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Quantic Dream confident Heavy Rain has 'no competitors'
The lid on Heavy Rain will be blown off this week at Leipzig Games Convention. To get you ready, check out this newly released interview from Gamereactor TV, taken after Sony's secret behind-closed-doors showing at E3 earlier this year. The interview doesn't reveal much: it shows the same screenshots that were leaked a few weeks ago, and all video footage is of the game's very early tech demonstration. It's interesting to see how confident Quantic Dream is about their upcoming project, saying games like Uncharted only managed to get "some" things right. Other than that, they promise that Heavy Rain has "no competitors."Working with Sony Computer Entertainment seems to be very beneficial for the team, especially because Sony has offered them a chance to create "the best game possible." He's definitely getting the hype engine revving ... and it won't be long until we can judge for ourselves whether or not the hype is warranted. [Thanks, shak h.!]
Playboy calls Heavy Rain 'Best of E3'
Did those new screenshots of Heavy Rain impress you? Well, you haven't seen anything yet. Breaking the oath of secrecy journalists took at E3, Playboy proudly proclaims that this it-was-there-but-in-secret game of E3 took top honors, beating out other titles, including R2 and LittleBigPlanet. "I will simply say it's by far the most impressive thing I saw at E3," said Playboy's Scott Alexander. However, he notes that "Sony ninjas will hit me with poison shurikens before I can type the words to describe it," Guess we're not going to get details out of him.While we're certain the public will see more of Heavy Rain in the coming weeks, it appears the game may be very far off into the future -- "This isn't coming for a while yet," Alexander added.[Thanks, Gambit07!]
New Heavy Rain screenshots seek path out of Uncanny Valley
A lot has changed since Heavy Rain's initial E3 2006 showing. A handful of new screenshots have emerged (via Spilzonen, Ripten) that show the game has moved from the center of the Uncanny Valley to somewhere on the outskirts. If this is the same woman from before, she definitely looks less bony, her eyes not popping out of their respective sockets like before. To maintain our rain pun quota, we offer you this: There has been a drought of Heavy Rain information for quite some time; we hope this drizzle of screenshots is followed by a downpour of details soon. [Via PS3 Fanboy]
Heavy Rain: new amazing screenshots
Looks like Quantic Dream is about to break their silence about their upcoming PS3 game, Heavy Rain. Little is known about this title, although expectations are high from the team that brought us the wildly innovative PS2 adventure game, Fahrenheit (aka Indigo Prophecy). Two new images have surfaced from the upcoming game, and they look incredibly lifelike. It appears the team has come a long way since they last showcased some renders earlier this year. Make sure you check out the high resolution images here to appreciate this breakthrough tech. We hope it won't be too long until we find out more about this elusive game. [Via NeoGAF]
Heavy Rain's David Cage has strong faith in PS3
David Cage likes to talk a lot -- especially when 'Uncanny Valleys' are involved. So, it shouldn't come as surprise to see a seven page discussion with the Heavy Rain developer over at Gamasutra. Cutting down to the most relevant bits, Cage solidified Quantic Dream's decision to develop solely for PS3: "Honestly, working on one platform is the best thing we could dream of, and it's a choice." This little bit of news is a nice reassurance that Heavy Rain will remain a PS3 exclusive, as recent mentions of other 3rd party exclusives have been found to have their exclusivity in question, or outright gone. Further backing up his adherence to PS3, Cage had this to say: "You say it's a limited audience -- yeah, it's true at the moment, but by the end of the PlayStation 2, I think there are 120 million units in the world, so I don't call that a limited market. There's no reason why the PlayStation 3 can't reach these numbers."In other news, the rest of the interview is a good read if you want to get a piece of Cage's mind. Here's one interesting quote where he praises Uncharted but also criticizes game development structure: "[Uncharted] gives you a bit of story, then action, then a bit of story, then action -- like porn movies, when you think about it. Porn movies are structured in exactly the same way, except that the action is not the same (laughter), but it's the same structure. Most video games are done like that." Read the rest of it here.
