[E3 2009] Baring (Almost) All
Whoa. Heavy Rain is going to be sexy. And if David Cage does a commentary track, insanely creepy.
Published: June 3, 2009
We've already gushed about the possibilities and cinematic showmanship of Heavy Rain. We've played the game, we explored a little and while we didn't get enough time at E3 this year to go hands-on with it again, we did get to see a behind-closed-doors showing of a new section of the game. A new sexy section of the game.
Whereas the first public unveiling of the actual game (rather than a built-for-E3 sub-section) focused on FBI profiler Norman Jayden, the E3 demo this time around swung the pendulum decisively toward the female side of things. In a neat little bit of crossover, the tomboy-cut female from the Taxidermist demo last year makes up the second of the four demos Quantic Dream will be showing to the press this year (the third will hit during GamesCon in Germany in August, and the final one at TGS in September), and we know her name!
Madison Paige is a reporter, and like drug-addled Jayden, she's got a little problem: she can't sleep. Powerful insomnia has rendered the girl unable to sleep unless she's in a hotel, though apparently the game will explain exactly why she seems to take comfort in sleeping somewhere other than home (y'know, beyond the fact that rain + neon-lit hotel window = pure noir awesomeness), but in the demo she was hardly sleeping.
In fact, Madison was doing a bit of clubbing. Following a lead she'd gotten, she headed to the Blue Lagoon night club (depending on how the story plays out, Jayden can also end up here, though we're guessing the events will play out rather differently -- or at least we hope). Wearing a fairly respectable crimson button-up shirt and black skirt, she looked to be all business -- even when slinking by a pair of girls making out near the entrance. Did we mention this is probably going to be one of the hardest M ratings the ESRB will give out? You'll read why in a bit.
After slipping around the dance floor and in between a few people dancing (the animation here wasn't perfect, but if ironed out, could end up looking incredibly convincing), she surveys the scene. Spotting the night club owner, Paco Mendes, she tries to get a meeting with him, but strikes out with a bouncer. Through a bit of split-screen direction, it's shown that a girl dancing on a stage light gets called over and Madison has to rethink her approach. She tries dancing, but can't quite seem to catch Paco's eye and eventually retreats to the bathroom to try a different approach.
We should mention at this point that the whole time, in typical fashion, Quantic Dream head honcho David Cage has been narrating things in his classic excitable way. When the "strategy" for enticing Paco turns a bit more... alluring, some of his comments got hilariously creepy. There really wasn't any way to show this stuff off an talk about it without seeming creepy, we're sure -- such is the nature of effectively going through the motions to sexify a character -- but we couldn't help but laugh a little. One thing is for sure. There will be no playing this section of things around any significant others.
Madison preened for the mirror a bit and then decided to use what her momma gave her to make getting Paco's attention a bit easier. She applied eyeliner and lipstick, cinched up her boobs (after unbuttoning her top a little, natch), and straight-up tore her skirt to make it about half the previous length -- which was respectable, sure, but not prudish. A little tousled hair and she was properly tarted up enough to hit the dance platform again, this time gaining the sleazy club owner's rapt attention. He called her over, she coaxed him to take the conversation "somewhere more private" and up they went to the private suite of one Paco Mendes, though a quick check before heading into the room to confirm her purse still had a loaded gun tucked away showed she wasn't just ready to play damsel in distress.
Whereas the first public unveiling of the actual game (rather than a built-for-E3 sub-section) focused on FBI profiler Norman Jayden, the E3 demo this time around swung the pendulum decisively toward the female side of things. In a neat little bit of crossover, the tomboy-cut female from the Taxidermist demo last year makes up the second of the four demos Quantic Dream will be showing to the press this year (the third will hit during GamesCon in Germany in August, and the final one at TGS in September), and we know her name!
Madison Paige is a reporter, and like drug-addled Jayden, she's got a little problem: she can't sleep. Powerful insomnia has rendered the girl unable to sleep unless she's in a hotel, though apparently the game will explain exactly why she seems to take comfort in sleeping somewhere other than home (y'know, beyond the fact that rain + neon-lit hotel window = pure noir awesomeness), but in the demo she was hardly sleeping.
In fact, Madison was doing a bit of clubbing. Following a lead she'd gotten, she headed to the Blue Lagoon night club (depending on how the story plays out, Jayden can also end up here, though we're guessing the events will play out rather differently -- or at least we hope). Wearing a fairly respectable crimson button-up shirt and black skirt, she looked to be all business -- even when slinking by a pair of girls making out near the entrance. Did we mention this is probably going to be one of the hardest M ratings the ESRB will give out? You'll read why in a bit.
After slipping around the dance floor and in between a few people dancing (the animation here wasn't perfect, but if ironed out, could end up looking incredibly convincing), she surveys the scene. Spotting the night club owner, Paco Mendes, she tries to get a meeting with him, but strikes out with a bouncer. Through a bit of split-screen direction, it's shown that a girl dancing on a stage light gets called over and Madison has to rethink her approach. She tries dancing, but can't quite seem to catch Paco's eye and eventually retreats to the bathroom to try a different approach.
We should mention at this point that the whole time, in typical fashion, Quantic Dream head honcho David Cage has been narrating things in his classic excitable way. When the "strategy" for enticing Paco turns a bit more... alluring, some of his comments got hilariously creepy. There really wasn't any way to show this stuff off an talk about it without seeming creepy, we're sure -- such is the nature of effectively going through the motions to sexify a character -- but we couldn't help but laugh a little. One thing is for sure. There will be no playing this section of things around any significant others.
Madison preened for the mirror a bit and then decided to use what her momma gave her to make getting Paco's attention a bit easier. She applied eyeliner and lipstick, cinched up her boobs (after unbuttoning her top a little, natch), and straight-up tore her skirt to make it about half the previous length -- which was respectable, sure, but not prudish. A little tousled hair and she was properly tarted up enough to hit the dance platform again, this time gaining the sleazy club owner's rapt attention. He called her over, she coaxed him to take the conversation "somewhere more private" and up they went to the private suite of one Paco Mendes, though a quick check before heading into the room to confirm her purse still had a loaded gun tucked away showed she wasn't just ready to play damsel in distress.
