Future Cannon game Heavy Rain



Introduction


It is a hard task to try and predict how much a game will impact on the gaming industry. Its not until many years later can it be seen how much a game had influenced the gaming industry at the time, so to try now and foresee what next game will be considered a “Canon Game” is difficult. I felt the best way for me to choose a game is to select a game that is unique, a game that currently stands out and brings something fresh and new to the gaming community, something that pushed the standards of “normal” games and created some entirely new. So for me I believe that Heavy Rain fits these criteria and will in the future become a “Canon Game”. Heavy Rain has seen success across all boards commercial, critical and user and im sure this alone will have an impact on future game developments.


Company


“Heavy Rain” was developed by Quantic Dream a French based game developing company. The Quantic Dream was founded in 1997 and it supplies motion capture services to both the film and gaming industry. To date Quantic Dream have released 3 video game titles Omikron: The Nomad Soul on PC and Dreamcast, Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy on PC, PS2 , Xbox and Heavy Rain on PS3. Heavy Rain being there 3rd game title released was being developed following the success of there previous game Fahrenheit released in 2005. Fahrenheit was a critically acclaimed game which “won an impressive amount of international and national awards for Best Game of the Year (PS2 or X-Box)” and also was runner up for Most Innovative Game at the E3 Game Critics Choice Awards. David Cage is the CEO of Quantic Dream and is the main man behind the development of Qauntic Dreams games. Heavy Rain was released exclusively onto the PS3 and was their first attempt at producing a game on a next generation console.


Designer


David Cage was in a shopping mall with his son and his wife. He “lost track of his son” but assumed his wife had him and she thought the opposite. Cage frantically started to search for his son, with the worst thoughts going through his head, he eventually found him out the front of a video store, and Cage recalls it as being “longest five minutes of my life”. It was this moment that can be contributed to the idea of Heavy Rain. The emotions he felt through that time were very dark and strong and he wanted to try and portray those emotions through a video game.


David Cage was also the creator behind Fahrenheit a very similar style game to Heavy Rain which relied primarily on interaction and story telling. Cage with Heavy Rain wanted to “build on what worked well in Fahrenheit, and improve what didn’t really work”. The result was Heavy Rain and something Cage said “would be important to this industry, one way or another”.


Game Overview


Heavy Rain is essentially a murder mystery the player takes control of 4 characters throughout the game journalist Madison Paige, FBI profiler Norman Jayden, private detective Scott Shelby and Ethan Mars the father. Ethan son has been stolen by the serial killer known as the origami killer in the game. They are all trying to find clues to stop the Origami killer before he adds Ethans son to his ever growing list of victims.


Genre


Heavy Rain has been credited by many critics as “genre defining” and its easy to see why once you play the game because it could fit under many different genres it could be classified as an adventure, action, dramatic thriller, murder mystery. But still all of these genres do not describe the type of game that Heavy Rain has become so famous for. Heavy Rain has redefined a new genre that is yet to be given a label.

“Heavy Rain has much more in common with films like Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic or P.T.Anderson’s Magnolia then is does with any game”

Heavy Rain has been given labels like “Interactive Movie”, “Interactive Novel”, “Interactive Drama” I think they are some of the more accurate genres to explain the kind of game Heavy Rain should be classified as. These labels describe the game where narrative takes more control over the game then the players ability to control it. The game heavily relies on telling a story like a movie rather then having the player control how it is played. The players controls were limited to each scene not being about to move away from it. Although the play would play during the entire game, even during the games cut scenes these were playable , this kept the player entrenched in the story. Instead of detaching away from them which can happen during normal cut scenes in most games.


Heavy Rain has developed some new weird mixed genre between movies and games and this alone will affect the gaming industry how big or small is yet to be determined but for a game of the modern era to change the rules on how a game can be delivered is a masterful piece of brilliance by David Cage.


Story


The game chops and changes between scenes with the player taking control of 4 main characters during the game, all for the objective of trying to discover the Origami Killer, as the player goes through each scene the decision they making ultimately decide how the game will end. Although the game has this continuous changing of characters and scenes there is an underlining meaning behind the game which CEO David cage said in an interview “the real message [of the game] is about how far you're willing to go to save someone you love”. To make the tough decisions and then have to live with the consequences that you have made, it is this emotional connection Heavy Rain has that no other game does which separates it from the pack, and has it in its own gaming world.


