Some people would strip naked for this blood-stained origami figure. Others would just shell out 60 bucks.
In 1997, the greatest game ever created was released. One of the most interesting things about it was the story. I was introduced to a fantastic world with characters I immediately bonded with. And there were cut scenes. And in 1997, those cut scenes were unlike anything I had ever seen in gaming. More than ten years later, game development has grown exponentially in both graphics and complexity of story and character. With Heavy Rain (PS3 exclusive) and Alan Wake (Xbox 360 exclusive) approaching the markets, 2010 might be the next great milestone.
This thought began from reading an article in USA Today online about a few games hitting the market in 2010 that emphasize storytelling: Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, Heavy Rain, and Alan Wake. I have no doubts that the first two titles will satisfy anticipation like none other. If I hear another person ask me, however, if I have played Mass Effect 2, I will rob them and use that money to get the game so I can tell them yes. After I apologize for robbing them. But, I digress. What grabs my interest out of these titles are the last two, and it’s not because of their story.
Granted, their stories are worth mentioning. Heavy Rain follows four individual characters, as they get to the bottom of a string of murders whose only reference of attachment lies in their display of death, and an origami figure. As would be expected, you will play through each story, and the individual choices made by one character can influence another, and ultimately influence conclusion of the case. If you haven’t seen it yet, Google “Heavy Rain Madison strip tease” as an example of what these ‘choices’ can lead to. Alan Wake, on the other hand, follows a man named…well…Alan. Wake. Of course. He’s a bestselling author, with severe writer’s block. So, his wife believes a nice trip into a small picturesque town will get those brain juices flowing. Then, she vanishes. And Alan has a book in front of him he doesn’t remember writing – and this book is beginning to happen in real time, word for word.
Does anyone remember Shenmue, for Xbox? Besides the fact that I’m still waiting for the third one to come out, I think the title deserves a nod here because of its use of real time world mechanics. What do I mean? In Shenmue, you had a certain amount of time in the day to complete objectives and get the information you needed, because that idiot Ryo went to bed at the same time every night, no matter what he was doing. There were also real time sequences where you would have to push a button when prompted to do an action. Failure to do so could have resulted in a delay on your adventure, or death.
Heavy Rain takes this concept to a new level, where the whole game is a series of real time events. At almost any time during the game, a simple button can bring up various thoughts your character is thinking, and activating any one of those triggers a response. That response can be on point, or untimely, and every decision…I repeat, EVERY decision you make will determine what happens next in the story. Apparently, if you’re unfortunately slow in your responses to the quick time events, and everyone dies, you will see one possible conclusion to the story, and that’s it.
Alan Wake is reported to be influenced by a few psycho-thrillers, including the best show on television right now, Lost. Influenced so much, that the game itself is merely a chapter in the entire story. It is reported that the game will unfold through episodes, and there will be interludes within the story of the game, like commercials. I don’t know if they will sport real commercials in the game, but it appears the developers in Remedy Entertainment want to give it a TV series kind of appeal. I imagine these episodes will be different than the format Xbox has been playing with recently on Xbox Live, with Fable 2 and the GTA4 DLAs. I’m also interested to see if this book, which is materializing word for word, will have any significance in the game.
If any one of these games jumps off, it could trigger a massive succession of titles that will blur this distinction between what I watch on Netflix and what I play on Xbox by a thousand degrees. Apparently, Heavy Rain is already on the path to doing so critically. I’m eagerly anticipating both titles, just to see what they’ve done. However, I’m all about story, I’m all about character, and I’m all about replayability (great sound works too). Let’s hope they haven’t traded in all of those things for something new and different.
Heavy Rain is scheduled for release on the PS3 only, February 23, 2010.
Alan Wake is scheduled for release on the Xbox 360 only, April 13, 2010.
By the way, the greatest game ever created was Final Fantasy 7.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
yeah, a bridge is being built between the art of film and gaming for sure.
yeah, a bridge is being built between the arts of film and gaming for sure.