David Cage: No one should be allowed to define what a game is

No one should be allowed to define what a game is or should be, according to Quantic Dream studio head David Cage. Speaking with GameSpot about Beyond: Two Souls, Cage said he would like to see games break from tradition and tell new stories with new modes of play.

"Some people can be very conservative about this medium and this is sometimes frustrating," Cage said. "Some people wish that games would always stay what they were in the past 30 years, just with more polygons. No one should be allowed to define what a video game is or should be; no one has this power."

"A video game can be so many different things. Angry Birds is a game; Call of Duty is a game; World of Warcraft is a game; Gone Home is a game. Who can decide 'you are a video game', 'you are not a video game', 'you are not a part of this family?' No. Let's open this medium to whoever has different ideas and it's great to see people trying to do games where shooting is not the main thing."

Cage acknowledged that this discussion is "very interesting" in the context of the coming weeks and months when so many topline franchises--including shooters like Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4--will be released. Cage described these franchises as "great," but said Beyond: Two Souls is something altogether different.

"Beyond is different. As a game creator, this is what I believe in," Cage said. "And I would like you to try it and hopefully you'll like it. It's a different route and this is definitely the route that I chose in my career."

Cage said Beyond: Two Souls already has a built-in audience from the success of predecessor Heavy Rain, but explained that he would like to convince new groups of people to give the game a try.

"There are people on both ends of the spectrum that we need to convince. One one side we have hardcore gamers who think that games should only be about shooting and about action and killing and competing and adrenaline," Cage said. "And we need to convince these people to give Beyond a try and say 'OK, this is going to be different'. Yeah, it's about a young woman. No she doesn't have a gun. And maybe you will enjoy the experience because it's different, because it's something you haven't played before."

On the other end of this spectrum are people who do not play games at all and may not have a full understanding of what a game can be, Cage said. He said if these people try Beyond: Two Souls they may learn games can be something more than what they thought they could be.

"They think video games are just about violence and that there is nothing there for them or that they are too complex to play or that they are not interested in shooting. And you say no, video games can be something else. Give Beyond a try and see if you enjoy it or not."

Beyond: Two Souls launched today exclusively on PlayStation 3. For more, check out GameSpot's review.