By Frank Caron | Published: September 11, 2008
Quantic Dream, the developers behind Fahrenheit and the upcoming PS3 title Heavy Rain, has shown that playing with game narrative is a focus of its efforts. Director David Cage has spoke out numerous times about his desire to experiment with games, and his latest plot will see that the story of Heavy Rain continues on even after the player dies.
According to Videogaming247, Cage spoke on this unique twist at the Games Convention in Leipzig last month. "I can't really tell you too much about what the story's about or how it's going to work with the characters, all I can tell you that your character—the main character—can die, and the story will continue," Cage said. "You can continue to play, without this character, of course."
When questioned about whether or not this meant the game would then move into a side-story to deal with the main character's death, he adamantly said "No," and explained that "it's one big story."
That's definitely an interesting twist on dealing with player death, although it's hard to imagine how the game will avoid devolving into a strictly cinematic affair after the player character dies. Fahrenheit had plenty of branching story points which continued through to the end of the game, which was great for replayability, but not the player's death. It's certainly a curious, but intriguing, design decision.
