Beyond Two Souls is an third person interactive storytelling that was developed exclusively for the PlayStation 3 by French development studio, Quantic Dream.
Given the games PlayStation 3 exclusivity, it’s no surprise that the game was published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game was launched on October 8th 2013 and is available at retail and via digital download.
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While developing this game, David Cage, founder of Quantic Dream and his crew of developers and engineers created a engine which is based on 3D, at the same time introduced motion capture technology to capture real-time voice and body language in the game. The same technique and hardware was made famous by James Cameron’s Avatar in 2009. Beyond: Two Souls marks the first time the technology was brought in full scale to a video game, where the actor is voicing a character is acting the role at the same time.
David Cage explained in an interview ““The game is going to send a strong signal to the game industry, but also to Hollywood because of Ellen Page’s involvement and the fact that she was so great during shooting. If the game is successful, and if her performance is seen as something that proved the quality of the experience, it’s going to be a signal to the industry that says ‘look, it’s possible to do games this way.’”
Cage also stated “In Hollywood, many people still think that games are about shooting, so most actors have no interest in them. They don’t want to just be a face on an avatar who is shooting people. So there is still some interest in Hollywood for games, but they are still really cautious. Beyond will send them interesting signals.” [reference]
The developer stated that visually the lighting and depth of field that play out on screen help portray a more stylish, life-like film tone. The characters appear more human and less wooden in their emotions and movements.
To get as realistic as possible, the camera crew shoots for hours, trying to finish 30-40 pages of script per day. This game is setting a benchmark for other games , It will be a statement that acting and performance is as important as the game play, where games will have more artistic sense to it and will mean more than just plain action. [reference]
The game, which introduces a potluck of elements which include psychological, spiritual and a suspenseful story. It is centered around questions we all ask ourselves one point in our lives ” What happens when we die” . You as the player take Jodie Holmes through 15 years of her life on a journey to discover the true meaning of the entity Aiden, who has been by her side throughout her life. And as you play it you will be able to find out more about “What lies beyond”.
Ellen Paige sat down with David Cage and discussed about Jodie’s life, She stated in an interview “The core of it, this very specific thing that she’s dealing with–feeling different and being told that she has this gift and it’s sort of making her miserable and it’s having this sort of love-hate relationship with this abnormality, and I think that’s something that a lot of people can relate to.” [reference]
In a 35 minutes of footage from the game, we see that she wanders the streets without direction, with no one to go to other than her scientist friend, who is played by Willem Dafoe with whom she can trust without question. Jodie is not completely alone as she is accompanied by a special, mysterious entity know as “Aiden” who helps her rescue the others from a building fire. But even she can’t fully explain why it’s constantly at her side. And even when she tries to kill herself the entity will not allow her, which begs further questions as to what it is.
The game isn’t a first person shooter or the average action-horror experience; the main focus is all about making choices as you progress through the game .As you converse with other characters, you’re given options as to how you should respond .You can be curious or refuse offers, and each decision you make changes the course of the story.
Though there will be action elements as Jodie is trained by the CIA in martial arts, she beats up a group of kids with ease and dispatches a trained military group with the help of Aiden, causing considerable damage and chaos. All of these action sequences takes place by QuickTime events (QTEs). The game will reportedly take 10 hours to complete. [reference]
Those who pre-order the game will receive an exclusive 30-minute playable additional scenario DLC. In addition they will also receive an exclusive steel book premium packaging, an extensive Behind The Scenes video feature looking at development and key acting in the story scenes, the original soundtrack, a PS3 dynamic theme and an exclusive PSN Avatar Bundle.
This wiki was last updated on 2nd, January, 2015.
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