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[Suairyu]

That's such a disappointing statement to hear anyone make, especially someone who loves videogames, and I'd like to believe that everyone here does. Heavy Rain, despite its faults, is an incredible step towards innovating the story-driven interactive entertainment genre.

No, it isn't. It's using the non-interactive tropes and archetypes of film, breaking it down into little pieces and letting you re-arrange those piece ever so slightly by means of awkward button pushes.

That isn't interactive storytelling. That's "choose what happens next" storytelling, which books did decades ago and DVDs more recently and nobody would have the audacity to call it interactive storytelling on any serious level.

A true step forward is where gameplay itself is the storytelling. I don't think it's an entirely successful example, but a game like Braid where the game mechanics themselves are a method of communicating the character's mental state, history and how he is working through that history within his memories (the various time-manipulation mechanics that change depending on what part of his life he is remembering) is a greater step forward for interactive storytelling than Heavy Rain could ever hope to be.

I'm not saying Braid is superb storytelling or all games need to be like Braid in the future, I'm just saying it latched onto the idiom of storytelling through interaction far more successfully that Heavy Rain could ever hope to achieve.

I mean, this isn't even looking at the quality of the story itself, which one could write a lot more on. But it could be boiled down to this: Heavy Rain failed at interactive storytelling, and its story would fail if presented flatly as non-interactive. It borrows the storytelling methods of film without actually telling a story that would be worthy of any acclaim within the medium.

It's shite.

Rez (<3 Rez!) had superior storytelling and thematic exploration than Heavy Rain, and it didn't even put its story front-and-centre.

I'll give this to Heavy Rain: if you let yourself go with it, the illusion of interactive storytelling it creates is good for a single run through for most people. But that's all it is: an illusion. People who are gaming literate should typically see through that illusion.

 

[The Technomancer]

Haven't played 999 so can't comment. But yea, about those plot holes?

In terms of concrete ones, let me quote Amir0x's review, which as a whole perfectly describes my feelings for the game:

At one moment, they're monitoring a building where Ethan is. One character enters the building on a motorcycle which all the police clearly see and helps Ethan escape (why the building wasn't surrounded, who knows!), and of course they never think to detain the motorcycle to run plates or anything. Later on the police corner Ethan at a hotel and chase him from room to room and onto the roof. How does Ethan escape? He does a bunny hop off the roof and in front of the police helicopter hijacks a taxi. No one pursues him. Let me emphasize this. He escapes an entire force of police including a police helicopter by committing another crime in front of an aerial unit and still escapes with no one in pursuit. Yeah. Fucking christ.

In terms of less concrete ones, I may not have beaten the game but I still know that absolutely nothing comes of the whole "Ethan blacks out and wakes up in the rain" plot point. You know, the one that completely sets into motion every single other event in the game. Cage tried to answer it away with "oh, well, we didn't get around to it, but he was menat to be psychically connected to the killer". Bull. Shit.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

I had a friend who used to defend Heavy Rain even though he admitted it was a bit rough around the edges, and to be fair while I had a low opinion of the game when we both played through it I felt the tenser moments of the game were intertwined with the controls better than other games which switch to an extended QTE, and conceptually it's admirable (though horribly executed; absolutely no challenge playing it and plot wise even ignoring the hilarious prologue and the origami killer there were things such as what relevance that reporter chick had to the plot besides constantly getting into compromising situations).

I think it was after he had to spend several months analyzing the game in excruciating detail for a university games theory class, which included referring to other material like Cage's flat out bizarre interviews surrounding the game, he grew to hate it and got rid of it. If the game didn't have that 'arts-y' aesthetic surrounding it I think it would've caught way more flak from the gaming press. Honestly don't see any good in making a game more like a movie, especially if they fall apart this badly the minute you start analyzing them like one.

EDIT: And I swear there were games that played like Indigo Prophecy/Heavy Rain ages ago, like those old video cut-scene focused games you'd find on the SEGA CD and PC. Probably even worse than Heavy Rain, but the same general concept/genre.

 

[szaromir]

We Own The Interactive Story-Telling Genre

Too bad that's one genre no one wants or cares about.

