S&S News: David Cage: focus on feedback and “you become a marketing person”
Speaking at a panel promoting Beyond: Two Souls in Sydney this evening, Cage said he hadn’t been strongly influenced by consumer feedback on Heavy Rain, Quantic Dream’s last release.
“The thing is, if Heavy Rain had been a complete disaster, then probably I would have changed my mind. But actually you try not to be too influenced by the feedback because otherwise you become a marketing person,” he said.
“It’s like, I get my list of things that people wanted or didn’t want and I’m just going to tick the boxes and try to make them happy.
“This is not how I work and I don’t think any creative person can work that way – you just do what you believe in, or you go where your instinct leads you. And hope it won’t turn out completely wrong.”
That said, Cage said he was “inspired” by his meetings with players who would relate their experience with Heavy Rain.
“Still today, three years after the game’s release, there are still people telling me about what happened to them in Heavy Rain, in a very personal way – as if was something that happened to them in their real life, which is brilliant, I think. This is great; I can feel this; I find this very inspiring,” he said.
“But at the same time, yeah, some people liked this, and some people liked that – okay, fair enough, now let me try something else. Let me try another direction, and see if I can do better this time.”
What he said makes a lot of sense. I think more people need to be like that. It's too difficult to progress creatively if one's main focus is pleasing others.
ReplyDeleteYea just look what Microsoft did with all the Xbox One reversals.
ReplyDeleteExactly, you need to have your own vision and be creative. I do think you need to take feedback, but it doesn't have to shape the end product in such a drastic way as it sometimes does in today's entertainment world.
ReplyDeleteVery well said.
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