What are your initial feelings after collecting three BAFTA awards this evening?

I’m very proud to have collected three awards. We came here with no expectations and I’m proud for my team who all worked so hard during those three years of development. I’m also proud for Sony, because they took a big gamble on this game and showed faith and support throughout, which not all publishers would have done.

Which is the most gratifying to you personally: winning awards, critical acclaim or lots of sales?

Definitely sales, and not because of the money. When you create games, you don’t create them for journalists or awards panels; you create them for real people – for gamers. To have nearly two million people paying good money to play Heavy Rain is a really great feeling for me.

Which of tonight’s awards is the most pleasing?

I’m proud of all of them but, from a personal point of view, it has to be best story. I worked so hard on this aspect of the game, inventing rules for the world; trying to be creative and emotional while all the time thinking about the technical aspects like structure and the different variables that were necessary to make it all work. I spent a year writing for 12 to 15 hours a day and there have been many personal sacrifices. As I said on-stage, I want to dedicate this all to my family, especially my two sons, who I didn’t see much of during that time but they shared my passion.

Can the auteur theory be applied to games, with development teams getting bigger all the time?

It must be applied to games – there is no other way. If this industry wants to mature and evolve then we need to talk about emotions and work on stories that appeal to all people, not just hardcore gamers between the ages of 15 and 17. We have a much wider market out there just waiting to interact if we can go to them with the right ideas.

I know no good stories written by 50 people. A story is something emotional; something personal that you want to share and it is strongly linked to your own life and experiences. We need auteurs and the biggest problem in this industry is that we don’t trust them – we trust programmers instead. Auteurs are scary because they come back with ideas, but that is exactly what this industry should be about.

Is this recognition of Heavy Rain the culmination of your work on Fahrenheit?

We are working with a young medium and there is no pre-existing language with which to tell an interactive story. Everyone needs to learn and I’ve had 15 years of learning, starting with Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Nobody knew what the story was about in that game because it was so messy and poorly told, but then I had the chance to work on Fahrenheit and the story was kind of OK for two-thirds of the game, but got a bit messy at the end. So I progressed some more as a writer and, with Heavy Rain, I feel that there were many stories in there and they were all good from start to finish.

Heavy Rain is the result of those 15 years of fighting and struggling with this new language. Receiving this award is undoubtedly one of the highlights of my career but I don’t see it as an achievement, more like the first step – it’s like I’ve finally got something that works. Now, I can build on it and continue learning. I’m a student and I’m still at the beginning.

For our next project we’re going to build on what we have discovered with Heavy Rain. We own this genre of Interactive Drama and we want to show that Heavy Rain was not a coincidence; it is something that makes sense and we can build on it.

At the same time, we will not make a sequel and I made that very clear from the beginning, regardless of whether the game was a success or a failure, because I wanted to show that this is a new genre that you can use to tell any kind of story, in any style.

We’re going to be exploring a different direction, which will still be very dark and still for adults, but completely different to Heavy Rain. Our challenge is to satisfy our fans, and also surprise them.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta

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Kung Fu Rider

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Heavy Rain Move Edition

Play the hit interactive drama in an entirely new way using the PlayStation Move motion controller to mirror the characters’ movements.

Eat Them

Create your own monster and see how much havoc you can wreak in the city in this PlayStation Network exclusive.

Heroes on the Move

Ratchet, Clank, Jak, Daxter, Sly and Bentley are together at last in this PlayStation Move enabled game.

Seeing such an innovative and ambitious game receive this much success is hugely exciting for all involved. Here is a brand new trailer from Quantic Dream to say ‘Thanks a million!’, and I’ll let David Cage, writer and director of Heavy Rain, have the final word…

“It has been hugely gratifying to see the positive response that Heavy Rain has received from gamers. It shows that it is possible to create games that break with convention, games that seek to tell complex stories, and games that can inspire unexpected emotions in players — and that such games can be commercial as well as critical successes. I hope that this success will continue to help pave the way for new, groundbreaking experiences.

Firstly, the development team has been working hard to quickly identify and resolve the problems that a small percentage of players have been reporting over the last few weeks. I’m pleased to confirm that a patch will be released today addressing a number of issues – thanks to everyone for their patience.

Those of you who got your hands on a copy of the Collector’s Edition have already had the chance to play Heavy Rain: Chronicle 1 – The Taxidermist. But those of you that didn’t will soon get your chance – this additional playable scene will be available to download through the PlayStation Store from Thursday, April 1st 2010, and it will be priced at €3.99 / £3.19.

