kuppy
creative mind
- Registriert
- 14 Juli 2013
- Beiträge
- 661
On the Train
Inside a train, Jodie Holmes is trying to get some sleep, wrapped in a hoodie to avoid attracting unwanted attention. We’re soon in control of Aiden, the ethereal entity she’s tied to – and you can immediately notice that spiritual connection, which is represented by a blue light thread linking the two. In first person (you never get to see Aiden’s appearance), you can wander the place with Sixaxis movements. Taking advantage of the fact you’re invisible to the other passengers, you can startle them by interacting with objects indicated by an orange glow. You can even cross the walls of the train to look at the heavy rain out there, but you can’t stray too far from Jodie – your view starts to blur and eventually go black and white. Aiden is bound to Jodie. “[Your view as Aiden] will also change based on what situation Jodie is in,” Ray Khalastchi (SCEE’s XDev Studio Producer) explains. “If she’s scared or in danger, it will impact your view.”
The train eventually stops at a station full of cops. You can go outside and try to listen to their conversation to find out what is happening, or you can just go wherever you want to. It’s interesting to notice how you don’t “trigger” events with your presence, everything just happens in real time. People will carry on their conversation or whatever they are doing whether you are there or not, so you have to pick carefully what you’ll be doing.
Eventually, two cops board the train and it’s immediately obvious that they are looking for Jodie. You have to warn her somehow, and you do so by interacting with the bottle near her to wake her up. Noticing the girl tries to avoid them, the officers realize it’s Jodie, and a chase scene ensues. You’re now in direct control of Jodie trying to make your way through the corridors. This direct control of the action sequence is something Khalastchi emphasizes, contrasting with Heavy Rain, where you would simply follow command prompts in action scenes. Not that you don’t have the usual on-screen commands to follow, and here they can also determine the outcome of a scene. “If I was to be caught, I would be arrested and I would be put in one of these rooms. I would have to find a way outside the train”, explains Ray. “You cannot get a ‘Game Over’ screen, the game always moves forward.”
Cornered inside a toilet, Jodie comes up with a plan: open the latch to the rooftop. But she’s not strong enough, so it’s up to Aiden to crack it open. On the rooftop, we’re again controlling Jodie directly: She moves carefully through the wet floor, her clothes soaked by the pouring rain, swinging with the strong wind, the lights of signposts occasionally remembering you of how fast the train is moving, and Ellen Page’s expression of anxiety giving an unsettling sense of danger.
The girl tries to get around the police officers who are also climbing to the rooftop, but is surrounded by three of them. A brutal fight follows, but despite getting hit by some blows, Jodie seems to know how to get rid of them. “For this part we had a martial artists group that came to do the choreography and motion capture session”, adds Khalastchi. “Then we took that data and applied to the characters in the scene.”
Noticing the cops are still coming at her, Jodie jumps out of the train and, upon successful command inputs, Aiden protects her with an ethereal shield so she can land safely.
At the Forest
Jodie is now in a forest area, rising from the ground with an expression that mixes relief and fatigue. But soon after she begins moving away from there, a helicopter lights the area and searchlights comes in her direction. Furious with their tenacity, the girl curses and darts into the forest.
While dogs bay in the background, Jodie tries to overcome trunks and branches – again, under a combination of direct control plus Quick Time Events. “If you fail repeatedly”, I insist, “can Jodie die?” It’s something that kept hammering my mind, because in Heavy Rain you would sometimes have to live with the tragic (and permanent) consequences of your actions. “No, she can’t die”, assures Ray. “But the story still continues in the context of all that happens. She can get arrested or get knocked down and wake up later.”
Jodie builds some distance between her and the cops, but still can hear them not very far from her. With direct control over her, you begin running in every different direction in search of a way out, and it soon becomes a desperate hunt for an exit. “Jodie is lost. You are lost. You don’t know where to go, so you’re trying to find your way around. We really wanted to make you feel like you’re lost.”
The dogs catch up with her and a battle between Jodie and nature takes place. “Did you guys motion capture dogs too?”, I jokingly ask, trying to alleviate me from the tension caused by the ferocious scene. “Actually, yes,” answers Khalastchi with that confident smile of someone who means it.
After getting rid of the dogs, Jodie manages to climb a rock wall and hide from the cops bellow. Then, while they are pointing their lanterns around in search of her, comes my favorite scene: the camera closes in on Jodie’s face and you can clearly see the benefits of marrying the latest in motion capture and graphics technology with an Oscar nominee of the caliber of Ellen Page, as you can see the expression of fear in her excited eyes, while raindrops stream down her bruised skin, her hair plastered around her still panting face. “Are her bruises dynamic?”, I ask after seeing how she gets injured after so many brushes with danger. “Yes. For example, when I jumped out of the train before, if I failed to shield her properly, she would be in a much worse state.” Poor Jodie.
At the Barricade
Jodie escapes the guards and is now by the side of a road, where there’s a barricade. Controlling Aiden again, you check the situation: there are three cops, two cars and a motorbike. The producer explains the meaning of the colored auras surrounding every people: white is neutral, orange means the person can be possessed and red indicates someone who can be choked. And it’s all contextual.
