2093_Hanlin Tang_Heavy Rain
**Posted by Hanlin at 1:30 AM
Heavy Rain
In these days, The development of science and technology are rapidly, everything getting more and more are close to us, the game industry has been developed intensely, the games' platform already from FC(NES) transfers to PS3,XBOX360,Wii, the games' world not only have some maps, the game's characters not like build by some boxes, even some pixels as well. Now days a lot of games are really big, because of we’ve got strong background story, very complicated storyline and actions, crazy pictures and special effects, thousand million polygons etc... We enjoy more and more which become a king or hero, and beats all enemies to save the world just like " Final Fantasy" series, we also can became a devil to kill all human just like "Darksiders", even we can fight against with Gods to change our own fate just like "God Of War" series... Those games are really great; they can take us into experience to the totally different world. Sword and magic, Knights and Warriors, Elves and Dwarves, they are the essential elements in the mainstream games, but sometimes we will be headache and tired to play those games, so many games style like same as the others, we need attempt to create the different style game, so the "Heavy Rain" now comes out.
Technology
"Heavy Rain" is an interactive movie AVG game, the platform is only for the PS3, Sony Computer Entertainment and Quantic Dream company (has developed "Indigo Prophecy") developed. It used "Indigo Prophecy" improved the version of the 3D engine. It can provide motion blur, depth of field, including a variety of the latest multi-touch screen special effects. From the picture, you can even see the characters' expression, and actions have reached the highest level of the real time rendering, the characters' bone are very meticulous, they describe the environment by adding a wealth of dynamic light, so the quality of screen are similar with the high level of CG animation. In the E3 game show 2006, they show a very perfect animation to the audience that was impressed. In this animation, the game highlightly demonstrated numerous expressions and motion-captured animations. They also showed various technical features of the game engine, all embedded in a brief by emotional story. Throughout these technologies, they created a real world and real human for us and take us into their emotions just like watch a movie.
Story
The story happened a town in the east coast of the Unites States, When the heavy rain fall down, the police found a 8 to 10 year old boy's body in the rain, the origami was holding their hands, the orchids put on their chest. 8 boys were killed, but no one found the killer...Ethan Mars is the protagonist during this game, he lost his son -- Jason in the accident by two year ago, when the origami killer kidnapped his second son Shaun, he swear he must save his son Shaun at any costs.
No AWP, no Desert Eagle, no magic and no sword, no elves and dwarves, no any super power, you can't jump from this building to other building, you don't need to fight with thousand million enemies, you don't need to crack the puzzle, you don't need to wait skill cool down and you don’t have any item list as well, etc, that's means, the game hasn’t used formula styles which has been existed 20 years, the "Heavy Rain" didn't follow the same old styles. Gloomy sky and the Ordinary peoples, driving in the rain and painful Ethan, everything getting close to real and normal, strong empathy let us enter this world. This is an emotional journey, we become the inner world of characters, make a choice for them.
QTE System
Like "Indigo Prophecy", the main game system of "Heavy Rain" is the QTE system, the QTE means Quick Timer Events, It is the system of immediate response test for the players, the players will appears on the screen and the game buttons responds quickly by press the corresponding button on the screen. The QTE system is a popular system, the first game used this system called “Rushing Beat " and after that, more and more games used this system, "Shenmue", "God of War", "Resident Evil" and other classic games to spread the knowledge of this system. In this time, the most great games which can outspeak all using this system as an important support control system, like "Final Fantasy" series, "God of War" series, "Resident Evil" series, "Tomb Raider" series, "Prince of Persia" series, "Bayonetta", "Prototype", "Assassin's Creed II", "Heavenly Sword" and so on. Why they all using the QTE system? One reason is that this system can make players' attention more focused and Immersed on the story of the game, the other reason which is when the player press the corresponding button on the screen, the characters always can do some special movement, it has more attractive especially "Heavy Rain" using this system as the main control system, it can exert more advantages of QTE system, it makes this game more interesting.
Game Control
In the "Heavy Rain", you can totally control 4 characters during the whole game, protagonist——Ethan Mars, Private detective——Scott Shelby, FBI——Norman Jayden and Reporter——Madison Paige. Similar with “Indigo Prophecy " QTE control system, but the different thing is "Heavy Rain" added the six-axis sensing system, it's motion sensitive technology which means sometime you also need to shake your controller and interact with game scene. when the character was tension or afraid, the button will flash on the screen and the controller will shock, the short response time also reflects the status of their anxious, when the character fight with other guy, just like Madison fight with the other two guys in her house, a lot of button on the screen in the same time and you also get a really short reaction time to press the button, the player to act with confusion like Madison was panic when she was pursued. This non-traditional operation can make you really more into the emotion of the character.