Chronicle 1 – The Taxidermist provides additional backstory to Heavy Rain, and focuses on Madison Paige as she investigates a lead that turns unexpectedly perilous. The episode is an expansion and update of the original ‘Taxidermist’ demo that received such a positive response when shown at E3 and gamescom to unveil Heavy Rain back in 2008.

So if you weren’t able to get your hands on Heavy Rain before, you should have no problems finding it now!

We have been running several different ads for the Heavy Rain TV campaign in the UK and just in case you have missed any of them, here they are:

Pre-launch we ran ‘Top & Tail’ ads to show the different choices you can make within the game and the consequences that this can have in the ‘Hassans Shop’ scene. 3 different endings were made and played out on TV:

Our 60″ ad first aired during last weeks Inter Milan and Chelsea Champions League game and ran throughout the launch weekend:

A shorter 30″ version of this ad will be running until the 14th of March:

You should also check out the interactive Heavy Rain game trailers on the Heavy Rain YouTube channel to experience the game, make decisions for yourself and watch how the plot unfolds…

I know that many of you have ordered the Special Edition, which contains a voucher code to download three pieces of additional content: Chronicles episode 1, the additional playable scene; a Dynamic XMB Theme; and the Official Heavy Rain Soundtrack.

I’m sorry to say that there has been a last-minute technical delay with the Official Soundtrack, meaning that if you redeem your voucher code before 4th March, you will be able to download Chronicle 1 and the Dynamic Theme, but not the Official Soundtrack.

If you redeem your Special Edition voucher after 4th March, you will receive all three pieces of content as normal – and if you can stand to wait a week to start downloading additional content, that will be the easiest approach. If you have already redeemed your voucher code and have not received the Official Soundtrack, please contact your local customer service teams who will be able to help you.

Apologies for the inconvenience, everyone.

We’ve seen some fantastic review scores – here’s just a selection in case you missed them…

• 9/10 – Eurogamer (UK)
• 9/10 – IGN (UK)
• 10/10 – Total Video Games (UK)
• 94% – 4players.de (Germany)
• 94% – spieletester.com (Germany)
• 91% – 9lives (Belgium)
• 93% – PS3only.nl (Netherlands)
• 5/5 – Gamalive (France)
• 9/10 – Eurogamer (France)

Look out for more Heavy Rain postings all week, and check out Jem’s posting about the premiere in Paris if you missed it. Speaking of which, here’s a few more exclusive photos from the event…

The event took place at the Gaumont Cinema on the Champs Elysees in Paris, where David Cage (Writer/Director), Guillaume de Fondaumiere (Executive Producer), Pascal Langdale (Actor – Ethan Mars), Sam Douglas (Actor – Scott Shelby), Leon Ockenden (Actor – Norman Jayden) and Jacqui Ainsley (Actor – Madison Paige) met members of the film and game media and members of the public. After having played through the game last week, it was very surreal to see them walking around in the real world. The event involved much red carpet walking, hors d’oeuvre nibbling and industry mingling. Plus an ice sculpture in the shape of an origami. No, really.

A cut down video edit of the first section of the game was shown to media on one of the Gaumont’s many cinema screens. There aren’t many games which can be confidently displayed on the silver screen in front of dozens of members of the press but, if the applause was anything to go by, they seemed to love it. After this, director Neil LaBute stepped in to present a short film, which he had created specially for the event, based on Heavy Rain’s central premise: how far would you go for love? It’s a short eight minute talking heads piece involving a wide range of film industry members, such as Samuel L. Jackson, Hanif Kureishi, Nicolas Roeg, Stephen Frears, Ben Chaplin, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Bogdanovich and Jean Marc Barr. Check it out for yourself below.

This was followed by a Q&A panel involving Mr. LaBute alongside David Cage, Terry Gilliam, Martha Fiennes and Mathieu Kassovitz, during which they discussed how the film and game industries were merging. It was a pretty lively debate and we’re hoping to get you a video of that in the next week or so. It was great to see the enthusiastic responses from these respected industry veterans towards Heavy Rain.

The second day of the event was only slightly less glamorous, but no less interesting. Media had interviews with the actors, David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumiere and you can see our interviews with them begin to appear next week. Thanks again for answering my request for interview questions. I’ll leave you with the teaser video taken at the red carpet event and you can look forward to plenty more Heavy Rain content on PlayStation.Blog in the coming weeks. Plus, you’ll be able to pick up the game and play it for yourself on Wednesday in mainland Europe and Friday in the UK.