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.
Heavy Rain details shake off very little mystery
Everything surrounding Quantic Dream's title Heavy Rain is mysterious. We know next to nothing about the game, except to anticipate our minds getting blown. A Dutch magazine, Chief, apparently got an exclusive with the game's developers and spilled a few morsels of goodness we simply can't ignore. We'll lay down the important bits below. There won't be a large, free-roaming city like Grand Theft Auto, but there will be "big sets" with crowds: malls, subways, et cetera. The graphics are getting very positive responses from Sony, but Quantic wants to do something else unique with them aside from as photorealistic as possible. Speculations abound. Heavy Rain is going to expand on the new elements of gameplay Fahrenheit introduced. The story? Well, normal people in extraordinary situations seems to be the key phrase. The story is meant to be personal, focusing on a father's love. The main story revolves around four main characters and their perception of events -- what's right, what's wrong, all the ambiguous morality you could ever want seem to be standard story elements for the game. More details will come whenever the developers decide to talk some more!
Creepy eyes dart around in Heavy Rain mo-cap video
It's creepy, sure, but a lot of you have wanted to know what's up with Quantic Dream and those new motion capture pictures released a while back for Heavy Rain. Here's the video of the motion capture of ... eyes? Darting around suspiciously? There's still the notion that you're looking at a video game, but the line is getting rather blurry. Take a look and let us know what you think -- remember though that viewing a YouTube video is nothing like viewing the video in HD on your PS3 (something we won't get to do for a while). [via NeoGAF]
Dermatologists pore over new Heavy Rain screens
Remember Heavy Rain? Quantic Dream's upcoming PS3 adventure ran into the Uncanny Valley and many were concerned it wouldn't be able to come back. Two new very close-up images from the game are meant to show the game's incredible skin rendering capabilities. Look at those imperfections! They're so ... real? We don't know much more about the game other than its potential to further graphics and performance in games. Hopefully, we'll get something much more concrete soon. For the rest of the images, check out TVG. [Via NeoGAF]
Heavy Rain devs have "conquered" the Uncanny Valley
Quantic Dream, developers of the mysterious Heavy Rain title, let their co-founder, Guillaume de Fondaumière, talk about development of their game. First off, Guillaume (we'd like to call him Fondie, but we'd hate to be so informal) claimed having their own motion capture studio was more useful than outsourcing because they're on their own time and not someone else's -- meaning they can get more out of the tools because they've got them down the hall from the bathroom, so to speak.The problem with their initial video, many people cried, was the inability for viewers to suspend disbelief. Some emotions seemed awkward and the mouth movement of the character was a bit twitchy at times. However, Guillaume claims that "I can officially announce that there is no uncanny valley any more, not in real-time." If this turns out to be true, it's a real breakthrough for the industry and something the PS3 can claim was done on its console alone. Bragging rights, or something. In light of this new technology, more A-List Hollywood actors are showing interest in taking part in this new virtual medium -- a way to change their image without heavy makeup.Sony's in control of when any footage gets released. We expect a new trailer or a surprise demo to be wandering around in Home when it launches. Just our two cents. Working for Sony has been great, Guillaume says, since out of all the companies, Sony seemed to understand and really connect with the idea behind the game. Plus they applaud the versatility and power of Sony's machine. This isn't to say they aren't working on games for other consoles, but if Heavy Rain performs well critically and sells decently, we wouldn't be too shocked if the two signed up together for a while.
Quantic Dream buys cutting edge motion-capturing tech
Quantic Dream, the people behind that weird PS3 tech demo slash pseudo-game, Heavy Rain, have gone ahead and bought the latest in motion capturing technology for their fourth month in, well, capturing motion. That means there's a lot of motion capturing going on and if Quantic Dream has invested in the latest technology, then we might see something beyond anything we've experienced thus far.The company claims their goal is "interactive cinema in which realistic, believable characters play a central role." As if that weren't enough to get you excited to see more of their mysterious PS3 project announced back in July, you'll see other companies using this new technology too as Quantic Dream is renting out their equipment to other developers. Until we hear more, or preferably see more, that's all we know.
