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Sony forecasts Heavy Rain for Q1 2010
A Sony representative has confirmed to us that Heavy Rain won't start pouring until the first quarter of 2010. Quantic Dream's David Cage told us that Heavy Rain would most likely get lost in the shuffle, among the Modern Warfare 2s and the Assassin's Creed 2s and that a Q1 2010 release suits the game much better. For those anticipating the game's release this is undoubtably a disappointment, but a release during this period may mean better sales figures, which may mean more games or DLC for the series. See? Every rain cloud has a silver lining.
Heavy Rain: No game over, just game endings
Heavy Rain's got four main characters. All of them can die. So, it's essentially four "lives," and then, game over, right? Not quite. Quantic Dreams is challenging the ingrained notions of game endings. Sure, if your clumsy button presses manage to kill off all four of your characters, the game's mysterious antagonist, The Origami Killer, gets away. But this is simply one of many potential outcomes in a player-created story, director David Cage explained during an E3 breakout session for the game. Even if all four die, there will still be "a sense of closure." Speaking to this design, Cage confirmed that during a single playthrough, "you never get to come back to scenes you've visited before." The save system is "transparent" and records data any time something significant happens. "You don't need to bother about saving," Cage insisted. "I would like people to play this game without playing too much with the saving system." In all, the game contains roughly sixty, 15-minute "scenes" (levels), but Cage encourages players to weave their own complete dramas from the potential pieces. He suggested that everyone play the game from start to a finish once, "and maybe never play it again." Cage's advice is to not attempt to progress to a "right" ending or play out every scene, but for each player to create a "unique story that they have written themselves."
Video: Meet the various faces of Heavy Rain
Pole dancers, zebra suits and hanging crosses, oh my! These are just some of the sights to spot in this new Heavy Rain trailer from E3. Take a very close look at some of those new faces; any one of them could be one of the four mysterious playable characters that were hinted at previously. We've already met Jayden, Mad Jack and Madison, but who are all the others? %Gallery-30067%
Interview: David Cage of Quantic Dream and Heavy Rain
We recently had our precipitation-sodden paws all over Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer, and then chatted with David Cage, a man who wears plenty of hats at developer Quantic Dream. In addition to founding the studio, he's also the head game developer, writer, co-CEO, director, and chief bottle washer. So, who better to walk us through the trippy thriller that goes where Indigo Prophecy feared to tread? Read on to find out some new tidbits about the game, how Fight Club inspired the interface system and why his favorite ending to the game is when all four characters die. Plus why, like Guillermo del Toro, he believes that the interactive entertainment industry is long overdue for a Citizen Kane (or in Cage's case, a Slumdog Millionaire) of games. %Gallery-30067%
Hands-on: Heavy Rain
click to enlarge Everything we'd seen up until the point we finally got to play Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer wasn't actually Heavy Rain. It was either an early tech demo ("The Casting") or a gameplay proof of concept ("The Taxidermist"). The one thing present in every version: emotionally charged situations. Quantic Dream says it set out to tell a gripping story, so it developed the technology needed to create game characters that players could actually see as real people -- and environments that look as lifelike as they do dreadful. Before we played an all-to-brief scene from the game's total of around 60, designer David Cage dropped a couple of major details on us. First, players will assume the role of four distinct characters in the game, each with their own scenes and whose paths never intersect as they attempt to answer the game's tagline -- "How far are you prepared to go to save someone you love?" –- and solve the mystery of the titular Origami Killer. %Gallery-30067%
Heavy Rain footage surprisingly light on precipitation
The fine folks at 1UP managed to secure some face time with Heavy Rain game director David Cage and picked his brain on the upcoming title from Quantic Dream. Cage talked about the game's four main characters, and how they can each actually die in the game, and how such a catastrophe would affect the other playable characters. They talk about other things as well, but the thing to point out here is the plethora of gameplay footage, which we know is really what you're after. It's okay, feel free to use us for our embedded video past the break. We'll just be in the corner, crying, while you enjoy the gameplay. %Gallery-30067%
Supposed Heavy Rain pics give sneak peek at new characters
We're not entirely sure if these new images of Heavy Rain are real assets from the game, but they do look eerily similar to what we've seen of it before. Are these photos part of an upcoming feature (or video content) in the European mag PSM3? Quite possibly, since its watermark is plastered on all the images. If these pics do prove to be legit, then we're looking at some of the most realistic facial renders ever seen. Just look at the attention to detail. And, is that Mexican bad-ass Danny Trejo (NSFW link) as a design inspiration? (Check the image after the break.) Wow, this game just got ten times more interesting. See the rest of the images here.
Heavy Rain previewed by the numbers
A handful of new Heavy Rain previews hit the interwebs today (Eurogamer, 1UP) and are definitely worth a gander for those curious about this enigmatic adventurer. However, we're especially fond of Eurogamers' supplementary vital statistics piece, chock-full of numbers our blogging-robot hybrid brains can more easily digest. Some of our favorite stats: The script used for the game was about 2,000 pages long and features about 60 scenes, each lasting 15 to 20 minutes apiece (given the nonlinear nature of the game, you won't be seeing all of those during any play-through). All motion capture was done on-location at Quantic Dreams' Paris studio over a span of 9 months. Over 70 actors and stuntmen were involved and had their faces scanned in for use in the game. What neither preview mentions is anything related to the story, which Quantic Dreams is keeping very quiet. Heavy Rain is expected to hit retail sometime late 2009.* %Gallery-30067% *Aren't you proud of us? We went a whole post on Heavy Rain without making any water puns!
