David Cage: Beyond Two Souls laat zien dat games niet alleen over schieten gaan

David Cage, de grote man achter het aankomende Beyond: Two Souls, verwacht veel van de PlayStation 3-exclusive. Hij hoopt dat de titel ervoor zorgt dat mensen het medium games iets anders gaan bekijken. Zo is er aan de ene kant de kritiek dat Beyond: Two Souls, net zoals bijvoorbeeld Heavy Rain, slechts een interactieve film zou zijn. En aan de andere kant zijn er klachten dat je niet kunt schieten, wat volgens veel (onwetende) mensen nog altijd de definitie van games is. Cage hoopt beide partijen wat te leren met Beyond: Two Souls:

It’s a very interesting situation right now. I think with the games we make, we’re in a more interesting position. We get these preconceptions certainly from hardcore gamers who say, ‘Oh it’s not a videogame. It’s interactive cinema and we’re not interested in games where you don’t shoot.’ So they’re not interested in our games.

But at the other end of the spectrum we see people who are like, ‘We see what you’re doing, delivering emotion, but videogames are still all about violence and shooting.’ So what I think we’re doing is trying to say to both ends, ‘Wait a second. Look at what we’re doing and then make your judgement.’ But we like to say to hardcore gamers, ‘Yes there are some great games out there whether it’s GTA, Call of Duty and all of those things, but look, this is something a little bit different.’ It’s not about shooting. It’s different but give it a try. For the sake of society have a look, because all games are not about violence. They are about very different things.

There are very interesting indie games right now exploring very different reactions that are clearly not about violence, that are trying to make this medium really strong. There is definitely something happening in the industry just now and we should look at this. It’s interesting because with the presence of Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe in the game, we managed to open some of these doors, where people who would never talk about video games before are now getting interested. With Beyond it’s about opening that door and to show people that all games are not the same, they are not all about shooting.