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]
Sony to publish Quantic Dream game exclusively for PS3
Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios is partnering with game developer Quantic Dream to produce a game exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Quantic Dream have produced games that focus on being true interactive cinematic experiences that allow the player to get emotionally involved. In the past they have developed Fahrenheit (known as Indigo Prophecy in the US). Quantic Dream are looking forward to utilising the power of the Cell processor in order to create an intense cinematic experience that will be emotionally compelling. The founder of the company, David Cage, stated that they "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." There will be more information about the game later in the year. Presumably it's a bit short notice to show anything at E3 next week, but you never know. Whether this is confirmation that Heavy Rain will be PS3 exclusive or that there is a new game being developed is not clear. We were shown a tech demo for the game at E3 last year so, with an annoncement like this, it sounds like a deal has been setup between Sony and Quantic Dream for another exclusive title, on the back of Heavy Rain's development. We look forward to finding out more.
Want to work on Heavy Rain? Quantic Dream wants you to...
This is from Quantic Dream's support page: "Quantic Dream is the multiple award-winning video game developer of Omikron and Fahrenheit. Being part of our team means sharing in our excitement and inventing, designing and developing some of the industry's most innovative products. Our future depends on bright, highly motivated and talented people who share a passion for creating the best in tomorrow's digital entertainment. Join our international team based in Paris (France) now and bring your talent to create Heavy Rain, an ambitious next generation interactive entertainment experience unlike any other..."The spots are filling up! Even though we know Heavy Rain is on its way and seeking some help from new people, we still don't know a lot about the game. In fact, we hardly know anything at all except that it's probably going to be good. What do you think the final Heavy Rain will play like?
Remember Heavy Rain? No? Here's a reminder... [update 1]
First, a note: this game is only possible on the Playstation 3. Almost mythical, the title Heavy Rain has been in and out of the public eye ever since last year's E3. You must remember -- the woman auditioning for something who slowly changes from an amicable young lady into a mad, raving, murdering lunatic... and then back again? Pssh, women. Anyway, Quantic Dream's lead designer David Cage recently spoke about the idea of all characters in games showing the full gamut of emotions in the near future. He said, "The pleasure we feel watching a movie or reading a book comes from the different emotions we go through. There is no doubt in my mind that games will follow the same direction and offer more interesting, emotionally involving experiences, with more meaning and depth."The enormous response from the Heavy Rain trailer really sparked Cage and his crew on to continue creating the title with emotional quality no less than already displayed. What's interesting is they had no intention to show this off -- it was created simply as a test to test how hard the PS3 was to program for. It was never edited, never re-worked. This is a raw, practically from the drawing board, trailer. As such, it's also real-time footage, not a cut-scene. In fact, the game is slated to have no cutscenes. "Also, this trailer is just a real-time non-interactive movie, where the game will be fully interactive, without cut scenes."Please, keep reading.
Heavy Rain in the "Uncanny Valley" [update 1]
Clive Thompson over at collision detection has spotted a very bad example of the "Uncanny Valley" rearing its ugly head (literally) in the trailer for the upcoming PS3 game, Heavy Rain, the sequel to Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy. The theory of the "Uncanny Valley", realized by Japanese robotics engineer Masahiro Mori, states that people's attitudes towards robots (or in-game characters) will become negative at the point at which the model is regarded as "almost human". Characters that lie within the valley are technically realistic, but their subtle differences compared to real humans freak us out.This trailer well and truly scrapes the bottom of the valley: the poor lip animation, the glazed eyes and the lifeless skin combine to make the model look like a mash-up of Sofia Coppola and a deformed porcelain doll (ouch!). Now that console hardware is capable of near-CGI quality graphics, game developers and artists better watch their backs if they don't want to unintentionally scare their customers. As for designers of horror games, they can quite happily add another tool to their belt.[Via collision detection]Update: added an extra word that restored sense to the sentence (and to life, the universe and everything).
