Quantic Dream working on next-gen now

By Robert Purchese Published 2 July, 2010

"I need the thrill of a new idea" - Cage

David Cage has told Eurogamer that Quantic Dream has begun work on the next generation of "technology".

The studio sacrificed Heavy Rain's Chronicles DLC in order to retrofit Move controls to the emotional thriller. But that hasn't prevented work on "risky" and "pioneering" future projects steaming ahead.

"Certainly not!" exclaimed Cage. "Most of the team currently works on the next generation of technology and future concepts. We plan to significantly improve the technology compared to Heavy Rain, continue to take risks and explore new grounds.

"Many people wondered why we were not 'milking the cow' after the success of Heavy Rain - why we were not creating a sequel for next Christmas. It may sound weird from the outside, but this is really not how I see my company. We genuinely try to be pioneers for this medium and discover new possibilities, which means taking more risks and not always giving people what they expect.

"It also means having creative freedom and going every day to the office with a big smile thinking you are really lucky to do what you do, and being proud of your games," he said.

Cage told Eurogamer yesterday he wasn't overjoyed at ditching the Chronicles add-ons. But creatively he has ants in his pants and the prospect of lingering on Heavy Rain any longer was unappealing and dejecting.

"I need the challenge, I need the thrill of a new idea, I need to fight to convince my team, feel the danger, feel the fear, feel the excitement of working on something you strongly believe in," he surged.

"I am probably stupid to think that way as it certainly makes my life more difficult, but I am still naïve enough to let my passion lead my choices."

At the start of June, reports leaked that claimed Cage was working on a science fiction thriller called Horizon. He isn't, but he told us he liked the concept.

"I don't know where this information comes from but there is no project called Horizon featuring a couple in a science-fiction world currently in development at Quantic Dream," confirmed Cage. "Though if the script is available it sounds like a good idea."

"As you know, I am not particularly secret about Quantic's projects. We will officially announce them as soon as we are ready."

Them?

Cage was at E3 last month to unveil Move controls for Heavy Rain. These will be part of a re-issue of Heavy Rain released later this year. A patch will be offered to existing owners to add Move support to their game.

The rest of E3 failed to excite Cage, whose crusade to attract a mature audience to videogames appears to be a lonely one.

"This year E3 was mainly for hardware, for Move, Kinect and 3DS. I saw many great games that I will buy for my son, few I will buy for myself," he told us.

"I continue to hope that our industry will one day seriously consider making games for an adult audience. Unfortunately, E3 showed little progress in this direction."

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (32) Latest comment 1 year ago

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  • Caimbeul #1 2 years ago

    Does that mean he has an inside track as to where the development of hardware is heading for the next gen?

  • BlinxHDD #2 2 years ago

    By "next generation of technology" I think he's talking about software improvement.

  • toy_brain #3 2 years ago

    Either that or he's working on that rather nebulous(sp?) definition of next-gen which is basically 'the most powerful gaming PC we could assemble and overclock, and assume future consoles will be a bit like that'.

    Somehow I doubt Sony are giving him access to PS4 tech.

  • Sunyavadin #4 2 years ago

    Just bloody well give us Nomad Soul 2 and be done with it.

  • Bitkari #5 2 years ago

    PRESS 'X' TO TAKE RISKS AND EXPLORE NEW GROUNDS.

  • LR100 #6 2 years ago

    Would the second planned DLC episode really have taken him so long, considering it was all fleshed out already?

  • ParanoidZombie #7 2 years ago

    "I continue to hope that our industry will one day seriously consider making games for an adult audience."

    I continue to hope that Cage will one day seriously consider admitting the existence of games like Mass effect, bioshock, silent hill, fallout, fable, portal, deus ex, thief and so on.

  • darleysam #8 2 years ago

    Maybe if you went multi-platform, you might reach a wider audience.

  • Acrid #9 2 years ago

    By "next generation of technology" I think he's talking about the Apple iConsole, it looks just like a 46" TV but you put it on your lap and tilt it, and it comes in shiny black. WANT!

  • twoism #10 2 years ago

    Omikron 2 next please.

  • Arwin #11 2 years ago

    "PRESS 'X' TO TAKE RISKS AND EXPLORE NEW GROUNDS."

    Or, from September on,

    'PUSH YOUR MOVE CONTROLLER FORWARD TO TAKE RISKS AND EXPLORE NEW GROUNDS."
    Edited by 1 at 02/07/10 @ 17:28

  • xandaca #12 2 years ago

    I like the guy's mentality and ambition, it's just a shame he's such a spectacularly godawful writer.

  • curtlikesmeat #13 2 years ago

    NO-MAD-SOUL! NO-MAD-SOUL!

  • FogHeart #14 2 years ago

    "Mass effect, bioshock, silent hill, fallout, fable, portal, deus ex, thief and so on."

    Gamer: Mass Effect is a game which explores serious and adult themes.
    Skeptic: Do you run around shooting monsters with a gun?
    Gamer: ...
    Skeptic: Well do you?
    Gamer:...yes.
    Skeptic: Well then it's childish.

    Gamer: Bioshock explored the dark side of a Utopian ideal and gave the player moral dilemmas.
    Skeptic: Do you run around shooting monsters with a gun?
    .
    .
    .
    David Cage was looking at gaming through the eyes of its staunchest critics when he made that statement. Only games like Heavy Rain would convince them.
    Edited by 1 at 02/07/10 @ 20:15

  • Dizzy #15 2 years ago

    "I continue to hope that our industry will one day seriously consider making games for an adult audience"

    Maybe because adult have f*cking other things to entertain them???

