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Filed under: Rants

I wrote a few weeks back about the uncanny valley and Hideo Kojima’s possibly telling observation that war machines of the future may exploit the creepiness of robotic simulations to instill fear in their prey. I want to turn my attention now to a discussion of the valley as it applies more directly to us as gamers - overcoming the creepiness of computer generated people. Quantic Dream has already boasted of successfully traversing the valley with its upcoming (and secretly acclaimed) PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain. While realistic graphics are one thing (and it’s up to interpretation whether they succeeded in the tech demo almost two years ago), is there more to escaping the valley than mere realistic modeling?

Continue reading Philosony: Yea, though I walk through the uncanny valley…

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Filed under: News

What happens when you get an opportunity to go eye-to-eye with Heavy Rain? Wet, mostly. But you also get spooked, shaken, and shocked (thought not necessarily in that order). Joystiq experienced it all at the Leipzig Games Convention, when they were given a demonstration of the game by developers Quantic Dream. If you’ve seen the teaser trailer from Sony’s Press Conference, then you were probably as intrigued as we were. From what Joystiq is saying, we ain’t seen nothing yet.

If Quantic Dream want to build hype for this game, they should release a walkthrough video of this creepy bonus level, pronto. We knew there was a reason Playboy named it their E3 Game Of The Show. Check out the full eyes-on piece over at Joystiq.

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Filed under: News

Quantic Dream president David Cage has confirmed there will be playable demo of Heavy Rain. He indicated that he “wouldn’t want to spoil the story” as it will surprise people due to its unusual-for-a-video-game nature. Eurogamer speculates that the demo will therefore most likely focus on the game’s mechanics.

Apparently, the video that was released yesterday is a separate episode that is unrelated to the main plot, which prompted the question of whether there will be DLC episodes in the future. Cage agrees its a possibility, but concedes that it is simply too early to talk about. The interface of Heavy Rain is “entirely contextual” and therefore open to the possibility of other stories.

Our very own Jem Alexander just got some hands-on time with Heavy Rain at LGC, so stay tuned for more details about this PS3 exclusive!

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Filed under: Videos and Screenshots

At the end of the new Heavy Rain trailer, a vague (but nonetheless reassuring) release date was mentioned: 2009. Slowly, but surely, Sony’s 2009 killer apps are being revealed. With MAG, Killzone 2, inFAMOUS and now Heavy Rain, gamers will have a lot to look forward to in 2009.

Heavy Rain is a “dark, immersive and emotionally-engaging experience” expanding upon the ideas of Quantic Dream’s previous adventure game, Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy). Once again, the promise is that “every action has a consequence” with a constantly evolving story based on the way you interact with others and the choices you make. SCEE is promising it will talk about topics unheard of in gaming, “making it a genuinely mature game for a new world of adult gamers.”

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Filed under: Videos and Screenshots

The lid on Heavy Rain will be blown off this week at Leipzig Games Convention. To get you ready, check out this newly released interview from Gamereactor TV, taken after Sony’s secret behind-closed-doors showing at E3 earlier this year. The interview doesn’t reveal much: it shows the same screenshots that were leaked a few weeks ago, and all video footage is of the game’s very early tech demonstration. It’s interesting to see how confident Quantic Dream is about their upcoming project, saying games like Uncharted only managed to get “some” things right. Other than that, they promise that Heavy Rain has “no competitors.”

Working with Sony Computer Entertainment seems to be very beneficial for the team, especially because Sony has offered them a chance to create “the best game possible.” He’s definitely getting the hype engine revving … and it won’t be long until we can judge for ourselves whether or not the hype is warranted.

[Thanks, shak h.!]

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