According to the New York Times review, the new Playstation 3 game Heavy Rain offers “a glimpse of the future of interactive entertainment, a future when characterization, writing and emotional connection are more important than combat mechanics.”
Another tidbit from the Times review: the script for Heavy Rain was over 2,000 pages long.
As a storyteller I’m less interested in the skill and coordination aspect of videogames, and more interested in the choices one has to make as a player/participant in interactive movies. The rest of the reviews of the game/movie are also overwhelmingly positive, and I look forward to playing/watching (I guess I should I just say “experiencing”) it.
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7 COMMENTS
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Interesting. I’ll refrain from reading the whole article due to “spoilers,” but I think the important thing to look at is the vision rather than the execution. Regardless of whether Heavy Rain’s reach exceeds its grasp, imagine the same tech with a GREAT story — not just by videogame standards, but by film standards — combined with a truly branching storyline dependent upon a player’s choices (instead of smaller interactions along a linear timeline). Not just different endings, but different paths entirely. Kind of like, you know, life.
Thanks for the link.
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Deus-ex a game well ahead of its time was one of the early pioneers in interactive entertainment. The writing, character development, emotional and intellectual involvement was top of the line.
3 pingbacks
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“Heavy Rain was supposed to change things. It was supposed to elevate video game story-telling above the badly-written, poorly-acted dirges we currently put up with, and give us a groundbreakingly mature, gritty, intelligent and cleverly constructed, branching storyline. It absolutely didn’t. In fact sweep aside the surface gloss of stunning looks and moving score and Heavy Rain’s plot is a shambles.”
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/heavy-rains-big-plot-holes/a-20100224105436979020