Heavy Rain boss defends mature video games: no worse than 8 o’clock TV

Whatever console you might own, we as gamers still share one common battle against those pesky little nutters in court who start slapping everyone for too much violence and mature content in video games. Sigh. It’s an unending crusade, I tell you. Here’s Quantic Dreams (Heavy Rain) boss David Cage commenting on the nature of mature content in video games. It’s an argument I’ve heard before, one which I’ve also used as well. But it’s different coming from an actual developer, right?

Whatever console you might own, we as gamers still share one common battle against those pesky little nutters in court who start slapping everyone for too much violence and mature content in video games. Sigh. It’s an unending crusade, I tell you.

Here’s Quantic Dreams (Heavy Rain, Omikron, Fahrenheit aka Indigo Prophecy) boss David Cage commenting on the nature of mature content in video games. It’s an argument I’ve heard before, one which I’ve also used as well. But it’s different coming from an actual developer, right?

I don’t think we do anything worse that what you see on TV at 8 o’clock at home. I don’t think being interactive gives you fantastic power to change the minds of people and make them do things they’d never think of doing otherwise.

We are like movies or books. I just try to create an experience that is entrancing and definitely not for kids

And no joke about it either. Heavy Rain looks undoubtedly for a mature audience.

The key word here is “interactive”. That seems to be one of the most crucial elements that seem to mislead a lot of people into thinking that, just because the video game is “interactive”, automatically makes it realistic (*cough*murdersimulator*cough*).

Nice to hear Cage make a clear distinction there: being “interactive” is no different from movies or books’ being “entrancing”. Fine, they may be different mediums, but essentially it’s about the overall experience.

Now. Anyone want to discuss video games’ legacy as an art form?

• Leipzig: Heavy Rain trailer, QTE gameplay footage, release date
• Quantic Dream’s Cage: Interactive storytelling is the new videogame narration

Via CVG