Quote:
Originally Posted by Mircalla
Let me check if i got this one right...
Heavy Rain is, say, the western equivalent of those visual novels they make by the hundreds in the land of sushi and horny tentacles,...
Or, say, someone got a bit carried away and forgot to take her meds, and it wasn't me for once. My money's on this one, i have to say.
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I'm not exactly sure what the point is making a personal dig at the end, ne'er'the less, I'll respond to the rest.
(also, I'm not a she.)
You use art as the definition of high, traditional art - which is true, but I also think films such as Double Indemnity qualify as well. I'd agree that it's difficult to qualify what art is, but I think a lot of people would say, like Riven, the ambition here was to approach that lofty concept, to use the medium of computer gaming to develop and explore adult, moral themes, and also to work to have the player emotionally engage with the characters and story.
Obviously, it didn't work for everybody, but I'd be hard pressed not to think that history will be kind to this game (but I just read a review that said "Martian Memorandum is the equivalent of films becoming talkies" from 199something, so who knows? - and it's not like Riven is hailed as the revolution it was at the time)
I'd argue that when it comes to the definition of art in computer games, unlike a fictional work, success isn't measured solely in the plot. It's hugely important, but it also should be weighted with how much emotional involvement is interactive, ie, how much the way the story is told truly involves the player - a simpler plot which might not work as a book/film can work for a game. Think about the first King's Quest - it'd be a mess of a story, but worked as a game.
As games become more sophisticated, so do the stories - and Heavy Rain, like Riven, represents a truly quantum leap in both the involvement of the player and the maturity of the themes it represents.
I understand some people don't think the game mechanics (ie, the "QTEs") didn't work for them. They certainly did for me, I had worried about it, and thought the execution, along with the ability to change the direction of the story were revolutionary.
I think the passions evoked by this game are evidence of its quality, or at least, that we all recognize that the game means something for the evolution of computer gaming.
