Alternative Games

Last year’s Indigo Prophecy (from Atari) was a relatively successful title. It got great reviews from most reviewers, but it was, at best, a cult hit from the mainstream perspective. In fact, Indigo Prophecy was a very anti-game game: Interactivity was sacrificed at almost every turn in favor of metaphorical actions that felt a lot more Space Ace or Dragon’s Lair than modern action gaming. Of course, there’s room for all sorts of storytelling in games, and just because Indigo Prophecy isn’t exactly my favorite flavor, it is at least a unique title.

Joystiq brought my attention to the sequel to Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain, which is in development now. A real-time PS3 promotional trailer for the game mimics an audition videotape: a young woman delivers a creep-tastic monologue with excellent voice-acting. The visuals are rendered in next-gen greatness, but they are also a classic example of the “uncanny valley.” The Joystiq post sums up the concept of “uncanny valley” quite well, so I will direct you there for a better idea of how important this concept is to next-gen gaming. I will just add that I also mentioned the uncanny valley in my review of Fight Night Round 3 on GamesFirst! as further evidence of how important it is for game creators to be aware of the perils of photorealistic graphics. The audio is perfect, the models and lighting are excellent, but once she starts moving it’s just impossible to escape that Muppet-mouth and those dead, dead eyes. Please, please, please take a cue from traditional animation and at least give your semi-photorealistic (I mean, let’s get real: nobody’s really there yet) creations a bit more LIFE.

And, of course, the power of a new website is a bunch of new technology. The trend these days is in embedding those Flash video players provided by sites like Google Video, YouTube, or, if I can get the CSS sorted out, even GameVideos.com.