Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer Impressions
Quantic Dream walks us through the gameplay of this highly anticipated PlayStation 3 exclusive.
It was during E3 of 2006 when French developer Quantic Dream, creators of Indigo Prophecy and Omikron, showed a technical demo titled "Heavy Rain: The Casting." The five-minute clip showed a virtual actress stepping into a bland room to give a rather convincing monologue to show off her acting skills. What was impressive was that we got to see the wide range of emotions that the developers had been able to pull off in real time with this actress. What began as a simple story about her falling in love turned into a dramatic performance where she went from being heartbroken to vindictive. We saw the tears stream down her face as she held a gun to her head, but then with hate-filled eyes she swiftly turned it to the camera. This short demo left people incredibly curious and excited to see what Quantic Dream had in store for the game Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer, especially as to how the game would play, given that the monologue didn't offer anything more than an audition tape. During E3 2008, we were able to get a peek at what the gameplay would be like with an entirely different storyline, which was made specifically for the presentation so that the real story would not be spoiled.
Behind closed doors, writer and director David Cage gave us an overview of what to expect for Heavy Rain. When Quantic Dream originally showed "The Casting," it was meant to be an internal technical demo that would explore the possibility of re-creating a virtual actress with the emotional dimensions that only a real actress could portray. Like Indigo Prophecy, rather than being in a genre that has already been defined, Heavy Rain is a different sort of adventure, one in which you control the story with your actions. Cage describes it as an emotional experience with mature themes in which action and narration work closely together. You aren't just the actor but also the writer and the director. The goal is to have you genuinely care about what happens to the characters by immersing you with a technique called bending stories. Cage explained that, although storytelling is linear, interactivity isn't, so his solution is to create a story that is analogous to a rubber band, a situation in which you can stretch and deform the narrative but the backbone of the story will always be there and won't change. The way the story is told will change, with invisible boundaries so that you feel that everything is in your control.
Before the demo began, we had a good look at the menu screen. The menu zoomed in on the eyes of a woman who resembled Mary Smith from "The Casting" demo. She filled the screen with her eyes as she glanced furtively left and right. It was a bit unsettling and rather hypnotic, but the detail was exquisite because the eyes looked so real. Cage explained that they created a technology to motion-capture the micromovement on the eyes of a real actress. The details on the skin and the shadows were also impressive because we saw the blemishes and inconsistencies of the skin, not an airbrushed close-up of an actress who no longer has pores. The graphics have improved significantly from the last demo, and by looking into Mary's eyes, it was as if you could see into her thoughts. The chilling piano theme playing in the background added to the mystery as we eagerly waited for the presentation to start.
We first saw a journalist named Madison as she rode a motorcycle in the rain, headed toward the house of a taxidermist. Several women have disappeared, and he has been linked as a possible suspect. Madison is only interested in getting the scoop on whether this man turns out to be the true origami killer or not. Once she arrived at the house, Madison stepped onto the sidewalk and we began to see how the controls work. Rather than using the analog sticks to maneuver her, the R2 trigger will let her move forward and the left analog can be used to move her head. It's difficult to think of this game within the traditional conventions. As the player, you are there to progress the story as you see fit, and options will be available to you as they come up. Similar to Indigo Prophecy, icons will appear in the lower right portion of the screen to indicate what you can do, whether it's moving the analog stick or tapping buttons. Madison moved forward to look in the mailbox, but whether she puts her hand in slowly or backs off is entirely up to you. You'll be in control of how the animation unfolds, and there is never any load time. The house appeared to be a more run-down version of a typical suburban home. The weather was dreary and Madison was wet from the rain. Her movements were realistic, and when left standing idle for a while, she fidgeted.
When Madison approached the door, she was prompted with options to either knock or ring the doorbell. Using the Sixaxis controller, you can also select what you want to say, given that Madison will have different thoughts come up. This thought interface will give you the pros and cons of the situation. It doesn't tell you what to do or not to do, and it's contextual, so it will change depending on where and when you are in the story.
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Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer Hands-On
We finally get our chance to play with Quantic Dream's highly anticipated PlayStation 3-exclusive thriller.
- May 22, 2009
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