Quantic Dream
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games, Motion capture |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Key people | David Cage, Founder Guillaume de Fondaumière, COO |
| Products | Omikron: The Nomad Soul Fahrenheit Heavy Rain Immortal - Motion capture |
| Parent | Independent |
| Website | www.quanticdream.com |
Quantic Dream is a French video game developer based in Paris, France, founded in 1997.[1] The company also supplies motion capture services to the film and video game industries.
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[edit] History
They launched their first title, Omikron: The Nomad Soul, in 1999 for PC and Dreamcast, which also featured original music and acts by musician David Bowie. Quantic Dream was next due to develop Quark, a game which was later cancelled. For the next two years, the developers at Quantic Dream worked hard to advance their production infrastructure, which they had first begun using in Quark. In 2002, they officially began development of Fahrenheit (known as Indigo Prophecy in North America), the first game to use their sophisticated interactive cinema technology which allows gamers to play through multiple worldlines based on the decisions made rather than a one-dimensional story.
Fahrenheit was launched to worldwide critical acclaim, receiving multiple awards and nominations prior to its release, with high ratings from all major gaming publications.[2] According to the official Quantic Dream website, Fahrenheit has sold over 800,000 units worldwide since it was released. In 2005, Quantic Dream's next announced titles was a new franchise called Heavy Rain and Omikron 2, both of which were aimed at current-generation consoles, particularly the PlayStation 3. Heavy Rain received positive previews in 2006 due to the stunning graphics of an early technology demo.[3] Released in February 2010, Heavy Rain was well received and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.[4]
David Cage stated that Quantic Dream owns the interactive storytelling genre; "We want to build on what we have discovered with Heavy Rain. We created the genre. We own the genre, and we want to show that Heavy Rain was not a coincidence or a lucky shot - that it was really something that makes sense and that we can build on. [5] At the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards, in which Quantic Dream won 3 awards for Heavy Rain, Cage stated that "games always explore the same things. They're about being powerful, being the good guys against the bad guys – that's a very tiny part of what can be done. There are so many other stories to tell, so many other emotions to trigger – this is a fantastic new medium, we can do much more than we currently do with it."
[edit] Upcoming projects
After the success of Heavy Rain, critics became curious as to what Quantic Dream plans to release in the future. Although a DLC has been released for Heavy Rain, David Cage has stated that he does not plan to release a Heavy Rain 2, saying that all he would be doing is "milking the franchise". On June 1, 2010, rumors speculated that Quantic Dream was starting to cast for a new science-fiction game entitled "Horizon".[6] Cage confirmed that these rumors are not true. Quantic Dream is working on two new projects for the future.[7] Cage confirmed that the next project will focus on emotions, not serial killers.[8] Quantic Dream are considering making a game based on war.[9]
"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," studio head David Cage confirmed to Eurogamer. "Though if the script is available it sounds like a good idea."[10] "I hope this will inspire people – it should! I want competition in this field. I don't want to be alone on my flagship shouting, 'Hey! Emotional storytelling!' There should be more games trying this. But very few developers have the luxury of having a great publisher trusting them. We did an indie game with the financial support of a Triple A title. I don't see Heavy Rain as an achievement, I see it as a first step. I know we can do much better, we can go further. I know there are many people out there to convince. I mean, look at how many people played Heavy Rain in comparison to Call of Duty – we want as many players as that. And even that is nothing – look at how many people watched Avatar. That is where we want to go."
As of March 2011, news suggest that one of Quantic Dream's next projects will be called Fiv5. [11] On August 4, 2011, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe filed a trademark for Infraworld, which was a project once in development at Quantic Dream, but was cancelled during the early stages of development. An easter egg inside of Heavy Rain showed a poster for Infraworld with Quantic Dream's logo at the bottom of the poster, which hints that Infraworld may be back in development and could be one of Quantic Dream's future projects.
[edit] Games
| Game title | Release date | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Omikron: The Nomad Soul | 1999 | Windows |
| 2000 | Dreamcast | |
| Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy | 2005 | Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| 2007 | Xbox 360 (Xbox Originals) | |
| Heavy Rain | 2010 | PlayStation 3 |
[edit] Motion Capture
Quantic Dream has its own Motion Capture studio of 64 Vicon camera set (blend of T160 and Mx40 systems).[12] They worked on the French-produced science fiction film, 'Immortal' which was shot entirely on a "digital backlot", blending live actors with computer generated surroundings.
[edit] References
- ^ dela Fuente, Derek (2005-03-15). "Quantic Dream Developer Profile Feature". totalvideogames.com. http://www.totalvideogames.com/articles/Quantic_Dream_Developer_Profile_7391.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ "Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy) ratings overview". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/fahrenheit. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCClcsD3GcU
- ^ http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps3/heavyrain
- ^ http://spong.com/article/24024/David-Cage-We-Own-The-Interactive-Story-Telling-Genre
- ^ Patrick Garratt. "Source – David Cage casting for “Horizon”". http://www.vg247.com/2010/06/01/source-david-cage-casting-for-horizon.
- ^ http://au.ps3.ign.com/articles/115/1156413p1.html
- ^ http://www.1up.com/news/quantic-dream-game-focus-emotions
- ^ http://au.gamespy.com/articles/115/1153689p1.html
- ^ Kris Pigna. "Quantic Dream Not Making 'Horizon," Focusing on New Tech". http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3180245.
- ^ http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2011/03/21/new-quantic-dream-game-clues/
- ^ http://www.quanticdream.com/en/page/motion-capture-site
[edit] External links
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