Some would argue that what Heavy Rain did was a step in the right direction for the gaming industry thanks to it’s deeply emotional and consequential gameplay . Others would say the opposite; that the game was in fact a step backwards for video games in general by taking most of the control out of the hands of gamers. What it has truly done for the industry is up for opinion, and as usual critics are sharing their opinions vocally.
Game Designer Charles Cecil of which has worked on Beneath a Steel City and the Broken Sword series, recently shared his opinion about Heavy Rain and its impact on gaming. During an interview with website MCV, Charles stated the following:
“Half way through I thought it was a work of absolute genius. When I finished it, I still thought it was a work of genius but deeply flawed. There’s a lot of questions it asks, and I think some of those are answered really well, and others are flawed. But I really admire David Cage, his team and the work they have done. I think it’s good for the adventure game, I think it’s good for the industry overall. What I’m personally very interested in is the relationship the audience has with the character they control. Without spoiling anything, you discover something at the end that’s incredibly important about one of the characters you’ve been playing, which creates an incredible disconnect between the audience and the character – and I think that is deeply, deeply flawed. It would have worked in a film, it’s a great film technique but it should never have been brought over to games, and David and his team should have probably seen that. But I do think it’s a brilliant game.”
Cecil is currently working on Doctor Who: The Adventure Games, a PC and Mac title which hits June 5th 2010.
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