 

[Kung Fu Grip]

Why bring Homefront up? They are two completely different game experiences. HR has to stand on it's own merits surely.

I wasn't really compairing it to HF. Just the type of game people would rather play over and over and brush off new ideas like HR.

Same thing happens in every industry.

 

[SketchTheArtist]

I became engrossed in Heavy Rain and I actually cared about the characters. That made the whole game very intense and captivating, and I have never experienced anything like that with any game prior. It's definitely one of my favorite games from this generation.

This.

I knew just by reading the title of the thread how it would turn out. Heavy Rain tried something new and for the major part of it, for me, succeeded flawlessly. I played the game knowing it had a slow build-up, I invested myself into caring about the characters, I let myself being guided by the game. I also forcefully knew that if my character died, that would be the end of their journey and that made it such an impact on my experience. Something I had never felt before while playing a game.

The dad escaping the police with the journalist while he was wounded through the busy street or him cutting off his finger were experiences far more involving on an emotional level than any other game I've played in the last ten years.

I also played the game in French and the dubbing was near-perfect, so I understand that most who played in English were put off with it's VOand it tarnished their experience a bit.

 

[Ellis Kim]

Those a "small" part of those games.

That's a bullshit answer.

QTE has a nasty and negative connotation in the gaming community for a reason, and its a term that's used as an ignorant scapegoat for the inability of some people to enjoy what Heavy Rain had to offer as a core element in its gameplay framework.

Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy also falls under list of games I listed as being nonsensical, "classical," QTE games. Heavy Rain is a very large departure from that.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

No, it isn't. It's using the non-interactive tropes and archetypes of film, breaking it down into little pieces and letting you re-arrange those piece ever so slightly by means of awkward button pushes.

So it fails. Nevertheless, it toys with some interesting ideas not seen that often in other games. Someone might see it and think: "Hey, this is pretty cool. But I can do it better!", which might lead to a real breakthrough. It's an important game, just like Fahrenheit was, both for showing us what works and for showing us what doesn't.

 

[nib95]

In terms of concrete ones, let me quote Amir0x's review, which as a whole perfectly describes my feelings for the game:


In terms of less concrete ones, I may not have beaten the game but I still know that absolutely nothing comes of the whole "Ethan blacks out and wakes up in the rain" plot point. You know, the one that completely sets into motion every single other event in the game. Cage tried to answer it away with "oh, well, we didn't get around to it, but he was menat to be psychically connected to the killer". Bull. Shit.

Admittedly the one's AMir0x mentions are indeed funny. Assuming they were done just to keep the game flowing and up keep the excitement where needed, but I agree it should have been more consistent.

Also, I just thought the Black outs were some stress related illness he had, more so to raise suspicion in the gamer that Ethan could be the killer than anything else.

 

[KernelPanic]

Heavy Rain was awesome.

I suppose it had some flaws and holes in its story but I find it sucked me in like few other games.

RDR has a great story and characters but they're secondary to running around and shooting stuff.

Heavy Rain is pretty much story and presentation 1st, everything else secondary (which explains most of the hate), but that's why I liked it.

 

[Truant]

If you think Heavy Rain was a good game, or a good "interactive experience" then you have bad taste. Period.

It's "The Room" of videogames.

I appreciate what it was trying to do, but the writing and acting, which the game relies heavily (no pun intended) on, is offensive. I felt more attachment to the sentry bots in Portal than I did to any of the RealDolls in HR.

 

[astroturfing]

stfu and go back to making your new game. i'm sure i'll love it no matter how much success has gotten into your head.

 

[The Technomancer]

Admittedly the one's AMir0x mentions are indeed funny. Assuming they were done just to keep the game flowing and up keep the excitement where needed, but I agree it should have been more consistent.

Also, I just thought the Black outs were some stress related illness he had, more so to raise suspicion in the gamer that Ethan could be the killer than anything else.

Right, but a story built on red herrings isn't a good story. A plot twist is at its best when its hinted at and the reader/player can figure it out, or at least intuit something is going on. A plot twist can produce decent shock value when there's no real evidence either way, and it just comes out of nowhere (this is the tack that most games take). A plot twist is nonsensical and stupid when every bit of evidence up until now has pointed to something else being the truth.

