Heavy Rain, Choose you own adventure

As a child, I loved to read the choose your own adventure books in my school library. The books never followed a traditional linear form of literacy, reading from left to right, Beginning to end. Instead, the reader turned to different pages based on the choices provided. There would be several outcomes that would result from your personal choices within the book.

Heavy rain poses the question "How far would you go to save the one you love?" a film noir-style thriller set in an interactive visual medium (video games). It follows the path of 4 unrelated characters connected by the high profile murders of a serial killer, known as the Origami Killer.

Traditional games result in “game over” screens when the desired outcome is not performed by the player. Heavy rain has no right or wrong choice, just the amalgamation of all those choices driving forward to the finale. Protagonists can die due to the actions and choices of the player, their story ends and key elements and insights may be missed that, that character would provide; if they had survived.

Thoughts can be heard by selecting the non linear projections that swirl around the characters heads. This also provides the selections of how the player wants to proceed or has perceived a situation. Ethan Mars; an architect, reports his son missing to the police. While playing at the park, Ethan blacks out and wakes up, standing in the street, son missing. Many hours have past and the details of the situation are hazy to Ethan. Police detectives ask him the time they arrived and what his son what wearing? The player must answer what they observed, the answers are swirling very fast and are hard to see, creating the idea that Ethan cannot clearly describe what happened.

Heavy rain pushes the boundaries of the industry, it focuses on the emotions of the characters and the player, making choices based on moral decisions, set in extreme circumstances. Ethan is set into the Origami Killers game, and tasked to drive five miles in five minutes, against oncoming traffic, to receive a clue to the location of his son. The player must choose personal endangerment and sacrifice to help save his son. If the task is not undertaken vital clues will be withheld to help Ethan find his son.

I am about one hour into the story and already drawn into its emotion and characters. Heavy Rain’s story is driven by the actions and emotions of the characters. Realistic facial expressions tie the player to the Characters emotions. It captures the players attention, creating a relationship to these people.

This draws me back to the “Choose your own adventure books” from my childhood and I look forward to seeing the outcome of these individuals.