Sony hopes Heavy Rain will appeal to casual audiences, too
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, the senior vice president of Sony's Worldwide Studios Europe Michael Denny disclosed his desire to see Heavy Rain "appeal to the core [audience] and then the consequence-based gameplay can appeal to a newer audience, a more casual audience as well." The exec then goes on to explain how Quantic Dream's PS3 exclusive will do just that. "It's trying to do something very new, whether you call that the adventure genre, action adventure, we're calling it interactive drama ... It's really not played on the control pad, as much as in your head. It's about making choices and consequences, it's not about twitch gaming and how good you are." Is Denny correct? Do you think a plot-heavy, mature title like Heavy Rain can appeal to the same audience who plays Buzz! and Singstar? Fire away in the comments below.
Still wet: 20-plus minutes of Heavy Rain footage
Heavy rain on a Monday can be a double downer. But new footage of Heavy Rain on a Monday makes the start of the week much more bearable. Gamekyo has posted up a hearty 20-plus minutes of gameplay video from the Sony / Quantic Dream action-adventure headed exclusively to PS3. The footage comes from the recent Micromania Games Show in Paris – which, we were surprised to discover, is not an expo devoted to video games based on Micro Machines – and sees Quantic Dream founder David Cage navigating one of the game's locations, pointing out the lack of load screens and use of Sixaxis controls, along with other gameplay and tech tidbits. Check it out after the break, and have a nice, dry Monday. [Via PS3 Fanboy]
Watch over 20 minutes of Heavy Rain
Gamekyo recently got a second helping of Heavy Rain at the Micromania Games Show 2008 in Paris. At the show, David Cage showed off the same level seen in the debut Leipzig trailer earlier this year. This time, Cage took the MGS crowd through the level, showing them Heavy Rain's Sixaxis controls, fully interactive environments, multiple story paths and no load screens. Gamekyo recorded over 20 minutes of the demonstration, which you can watch right after the break. While Cage may be explaining everything in French in the video, it's not too difficult to figure out what's going on. Besides, the in-game dialogue is in English. [Thanks Andy and SolidOtacon!]
Heavy Rain on checkpoints, please don't use them
Before reading further, you might want to take advantage of that save point over there. You know, just in case it doesn't turn out the way you like. Or don't, if you're of the same mind as David Cage, founder of Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dreams, who believes that when it comes to his company's story-heavy offspring it's best just to play along and not look back on what might have been. Cage told CVG that while Heavy Rain will sport a typical checkpoint system, the devs would rather players "continue to play with one story bearing with the consequences of their actions." Explained the exec, "Why would you want to do everything perfect and change what you've done." It's certainly a novel concept, if naive, though we're more than a little curious if the apparent ability to continue on even after the hero croaks will be enough to fight our natural urge to reload.
Joystiq eyes-on: Heavy Rain
click on the image for larger, heavier rain Warning: This preview includes spoilers for one of the game's bonus levels. Those of you fearing spoilers for the game's main story are welcome to read on. var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation/Heavy_Rain_demo_walkthrough'; While Heavy Rain's teaser video is awesome enough, we were lucky enough to be given a demonstration of the game by Quantic Dream's David Cage. Before showing us any gameplay, Cage reiterated the thought processes behind developing a game like Heavy Rain. It's an adult thriller with a mature, emotionally driven story. "You're not fighting a war. There are no gangsters, knights, princesses or zombies. You're not going to save the world in this game." We're hoping this grounding in reality saves it from the bizarre tangent Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit for those outside the US) took towards the end of the game. %Gallery-30067%
GC 2008: Heavy Rain will have demo; DLC teased
take a look at these screenshots Sure, we've been gushing about Heavy Rain lately, but Quantic Dreams President David Cage has assured Eurogamer that we will be able to experience it all first-hand with a demo. "Yes, of course, there will be a demo," he said, adding that it will likely not contain any elements of the main storyline. "We've spent a lot of time working on the story this time ... And I think it's a very unusual story for a videogame, so I think people will be quite surprised." Cage also noted that what we've seen so far is a separate episode and not related to the main storyline. Cage also hinted that Heavy Rain DLC could be trickling out in the near future. "This is something it's really too early to talk about, but it's definitely a possibility," he said, adding, "You can tell any story with this interface, because it's entirely contextual." The clouds will burst with Heavy Rain (seriously, we're going to work on our pun addiction) in 2009. %Gallery-30067%
GC 2008: Pour over this in-game Heavy Rain footage
take a look at these screenshots Well, consider us intrigued. From the creators of Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit) comes Heavy Rain, an atmospheric new adventure exclusively for the PlayStation 3. This in-game footage, first unveiled at Leipzig's Games Convention, depicts our finely rendered female protagonist investigating a distinctly unsettling house. Be sure to keep watching until the stunning scene at the end, where she bursts out the door and screams to the heavens, "Gotcha, suckas!" We're sure to learn much, much more as we draw closer to Heavy Rain's forecast 2009 release. %Gallery-30067%
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 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]
