Heavy Rain [PS3]

[Sigfried1977]

^She plays a major role regardless of that. She's pretty much in every second Shelby-chapter.

 

[Billy Idol]

^She plays a major role regardless of that. She's pretty much in every second Shelby-chapter.

Yeah, of course

Spoiler

but I never thought that she had so much influence at the end and killed Shelby!!

 

[Sigfried1977]

Here he is: The creepy, badly animated news reporter guy. Beware: MASSIVE SPOILERS!!! (he appears around the 3 minute mark)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzVPlt2f6cw

 

[findhorn_elves]

they should release this for the PC we get better hardware than that static PS3

 

[patsu]

On one hand, I'd love more people to enjoy HR. On the other, I wonder whether the control scheme would work for mouse and keyboard. It would be too easy.

Get motion controller working on the PC first (Kinect ?)

 

[Shifty Geezer]

they should release this for the PC we get better hardware than that static PS3

If you want to play the exlcusive games, you have to buy the hardware - that's the reason Sony finances these titles!

 

[Sigfried1977]

Ah, PC-users and their misplaced sense of entitlement.

 

[JPT]

Ah, PC-users and their misplaced sense of entitlement.

Why not extend that to include all of humanity?

 

[Sigfried1977]

Why not extend that to include all of humanity?

Wrong message board

 

[patsu]

David Cage interview:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-...Heavy-Rain-Interview-with-David-Cage-Page-One

Talks about how QD created HeavyRain and their next step.

2. The actions that the player performs in Heavy Rain's gameplay feel very true-to-life in a way. For example, the player presses R1 to pump Shelby's inhaler or turns the right analog stick to turn on a stove. How did the team at Quantic Dream accomplish this?

DC: We wanted controls to mimic the character’s moves on screen. We thought that “making” movements at the same time than the character could significantly contribute to make the player feel like he is a part of the world, and thus improve his sense of involvement and immersion in the world. It is a very simple thing, but unfolding moves reinforces player’s physical presence in the world.

The hardest part was to find a sequence for this interface allowing players to emulate moves that are sometimes complex. That was especially true in action sequences where prompts are not randomly displayed but are related to the movements.

3. During the more intense scenes of Heavy Rain, the player feels tension and drama -- they're "in the moment." During the creation of the game, how did you make sure that the player is engaged in the gameplay experience to that extent?

DC: The writing is the starting point of everything. All the emotions, tension, sadness, fear, guilt, whatever you want the player to experience, should be present in the script. There are some well established techniques in matter of writing to create identification, empathy, make the audience feel certain emotions at certain moments, and I certainly used them each time it was possible.

But the most important thing for me was to make sure that emotions are not just present in cut scenes but most of all during game play. Creating a very sad cut scene is one thing, creating an interactive moment making you feel sad and depressed is something more complex.

This is where the development of Heavy Rain was so interesting to me. It wasn’t just about using existing techniques but rather finding new ideas to make game play a part of the emotional involvement of the player. We also realized the importance of art direction, where every single detail becomes important. Lighting, sound design, music, cameras, everything should participate to create the emotion you want to trigger.

 

[patsu]

Congratulations, Quantic Dream:
http://gamasutra.com/view/news/2944...ndependent_Studio_Prize_At_Develop_Awards.php

Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream won the Best New IP and Independent Studio awards at this week's European-specific Develop Awards in Brighton, joining Rocksteady Studios and Hello Games as this year's only multiple award winning game developers of the show.

Creativity

Best New IP
Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)

Best New Download IP
Angry Birds (Rovio)

Best Use of a Licence or IP
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios)

Visual Arts
Split/Second (Black Rock Studio)

Audio Accomplishment
DJ Hero (FreeStyleGames)

Publishing Hero
Channel 4

Technology & Services

Technical Innovation
Unity Engine (Unity Technologies)

Tools Provider
Hansoft

Engine
Unreal Engine 3

Services
Testology

Audio Outsourcer
Side

Visual Outsourcer
Axis Animation

Recruitment Company
Amiqus

Studios

Best New Studio
Hello Games

Micro Studio
Hello Games

Handheld Studio
SCE Cambridge

Business Development
Sony XDev

In-House Studio
Rocksteady Studios

Independent Studio
Quantic Dream

Special Awards

Development Legend
Andrew Gower & Paul Gower (Jagex)

Grand Prix
Unity Technologies

 

[Akumajou]

they should release this for the PC we get better hardware than that static PS3

I got a better idea, you can buy a PS3, buy or rent Heavy Rain and play it, if you don't like it you can return the console and if you rented, return the game.

