Quantic Dreams seriously captured lightning in a bottle when they released Heavy Rain. More than most other developers, Quantic Dream was able to create a game that actually felt like you were playing a movie while at the same time allowing your decisions to directly influence the path that the game took. With the E3 unveiling of their new game, Beyond: Two Souls, has certainly turned heads with a fantastic teaser as well as the news that it would star Ellen Page as its main character in a motion capture performance. Here are the things that are known about the game and why it could be a great improvement on the already great achievement of Heavy Rain.
Story Above All
If there is one thing that Quantic Dream has made clear it is their intention to not just give gamers another shooter to go on the endless pile of shooters. They want to engage you mentally and emotionally with their stories. Beyond: Two Souls looks to continue this trend of theirs by tackling the huge subject of the afterlife. The way they are doing this is through exploring the relationship between main character Jodie Holmes and her other worldly companion Aiden.
What is interesting about the game is that it will follow Jodie through fifteen years of her life which could offer players an unprecedented amount of input as to the character’s storyline. This could be a seriously amazing experiment in non-linear gameplay that vaults over the achievements of Heavy Rain.
Retooling Heavy Rain Gameplay
One thing that became quickly apparent about Beyond: Two Souls is that it will be a continuation of the gameplay mechanics that we saw in Heavy Rain…but it will also be much more. David Cage, the head of Quantic Dream, has made it clear that he intends for Beyond to feature more action oriented gameplay while still maintaining the high level of story driven interaction. This means that the cut scene style action pieces are certainly still there, but there may be more aspects we have yet to see.
One thing that is certainly interesting about the development of this game is that it appears as though it will be geared towards (but perhaps not exclusive to) the Playstation Move platform. Specifically the Move aspect will be used the most when players take control of the ghostly character Aiden. Aiden can interact with objects and people in different ways, with a strong hint at possession being shown in the trailers.
Bringing A-List Talent
Getting Ellen Page to star in the game is a huge shot in the arm towards games being taken more seriously as art. Ellen Page is one of the most talented and popular actresses in Hollywood right now and having her as the star of the game could give the game a boost not only in the sales department but perhaps in its reviews as well. One of the main criticisms of Heavy Rain was that some of the performances were awkward, so this could show Quantic Dream taking a step in the right direction.
It also makes one wonder if Quantic Dream has any other more well known talent up their sleeves for this game. While it is unlikely it would still be an interesting turn of events.
A New Language For Gaming
Many had thought that Quantic Dream was on the verge of creating a whole new language for gaming. Heavy Rain did face criticism from some who felt it was nothing more than interactive cut scenes, but perhaps Beyond: Two Souls can deliver on the promise of a whole new way of approaching video games. It may even go a long way towards finally convincing mainstream audiences that video games are not just entertainment, but art.