One of the big things about games these days are the ever growing popularity of casual games. Facebook and phone games have opened up an even wider audience of people to these casual game market, mums are now finding themselves sitting on the computer playing games like Farmville. Something only a few years ago would have been crazy thinking about. Who would have thought it would be the kids trying to kick mum off the computer so they can have there turn. If video games especially console games are to evolve and tap into this wider older mature audience, then they need bridge this gap and offer something that will appeal to them “If videogames are to attract an even wider audience, they need to evolve, making gameplay easier and more natural even as storylines become more engaging”-Chris Kohlar. Heavy Rain offers this notion to gamers by having simplistic gameplay mixed with mature content and enthralling storyline. It is first game to have a step in the right direction to bridging this gap between casual gamers and hardcore gamers. “that’s why games like Heavy Rain are going to be a big part of gaming’s future”-Gamezone.




Gameplay


Heavy Rain is all about interaction. The game requires constant interaction with the player even during the cut scenes. “When you think about what interacting means in games, it’s shooting, or killing, or being as fast as possible,” Cage wanted to create a new form of interaction in games not just the standard shoot, kill, jump and Heavy Rain displays this in abundance. Heavy Rain pushes the boundaries of interaction, in laymen terms interaction is merely a means of changing the environment but Heavy Rain challenges this notion “ it could be changing your relationship with someone, it could be changing the way something looks, it could be so many different things”-Cage. Heavy Rain offers interaction with the entire game emotionally and physically. With every interaction in the game could change the way the game was played out, changing the entire game, this meant that Heavy Rain had a script 2000 pages long. Modern games that offer alternate endings and consequences feel stale and simulated “because the lack of human connection”. It’s this human connection where Heavy Rain excels making every choice or decision the player makes very believable and why Heavy Rain “adds weight to the gaming medium where no other game has before.”-Gamepro


Graphics


The graphics in Heavy Rain are stunning and extremely detailed they are almost photo realistic. Each scene in the game has so much detail whether it is faded wallpaper, cracked footpath, stained furniture the amount of the detail creates a very believable world that makes it appear as though its been lived in before. It really sets up a dark suspenseful atmosphere in the game to add to the emotion for the player.



Soundtrack


There was an original soundtrack created for Heavy Rain by an orchestra, David Cage recognised that the audio of a game accounts for over 50 percent of the emotional affect on the player. Cage wanted an original sound track made from scratch to create a suspense driven thriller vibe throughout the game.


Motion Capture


Its been reported that during the making of Heavy Rain it required 170 days of motion capture. That is about the equivalent of 3 motion pictures so for a game production to utilise that technology to such a large extent is defiantly a first for the gaming industry. Cage’s collaborator Guillaume de Fondaumière claims that Heavy Rain is the “largest motion-capture endeavor, ever,” It meant Heavy Rain had over 12 hours of finished animations.


It allowed the Heavy Rain to capture not only body motions but also eye movements and facial movements. The result was cinematic quality animations throughout the game and brought a real movie based atmosphere to the player. It meant during the playable cut scenes it created such an authentic feel and photo realistic look to the game, every decision the player made during the scenes resulted in a new animation sequence to be played. It made everything seem so real each decision was being affected in real time and at such a constant rate. Modern games may offer the ability to play through cutscenes and make decision but no where near the amount that is on offer throughout Heavy Rain.


Because of the success Heavy Rain were able to create through motion capture im sure it will inspire future games to also make more use of motion capture technology to create more and more realistic movements and characters in games. It will also give the player more possibility in choices without detracting away from the realism of the game.



Mature Game


Heavy Rain is indeed like a movie and just like it a movie it brings mature content to the gamer something that has been missing from the gaming industry. Its probably the first game to use the M rating for mature content then for sheer violence as the current standard for games. Heavy Rain is a game that connects intellectually with the player, it ask them to make decisions that are very much real and in turn have real consequences. It’s a fair statement that Heavy Rain has “some of the most intense and sometimes terrifying sequences ever found in a game”- Destructriod. Games nowadays generally rely on violence as the selling point behind there game and offering little substance to the meaning behind it. Heavy Rain offers adult content that until Heavy Rain you would have only seen in a movie.


