c. billadeau

I’ve been sitting on the fence about whether or not I’m going get a PS3 for several months now. Lately, I’ve been coming across more and more reasons to just cave in already.

First things first–Bioshock 2. Don’t need to say anything more.
And now I’m reading up on this game called Heavy Rain due to hit the shelves next Tuesday and I’m…interested. Really interested.

The part that has my attention is not just the plotline (I am a sucker for cop dramas and psychological thrillers) but the gameplay. Everyone and their mom is calling it “innovative” and “original”; I’m sure someone else has done it before, but there doesn’t appear to be anything out there quite as polished as this one looks.

In short, the game is designed around four playable characters trying to solve a serial killer case. Depending on which characters you play and how many survive ’til the end, you get different endings. With some of them, you catch the killer. With some of them, you don’t. Either way, the game’s over. It simply comes down to making a choice.

Going back to Bioshock for a second: during the final showdown, just before you reach Andrew Ryan, the main character, Jack, is systematically introduced to the fact that his mind has been enslaved since birth and three specific words are the barrier between Jack and his free will. These three words are suddenly made responsible for everything that the character has done throughout the game. (I dunno about the rest of you, but I did NOT see this one coming.)

While you, the player, attempt to digest this, you’re ushered into the office of Andrew Ryan, where he gives you the golf club and utters those three awful words. But in order for Jack to swing, the player must push the button. You must push the button to continue. You can wander around like a ninny for fifteen minutes, looking for an alternate way out, but there is none. It’s not about Jacky boy killing Mr. Ryan anymore; we’ve already established he’s a puppet. It’s you with your hand up his rear. You, and only you, must kill Andrew Ryan to win the game.

This was all about making a choice, but in this case, you have no choice.

The realization hit me like a fucking freight train. It was almost poetic, the comparison I suddenly saw between Jack and the role of the player in any video game–you do not play this game; it plays you. You do not jump through the flaming hoops, carefully skirt the ledge, and win the prize; the game pushes you through the hoop and off the cliff and then takes the prize for its own. The fact that the smart folks over at Irrational/2K made this vital moment playable rather than a cutscene like many other designers would have made all the difference to me.

I got so upset with myself that I threw down the controller and walked away. Came back later to finish the game, of course, but not until I had a long, deep think about who I was as a person. You’re all rolling your eyes at me, I know, getting this worked up over a silly video game, but this is one of the many reasons why this has such a special place in my heart.

It’s a true work of art, and not just in that pretty art deco sense. Powerful art activates that bit of our complex brain that separates us from the monkeys. The difference between good art and real art is the difference between, “I like it, it’s nice” and breaking down into tears over how brilliant it is, simply because you have no idea how to respond.

Passive verses active.

I, for one, love this idea of active gaming. It’s kinda why I got into ARGs; my ideal game is one that relies heavily on character development through player interaction and what paths they take, rather than what the puppetmaster ultimately wants to drag out of you. Having a final objective is important, yes, but flexibility is important to this medium of gaming. It allows the game to live and breathe in our reality while keeping the “alternate” bit the still in place. Because the ARG is dependent on player choices, the likelihood that the players will make several mistakes until a workable/proper conclusion is reached is unavoidable. I think this fear of mistakes prevents a lot of ARGs from reaching this level of involvement; else, puppetmasters are clinging too hard to their brainchildren to let it go to the players, where it ought to be.

Because that’s why it’s fun. It’s why I’m Sorry was fun. (Again, thank you Mr. Bricker.) It makes me, as a player, feel like I’m actually contributing to something, rather than sitting around and watching it go by. (It’s probably why I don’t like watching sports, at all; if I had to get involved, I’d rather be playing them.) It forces you to invest yourself and your emotions into a game in order to get something out of it. Good characters are important, here. Plus, this is why people who like to play “safe” ARGs and furthermore try to impose this method on others because of “safety issues” really grind my goat. I may or may not be referencing a certain unfortunate panel I once sat through…

While Bioshock is unlike Heavy Rain as it still under the “passive” and “linear” category as far as gameplay goes (I mean, sure, it has alternate endings but pffft, Andrew Ryan is STILL DEAD), I owe it this much: it showed me the difference between active and passive gaming, rather than trying to ignore it. Furthermore, it showed me the difference between good storytelling and amazing storytelling.

This is why Heavy Rain looks promising. It’s rooted in character and the game is entirely dependant on the emotional attachment you gain through interacting with them. Unlike pretty much every other game to ever exist, Heavy Rain brings character to the top of the list. Even “freeform” games like Fallout 3 and other various RPGs are all about the stat grinding and eventually achieveing the one final goal in the game. This is different.

The only concern I have about it is its relianance on motion capture performances by the actors, because of how disasterous this can be at times. But I’m staying optimistic about it because most of the previews look stunning.

Innovations like this keeps me looking forward to the future of video games. It’s going to be nothing like any regular first-person shooter, but that’s great. Because the only emotional reaction I get out of those is being bored to tears.

Also, it’s an incredibly convincing argument for getting a friggin’ PS3 already, jesus.