  • NewbieZilla #16 2 years ago

    What is the exact story between Quantic Dream and Sony now? Was it an exclusivity thing on HR or what? I ask because I'm wondering if the next game is going to end up exclusive again. Still haven't gotten to play Heavy Rain. I'll get to play it eventually though. Probably good that I hadn't yet. Just wait till Move controls are added in.

  • Pikmins #17 2 years ago

    Why do I have the feeling that David Cage thinks he created the most innovative game of all time ? Cocky.

  • M4RV #18 2 years ago

    Why do I have the feeling that David Cage thinks he created the most innovative game of all time ? Cocky.

    ^ ^ ^ ^

    This. It feels like he lived ( and still does ) in some sort of cocoon for most of his life and has no idea of what's going on in the industry. I mean, what's adult gaming for him...?! Journalists getting mugged while walking their homes with no clothes on...?! Hookers getting beat up by former clients...?! Whatever...!!!

  • ParanoidZombie #19 2 years ago

    "David Cage was looking at gaming through the eyes of its staunchest critics when he made that statement. Only games like Heavy Rain would convince them."

    So this is what Cage has in store for us? Games he thinks will please people who despise videogames? So we can look proudly at them and say "look mister do you see how good games can be?". Like if we needed their seal of approval in order to be able to fully enjoy this hobby?
    ... That would be very childish of us, don't you think?
    Edited by 1 at 03/07/10 @ 00:53

  • man.the.king #20 2 years ago

    @darleysam

    "Maybe if you went multi-platform, you might reach a wider audience."

    Gears of War, Halo, Mass Effect, Fable might also benefit by reaching a wider audience if they went multiplatform, don't you think?

    Or is an XBox 360 exclusive game going multiplatform too untenable a position for you to take?

  • SilentNinja92 #21 2 years ago

    He means the nest generation of software, not consoles.

  • Slipstream #22 2 years ago

    Gamer: Mass Effect is a game which explores serious and adult themes.
    Skeptic: Do you run around shooting monsters with a gun?
    Gamer: ...
    Skeptic: Well do you?
    Gamer:...yes.
    Skeptic: Well then it's childish.

    Hahaha Back to the future came to mind with this one. "That's like a childrens toy!"

  • Murton #23 2 years ago

    Seems odd to start work on yet another new engine when there's likely a lot more that can be done with the Heavy Rain tech.

    Even with the HR tech serving as a foundation for future projects we're still looking at a very high cost model there, I suspect the "close working relationship" with Sony will likely have to continue in order to support this method.

  • laharl80 #24 2 years ago

    @ParanoidZombie
    I wouldn't call Mass Effect or Fable adult games.
    Or do you consider farting in somebody's face the height of maturity?

  • miiiguel #25 2 years ago

    wow, that's a surprise, though it makes sense Sony doesn't want to go all PS3 again and loose a lot of market share in the next-gen.

  • Grayvern #26 2 years ago

    Given how the demographics look and the amount of gamers who are aged 20-40 Cages comments look ridiculous.

    By Cages supposed, and some people on this forums, reasoning all war films are for kids, so go ahead buy Apocalypse Now for your 8 year old. People with the need to define things as either for children or adults are usually either pretentious children or uptight closed minded Mail reading adults. Defining qualities as childish and then attaching negative connotations to them when applied to adults is morally questionable at best.

    Cages ability to aggrandise his own creativity and games he's had a part in by disparaging the work of others, and riffing off of the most closed minded of anti game critics is nothing to support or be proud of.

    And saying that Cage is talking from the view of gamings staunchest critics, is like critiquing modern art from the viewpoint of a Nazi.

    As to Mass Effect, the Battlestar Gallactica remake was supposedly aimed at adults, which is better Sci fi and which is more mature in storytelling, the hint, the one that does not rely on the central precept of 'god did it'.
    Edited by 6 at 05/07/10 @ 00:11

  • ShiroBen #27 2 years ago

    Is it a prequisite for being a games developer now that you have to talk like a complete prat?

  • darleysam #28 2 years ago

    No-one's probably reading this anymore, but what the hell. When the developer of an console-exclusive title is hoping to draw in a wider audience, it stands to reason that going multi-platform is an obvious direction to take. Quantic Dream aren't a Sony-owned studio, Heavy Rain isn't a Sony-owned IP. So, while I am indeed I've been outed as a 360-owner (OH THE SHAME) and it would benefit me if Heavy Rain or QD's next title went multi-platform, I actually have a valid reason for making such a suggestion. I don't recall Epic, Microsoft, EA/BioWare or Lionhead wishing they had a wider audience for that list of games there, but maybe I missed that memo.

  • telboy007 #29 2 years ago

    "Gamer: Mass Effect is a game which explores serious and adult themes.
    Skeptic: Do you run around shooting monsters with a gun?
    Gamer: ...
    Skeptic: Well do you?
    Gamer:...yes.
    Skeptic: Well then it's childish."

    But I really like running around shooting monsters with a gun. :( Actually playing Mass Effect on Insanity is driving me round the bend, so maybe i'm not so fond!
    Edited by 1 at 05/07/10 @ 13:34

  • NewbieZilla #30 2 years ago

    telboy007

    Liking shooting monsters doesn't presuppose liking being shot. So, no inconsistency.

  • Kaminari #31 2 years ago

    So, next QD game out in 2016.

    Fine with me.

  • Claudiov1.0 #32 1 year ago

    I support Cage, but the i think he should develop at least a few DLC's, 3 or 4, at least to discover why mars had all those black-outs!