Game Controls


The game controls are defiantly a unique part of Heavy Rain. The game uses every button the PS3 controller as well as the 6-axis movement capability it has, something that most games don’t take full advantage of and it is refreshing for a game to utilise the entire PS3 controller and all its features. The game offers players simplistic but an individually refreshing style where player is required to press buttons as they are flashed on the screen at certain times. David Cage wanted to create controls where each button wasn’t just limited to doing one thing like it most games, one button only shoots, and another button only jumps. “To tell a diverse story, you need a hero capable of doing anything. One button needs to control an infinite number of different things in different contexts”-Cage. It’s this method Cage used throughout Heavy Rain and this meant that the player was not really needed to learn control combinations to complete the game. It makes the game more engaging and also very easy to pick up and play, something that I think in the future will be used by more and more game developers. With the gaming industry expanding and players becoming more impatient due to casual games engulfing the mainstream gaming section, bigger production game developers need to appeal to this casual gamer audience. Something Heavy Rain does with its game control system.


Although the thought of only pressing buttons as they appear on the screen may appear boring it worked extremely well with the cinematic style of the game as it felt like the player was actually performing the tasks in the game. For example when the player is in the car and wants to start the engine, they are asked to half rotate the right joy stick, reflecting the movement of turning a key. Another reason Cage reframed from using “the one button-one action paradigm” for something more flexible it allowed Cage to portray the real emotions like anxiety when you are placed with a tough decision which can affect the future. When the player was presented with a tough decision in the game multiple options would circulate around the players head depending on the circumstances of the decision the options would move around faster making them harder to recognize and increasing the chance of making a wrong or poor choice, something that happens in real life, the player is then stuck with that choice and it may affect how the rest of the game will be played out.


Heavy Rain delivers a simple but affective way of playing the game. a simpler form of this control system was actually used in Fahrenheit although not as complete and executed as well as it was in Heavy Rain. The control system used in Heavy Rain although basic may inspire the gaming industry to open there eyes and find new unique ways or controlling games outside the normal jump and shot.


Reception


Heavy Rain has been met with nothing but positive reviews by the users and the critics. The first time Heavy Rain was seen was at a short 3D technology demo at 2006 E3 event and at the time was seen by many as “the most intense tech demo ever created, a wrenching five-minute monologue from a woman auditioning for a part in a film”-Greg Mueller. This stirred up a fare bit of excitement within the gaming industry but nothing was heard of Heavy Rain not until 2 years later at another E3 event where they showed the first demo and trailor of the game, showcasing the games game play. It was the following E3 event when a playable demo was allowed to the media that the hype surrounding Heavy Rain become a must have game upon release. There was a huge buzz behind Heavy Rain and Sony promoted it extensively. The game was finally released in Feb 2010 and was an instant success. Almost all reviews gave it at least a 9/10, the Metacritic a site which averages out the scores given from all good game critics has Heavy Rain Metascore of 88 which was the 2nd best PS3 game of the year at the time. The game is currently nominated for action game of the year, soundtrack of the year and ultimate game of the year at the 28th golden joystick awards.

Heavy Rain has currently sold over 1 million copies which is a far higher mark then what David Cage had estimated of only 200 000. Cage mentioned Heavy Rain “Sells well, it will send a message that there is a market for adult experiences based on emotions”. Heavy Rain receiving so much commercial success shows its importance to the gaming industry and that it deserves to be considered as a future canon game. For that reason Heavy Rain is one of the most exciting and important games on PS3 so far.

Conclusion

The fact Heavy Rain has opened up the door to a new and creative style for the new generation of video gaming through creating emotional adult experience into a game and add to the fact it has had such a high ranked critically and its commercial success its certainly a fair statement that to think Heavy Rain will inspire a new genre of gaming and that in years to come it will be considered as canon game. David Cage summed it up best when asked about how thought Heavy Rain would impact on the gaming industry.


“I hope the legacy of Heavy Rain is to open doors to other people, that Heavy Rain is not the final result, it's just the first step in this new direction”.


If this is true and there is a new path video games lead into a new direction, which I personally believe there will then it is certain to become a future canon game.


Credits

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/59020

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/02/david-cage-heavy-rain/

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/02/review-heavy-rain/

http://www.fastcompany.com/1558681/david-cage-heavy-rain-sony-playstation-video-games-interactive-drama?partner=rss

http://features.metacritic.com/features/2010/heavy-rain-inside-the-reviews/

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/01/pl_games_heavyrain/

http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/213908/heavy-rain/