge visuals, it mixes storytelling and actions, and most of all, it offers players to have a real impact on the story. It is not just seeing one or another cutscene at the end, it is about living different stories, being a writer, actor and director of their own story."

Interesting interview, however I still disagree with the notion that action/adventure games are a dying breed.

12/08/09 Ernice Gilbert

David Cage: I don't want to die in the dessert

Most of the successful in our society today didn't pave the way for their good fortunes; no, they are only riding a horse that has been well nurtured. Mind you, everyone must work hard to achieve greatness in life, but it has been made much easier because hard working people before us paid the cost. Our forefathers came, worked hard and built a strong foundation that has stood the test of time, and now if you want to be successful, dare to dream.

David Cage is building a foundation with his new game, a foundation that many others will build upon, but unlike the forefathers, he wants to reap the fruit of his labor and not die while sowing the seeds. He relayed his belief to eurogamer best.

Eurogamer: Often front runners do all the hard work but reap little of the rewards - are you a martyr David Cage?

"I want to be a pioneer, but I don't want to die in the dessert. When you try to invent something new you need to have some kind of commercial success, otherwise you just try to be innovative for the sake of being innovative," he said.

"When you create something you want people to like it and to really enjoy it. If that's not the case, that means maybe what you've invented doesn't really have a value. And I'm talking about commercial value, not creative value," he told eurogamer.

Let's hope Heavy Rain has both David, for all of our sakes.

11/10/09 Ernice Gilbert

David Cage: "Why are so many people obsessed with sex?"

You want to sell something? Then put sex in it; that's the society we live in today, shallow I might add, since life is way more than naked ladies strolling across your TV screen. Especially in video games, some developers carelessly plaster naked women at different points with no tie-in whatsoever as if to say, 'here, that's what you want, then here, indulge.' David Cage feels the same way, and in a recent interview with Eurogamer, he shared his thoughts.

Eurogamer: You said you were not afraid to show nipples. Does that mean you're confirming nipples in Heavy Rain?

"Haha. Why are so many people obsessed with sex? The rule I give myself is everything is allowed as long as it makes sense in context. As long as it is not gratuitous, as long as it tells something about the story or the characters," he said.

"Do you know in real life when two people fall in love they may end up making love? That's the kind of thing that happens. Why not in a game? Why should it be treated differently? I am doing a game that will be rated 18+. What should I hide when I'm rated that way?"

Eurogamer: Certainly not nipples.

"Certainly not nipples! Haha. That's a good answer," David said. "But again, it's not showing nipples for the sake of sex, it's just to say, "OK, does it tell you something about the character? Does it add to the experience?" It's not about creating this teenage feeling of "Oh look, she's naked! It's so funny! And then laugh like an idiot about it. It's really about her as a character: real, vulnerable. It tells you something about her."

See what I mean? Grown men understand that it's not about loosely adding sex in a game; such emptiness is for kids, if it's going to be there, then do it with meaning. You're dealing with adults here.

11/10/09 Ernice Gilbert

David Cage feels the need for gaming industry to grow up

Characters in video games have been almost universally dull, mundane and predictable. David Cage, creator of Heavy Rain would like the industry to grow up, especially in character development area.

"As an industry we games for teenagers and kids, so we try to make things very casual and as clear as possible," David told NowGamer.

"The bad guys have to be very baaaaaaaaaaad and the hero has to have big muscles and look fantastic. And the women have to have big boobs and be very sexy because to a teenager, this is what women are."

"I Think we've pass that stage and we can go to the next one and say, 'you know what, I think you can be a very evil character, but it's not written on your your face'."

Ok boys, you heard the man, it's time to grow up, women are not all about big boobs.

Get the full vibe whenever you like.

11/06/09 Erinice Gilbert

Quantic Dream On Striptease Reaction: That's exactly what we wanted

When Quantic Dream revealed a striptease sequence contained in Heavy Rain never seen before to an audience at E3 09, some were uncomfortable with what they saw. There were many who thought it was not necessary to go that far, and questioned the developer's decision.

Well according to founder of Quantic Dream David Cage, that's exactly the response they were hoping for. He relayed his sentiment best in an interview with EGTV, when asked about the reaction.

EGTV: What did you make of the reaction to the striptease sequence revealed at E3?

"We had a couple of people who felt uncomfortable watching the scene which is perfect because this is exactly what we wanted," he said.

"I mean you can't pretend to trigger different type of emotions and just focus on adrenaline and fight and competition and frustration. You need to go through different emotions and showing this scene in particular was for us a test to see if we could make people feel like Madison, having to get Naked to do a striptease in front of this ugly guy, and obviously it worked because people felt very uncomfortable," cage added.

"It depends, if you want to do toys for kids with video games then you certainly shouldn't do that, but if you pretend to do an adult experience for a major audience, then there's nothing you can't do and you certainly shouldn't count on me to censor myself and say, oh, I can't do this I don't want to do that because it's too sensitive it's too controversial or whatever. I'll do what ever it takes to tell my story," he concluded.

What do you think? Was it an overreaction from the audience, or should there be real concern about the path certain games are taking? Get the full vibe here.

10/15/09 Ernice Gilbert