 

[MDSLKTR]

I didn't even bother to finish "hévi ren" David.

 

[John Harker]

Woa, you guys are harsh. After seeing his GDC speech, I have a lot of respect for the man. He's good at what he does and he certainly believes in it. Well, I thought Heavy Rain was pretty awesome too so that helps, heh.

 

[Kiriku]

A true step forward is where gameplay itself is the storytelling. I don't think it's an entirely successful example, but a game like Braid where the game mechanics themselves are a method of communicating the character's mental state, history and how he is working through that history within his memories (the various time-manipulation mechanics that change depending on what part of his life he is remembering) is a greater step forward for interactive storytelling than Heavy Rain could ever hope to be.

I agree. I think games with interactive cutscenes etc CAN be enjoyable, but they don't really feel like the best use of what games have to offer.
Even though I don't think the game is much fun to play, I definitely respect what was done in Psychonauts. By diving into the subconscious of the characters you meet, you don't actually go through dialogue trees and watch cutscenes to get exposition and understand every character's desires, issues, thoughts and experiences - you PLAY them! That's what interactive storytelling really is about. It may not be perfect in Psychonauts, but the idea is there.

 

[TheOddOne]

That's a bullshit answer.

QTE has a nasty and negative connotation in the gaming community for a reason, and its a term that's used as an ignorant scapegoat for the inability of some people to enjoy what Heavy Rain had to offer as a core element in its gameplay framework.

Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy also falls under list of games I listed as being nonsensical, "classical," QTE games. Heavy Rain is a very large departure from that.

The core of those games where very good, thats why QTE where not -- for most part -- seen as such a bad thing.

Every game at its core has some good, but if everything around it isn't doesn't really convay it then you can't fault people for not liking or getting it.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

Ok. Let me just stop you right there. The game wasn't just "QTE" gameplay. To call it QTE is a huge disservice.

QTE is Resident Evil 4, Shenmue, Yakuza, and God of War. Random as fuck buttons appearing on screen in an attempt to keep you attentive.

Heavy Rain's use of on-screen buttons is so far beyond that that I'm not even going to validate the rest of your post.

Whatever you want to call it, Cage seems to think of it as a revolution or something and I just don't see it. I don't see any benefits whatsoever that that control scheme has over a traditional one.

 

[nib95]

Right, but a story built on red herrings isn't a good story. A plot twist is at its best when its hinted at and the reader/player can figure it out, or at least intuit something is going on. A plot twist can produce decent shock value when there's no real evidence either way, and it just comes out of nowhere (this is the tack that most games take). A plot twist is nonsensical and stupid when every bit of evidence up until now has pointed to something else being the truth.

Completely disagree. Best case example I can think of is Usual Suspects. Doesn't matter how shocking or un-predictable the twist is, so long as at the end you can piece the puzzles together and see it happening. Not comparing HR to Usual Suspects, just my comment on plot twists in general.

Bioshock is also a good example in the gaming world. The twist took me completely by surprise and nothing even remotely hinted at it till the twist hits and is explained. Only then do you get the sense that anything was ever awry to begin with.

 

[raebodep]

They pretty much do own the genre. I unfortunately don't see anybody else making games like them. Hurry up and unveil your next game already! Where's my next omikron?!

 

[GhaleonQ]

Realistic graphics. That's all I can say. Verisimilitude is the key difference.

Okay, I feel bad that I even piped up on this AGAIN (I saw this before the topic showed up), so I'll just stop and say that this is legitimate to me. I literally do not understand how people get more immersed by bigger screens, surround sound, full-body motion controls, more realistic aesthetics, and the like, but I guess I have to accept that people are telling the truth. If they're telling the truth, than I can understand the divide between what they see as abstraction and what they see as realism. I could argue that this is a bad way to classify art, but I guess I understand the point they're making.

That said, I've never been "immersed" (as gamers mean it) in a piece of art (I'm always aware I'm taking something in), even if I still get affected by it. I think I'm in a minority, though, so at least some of the people who dislike it as much as I do aren't affected by your distinction.

