Heavy Rain Is “Not Porn”

The designer of Heavy Rain said that the sex scenes in his game were about “love,” whatever that is.

Heavy Rain, due out in N.A. on Feb 23rd on the PS3, is an ambitious project that blurs the line between games and cinema. David Cage, Founder and CEO of French Game developer Quantic Dream, told CVG that Heavy Rain is definitely a game, but it’s trying to tell a more nuanced story than the rest of the industry. And while there is mature themes and sexuality in Rain, Cage stresses that it’s not gratuitous.

How does Rain differ from the rest of the pack? “You don’t have a gun, you don’t jump, you don’t drive cars, you don’t solve puzzles,” Cage said. “You make decisions, and those decisions have consequences on the way the story is told.”

Cage is also after the ever-elusive emotional connection in games. “In most games you’ve got adrenaline, stress, tension, frustration, competition: very simple emotions,” he said. “With Heavy Rain we try to make you feel an empathy, make you smile, and make you cry. We try to make you feel what the characters feel, even if it’s discomfort.”

He realizes that his approach to gaming is quite different from the rest of the industry. “It’s always a big shock for me when we go on show floors at E3 or GamesCom and look at the games this industry is producing. We feel like aliens. Our approach is different.”

Sensuality is difficult thing to portray in games, but, according to Cage, Heavy Rain attempts to show characters making love. “It’s definitely not porn,” he said. “We don’t intend to push the boundaries and be ultra-realistic in every detail. It’s about real characters having emotions and doing what adults do when they fall in love.”

Which is what, exactly? I’m confused. What?

Source: CVG