When Quantic Dream CEO and co-founder David Cage watches movies or television, he dreams of the day when game designers can have the same liberties. Cage, whose mature interactive drama Heavy Rain hits stores later this month, says he feels that censorship in games is "probably the strictest in all the entertainment industry."
"One territory asked me to change one scene because it was too emotional," the 40-year-old Cage tells me. "I read the email ten times to make sure I got it right. What do you mean 'too emotional'? Can you change the end of Titanic, it's really too sad. Same thing for Gone With the Wind -- just add a couple of jokes near the end so we don't cry. Woody Allen, too funny. [Francis Ford Coppola] too real. [Martin] Scorsese too violent."
He makes a point to say that he doesn't compare himself to "these masters," as he puts it. But he does say their goals are the same -- to create emotions.
"I'm am sure once society will have a better understanding of what games really are, mentalities will quickly change," Cage says.
He's not the first one to do it, but he makes parallels to rock n' roll, which at one time was perceived as youth perverting "Satanic music." He also points to comic books -- his home country of France had a strict "youth protection" against comics in the 1950s.
"If you show two people in love kissing in a videogame, you need to put fades to black before their lips are in contact, before she takes off her bra. Otherwise it might give ideas to these seventeen-plus people who probably never thought about all that before," he says sarcastically.
The medium is evolving though, and he feels that game makers will need more breathing room in order to tell deeper and more emotional stories.
"Interactivity changes," he explains. "Yes, there are some Mario games for a three-plus audience, and that's fine, but the medium now evolves. It will have more and more authors in the near future who will need some reasonable freedom of speech. Not to shock children, but to tell mature stories for a mature audience without being sold in sex shops. I hope I will see this before I die, and I would really like more game authors to talk about this issue and fight for their rights."
Cage also points to difficulties creating these mature scenarios for different regions, telling me that "trying to create a mature experience for a mature audience is a massive challenge, because every single country has a different understanding of what could be perceived as shocking." Quantic Dream's previous title, Indigo Prophecy, had "adult content" (which the developer admitted didn't have a significant effect on the game's plot) removed for its North American release.
As for Heavy Rain, the PlayStation 3 exclusive will see a release in multiple regions with no compromise or apparent censorship. The ESRB rated-M title (for "Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs") will hit shelves on February 26. We'll have our full review up later this week.
Contest:
2:00 PM on 02.08.2010
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I like how some gamers like to lambast this guy but at the same time want gaming to be more respected. Bunch of haters.
I'm also not sure if the proper way to go about making games a legitimate art form would be to make "super hardcore adult" games such as this. Seems like sort of a shallow approach.
I just dont care for his new game as I want to play and not watch a game.
Did everyone suddenly start directing their (bizarre) hatred of Peter Molyneux toward David Cage? Just because this guy wants to push the medium forward a little, everyone's acting like he's some sort of pretentious fuck. This kind of reaction makes it pretty obvious that not just the ESRB and non-gamers have to change how they look at games, but gamers too.
Seriously, let the guy speak. None of you have actually played Heavy Rain. And when that happens realize this man and his opinions are not his games. Judge them separately.
Sex, after all, seems to be the only thing the wannabe censors have any real problems with. We've got all the violence we can shake a chainsaw-equipped gun at, plenty of cursing, racist remarks and sexually explict dialog, and a fair amount of alcohol and drug use. We just need more of those big, juicy, jiggily boobies to finally be accepted as Art.
I hope the game doesn't get lambasted for It's control scheme.
Yes, at first, the movement seemed awkard but everything else was good. I'd imagine a lot of, perhaps more closed minded, people will slate the control scheme... Which is a shame.
We've become so acoustim (sp?) to certain genres controlling in certain ways (Shooters - L + R, Action - square, square, triangle) that when prevented with alternative control schemes we become frightful and rebel against them.
Heavy Rain controls well, once you realise what the game expects of you, once you realise it wants to do something different to what your used to then you'll enjoy it.
I was also pleasntly surprised at how well the (no way around it) QTE fight sequenced handled... It felt genuinely harrowing.
Not pretentious... Just French
I think what I was getting at is that other people that games with mature content in them do not whip up the drama this guy does about it. Have you ever heard someone at Rockstar put on this type of lament? Perhaps they did and I just missed it. He just seemed a bit too pretentious and whiney to me.
That being said, he should have if he can turn a profit making the kind of games he wants to make, more power to him. I think the double standard between sex and violence in ratings and company decisions needs to be reevaluated. Just because someone put the equivalent of R rated content in video games, they should not be hauled on the mat by Congress or cable news.
As to games being respected, honestly, who cares? I do not need my entertainment decisions validated by others. People should not demand others respect their decisions beyond granting them the freedom to live their lives.
Has Heavy Rain demonstrated any problem solving though? Watching a game doesn't mean little control, it means meaningless control. QTE's ot this point have been arbitrary button cues so the cinematic continues, whereas adventure games involve actual problem solving. Perhaps Heavy Rain will have some problem solving, but so far, I've only seen QTE's; perhaps creative QTE's, but still a largely vapid form of interaction. For as much as QTE's challenge the player through gameplay, pressing X to advance text is gameplay.
Video games are primarily a visual medium, and so this statement is absurd. I understand that the main thrust of the idea is that you'd prefer more involvement with your control schemes, but even then it's a bit of a ridiculous statement.