Edit: Well, except for this:

Right, but a story built on red herrings isn't a good story. A plot twist is at its best when its hinted at and the reader/player can figure it out, or at least intuit something is going on. A plot twist can produce decent shock value when there's no real evidence either way, and it just comes out of nowhere (this is the tack that most games take). A plot twist is nonsensical and stupid when every bit of evidence up until now has pointed to something else being the truth.

I'll just add on because it's been misused so many times. Your point explains why it's not a red herring. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring_(idiom)

 

[Suairyu]

No other game has been as successful in making QTEs a compelling part of the gameplay like Shenmue has. True story.

 

[Truant]

The twist in TUS works because we have an unreliable narrator retelling events in a false manner, instead of showing us exactly what happens. This feeds back to the ending scene, making it come together and make sense within the rules established by the film itself.

The twist in HR is just stupid, and reeks of a lazy and pretentious writer/director.

 

[The Technomancer]

Okay, I feel bad that I even piped up on this AGAIN (I saw this before the topic showed up), so I'll just stop and say that this is legitimate to me. I literally do not understand how people get more immersed by bigger screens, surround sound, full-body motion controls, more realistic aesthetics, and the like, but I guess I have to accept that people are telling the truth. If they're telling the truth, than I can understand the divide between what they see as abstraction and what they see as realism. I could argue that this is a bad way to classify art, but I guess I understand the point they're making.

Holy shit...that might explain it. *honest realization* If HR was more immersive then other better adventures for some people because of the modern graphics (or *sigh* the gawdawful voice acting) then yeah, I can't really argue on stable footing against that. Its entirely internal.

 

[nib95]

The twist in TUS works because we have an unreliable narrator retelling events in a false manner, instead of showing us exactly what happens. This feeds back to the ending scene, making it come together and make sense within the rules established by the film itself.

The twist in HR is just stupid, and reeks of a lazy and pretentious writer/director.

How so? It was always going to be one of the main characters, if it wasn't it would have had a sense of disconnect. I thought the twist worked in Heavy Rain as the character it did end up being, was the one I liked and connected with most of all. So it threw me off (within reason) and played on that whole, even the nicest of souls can harbour dark secrets thing. Trust no one so to speak. perhaps very cliche, but they did a good job of explaining why, and the possible emotional trauma suffered resulting to it.

 

[Suairyu]

The twist in HR is just stupid, and reeks of a lazy and pretentious writer/director.

Normally I see this word thrown around on videogame internets and it doesn't mean what the person doing the typing thinks it means.

But you actually used the term correctly because David Cage is being a massively pretentious twat, so congrats!

Spoiler

This post is also pretentious, but that's cool.

 

[fabricated backlash]

then you won't want to look into Jurassic Park from TellTale which they admit openly has its design influenced by Heavy Rain and which is actually based on a film!

it looks good though if you ask me. mechanically Cage's games demonstrate a way of telling any kind of story interactively. once i've finished Heavy Rain i'll let you know if i thought the story was any good, but the gameplay mechanics work well if you ask me.

I have another huge reason not to look into Jurassic Park. I watched the original movie ad nauseam back when I was a kid. In Fact I watched it so religiously that now even mentioning Jurassic Park puts me to sleep.^^

*snores away*

The gameplay mechanics do work in Heavy Rain, I agree, but I personally don't find them interesting at all. To me it seemed like an overly long QTE with a higher errror margin than normal.

I commend them for doing the game. It's a necessary step towards broadening the medium. I just find it unfortunate that they chose to make a second rate movie with plot holes and nonsensical scenes en masse, instead of focusing on the interactive part.
The thing is more like a movie that at times asks you to press some button in order to progress. But the interactivity itself isn't that significant as I'd hoped.


Anyway, I hope you enjoy Heavy Rain more than I did. If nothing else the game provides a different experience for different tastes. In times where the biggest announcements are more or less sequels and/or FPS games we should be thankfull for every game that tries to be unique.

 

[Ellis Kim]

No, it isn't. It's using the non-interactive tropes and archetypes of film, breaking it down into little pieces and letting you re-arrange those piece ever so slightly by means of awkward button pushes.

