Heavy Rain - First trailer

[SheepFactory]

Those of you wondering what the hell type of game this is after watching the trailer. Here is hands on from Gamers day from journalists:


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.

Of course, that was the perfect time for the taxidermist to return, and the screen split to show the taxidermist on the left, headed into his home, and Madison on the right as she tried to figure out what to do. The music also picked up here to drive the gravity of the situation as Madison tiptoed slowly across the hall to try to sneak out through the garage. Staying quiet, Madison got out of the house by using the garage switch, and she quickly jumped onto her motorcycle, which took a bit of button mashing before it would start. She finally got her helmet on and sped away. After this scenario, Cage explained that this was only one possible story. Like it would in the actual game, the next scenario would take this information and continue to tell the story based on what had been done. Considering that this demo wasn't following the actual storyline of Heavy Rain, we were brought back to the scene in which the taxidermist returned to his house, but this time what followed was completely different. The taxidermist heard Madison upstairs and came looking for her. We were told that there are as many as 20 to 30 hiding places in the house. As Madison hid behind a door, a sequence of buttons appeared that needed to be held to simulate the same uncomfortable feeling of being stuck. She moved to another hiding spot, at which point she came face to face with the creep. He attacked, and Madison fought back with an object that she grabbed off of the nightstand. She ran downstairs and tripped, subsequently heading to the front door to find it locked. Then she ran to the kitchen window, which wouldn't open anymore. She finally made her way to the garage, flipped the switch, and ran to her bike with the murderer close behind. She frantically tried to start her motorcycle, and when it finally did, she took off and left her helmet behind.

This was a much more intense, action-filled scenario, the kind in which you feel like you're in serious danger, but these were only two of the possible scenarios that a player could have gone through. We were told that the player controlling Madison had messed up numerous times but still managed to escape. You could have killed the villain in various ways; you could have stayed hidden and called the police. Madison could also be killed, and the fascinating part is that the game would not be over. Events would merely continue with that information taken into account. Cage was tight-lipped about any further details as to how this would work or how things would continue, but we do know that there is no game over in Heavy Rain.

We also know that there are 60 scenes in Heavy Rain, and each one will have different gameplay and narrative. The overall theme will be dark, given that it's a thriller. Cage tells us that the game will be full of twists and turns and will include many surprises. He says that it will offer a new way of interacting with a new kind of storytelling that extends beyond the cutscenes and never-ending dialogue. In this new genre, it's not about your reaction and how you move the controller, but about what decisions you make as a player to make the story unfold. The experience will be different each time.

[mmkelly011881]

there really needs to be a better way to do lipsync in games
not a huge fan of quicktime events but ill wait and see

[anoon]

UGH.

Quick Time Events? Seriously?

Welcome to 1982.

EDIT:
Just read the quoted article.

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.

And that, is the final nail in the coffin. For me anyways.

[SheepFactory]

This is not traditional QTE. Have you played Indigo prophecy?


This is not an action game (though the trailer shows the action part) It is a adventure game with some action elements. As far as I am concerned it cannot come out soon enough. They dont make good adventure games anymore.

[Obraxis]

Well, that looked pretty if you freeze-frame it, but the combination of motion capture and strange facial animation make it very...odd for me. Uncanny Valley stuff.

[squidinc]

very pretty environment, the character's face animation was a bit weak though, no emotion at all, cant really identify with a main character when they look dead from the neck up

(played mass effect recently, which is pretty much perfect in that regard. I guess it's raised my expectations of how characters should act in rpg/adventure games)

[Capel]

looks pretty cool. like it could have a good story. i'll take anything that's not a shooter nowadays.

[ivanisavich]

The lip sync was atrocious. The face looked totally dead. Everything else looked amazing!

[womanonfire]

can't wait. hope it will be as good as it looks!

[Phrenzy84]

wow i thought this project was deadl.

Anyone rememer this?

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=154&t=361160

[SheepFactory]

Some screenshots from the game. All ingame.


http://www.play3-live.com/screens/heavy-rain/ps3_heavy-rain_1219434957_5.jpg

http://www.play3-live.com/screens/heavy-rain/ps3_heavy-rain_1219434961_8.jpg

http://www.play3-live.com/screens/heavy-rain/ps3_heavy-rain_1219434958_6.jpg

http://www.play3-live.com/screens/heavy-rain/ps3_heavy-rain_1219434950_1.jpg

http://www.play3-live.com/screens/heavy-rain/ps3_heavy-rain_1219434955_4.jpg

[DavidBaca3D]

those shots instantly remind me of a thriller. along the lines of the zodiac or silence of the lambs. very creepy for a videogame. I feel the graphics are extremely impressive for a videogame.

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.