While most of us in North America don't read the Dutch magazine Chief, one of our readers abroad pointed out that they'd run a major exclusive on upcoming Quantic Dream/Sony title Heavy Rain. (You know Quantic Dream as the company behind Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, and you know Heavy Rain from my fanboy obsession).

Reader Saimon was kind enough to translate some of the more enticing statements about the title made by Quantic Dream's founder David Cage. And we were kind enough to copy and paste the translations after the jump.



On Locations:
"I don't want to do a big free-roaming city like GTA, because the flow of the story will then be hard to control. Nevertheless, I do want to incorporate big sets, with a crowd, heavy populated areas like a mall and a subway are going to be in there. Of course, the gameplay has got to make use of that aspect too."

On Graphics:
"People will be surprised. Internal (Sony's) feedback on graphics has been great. This is going to be a truly next-gen game. But still, we want to do something unique with the graphics, going beyond just making the most photorealistic world we can."

On Gameplay:
"With the release of Fahrenheit, we gave the adventure genre a new grammar. We brought new ways into the genre, new words if you want to see it like that, a new vocabulaire. With Heavy Rain, where going to expand on that same grammar."

On Story:
"Heavy Rain is about normal people that have landed in extraordinary situations. I wanted a much more personal story. The first thing that came to my mind, as a father of two little boys, was that the main theme should simply be a father's love for his son. This is not a game about saving the princess or the world. Its purely about a father's love."

"The main story will revolve around 4 different characters, and we're putting the spotlight on their perceptions. The question 'what is good and what is evil' is the key here, that will be just a matter of viewpoint...I believe heavily in moral choices, I'm going to use them A LOT. They're not about being good or bad, but about finding the right balance."

So far, so good. Thanks to Saimon for all the hard work on this one

bump for video and what a video.. i drooled..

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/54291

bump for video and what a video.. i drooled..

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/54291

I was just checking out this game, hadn't got round to having a proper read of the E3 and GC coverage, and it looks...weird, to say the least. Cool, but very different. Is all the gameplay going to be made up of these sort of interactive cutscenes? I might go check out their other games, since I haven't played any of them ,and they seem to get rave reviews.

That Mirrors Edge image in your sig cracks me up I can't believe how many people haven't noticed she has two right hands in the first person perspective

lmao what? I don't see it haha.

lmao what? I don't see it haha.

If you look at the pic on both her hands (not the reflection) she has two right thumbs - her left hand is the wrong way round.

David Cage, director of Heavy Rain, disclosed an interesting tidbit of info back at LGC: the main character of the game, as seen above, can be killed and the player will still be able to continue the game. "I can't really tell you too much about what the story's about or how it's going to work with the characters, all I can tell you that your character -- the main character -- can die, and the story will continue," Cage told VG247. "You can continue to play, without this character, of course."

He was asked to elaborate on whether the player will continue on in a side-story instead. "No, no. It's one big story." We knew Heavy Rain was going to be innovative, but this is something we've yet to see in a big-budget title.

Gamekyo recently got a second helping of Heavy Rain at the Micromania Games Show 2008 in Paris. At the show, David Cage showed off the same level seen in the debut Leipzig trailer earlier this year. This time, Cage took the MGS crowd through the level, showing them Heavy Rain's Sixaxis controls, fully interactive environments, multiple story paths and no load screens.

Gamekyo recorded over 20 minutes of the demonstration, which you can watch right after the break. While Cage may be explaining everything in French in the video, it's not too difficult to figure out what's going on. Besides, the in-game dialogue is in English.