That isn't interactive storytelling. That's "choose what happens next" storytelling, which books did decades ago and DVDs more recently and nobody would have the audacity to call it interactive storytelling on any serious level.

A true step forward is where gameplay itself is the storytelling. I don't think it's an entirely successful example, but a game like Braid where the game mechanics themselves are a method of communicating the character's mental state, history and how he is working through that history within his memories (the various time-manipulation mechanics that change depending on what part of his life he is remembering) is a greater step forward for interactive storytelling than Heavy Rain could ever hope to be.

I'm not saying Braid is superb storytelling or all games need to be like Braid in the future, I'm just saying it latched onto the idiom of storytelling through interaction far more successfully that Heavy Rain could ever hope to achieve.

I mean, this isn't even looking at the quality of the story itself, which one could write a lot more on. But it could be boiled down to this: Heavy Rain failed at interactive storytelling, and its story would fail if presented flatly as non-interactive. It borrows the storytelling methods of film without actually telling a story that would be worthy of any acclaim within the medium.

It's shite.

Rez (<3 Rez!) had superior storytelling and thematic exploration than Heavy Rain, and it didn't even put its story front-and-centre.

I'll give this to Heavy Rain: if you let yourself go with it, the illusion of interactive storytelling it creates is good for a single run through for most people. But that's all it is: an illusion. People who are gaming literate should typically see through that illusion.

I wholly agree with you on that a true step forward for gaming would be where the game itself tells the story.

HOWEVER, the moment you go down that path of discussion, you're headed into some really murky shit, and it begins to cross into the discussion of the "the personal narrative," which is defined by the idea of the story that's told by a player's actions in any given "life." An example of this would be just about any "amazing" anecdotal story that someone's told, or shown in video form, of a "kill spree," or the longest time they survived and the accomplishments they made in an online multiplayer shooter. Shawn Elliot used to talk about this concept a lot on the CGW/GFW podcast.

And you're right that Braid is a bad example. Beyond what you said, there are far too many nuances for the average gamer to stitch together. For them, the "oh shit" moment is the final level when you get to the princess. Everything else up till that point was lost on them. "Memories?" Hardly.

Heavy Rain borrows storytelling devices from cinema because cinema is the most blunt and well documented tool that a storyteller has when a AAA budget backs their vision.

And you're right, if you let yourself go, and, like any good gamer, suspends your sense disbelief, you're in for one hell of a ride, and its a ride that a lot of us who aren't poo-pooing Heavy Rain got to enjoy.

For every "JASON!", there's a trial set by the Origami killer that Ethan had to go through, and that the player stuck through with, whether it was

Spoiler

cutting off his own finger, shooting an innocent man, or making his way through a jungle of electric hazards

, making the game live up to its hype.

 

[dimb]

That said, I've never been "immersed" (as gamers mean it) in a piece of art (I'm always aware I'm taking something in), even if I still get affected by it. I think I'm in a minority, though, so at least some of the people who dislike it as much as I do aren't affected by your distinction.

Have you ever experienced "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!"?

 

[Truant]

How so? It was always going to be one of the main characters, if it wasn't it would have had a sense of disconnect. I thought the twist worked in Heavy Rain as the character it did end up being, was the one I liked and connected with most of all. So it threw me off (within reason) and played on that whole, even the nicest of souls can harbour dark secrets thing. Trust no one so to speak. perhaps very cliche, but they did a good job of explaining why, and the possible emotional trauma suffered resulting to it.

I have no problem with the killers identity, but I despise how the game lies to you at several instances. The killer even says "I gotta help her find the killer" at one point.

 

[Ledsen]

I guess this proves all stories in videogames are shit then.

Exactly.

This. Although 'a lot of people hating' is an overstatement. Over 2 million people bought the game and a few loud minority bitched about it.

But whatever, Haters, stay pressed. The game won 3 BAFTA awards (original music, story, technical innovation) recently.

http://i55.tinypic.com/3142s15.gif[/MG][/QUOTE]

Tons of people went to see Transformers and Transformers 2. Your point?

 

[GhaleonQ]

Have you ever experienced "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!"?

You got me. ExtraTERRORestrial, too.

No other game has been as successful in making QTEs a compelling part of the gameplay like Shenmue has. True story.