Game Play
Different with typical of multi-linear games, the "Heavy Rain" does not determine your action success or failure. In the typical of multi-linear games, usually have 2 running type, one is scoring system, it's mean every your action, every choose, you will get score, some action and choose can give you some points, some is not affect your points and some will subtract your points, in the end, the games will based on your score to determines the final ending. The other type is simple right or fault. it's mean every your action, every choose, the game's system will determine true of fault, when the game's system determine your action or choose is true you can continue play this game, if the game's system determine fault, it means game over, in the Japanese AVG game and ADV game often used these two types, like "Sakura Wars", "When They Cry", "Ace Attorney", "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya " and so on. In the "Heavy Rain", this game doesn’t have absolute true or fault, whatever the outcome, the game will continue and according to your action to change the game's process. Every your action in the game you will get vary in results, from different results just in the one stage to the larger changes in the whole game, so you have to play very carefully, maybe you select a different dialogue, a very important incident will not happen, even the main character could be die and after they will not have any affect the Follow-up story, the whole story will totally change, this is one of the most attractive features in this game, it according to the situation in the game make you own choice, You will become the character, whether what happened in your process, the "Heavy Rain" will according to your choice to shows unique story experience only for you.
Empathy
How to make the game more realistic? "Heavy Rain" gets crazy, the highest level of the real time rendering pictures and prolific QTE control system, is that enough? The "Heavy Rain" will tell the player:"No". What? What it can do else? The details, the people always said, the details determine success or failure. When you wake up in the morning, what will you do? In the "Heavy Rain", you need Wash your face, brush your teeth, shaving, when you go to bathing, you also need take off your cloth and pants, after a bath, you need dry your body and open the wardrobe get a new clothes. They are look really cumbersome and boring, but actually when you play this game, you don't have any maladjustment, changeable camera, characters' natural motion, pleasant voice and prolific QTE control system, let you involuntary into the character of this game. The question is "Is it really needs the play to do these general things?" when the player does like this, How much realistic level do they have? The "Heavy Rain" try to get every things have interaction and Avoid adding unnecessary challenges in the same time, this game do not have any like "control joystick failure, loading archive play again" something like that. "Heavy Rain" emphasize thing is course of the game, not the results. Does push the joystick need to skill? Of course not, is that better than pure running stages? I think so; this is manifestation of "empathy". In the game, you also can go to toilet make piss, this is one of so many things you can do and this is also one part of "empathy". If you just watch this game you may feel this game running type is really boring, but if you sitting in front of the TV and pick up the controller, you will feeling a different life. You will feel this is a real world, all characters are real alive, even you can watch and listen the characters' view when you control this character, you become this character, go where, make choice, what they do, what they talk, all from your idea, like a second life, experience this different life.
Atmosphere Build
In my opinion "Heavy Rain" not just only a game, it's a movie, a movie can be controlled. When you play this game, you just like watch a movie. The atmosphere is incredible, original and compelling in the game. This game's manifestation form is a typical film type, 4 main characters become the 4 main line, and they meet at a certain time and throughout the story. In this game, some great shot has left me with a deep reflection. In the beginning of the game, Ethan get a happy family, beautiful wife, two cute boys, Warm and modern big house, so everything are bright and bring a little bit misty, Ethan is clean and tidy, when he play with the children, the laughter filled the whole world. But one day, Ethan lost Jason, his first child. He was looking for the shopping center, in that time, the camera still was bright, but no more warm, just left glare, the surroundings become totally fuzzy, just can see the red balloon in Jason's hand, from this camera we can feel his anxiety and panic, but Jason still died in front of Ethan. And then, the game didn't showed us Ethan how to cry or how to Rebuking himself, so how do we feel his pain? The answer is in the next stage. The camera totally change, dark sky, heavy downpour, Ethan in the rain, no raincoat, no umbrella, just left glazed eyes, so many stubble in the face and dark clothes. The camera become heavy and oppressive, all colors change to dark. This is my favorite screen shot in the whole game. No needs the additional explanation, just only show this picture, all players can understand, how is his lives after Jason was died. This is other one of the most attractive features in the whole game, the game didn't show you everything, and you can follow the character's movement and dialogue or environment to think about the characters or the story. "Heavy Rain" is a dark noir game, not a bright adventure. All things can make us feel depressed, like fizzing neon lights, like old apartments and warehouses, even Ethan and Sean play together in the park, the park also was moist and depressed, we had a premonition that something bad will happen next. "Heavy Rain" give the players a great imagination space to know the characters, to know how it happened, to know the whole story and to know the something in the story don't show you. Ingenious build the atmosphere and film level's shot, they peer into the dark reaches of the very real human heart to deliver stories that are thrilling, do you have a feeling like "Oh my god...is that a game?? No!! It's totally a real movie!!"
