Heavy Rain was one of those enigmas when it released earlier this year – nobody was quite sure how well it would do or how well it would be received. With a couple months since the game's release, Heavy Rain director David Cage is now able to soak in the reaction from the gaming community at large.
“We are very pleased with the feedback. It was almost all positive. Heavy Rain was reviewed around 400 times in the trade press and we are tested on average 85 to 90 percent. We had expected that the game would polarize more,” said Cage to Play3.de. “Of course we communicate with the players over the Internet, on fan forums and there are always ideas that we could have done better. We take such proposals for future projects into consideration.”
“More than one million copies of Heavy Rain have sold worldwide. That was a surprise to many - some expected more only 200,000 to 300,000 units sold. We expect by the end of this year to sell 1.5 million units and are very satisfied with the results,” added Cage. “It's absolutely met our expectations, it has even surpassed them. In England, Heavy Rain sold out its first shipment on the first weekend sales; in Japan, too. I think the game is a good message to the industry that innovative games can sell well. “
Cage also addressed the issue wherein some players may consider Heavy Rain to be little more than an interactive movie. “I think Heavy Rain is not a classic video game because it simply breaks with convention,” said Cage. “So we were surprised that the ratings for Heavy Rain are so positive. We thought more people would refuse the title. Normally you would expect from a video game adrenaline and fear, incredible effects and just simple fun, but in Heavy Rain, there is not much of this. It's not really fun in the same way - it conveys feeling. You can be sad, you can feel guilt and that is not the standard sort of fun but this spiral of emotions was our goal for Heavy Rain.”
When asked if he thought the graphics could be better, Cage responded, “Let me tell you briefly how I was thinking about Heavy Rain when it was finished: We could make many things better and even if the feedback - including on the graphics - was positive, I know that we are still far away from the maximum. The day when I say, 'This game is perfect, we have done it' I'll quit up my job and find something different for me to do.“
Cage was also asked about the mundane beginning of Heavy Rain where players go through a normal morning routine that includes making breakfast. He noted, “I do not understand why every game must start with a great explosion. I don't think that is important. What counts is the story, the characters and the emotions - explosions do not a good game make. Of course, in Heavy Rain, you get started with everyday stuff. These are all parts of the plot, which bring the players closer to the characters. These moments are created so that players will address them differently; these are not meaningless activities, they all had a purpose - namely, building an emotional connection. Some people say Heavy Rain is a game where you drink orange juice and make omelets; of course, but there are also action sequences, shootouts and difficult tests.”
1 Comments
April 9, 2010
That's awesome! I love how the story changes as you progress the story and then are able to change the ending when it ends.Its a neat game that took some risks and it definitely deserves to do well.
drive a man wild