But why don't people here on SV like the works of David Cage?
Well, David Cage's work is heavily reliant on the writing, performance, visuals and direction to carry the story. The performances are usually fine. In fact, Ellen Page did a great job with the material she had in Beyond: Two Souls.
The visuals are frequently impressive. The technology that Quantic Dream has at their fingertips is legitimately amazing. Now, you don't need superb tech to carry this kind of game; Life is Strange got by with a stunning art style that was able to convey the emotional weight and impact that the events had on the characters.
The problem is in the writing and the direction. Because that's where David Cage comes in.
And David Cage cannot write women. When David Cage
does have women, they're always, always,
always involved in creepy rape scenarios. David Cage seems to think that apartments are enormous, and that having a normal-sized apartment means that you let your stupid kid die after you said JAY-SON too much. David Cage thinks that shower scenes are completely and totally necessary, which, granted, is a trope from french cinema and he fancies himself an auteur (when really, he's a fucking hack). David Cage thinks that game overs are a failure of the game designer. David Cage's action scenes are the funniest thing in the world, when he's trying to make for really tense drama. David Cage lies to the player, not because it's interesting, but because muh twist. David Cage thought that Beyond: Two Souls would be much better with a Chinese Underwater Ghost Base. David Cage almost included a
PSYCHIC FUCKING LINK in Heavy Rain. Indigo Prophecy turns into a retarded Matrix, and somehow Lucas
HAS MAGIC KUNG FU POWERS. And also terrible sex scenes.
David Cage has creative control over the script and the direction, and he is a goddamn hack.
The most frustrating part is that there are moments that connect. The scene where Jodie almost kills herself?
Strong. The sequences of homelessness in Beyond: Two Souls? Excellent, save for the creepy near-rape scene. Heavy Rain's first half is
incredibly promising. The opening sequence in Indigo Prophecy is legitimately tense and terrifying. The "Kara" demo that Detroit is based off of is
legitimately excellent!
This makes it incredibly frustrating when the script inevitably shits itself and dies. I mean, maybe it's just because I like to write, and writing a lot means I start picking up on writing foibles and issues, but like holy shit. If he got a fucking editor that
knew when to tell him "No, fuck you, we're not doing this", we'd have something amazing.
But given the interview up above, that clearly didn't happen.