Head down to one of the following stores on Friday 26th, Saturday 27th or Sunday 28th February for an exclusive demonstration of key in-games scenes, and an opportunity to get hands-on before you buy!

• HMV Edinburgh
• HMV Manchester
• HMV Leeds
• Gamestation Edinburgh
• Gamestation Birmingham
• GAME Nottingham

*Please note this is an 15+ title, all consumers wishing to demo must be 15, you may be asked for ID as proof of age

I have some questions of my own but, as usual, I’m interested to hear what you want to know. Write up your best questions in the comments section. Let me know whether they’re for everyone, or just specific people. Don’t worry — the interviews will be kept spoiler free. I want you to go into the game with as little knowledge of the story as possible when it comes out next week.

At the end of the week, all those who submitted the correct evidence pack from the crime scene were given an exclusive voucher code to download the Heavy Rain playable demo from the PlayStation Store. The demo will not be made generally available until this Thursday, 11th February – so there’s still time for you to get involved and get hold of the demo early. Head over to www.HeavyRain.com to register, and then take a look at the active community over on the Facebook Fanpage if you need any hints or help.

The final stage of the investigation will take place this week – you’ve been seconded to work with the Bureau, helping them assess potential suspects against strict psychological criteria. This is where you will need to use all of the skills and information you’ve learned during the investigation, and ultimately make your decision – which suspect will you bring in for questioning?

Also – a big apology to those of you who had problems accessing some of the websites at times last week. We’ve seen absolutely unprecedented traffic over the last few weeks, and we’ve now taken additional steps to ensure that everyone taking part has the best possible experience. Thanks to all of you for your patience, and your enthusiasm for the fantastic Heavy Rain!

Some participants also discovered that their credentials gave them exclusive access to a parallel investigation taking place in PlayStation Home…

This week is where the real work begins. A crime has taken place, and you will be tasked with supporting the investigation. Analyse the crime-scene – question an eyewitness – assess the evidence. The consequences will be great, but the rewards may be even greater.

If you haven’t registered yet, then head over to HeavyRainPS3.com to sign-up (you’ll also get an exclusive PlayStation Home t-shirt when you do).

Four Days: The Heavy Rain Online Experience is a live online mystery which plays out in real time across three weeks. Between Tuesday and Friday every week there will be daily tasks for you to complete (leaving you the weekend to catch up if you fall behind). Each task will lead you onto the next part of the journey. At key stages you will be prompted, whilst on other occasions you will need to deduce the right thing to do. You will receive an instructional email at the beginning of each of the three weekly events, and you can always turn to the Facebook Fan Page Community for help and discussion.

Along the way, you may well discover some cool exclusive content – but just as importantly, it’ll be a fun experience, and you won’t find any spoilers that will ruin your experience of playing Heavy Rain itself!

What will you find in The Backstage Pass? Well, your first task will be working out how to get through the next security door, which will only open once certain criteria have been fulfilled…

If you do manage to get through, you will be able to take part in the HEAVY RAIN: Evidence Analysis mini-game. We don’t want to give away too many clues, however check out the screenshots below to whet your appetite:

And that’s not all, those of you that do manage to successfully complete the (cerebrally challenging) Evidence Analysis, will receive a rather special reward! This prize is definitely one you HEAVY RAIN fans won’t want to be without…

If you fancy updating your T-shirt wardrobe, make sure to visit Alter Ego this week. For both males and females, you’ll find a bundle pack of 20 new shirts. These shirts feature animated scrolling slogans. Priced at €4.99, this bundle is fantastic value!

Episode 2 of our new Home TV feature arrives this week. Available to view in the Theatre, Home TV aims to highlight all the good things in PlayStation Home – in particular, the fun things you, the community, get up to. If you’re involved with running an event in Home, or participating in an event, and think Home TV should come along to report on it then make sure to let us know at HomeTV@scee.net. Perry, Home TV’s eccentric presenter, gives us a quick rundown of this month’s episode:

This week, you’ll find yourself looking into a dark and mysterious mind – follow, and see just how far their influence has already spread. The rain is already falling – start looking there for answers…

Four Days: The Heavy Rain Online Experience is a live online mystery which plays out in real time across three weeks. Between Tuesday and Friday every week there will be daily tasks for you to complete (leaving you the weekend to catch up if you fall behind). Each task will lead you onto the next part of the journey. At key stages you will be prompted, whilst on other occasions you will need to deduce the right thing to do. You will receive an instructional email at the beginning of each of the three weekly events, and you can always turn to the Facebook Fan Page Community for help and discussion.