]

And now I've jumped the shark. I'm out!

 

[ryan-ts]

I can't believe people are suggesting this is the next step in interactive videogame storytelling. A large portion of the storytelling involves cutscenes with QTE's strapped on...we've seen that before like a million times.

 

[Suairyu]

Have you ever experienced "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!"?

I did, when I was 8 years old! It was fantastic!

 

[Truant]

I can't believe people are suggesting this is the next step in interactive videogame storytelling. A large portion of the storytelling involves cutscenes with QTE's strapped on...we've seen that before like a million times.

People like cinema. They feel games are made legitimate if they resemble a medium that is well known and respected, even viewed as art.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Even though I don't think the game is much fun to play, I definitely respect what was done in Psychonauts. By diving into the subconscious of the characters you meet, you don't actually go through dialogue trees and watch cutscenes to get exposition and understand every character's desires, issues, thoughts and experiences - you PLAY them! That's what interactive storytelling really is about. It may not be perfect in Psychonauts, but the idea is there.

Pshchonauts is brilliant in that regard, but it all depends on how you define "interactive story-telling". I believe David Cage (and to some extent, Chris Crawford and his followers) is talking about something else. It's hard to put in words, but games like Braid and Psychonauts (and Day of the Tentacle, another Schafer's classic) weave their stories from gameplay; gameplay itself is story-telling. On the other hand, Cage is trying to make the creation of story-telling through manipulation of story elements be gameplay. How successful he is in that is another matter entirely.

 

[Peff]

How so?

Well there's the clock shop blunder, the Incredibly Convenient Blackouts, Madison being surprised of a name she's never heard before or the killer's thoughts being ridiculously contrived...

 

[scitek]

Also, if being the "best" in story-telling allows you to pull shit off like this then something is wrong with this industry.

LOL what a shitty kid.

 

[nib95]

I think ultimately, the reason HR is a great addition to the medium is because there isn't really anything else like it for the time being. There's a million shooters, RPG's, racing games and so on, but there's only one full "QTE gameplay" or "Interactive story telling" or whatever you want to call it game like Heavy Rain. So in that sense it's a good thing. Diversity is after all, the spice of life. I suppose you could argue that other games similar to it have gone in the past, Fahrenheit, elements of Shemue, Yakuza etc for example, but probably none as focused as HR. It's always nice to play something refreshing and new, and love it or hate it, HR was exactly that. Especially this particular generation where dudebro rules the roost.

 

[timetokill]

Heavy Rain was terrible. It failed on just about every front -- and it told its story so poorly that you either have to assume that Cage has mental problems or that he simply holds nothing but contempt for his audience. Considering how similarly awful Indigo Prophecy was, I'm not sure which.

The fact that so many heap praise upon the game can only be seen as a massive leap backward for interactive storytelling. Many other games tell better stories in a better way and are better games as well, but Heavy Rain gets the attention due to its visuals, production values, and partly for its exclusivity.

People like to think that Heavy Rain, as a "cinematic" game, is somehow a legitimization of games, that it has some artistic merit. Oh, it's so movie-like! Movies are art! I feel that, since I am watching a game that poorly apes some cinematic conventions, that I am now playing art! Whee. For how ridiculously bad HR is, that is perhaps the most annoying thing about it all.

At least the music was decent, I guess.

 

[Ellis Kim]

Okay, I feel bad that I even piped up on this AGAIN (I saw this before the topic showed up), so I'll just stop and say that this is legitimate to me. I literally do not understand how people get more immersed by bigger screens, surround sound, full-body motion controls, more realistic aesthetics, and the like, but I guess I have to accept that people are telling the truth. If they're telling the truth, than I can understand the divide between what they see as abstraction and what they see as realism. I could argue that this is a bad way to classify art, but I guess I understand the point they're making.

That said, I've never been "immersed" (as gamers mean it) in a piece of art (I'm always aware I'm taking something in), even if I still get affected by it. I think I'm in a minority, though, so at least some of the people who dislike it as much as I do aren't affected by your distinction.

To be fair, I was "immersed," (as gamers mean it) by Flower. Shit was an emotional roller coaster, and there weren't any humans to speak of.

