Ben-DutkaSome developers are calling for new hardware, while others are content with what they have.
Take Quantic Dream boss David Cage, for instance. In a recent Game Informer interview , Cage said the PlayStation 3 still has plenty of power left and perhaps more importantly, it enjoys a very large user base. The long and short of it is that Cage is more of an artist than anything else:
"Actually, I am not that interested in technology. I like what it allows me to do on the creative side, but any technology, no matter how good it is, is only a tool. It is the pen to write the book, but not the book. If you have no vision and no idea, the best technology won’t make your game any better, just as the best pen won’t make a great book. But if you have something to say, it gives you the means to say it better."
As for the PS3's capabilities, Cage says his current project – the hotly anticipated Beyond: Two Souls – has allowed his team to see just how powerful the PS3 really is, and he believes gamers "will be surprised at what the console can do." Heck, we're already pretty impressed, aren't we? What might Beyond offer? Well, this is Quantic Dream, after all…
Related Game(s): Beyond: Two Souls
I've got a on-going Bromance with Cage's games.
Beyond two Bros
I'll be happy to buy all of Cage's games so long as he has something to say.
Some of the most popular and well received titles of the generation have millions of dollars invested in massive projects that use the latest technology to cater to millions of people across the globe… and choose to say nothing.
I don't really think something has to 'say something', or have some kind of deep artistic meaning to be good. If you haven't got something to say, well…you haven't got something to say. Doesn't mean it has to be knocked in any way.
The thing with cage is, he uses his vision, such as 'How far will you go to save someone you love?' from Heavy Rain, as the theme and direction of the game. This works great for the storytelling and asthetics – with Ethan and his son, and the constant rain weather – but how does it drive the gameplay? It doesn't, and therefore the gameplay seems more of an afterthought as a result. I always think that it's the quality of the intertwining of the direction with the story & gameplay elements that makes the perfect game, hence why I love uncharted (and why I think it's perfect :p).
If you look at most other games, they will always have a general direction that works with both the story and the gameplay. For example, look at uncharted. It's all about the Hollywood hero who saves the day; you can see it in the story when you get whipped to several locations to find the treasure and meet characters, and in the gameplay when you have 10 men against one, in insane (and unrealistic) circumstances like on a travelling convoy.
I just think he doesn't keep how it works as a 'game' (in the traditional sense) in mind, when thinking about the direction of the game. And as he's the director of not just the story etc but the entire game, that filters through into how the game plays.
For the record I loved Heavy Rain for many reasons, including how it played (massive contradiction ftw :p). But it's just…if every game was like this, I don't know…I just wouldn't like it at all. Even though I loved it in Heavy Rain. Weeeeird. 😛
But the most fulfilling experiences always say something.
Do they though? I can give you a handful of games that are fulfilling yet don't say anything in particular. Uncharted? Killzone? Rachet & Clank? I thoroughly enjoyed these games, yet I don't think any of them 'say' anything.
If you're talking about experiences in a more general sense, as in music, movies, books or even life experiences, then I get what you mean. But games are very different; you don't need to 'say something' to be a fulfulling and memorable experience. It's more, as I say, the gameplay intertwined with the story. Atleast, it is with me; I know games like Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid, with a strong focus on story AND gameplay equally, will resonate more emotionally with me than something like Heavy Rain, which has a stronger focus on story rather than gameplay.
And some games like LBP – where there is no focus at all on the story, as it's all on gameplay – are also like this for me. That's the beauty of games I guess.
I think Uncharted does say a lot about friendship, sacrifice and camaraderie. Killzone I can't seem to gather anything from. They may both be entertaining but when it's over the one I can pull something out of leaves me fulfilled and the other leaves me either satisfied or not.
Yeah, that's true about Uncharted. When you think back about the game as a whole though, is that what you thought? I always think about the treasure and the whole super natural thing surrounding it, and the adventure of trying to find it.
But yeah, fair enough; Uncharted is quite a bit about friendship and camaraderie, I'll give you that. I just personally think that it's more about the adventure i.e Indianna Jones style. That the whole camraderie with the characters is more subdued while the sense of adventure is more overt, in the arc of the story.