Khalastchi goes to the officer by the bike and possesses him, gaining direct control over him. Our guide them makes the possessed guard mess with one of the cars to distract the other two. I noticed from a previous play session that he made something different to pass through this area. “Yes, in this very instance, you have two options”, explains Khalastchi. “After possessing the guard, I can enter the car and drive it back and forth, or I can get the shotgun in the back of the car and keep shooting to the air. Either way, the other cops get distracted and give Jodie the opportunity to go around and get the bike.”
“Even in the small sections, we’d like to give you a little bit of choice. It may have no difference in the outcome, but if you choose what to do, it feels more like it’s your story.”
At the Town
The chase comes to its climax at the front of a theater, when Jodey drives to middle of a small town. “In this final part of the demo, it’s almost a sandbox of Aiden gameplay. There are lots of different things you can do,” explains Khalastchi. And he’s not kidding: while Jodie is cornered behind a car, you control Aiden and search for people to possess or choke, or explore various environmental interactions. You can control a sniper and kill his teammates, take over another soldier on the ground and command him to shoot nearby officers and himself, throw a grenade with yet another officer and cause a massive explosion, flip cars and… blow the fire hydrant? “Some things you can do are not useful.”
As time goes on, the S.W.A.T. team is closing in on Jodie, which means they get in range of some hazards and in Aiden’s range as well. You can make a clock tower crumble upon some soldiers, which highlighted a curious detail in the game: you can actually see their spirits coming out of their bodies and rising into the air.
After helping Jodie get inside the theater, you can possess the helicopter pilot and cause the ultimate destruction, which leads to the closing scene of the debut trailer: Jodie walks to the S.W.A.T. leader and menacingly yells: “Tell them to leave me effin’ alone, because next time… I’ll kill everyone”. And, walking away, she calls Aiden and says “I think they got the message”.
Increased Direct Control of Jodie
Beyond: Two Souls features much larger and more open environments than those found in Heavy Rain, and to coincide with this, the gamer will have much more freedom to explore their surroundings and find small side bits of information. The “R2 to walk” control scheme from Heavy Rain is gone as well – now, navigation with Jodie is controlled entirely using the left analog stick.
As you navigate these environments, the camera will dynamically change to more cinematic angles, and Jodie’s animations will tailor themselves to her age and situation, leading to a uniquely immersive and filmic experience. All of the videos you’ve seen us release thus far are in fact entirely user-controlled; it’s just difficult to distinguish without the controller in your hand.
Contextual, Prompt-less Interactivity and Choice
One of the most exciting new developments is the much smoother interaction UI. In Heavy Rain, every time you wanted to interact with an object or perform an action, a button prompt would appear on-screen. In Beyond: Two Souls we decided to implement a more “invisible” interface:
Jodie’s actions will be now prompted with a small white dot that appears over each object you can interact with. Then, through a simple gesture of the right analog stick, you will enable Jodie to perform a contextual interaction such as opening a door or inspecting a piece of writing on the wall. The new interface is extremely intuitive for both new and existing fans alike, and the contextual actions allow for an array of movements and actions that make Jodie feel more like a living, breathing character.
By granting players control over Jodie’s conversations and actions, it also empowers the player to change the evolution of the story in a number of exciting and different ways.
Revamped Prompt-Less Action Sequences
In keeping with the theme of eliminating jarring button prompts and creating a more immersive and cinematic experience, prompts have also been removed from action sequences involving Jodie. Rather than button prompts on-screen, the entire combat system has been replaced with a slow-motion (also called “bullet-time” since The Matrix) gesture mechanic based on the right analog stick.
At various action points during each fight, the action on-screen will change to slow-motion and greyscale for a split second, and during that time you will need to quickly analyze the action and input a gesture with the right analog stick. This gesture will need to be the continuation of Jodie’s on-screen movement (e.g. if Jodie initiates a punch to the left on-screen, you will need to hit left on the right analog, thus completing her action). The tension runs high as Jodie’s success or failure in each action sequence depends on quick and accurate reflexes.
Entity Gameplay and Collaboration
Last, but not least, of the new gameplay you’ll experience in Beyond: Two Souls is taking control of Aiden, the entity connected to Jodie. At any point in the game, you can switch between Jodie and Aiden at a simple touch of the Triangle button. Using both Jodie and Aiden together will be critical for both protecting Jodie and solving puzzles Jodie comes across during her journey, as well as gaining additional insight into the characters’ stories.
When controlling Aiden, navigation is controlled using the left analog stick to move forward/backward/side-to-side, the right analog to rotate, and the shoulder buttons to control altitude. Aiden is only restricted in its movement by the tether that keeps it connected to Jodie, and can fly through or around any matter in the environment. Aiden has the ability to interact with people and objects by locking on with L1 and then either pulling the glowing orbs in or away from the target, allowing it to choke people (red aura), possess and control them (yellow aura), and blast objects with invisible force.
David
Bin auf seine neue Geschichte sehr gespannt und werde mich liebend gerne darauf einlassen, hype.
Sehr bewerkswert, dass die Schauspieler auf dem Cover gelistet werden, zeigt doch die neue Ernsthaftigkeit, den Respekt und Richtung welche eingeschlagen wird, davon wünsch ich mir mehr.
Gruß
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