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Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

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Heavy Rain's vital statistics

Script length, cast size, more.

One of the fascinating things about Heavy Rain - previewed on Eurogamer today - is its reliance on development studio head David Cage, who wrote the massive script single-handedly, and motion capture. On a recent excursion to see the game in development, we noted down a few of the more interesting stats in its creator's presentation. We thought you might enjoy them, so here they are:

The script

  • 2,000 pages long
  • 60 scenes, each about 15-20 minutes long, most, but not all of which you see on any play-through
  • 40,000 words of non-linear dialogue
  • Based on 6,000 pages of notes and references
  • 15 months in development

The art design

  • Two weeks scouting for locations on the East Coast of the USA
  • 15 months of design by ten people
  • Photos, topographical gameplay maps, sketches of every item, paintings of every scene

The outsourcing to Asia

  • Over 100 people involved outside Quantic Dream
  • 480 man-months of work
  • Based on an "outsourcing bible" and "level architect blueprints"

The motion capture

  • All done on-site at Quantic Dream in Paris
  • 170 days of shooting across nine months
  • Over 70 actors and stuntmen involved
  • Casting sessions in Paris and London
  • 30,000 unique animations recorded
Check out our latest preview of Heavy Rain for PS3 to get an idea of how it all works in the game. Although don't expect too much detail; we were taken the Paris only to be told we wouldn't see the game in action, we'd just be told and shown how it was being constructed.