Music
Music, a game become great, it must be get a beautiful music, it's could be goodly or varied or unique. In the "Heavy Rain" some amazing music is also a soul in this game. When the Ethan and Shaun go back to the old apartment and eat diner, a piano music come out, the song is depressed and so beautiful, no dialogue and no superfluous action, Ethan just sit in front of Shaun, but we still can feeling Shaun estrange him from his father Ethan and Ethan's love for Shaun and Rebuking himself, their emotions were sublimated at this moment. Tense orchestral show us when Ethan driver wrong way on the high way, his mood, fear, contradiction and he was determined to must be save Shaun. From the fast violin and cello, Ethan's despair and crazy when he lost Shaun, we can see and feeling. In the "Heavy Rain" totally get 16 songs soundtrack in the whole game and sale it on the iTunes and PSN.
Small Games
"Heavy Rain" is a dark noir game, when we play this game we will feel nervous and oppressive and because of this game is really authentic, whether its screen shot or control system or sounds, we get tired and headache when you continuous play more than 3 hours and fall in the story, so some time we need relax and let us surprise thing is "Heavy Rain" was prepared a few small game for the players, to distract the players' attention, like play the apple, play the basketball, play the boomerang and some on. The small games are everywhere, in the backyard you can play the basketball, you can found the apples from the basket in the kitchen; even you can found the boomerang in the Shaun's bag. One kind of small games the players no worry about the story, you can play these many times if you want and the games' results will not affect the after plot and if you get a great games' results, sometimes you will get the prize. Some small game is not easy can found out, you need watch carefully and try more things, this function add more pleasure for this game and make this game more plump.
Comparison
When we talk about the "Degrees of freedom", we have to talk about the GTA. GTA is a high level about the "Degrees of freedom" game. In this game you real can do every thing if you want and you get a big map, you can kill people, you can fight with cop, you can shoot, you can drive car, motor, boat, even the helicopter, this is GTA's style "Degrees of freedom", but it's totally different with "Heavy Rain". In my opinion, GTA is more like a action game and it didn't have very clear main storyline, in the GTA, you just get many mission and you can choice one to finish it, you don't real care about the story, you just need to know the conditions to complete the mission."What also you can do in the game?" This is GTA's emphasis. If we just only talk about the "Degrees of freedom", of course GTA is the best, but in the "Heavy Rain", it tell us a different style about the "Degrees of freedom", "What are you usually do in the normal day?" So we control the characters to brushing, wear the clothes, make up the face, and take care the children. Because of "Heavy Rain" get a very clear main storyline, in this game everything is work for it, so we don't need extra things, like big real city, if we get that, it must be affect the whole story's rhythm, it's not mean "Heavy Rain" just have few stages, on the contrary, this game have more than 70 stages, they just separate them, this effect is obvious. GTA can do everything in the city(but not details, like drive the car, you just get in and control the direction, you don't adjust the rear view mirror and put down the handbrake and push the car stalls), "Heavy Rain" can do everything in the small stage, it got many details. The other biggest difference between GTA and "Heavy Rain" is game idea. In the GTA, we can experience "What is freedom", we felt cheerful and comfortable. But in the "Heavy Rain" the players can really felt "What is the humanity" or "Moral and legal in front of the son's life, which one you want choice?" or "What is purely about a father's love" we can't arbitrary determine this is right or that is wrong in this game, that is just a matter of viewpoint. We can learn something from the "Heavy Rain", it's just like a emotional journey when you play this game. In my opinion, GTA like burgers and chips, you can eat everywhere and eat very quickly if your want. But the "Heavy Rain" just likes authentic French cuisine that you'd better sitting in a quiet environment and the taste of a mouthful slowly, savoring the taste of the inside. It’s not mean "Heavy Rain" is better than GTA, just like most people cannot refuse the burgers and chips or the authentic French cuisine's temptation, they all delicious, just a different type for you.
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