Omikron
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Play the video game starring David Bowie for free
David Bowie was a man ahead of his time across a range of industries, including gaming. The man and his music are featured in the 1999 game Omikron: The Nomad Soul, from the studio that went on to create Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. If you're familiar with those games -- yes, Omikron is a fairly trippy experience. Its publisher, Square Enix, has decided to offer Omikron for free today through January 22nd, in honor of Bowie's life and his surprising death this week at the age of 69. To hold your own digital vigil for The Man who Fell to Earth, use the promo code "omikron" at checkout on the Square Enix store.
Heavy Rain's David Cage done with his thriller 'trilogy'
Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain is hitting store shelves next week, and it may be the last game of its kind from director David Cage. Speaking with Eurogamer, Cage revealed "that Heavy Rain is the end of my personal trilogy trying to tell the same type of stories with serial killers and stuff, in the thriller genre." It does appear that Cage has had a certain fixation with the morbid, with his previous works -- Omikron: The Nomad Soul and Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy) -- all centering around serial killers. So what's next for Cage and crew beyond Heavy Rain? Multiplayer seems to be one consideration, with Cage calling it "the next challenge." "I have an idea of what it's going to take to make a multiplayer [game]," Cage admitted, adding it would be "very exciting." Whatever Quantic Dream decides to pursue, it's likely to involve motion controls in some way. Considering Heavy Rain had motion controls in mind initially, it comes as no surprise that Cage continues to express his interest in PlayStation's upcoming peripheral. "We have a lot of interest in this motion controller, we start to play with it, and yeah, we definitely want to do something with it."
Quantic Dream considers working on second new title
Quantic Dream, currently only working on the PS3-exclusive Heavy Rain, is having thoughts about changing its one game mantra and might be planning to work on a second title. Co-CEO and executive producer Guillaume de Fondaumière had said at his Paris GDC session today: "Our strategy was to create one big game for next-gen, but it's only now that we're thinking of creating two games with two studios." Previously, the developer had plans to work on Omikron 2: Karma and some new IP called Infraworld. Development on Omikron 2 was stopped two years ago due to shifting all resources onto Heavy Rain. Infraworld was canned before that because publishers wouldn't bite. However, now, both these titles might be taken out of the trash bin and put back on the drawing board, if Fondaumière is serious about starting work on a second title. A second title would be great for Quantic Dream fans, especially if that title were to be the Omikron sequel.
Sony partners with Quantic Dream on exclusive PS3 title
Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios today announced a collaboration with Paris-based developer Quantic Dream, one which promises to "redefine cinematic real-time entertainment" with a new PlayStation-exclusive title. Judging by Quantic Dream's past efforts in David Bowie dystopia sim, Omikron: The Nomad Soul, or the multi-angle murder mystery Fahrenheit (dubbed Indigo Prophecy in America), cinematic presentation and integral narratives seem du jour on the developer's list of goals. Quantic Dream President and CEO, David Cage commented on the choice of console and the sheer pleasantness of the folks at Sony. "We always believed that "next generation" meant more meaningful content based on players' emotional involvement. To us, PS3 is the only platform that can truly deliver on this promise, and SCE WWS is a group that is both inspiring and pleasant to work with." Though the name of the upcoming PS3 game isn't specified and could very well be an entirely new game, Quantic Dream's website currently lists Heavy Rain as a "confidential next generation console game." The film-like poster above, which bears the subtitle "The Origami Killer," certainly seems to highlight the title's cinematic aspirations, if not the question of why anybody would want to murder folded pieces of paper. What did they ever do to you?Venture into the Uncanny Valley after the break to see Heavy Rain's impressive and quietly disturbing E3 2006 Virtual Actor demonstration. If the announced collaboration turns out to be a different game entirely, we fully encourage the parties involved to step into the rain and scream, "Gotcha, suckas!"[Via Sony press release]
