First Heavy Rain Trailer

Gorgeous. And if they have really learned from the mistakes they made with Fahrenheit then I think this will easily be one of the best games of 2009 if not this generation. (Yes, I am a little hyped for something that is not run-of-the-mill on my console).
 
Looks cool I loved Fahrenheit so i can't wait for this :)
 
OK. A little clarification is needed obviously. Please read the following if you are worried about gameplay issues like the supposed QTEs and character control and such:

(from the PS3 forums):

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.
Click to expand...
 
(cont.)

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.

http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/adventur...ml?sid=6196255

(Trailer stuff)
We watched as Madison wandered into the backyard and noticed that the kitchen window was slightly ajar.

(A little gameplay)
Madison kicked some nearby barrels into place so that she could get into the house. Before she entered, a couple of thoughts went on in her head that you can listen to or just move on. Once inside the house, Madison walked around the living room, and we noticed that she could interact with several things in the environment. She could sit on the couch, check out the fireplace, or go through the door to the garage. We were told that you can also explore in narrow spaces and never have to worry about your character getting stuck. In the garage we saw a trail of blood and noticed that there was a garage switch on the left. She headed upstairs and we immediately noticed that the floorboards were creaking. Things started to pick up when Madison discovered a dead body in the tub and then stumbled into a room in which several women had been stuffed.

The rain, the lighting and the colors help set the mood for this short thriller.

(Ed.: Scenario 1)
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.

(Ed.: Scenario 2)
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.

(Ed.: Truckload of awesome)
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.
the trailer is awesome, but the cinematic style of it makes it a little vague, there's some details here explaining how it played

so for those asking, 'it looks good but what do i do?'
- it's a cinematic,emotionally charged ,dark thriller
- the game uses QTEs and prompts you to tap certain buttons/move the sixaxis/move the analogue sticks to do certain actions (such as open a door, or squeeze into a narrow gap)
- the gameplay is something new, you can walk freely around your environment to get a complete sense of immersion, but the way you progress through the story is completely open, basically it's taking the concept of playing it how you want it, to a whole new level. you can complete your task in basically any way you like.
- there is NO game over, if you're character dies, it's written that way into the story, and it changes the future outcomes of how the game plays out.
- all actions you take in the story, are taken into account later on, so various different ways of progressing effect how the rest of the story plays through
Click to expand...

This should be everything that Fahrenheit was an MUCH MUCH MORE. Can't wait!! I love advenutre games!!
 
So VictimOfScience, why was there a need for those two posts composed mainly of pasting from another text? Couldn't you just have linked us to the appropriate forum thread on the PS3 forums?

I guess you would only have been able to raise your post amount 50% the amount of what you actually did though(I.e. 1 post instead of 2).:p*Nitpicking*

Oh well sounds interesting, hoping for a PC port, hoping they didn't forget about all the XB and PC fans.
 
Gargantou said:
So VictimOfScience, why was there a need for those two posts composed mainly of pasting from another text?
Click to expand...

I was thinking in terms of user experience and how off-ramping visitors is never a good idea. If you can look at information in a site, look at it in a site; don't force folks to go to another site to get information that you could easily provide within. I assure you, my postcount never entered into the equation (though I did worry about the double-post and figured it would be ok in this case due to character limitations). :E

Still, the game sounds wonderful so hopefully more developers will get onboard with the whole, "Let's let story dictate gameplay/grahics," instead of vice versa.

EDIT: Here's a link for you. It's IGN's eyes-on preview and it is brilliant. LINK.
 
The description sounds sweet. Hopefully it will be fun.
 
er... looks like you have to tap the buttons that show up at random intervals to fight off enemies... not my idea of "interaction". looks gorgeous, though. any pointers whether it will come out on pc after being put out "exclusively" for PS3?
 
Am I the only one that finds the way the mouths move really off-putting? I really hope that's fixed before release, right now they all look like fishes.
 
phantomdesign said:
I'll pass on the "quicktimeevents"
Click to expand...

Posted by Byoushinn on the PS3Forum:
People are assuming that QTE = press a load of buttons that it tells you to do to make the cutscene playthrough properly, which is wrong in this instance. A quick time event is when you have to follow a series of button presses to achieve a goal, what is shown here is a number of options, which are selected via QTE-like buttons appearing on screen. So for instance, in a particular event, Madison will be pushed on her back, and Triangle might flash above a knife that's lay on the floor, Square might flash above a bucket, and X might prompt her to kick the attacker in the foot so he stumbles allowing her to get away, it's much more than just pressing what it tells you to press. That particular scenario allows the player to do stuff like, hide somewhere in the house, and ring the police who will come and arrest the man, or you could attempt to sneak out of the house without being seen, or as shown in the trailer, madison is seen and has to fight her attacker off so she can escape through the garage, she can actually be murdered and the story will continue, and Madison herself will be able to kill the attacker if you decide to play it that way - so QTEs doesn't mean like 'on the rails' cutscenes here, it means a hell of a lot more.

So as you can gather, you control the story more than you control the character directly, though there is HUGE amount of that as well. This sounds to me like everything they originally wanted Fahrenheit to be, but perfected to a level that is leagues beyond what most game designers are imagining currently. At least a demo is confirmed so all the nay-sayers will finally have a say as to whether or not you actually like it based on first-hand evidence as opposed to simply watching a trailer and reading posts crying about QTEs on the internet. :|

EDIT: Here is a preview from Eurogamer that mentions:
But for all the impressive visuals and talk about emotional experiences during the conference trailer, Heavy Rain still came off looking like a string of pretty Quick Time Events. It wasn't until afterwards, during the 45-minute demo held behind closed doors, that Quantic Dream boss David Cage got to explain why Heavy Rain is so much more than that.
Click to expand...
Enjoy. :)
 
As much as I'm not bothered by QTE, it's refreshing to know that they're upping the interactivity beyond merely pressing buttons at the correct time.
 
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