Last edited by Ludicrous_Liam on 10/15/2012 1:15:23 PM
I think that's more a symptom of the large big budget releases themselves, not necessarily the people involved. Cage's games are very much his visions put to work, they're still a team effort but they are still his creations, like Kojima. Big difference to the latest shade of space marine being put out.
Same goes for hollywood releases, when you have a director of one made great things are possible.
Love it.
I agree with Cage, love it or hate it.
Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 10/15/2012 2:31:35 PM
Love what this guy has to say. He's right too, in terms of games and general media. Modern writing tools (word processors specifically) are on the surface a better tool for writing than pen and paper as they allow amateur writers to be proofread, in a form, as they write. In spite of this, the quality of most modern novels is really quite sh*t compared to those of years long past. Maybe it's just the factor of prevalence. The likes of Austen, Marquez, Rand, Dickens and Heller have had decades for their popularity to peak because of their quality, while Cormac McCarthy and Kate Forsyth (okay, her novels are nowhere near the standard of the others but she's still my favourite contemporary author) are still basically in their fledgling years.
I'm more than a little off track… The problem, as I see it, is that a lot of developers are either lacking the vision and creativity to come up with something special that says something, or their publishers are not willing to take the risks that necessarily go with this. The technology we already have is capable of great things. We just need great people to make them sing. Hopefully we'll get that in 2013 with both Beyond and Bioshock Infinite. Can't wait to see them.
beyond does not show anything!
its a scripted linear QTE, thats like saying oh look at us weve made such a fast car…… its running in a vacuum!
put out a open world game with changing environments and strong weather effects than will talk.
hes seriously underestimating the importance of tech.
would heavy rain be a 10th as gripping as it was if it was on the ps2?
of course not, most of what made heavy rain so emotional was the detailed motion capture!
gotta love it how one moment hes waving his cock around touting oh that stuff team bondi produced, yea thats nothing we have developed something far better!
than the next interview hes eh technology, who needs it.
You`re missing the point, Troll! Cage is saying that a new system is unnecessary because current gen is enough. See Treyarch and their six year old engine; old graphic engine doesnt equate to the game being suck. Now, I`m not a fan of CoD but I like the story.
+ I said it and I will said it again, graphics is not important in games, creativity and uniqueness is.
IM missing the point?
oh the irony, the irony of it all!
You are missing the point. Omikron was held up for having a great story, as was Heavy Rain, and as Beyond surely will be. What Cage is saying is that the technology available at this point is not being utilised to its full extent because developers are using it to create fluff, rather than something meaningful. At the same time, a direct quote:
"If you have no vision and no idea, the best technology won’t make your game any better… But if you have something to say, it gives you the means to say it better."
Can you comprehend that? The ridiculous motion capture system that they're using for Beyond subscribes to that very idea. What he actually said in reference to MotionScan was something more along the lines that it was limited due to its ability to only capture faces, as opposed to full body performance, which is right. QD's set-up is about finding the best way to tell the story that he wants to. It isn't about technology being pushed to its utmost limits, which you claim.
As for you challenging him to create an open-world experience blah, blah, blah. It's unnecessary. There have been a lot of linear games that have pushed the limits of what we thought capable. Beyond may be scripted, but not more so than Uncharted 3, Gears of War 3, God of War 3, Halo 4 or any other game made in the same vein. It just takes a VERY different approach in its scripting due to the (and understand this time) desire to provide a compelling experience via story, rather than gameplay. I'm done with this argument. Goodnight.
Dude, try anti-depressants.
An article where David Cage just for once isn't running his mouth?
Where did you find such a rare article?
If you have something to say, voice actors help you say it better. And I hope this clown gets some for Beyond or it'll be just another embarrassing and awkward outing for his fans.
Anti-depressants for you too sir.
The voice acting for Heavy Rain was some of the best of the generation, with a few minor exceptions. The idea that it sucks is completely unfounded.
World for Psychiatrist of the Month!
Depressants for you sir.
Alcohol's a depressant. I'm game! Wanna come over? I got a pretty nice selection of scotches!
I always believed that Cage wanted to be a filmmaker and has figured that emotion could transcend boundaries even effectively through video games than through cinema. Glad he's doing a great job. His games have the cinematic atmosphere, plus interactivity (he has made use of the platform quite well) thus making it even more engaging than a deep drama movie or thriller.