Along the way, you may well discover some cool exclusive content – but just as importantly, it’ll be a fun experience, and you won’t find any spoilers that will ruin your experience of playing Heavy Rain itself!

So for those of you that registered over the last week, look out for an email re-confirming your voucher code, just in case you missed it.

If you haven’t signed up for ‘Four Days’ yet, check out last week’s post for more details, and then get ready for next Tuesday, when the hunt will begin…

p.s. We’ve spotted even more homemade origami spreading across the web this week – search for #murderbird on Twitter to see some more cool examples of people’s creativity!

‘Four Days’ is a live online mystery which plays out in real time across three weeks, beginning on January 26th. You’ll be able to get involved in the hunt for a killer – interacting with characters, identifying clues, making decisions. Between Tuesday and Friday of each week there will be daily tasks for you to complete, or puzzles to solve. Along the way, you may well discover some cool exclusive content – but just as importantly, you won’t find any spoilers that will ruin your experience of playing Heavy Rain itself!

Look out for further updates on ‘Four Days’ over the next few weeks, and register now at the official site to make sure that you don’t miss the start of the hunt. If you do, you’ll also get a voucher code for an exclusive Home t-shirt. You may discover that there is more to it than meets the eye…

On a separate note, many of you will have seen my earlier blog entry about the Heavy Rain Special Edition; to whet your appetites even more, I thought I’d give everyone a glimpse of the full contents…

Finally, we noticed that some Heavy Rain fans have been hard at work on creating their own origami figures. It’s cool to see your creativity – so I thought I’d share the view from my desk…

Enjoy all this, and look out for more Heavy Rain updates soon!

…and a few snaps from the Quantic Dream studio in Paris…

There are a range of pre-order programs going on – these vary across each country, but will offer you a chance to get hold of either the Heavy Rain Special Edition, or specific bonus items DLC including “Heavy Rain: Chronicle One – The Taxidermist”. Look out for more details on country-specific pre-order plans soon.

Heavy Rain is the highly anticipated PS3 exclusive developed by Quantic Dream – an emotional thriller where your choices can have dramatic consequences. There’ll be plenty more interesting news to come on Heavy Rain as we approach launch, so keep your eyes open…!

Hopefully many of you will have seen some of the great first impressions of the game that are popping up all over the place. This is the first time that journalists have been given the opportunity to get to play through an extended series of scenes in sequence, so it’s really exciting to see all the positive responses. Look out for the previews (though if you’re trying to avoid even minor plot spoilers, be careful out there!).

The Heavy Rain Chronicles

First of all, I’m pleased to confirm that Heavy Rain will be supported by some very interesting downloadable content – The Heavy Rain Chronicles.

These are a series of additional, fully-playable scenes, where you’ll learn more about the backstory of some of the characters you’ll meet in Heavy Rain itself. The first episode will centre on Madison – and the setting will be familiar to those of you who have been following the progress of Heavy Rain closely…

Heavy Rain: Chronicle One – The Taxidermist sees Madison Paige investigating a suspicious and reclusive taxidermist, and finding herself unexpectedly in grave danger.

The episode is an expansion and update of the original ‘Taxidermist’ demo that received such a positive response when shown at E3 and gamescom last year.

Chronicles One and Two will be available for download from the PlayStation Store after the launch of Heavy Rain early next year – although there will be some opportunities to get hold of the episode a little earlier. Which brings me on to…

Heavy Rain – Collector’s Edition

I’m excited to announce the Heavy Rain Collector’s Edition…

The Collector’s Edition is packaged in a special ‘rain-effect’ slipcase – thanks to special embossing and other manufacturing tricks, it gives the impression of being streaked with 3D rain-drops (something that has confused a lot of people when they’ve seen it lying on my desk recently!).

But cool as that is, that’s not all. The Collector’s Edition also contains a voucher to download the following additional content from the PlayStation Store:

• Heavy Rain: Chronicle 1 – The Taxidermist – Experience Madison’s dangerous investigation in full, before it’s available on the PlayStation Store
• The Heavy Rain Official Soundtrack – Recorded at the legendary Abbey Road studios, and filled with the powerful orchestral themes that form a key part of the experience of playing Heavy Rain
• Dynamic XMB theme – Lend a little Heavy Rain ambience to your XMB

The ways in which you can get your hands on the Collector’s Edition will vary across Europe, so keep a look out for more info on this soon.

That’s all for now, but I’ll be around in the comments section for a while to answer any questions you might have – and keep your eyes open for more Heavy Rain updates soon.