Games seek to do a lot of things. Some of them, like this one, want to tell a story that is mature, well realized, and is savored. To this end, the game play is helping to serve that purpose. It is most deliberate, sometimes slow, but always poignant. It enables us, as the target of its story telling, to do what the developers want us to do, that being experience the game in a very paced way, and it gives us the opportunity to be observant, think critically about our surroundings, and try new things. I see NO problem with this. Sometimes, in order for the story teller to evoke the proper emotions in the listener, they must force us to experience the tale in their way, be it the exclusion of fact (as in a murder mystery), or by specific focus on other aspects of the plot or events. Games are unique in that they can use the method by which we interact with them in such a dynamic way, so as to highlight this aspect of the story, and enhance our ability to perceive it.
So stop fucking whining. This is the way THIS story was chosen to be told. If you don't like it, go read the fucking book . . .
P.S. - That last line was a very tongue-in-cheek, cerebral jibe. Most of you won't get it, but if you don't, try not to sabotage your productivity by commenting on it like it makes any real sense. Thanks.
I really like what he's saying, and I'm hoping for the best with Heavy Rain, especially after that demo.
No matter how similar games like Ace Attorney or Broken Sword get to the realm of TV and movies, they still pride themselves of being games, being something you interact with and not just watch.
Heavy Rain is like the rising "visual novel" trend. It's ashamed of being a game because games are hard and leave people unskilled with them behind so they don't get to enjoy the story like the skilled gamer can. And so they go one step further than "point-and-click" adventures do - they take the puzzle and interactive elements out.
So you're basically left with an ebook story with branching paths. And pictures/music, of course.
At least something like Ace Attorney Investigations is still engaging me on game level - encouraging exploration, deduction and puzzle solving. I'm not just watching it all happen.
Do you think people talking about things seriously are douchey? There are so many people who just can't handle the idea that maybe the medium needs to be challenged, pressed forward, and that "douchey" individuals who dare to try and accomplish something new are the ones who will be remembered for trying.
Good lord that made me laugh
I want this game to be good, but I dont know. the demo for Farenheit tricked me into buying it, dont want to make the same mistake twice.
He is kind of succeding though, just like a movie this will be rented more than bought :-(
If something actually got blocked for being "too emotional"...what the hell? Just because something is called a video game doesn't mean it has to have more in common with Monopoly than Titanic (though, to be fair, most games of Monopoly end sadder than that movie).
Did you play the demo? I'd hardly call that an ebook. It was very engaging and I felt surprisingly in control the whole time. I though the intestigative aspects were done very well.
games such as King's quest, grim Fandango and other adventure games where referenced above, and I will have to truthfully say,
"I did not like those games"
I played them, and while they had a bit of comdey here and there, I was truthfully bored to tears. Perhaps David Cage is not making games for me, I'm cool with that.
I also think he is a pretentious dick. I'm all for pushing the gaming "edge" and making games into a fully realized art form. I just don't agree with his speeches and generally douche frenchiness.
This is probably a waste of my time, but...
I should first mention that Heavy Rain is currently sitting at the top of my GameFly queue. I think it looks interesting, and I'd like to try it out and see how it fares.
Now that that's out of the way, I really don't think people's worries about this game are unfounded. For example, take these quotes, one from each of the four reviews currently on Metacritic:
"It is a game like none other..."
"It's barely a game in the popular sense of the word..."
"For many people Heavy Rain won’t be more than a progression of quick-time-events..."
"Put gaming conventions aside..."
Most of "the haters" are pointing to the fact that they don't like the idea of a game that "isn't a game". Judging from the reviews, those fears aren't without merit (and the reviews don't "contradict anything the haters say" like you claim).
You're right, though, all four of the reviews are positive so far, despite (or maybe because of?) the fact that it isn't a "conventional" game. But that still doesn't mean everyone is going to like it, and people are welcome to voice their concerns.
Either way, you of all people shouldn't bitch about people bitching. You're one of the biggest fanboys on this site.
(Note to self, delete last sentence before posting... oops.)
same could be said about either ico or shadow of the colossus, or even the original indigo prophecy
YOU DIDNT LIKE GRIM FANDANGO!?!?!?!?!
ITS ONE OF THE BEST ADVENTURE GAMES EVER CREATED!!!!
oh well fanboyness aside, i respect your preferences but i think you should approach those games with a more open mind
Agreed. I didn't say this game would be bad because it was different, just that the non-conventional aspects of the game are what is throwing some people off. Like I said, I'm going to give the game a go. I mostly just dislike SayWord.
Also, I really hate that comment he made about Mario games being made for a 3-plus audience, as if there's a problem with mature people playing those games.
This guy's a bit of a snob, I must say.
did you miss the part JUST AFTERWARDS that says
"AND THAT'S FINE, but the medium now evolves. It will have more and more authors in the near future who will need some reasonable freedom of speech"
hes point was that more and more devs want to experiment beyond that and they need a wider level of acceptance from the public to do so
mario games can be enjoyed by everyone but more mature experiences cannot be enjoyed by younger audiences or to be more presice SHOULDNT, given the material portrayed in those games
is perfectly fine to not like a game, but makin baseless or exaggerated assumptions about it is simply dumb
also i know david cage is kind of a snob sometimes, however hes got point here
But I like people like David Cage and Molyneux to be visonaries - every culture needs them, more power to them. Interesting that they both come in for a lot of slating on this site. But Dtoid is largely a community of bitching.
Have to say about this:"One territory asked me to change one scene because it was too emotional"
I don't believe him.
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