The director of the PlayStation 3 psychological thriller, Heavy Rain has used his game’s Bafta awards success last week to launch a scathing attack on video game industry creativity. David Cage, who is also the co-founder of Quantic Dream, the French studio responsible for the two-million selling title, has told The Guardian, “games always explore the same things. They’re about being powerful, being the good guys against the bad guys – that’s a very tiny part of what can be done. There are so many other stories to tell, so many other emotions to trigger – this is a fantastic new medium, we can do much more than we currently do with it.” When asked if he thought the leftfield design of Heavy Rain reflected France’s tradition of more artsy visual entertainment, he concurred, but said he knew of American developers becoming frustrated with well-worn themes and genres. “In Europe, we are not as easy to satisfy; being given a gun to hold is not necessarily enough in a game. But it’s not just in Europe, I hear many developers in the US saying the same thing – ‘look, I’m 40, I’m fed up of writing games where you shoot at everyone. It was fun when I was twenty but now I want to do something else. I don’t watch the same movies as I did when I was 20, I don’t listen to the same music, but I’m still making the same games!’ Developers are fed up – they want to talk about their families, politics, whatever – why not in a game? Why not?! There is no reason.” Cage went on to say that winning three Baftas had been “totally unexpected” and that the Story award was particularly appreciated. “It is the one I was dreaming of. I worked so hard on the story, and it’s the first I ever wrote that was based on something personal. It was not about space marines fighting aliens, it was about my relationship with my first son and how he changed my life – and also about how loving someone without expecting anything in return was something totally new.” (via Heavy Rain creator: I am fed up with space marines! | Technology | guardian.co.uk
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