 

[green.pixel]

If you want to play the exlcusive games, you have to buy the hardware - that's the reason Sony finances these titles!

How much did Sony pay QD for the exclusivity?
And how much did the game cost to develop?

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Saw the HipHopgamer vid, with him playing the fight scene from the demo with Move.

Well, I must say, Move integration changes the gameplay a LOT ! Its almost an action game during fight scenes.
If they make a bundle with HR+Move controller, I'll get it !

 

[upnorthsox]

Saw the HipHopgamer vid, with him playing the fight scene from the demo with Move.

Well, I must say, Move integration changes the gameplay a LOT ! Its almost an action game during fight scenes.
If they make a bundle with HR+Move controller, I'll get it !

I'm holding out for that too.

 

[patsu]

Move integration changes the gameplay a LOT ! Its almost an action game during fight scenes.

Bu... bu.. but, I want them to retain that unique flavor of gameplay. I think the existing scheme is uncanny in reproducing clumsy or difficult actions in-game.

Heavy Rain Move may be a totally different experience altogether.

 

[patsu]

http://gamescom.gamespot.com/story/6273573/david-cage-opens-up-about-heavy-rain

"Very few games try to explore the wide range of emotions that are available out there," he said.

GDC Europe 2010: Quantic Dream CEO talks about the challenges of developing an original game in today's market; PS3 thriller sells 1.5 million.

...

"Heavy Rain is a commercial success," said Cage. "Which is something that no one including Sony and Quantic Dream expected, to be honest with you." He later went on to state that Heavy Rain has sold 1.5 million copies thus far, and he expects that figure to reach 2 million before the game has been out for a year.

The presentation later turned toward the subject of marketing such a risky game. According to Cage, Sony's initial sales forecasts for Heavy Rain were a quarter of what the game has so far sold. However, the marketing budget for the title remained in line with that initial sales forecast throughout the entire development of the game, even as it gained buzz and showed more signs of commercial promise.

He also wanted to get rid of the concept of repeated gameplay mechanics and mapping a few standard actions to the controller, because, as Cage asked, could you imagine telling a story where the main character is limited to the same number of actions as there are buttons on a controller? The solution for this was Heavy Rain's contextual control scheme, in which three-dimensional input prompts hover over the characters and scenes to give players directions on how to interact with the environments around them in ways that could be different for each part of the game.

Probably relevant to the PS Move/Kinect threads also (as in advantages of new controllers vs old).

 

[Billy Idol]

I also watched people playing Heavy Rain with the move controller. Seemed to be a natural fit and looked cool.

Heavy Rain would have been the perfect MOVE launch title if you ask me, perfect fit.
But now that I have played through the game...I am not interested anymore.

 

[Rotmm]

@Patsu,

This part you posted...

"The presentation later turned toward the subject of marketing such a risky game. According to Cage, Sony's initial sales forecasts for Heavy Rain were a quarter of what the game has so far sold. However, the marketing budget for the title remained in line with that initial sales forecast throughout the entire development of the game, even as it gained buzz and showed more signs of commercial promise."

...just doesn't ring true to me. I don't recall (in the Uk that is) a game this year, with the exception of Red Dead, that received more marketing. Internet ads, print adds (2 or 4 pagers usually) in "expensive" magazines like Edge and a huge (compared to other big games) TV ad campaign.

It's was the kind of marketing push for a game you'd expect to sell at least 350K in the UK alone, not as Cage says was the expected 350K worldwide sales.

As an aside, I played through the game again last week.... without the burden of the high expectations I had on release.... and what a great game. There are still a couple of things that bother me enough to not add it to my mental "top games" list, but a great ride nonetheless and far better than I remembered it being when I first played it.

 

[patsu]

Hmm... I usually don't follow budget because it's just a number. First, they may not spend it all. Second, they can use money from another budget, or do join marketing with someone else, or move the $$$ from one region to another.

I don't watch TV so much, so I can't tell whether the TV ads are more aggressive in US.

I also watched people playing Heavy Rain with the move controller. Seemed to be a natural fit and looked cool.

Heavy Rain would have been the perfect MOVE launch title if you ask me, perfect fit.
But now that I have played through the game...I am not interested anymore.

I am split on this. I think the current clumsy control works for the game. Switching to Move may or may not make it too accessible.