stillsostrange

Before I get to the bullet points of fail, I must say that Heavy Rain has its moments. The graphics are beautiful and atmospheric, the story has some good ideas, the mystery does a few clever things, and I appreciate all the different possible endings, several of which are downright satisfying. The good parts only make the failures more disappointing, though, and I come not to praise Heavy Rain but to kick it bitterly.

(N.B., Steven played the game while I watched. I will not offer any comments on the gameplay itself, since I wasn't the one with the controller.)

( Spoilers lurk amongst the bitching )

My final verdict: a fun story hampered by sucktastic writing.

Wow. Heavy Rain just taught us a very valuable lesson in how not to start a story.

The demo, which was awesome, splits POV between a hardboiled PI and an FBI agent searching for the same child-murderer. This is hooky.

( On the off chance anyone cares about spoilers )

Cut to two years later, where boring architect has lost his Ikea furnishings and (apparently long-suffering) wife, and now gets partial custody of his remaining child. His life is no longer oversaturated, but not any more hooky. I would murder him myself if it would take us back to the PI.

Now, I myself am often a fan of slow openings and scene-setting. I have complained about books that start too abruptly, and don't show us the life the character is about to be ripped away from. But man, you have to find a way to balance set-up and stakes with tension and narrative drive.

I have now been watching this game for 45 minutes, and the narrative drive is nowhere to be found. Where, oh where is the PI?

Oh thank god, here he is! But if I'd been slushing, that wouldn't have saved this MS.

2100 words today, leaving me with a -1100 deficit from yesterday and Sunday, but still reasonably on track. My latest sticking point is trying to make up and describe dances, because renaissance dances just aren't doing it for me.

Deathmarch stats:
Sunday - 1300 / 2,000 words
Monday - 0 / 500 words
Tuesday - 2,100 / 2,000 words
Wednesday - 2,000 words
Thursday - 1,500 words
Friday - 500
Saturday - 0
Sunday - 1500 words

I must resist the urge to make a Dragon Age character until this damn b*@k is turned in. The boy is not sufficiently flirting with Zorro the Gay Elf, so I'll have to take matters into my own hands eventually.