14 DAY TRIAL // It's a bit hard to describe what type of title Heavy Rain is and it's even more difficult to assign it to a genre. It's a bit of an action game and a bit of an adventure, but that doesn't make a mix of the two. The title is developed by Quantic Dream and is written and directed by David Cage. In fact, the only thing that helps us portray the game is Cage, or better said, his past productions. To get a better picture of what Heavy Rain is, one only needs to take a look at other titles he was involved with, like Fahrenheit, also know as Indigo Prophecy, or the 1999 game The Nomad Soul.
Both games are individual and unique experiences that also defy standard classifications. Cage as well as Quantic Dream are well aware of the oddity their game represent, and have found it difficult to come up with a plan to convince players to purchase a title that hey don't really understand. To mend this problem, the studio has decided to release a demo for it, but that in itself is yet another challenge.
As the CEO of Quantic Dream, David Cage spoke with G4TV regarding their demo for Heavy Rain. “We are currently working on a demo, which is a real challenge. Finding one scene that can convey what we are trying to achieve with Heavy Rain is something really difficult,” he said. “ If we show an action scene, some players will think that this is what Heavy Rain is all about, and it is the same thing if we show an exploration scene. The problem is that each scene of the game offers contextual game play, which is something very difficult to explain and convey in a single demo.”
Cage also added that, “Demos are often a double-edge thing: if you don't release one, players may think that you have something to hide. We also know many good games that ended up not being massive hits because the demo could not convey the quality of the game behind it.” The demo doesn't have a release date yet, but, since it will be out in early 2010, it seems like they don't have a lot of time to decide what scene, or scenes, to include in the demo. If Heavy Rain turns out to be even a bread crumb of the feasts that were Fahrenheit and The Nomad Soul, then the title is bound to be a mandatory purchase and a memorable experience. A cinematic trailer for it can be viewed here.