The core of those games where very good, thats why QTE where not -- for most part -- seen as such a bad thing.

Every game at its core has some good, but if everything around it isn't doesn't really convay it then you can't fault people for not liking or getting it.

You're missing the point if you think that's why people don't like QTEs, or at least you're missing half of it.

People don't like QTEs in those games because of how poorly those games execute those QTEs, which is to say, they're completely random.

A game with good QTE (and yes, they do exist) is something like Tomb Raider Anniversary, where they map Lara's actions directly to the buttons you actually press in-game. If Lara's about to dodge, you press circle. If she's about to shoot some dude, you press R1. It never deviates from this, and so it makes for an enjoyable QTE.

The second half of the point is that yes, the core of those games are good. The core. Core. The focus of the gameplay is how you perform the gameplay.

Heavy Rain's on-screen button prompts are wholly integrated to be the gameplay. Its the vehicle in which the game moves on. You are never prompted with random-as-fuck buttons to press all of a sudden in the middle or the corner of the screen. That sudden jerk-reaction doesn't happen like it would in a God of War.

If there's one thing that Heavy Rain does an incredible job of, and doesn't get enough credit for, its how incredible the game is about predicting where you're looking on-screen. How well it predicts where your eyes are looking so that you can react better to button-prompts in frantic sequences is incredible.

 

[dimb]

I think ultimately, the reason HR is a great addition to the medium is because there isn't really anything else like it for the time being. There's a million shooters, RPG's, racing games and so on, but there's only one full "QTE gameplay" or "Interactive story telling" or whatever you want to call it game like Heavy Rain. So in that sense it's a good thing. Diversity is after all, the spice of life. I suppose you could argue that other games similar to it have gone in the past, Fahrenheit, elements of Shemue, Yakuza etc for example, but probably none as focused as HR. It's always nice to play something refreshing and new, and love it or hate it, HR was exactly that. Especially this particular generation where dudebro rules the roost.

While it's very different, if you're interested in games telling stories you should try out Digital: A Love Story.

 

[Cow Mengde]

Also, if being the "best" in story-telling allows you to pull shit off like this then something is wrong with this industry.

That started out annoying, then became stupid, and ended up being cringe-worthy yet hilarious at the same time.

So how does a kid die from having a car slowly rammed into the back of his father anyway?

 

[DMeisterJ]

Heavy Rain was so amazing... I hope David Cage and co. announce their next game at E3... Especially considering the success HR was critically/commercially, I hope we see something soon...

 

[TheOddOne]

screen button prompts are wholly integrated to be the gameplay. Its the vehicle in which the game moves on. You are never prompted with random-as-fuck buttons to press all of a sudden in the middle or the corner of the screen. That sudden jerk-reaction doesn't happen like it would in a God of War.

If there's one thing that Heavy Rain does an incredible job of, and doesn't get enough credit for, its how incredible the game is about predicting where you're looking on-screen. How well it predicts where your eyes are looking so that you can react better to button-prompts in frantic sequences is incredible.

Fair, but still get why people write it off though.

 

[Truant]

Heavy Rain was so amazing... I hope David Cage and co. announce their next game at E3... Especially considering the success HR was critically/commercially, I hope we see something soon...

*Looks at avatar, then tag*

Joke post?

 

[Ellis Kim]

While it's very different, if you're interested in games telling stories you should try out Digital: A Love Story.

That's a great example of true interactive storytelling, which is much more akin to something like oral tradition, or just traditional verbal storytelling. I think there was some article I read that said about as much.

Sadly, technology isn't at a point where we can do that type of storytelling without a human being at the other side of the "table," so to speak.

 

[JDSN]

Hahahaha the guy is really the Tommy Wiseau of video games.

 

[nib95]

*Looks at avatar, then tag*

Joke post?

Stop being a patronising and condescending twat. Many people loved the game, including me. Including much of the press. You don't always have to mock someone who has a dissenting opinion to yours. It's not "bad taste" nor a "joke" just because it's not to your tastes. Lose the superiority complex already. Just appreciate that different people have different tastes and be done with it.

 

[Ellis Kim]

Telltale games: Lol

lolz