Indigo Prophecy sequel ain't gonna happen

by Majed Athab { May 21st 2009 at 7:00AM }

"After Indigo, I wanted to work on something different because I thought [a sequel] would be a commercial disaster," said David Cage, co-founder of Quantic Dream, on moving forward towards work on Heavy Rain and away from a sequel to his 2005 hit, Indigo Prophecy. "I quickly realized I had nothing more to say on this story and these characters," he said in an interview with 1UP, smashing the hopes of fans for an IP2.

Though there was plenty of publisher interest in pushing out a second Indigo Prophecy, Cage said he "had moved on," wanting to write something "more personal, deeper, more adult with no world to save and no supernatural powers." To us, it seems our loss of IP2 is one big gain in Heavy Rain.

Tags: david-cage, fahrenheit, indigo-prophecy, narrative, quantic-dream

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Gibbeynater @ May 21st 2009 7:08AM

I was kinda banking on there being a sequel to explain the incredibly stupid ending.

BlackDove @ May 21st 2009 7:43AM

That'd be Indigo Prophecy: Cut Content.

Anyone who knows something about how games work in development, knows that there was a substantial amount of content cut from Indigo, starting from probably the third "when we were kids" sequence until the end. The crap after that sequence (and probably a bit before actually), were disjointed scenes that required at least triple the amount of additional scenes to complete the picture of what the included ones were about.

Game was KOTOR2'd really. Same thing.

Lunastra78 (PSN: lunastra78) @ May 21st 2009 8:19AM

It's always easier to create a set of mysterious events than to explain them. I hope Heavy Rain avoids the obvious mistakes of Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy).

Harbl @ May 21st 2009 7:12AM

No tears spilt here

Snowblind @ May 21st 2009 7:15AM

I wish developers would stop making their games with the intention of making sequels, assuming they're going to be popular and sell well enough to eventually be continued. It's very arrogant.

Even Bioware gave Mass Effect a proper ending, despite it always being planned as a trilogy and the fact it was going to sell well no matter what.

Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 21st 2009 1:26PM

That's one of the most lame wishes I've ever heard about.

Snowblind @ May 21st 2009 4:40PM

In what way is it lame? If you're going to tell a story, finish it. No cop out cliff-hangers as an attempt to sell possible sequels.

Mass Effect told an amazing story, but still had a proper ending while leaving plenty of room for sequels and new plot points. It's a perfect example of how it should be done if they really must try to create big franchises before releasing the first game.

followthategg @ May 21st 2009 12:36PM

That game was pretty cool, i couldn't bring myself around to play on it again strangely..

Also Fahrenheit was a cooler name most defo.

Flit @ May 21st 2009 7:39AM

That first paragraph of the post is....

awkward.

Either that or it's too damn early for me.

Mike @ May 21st 2009 10:27AM

No you're right, it's bad.

C.A. @ May 21st 2009 7:47AM

I really loved Indigo Prophecy. I always thought is was weird that people bashed the game for going matrix-y when it starts out with a supernatural possession at the start. The mix of gameplay types and the great characters was what really drew me in. "Santa Monica" by Theory of a Deadman always takes me right back to the game when I hear it now.

It's all good as long as Mr. Cage continues to make games and Heavy Rain is pretty much what I'm waiting for on my PS3.

Neuromancer @ May 21st 2009 11:19AM

C.A. I guess the problem is that it's one thing to start with a character seemingly getting possessed and killing someone. It's another thing altogether to have

SPOILERS

a big glowing guy that was the embodiment of the Internet, 2000 year old Incan shamans, a little girl with magical powers, a chick having sex with a dead guy... The game went from faintly plausible to batshit fucking insane.

C.A. @ May 21st 2009 11:30AM

That is one (completely reasonable) way to look at it. I guess that I am a bit more forgiving if it already has some supernatural elements to it. I feel like it gives the story a license to go where it wants to.

Besides run of the mill (non-totally insane) stories happen all the time anyway. I suppose they could have just had a cult or someone cast a spell on him or something like that, but I was okay with it coming out of left field.

I think that we would have many more interesting games if something like this was widely successful rather than having Halo 3, Mario 27, and Madden 09 to play over and over again with everyone telling the same 100 stories with a slight change in scenery.

Neuromancer @ May 21st 2009 11:36AM

No I totally agree with you on that, at least it was fresh and interesting.

Burns11 @ May 21st 2009 1:41PM

The game was just a disaster story-wise after the theme park incident: disjointed, nonsensical and shallow. Cage knows this all too well, and has admitted as such.

The AI and Matrix stuff was bead enough, then having a woman have sex with, not just a corpse, but a frozen one at that, was just so over the top ridiculous as to be indefensible.

markhill66 @ May 21st 2009 8:21AM

I loved IP, but the weird thing is that I didn't realize how good it was until I finished it. Yeah, I didn't like the ending either, but that didn't ruin the entire experience for me. It's because of that game that I'm really looking forward to Heavy Rain.

DiRT @ May 21st 2009 8:28AM

So then... hows about Omikron redone in HD??

funkdmike @ May 21st 2009 8:33AM

I absolutely loved that game. I agree with the co-founder Cage's assessment of the game - he said he thought it needed something supernatural beyond the initial mystery to improve the story but in hindsight it was a big mistake. The first 2/3 of the game was some of the best gaming ever, but after that you can clearly see when he went in a different direction with the flying, supernatural powers, and sex with a dead guy (yuk). But the characters were so relatable, the story so mysterious yet believable, that it really made you care what was going to happen. You really felt the main guy's anguish about his breakup and the sense of danger with the split screen of cops climbing the stairs and knocking on the door while you tried to hide evidence of your latest unintentional server.

I'm really looking forward to Heavy Rain. Sounds like creating a new game about the most successful parts of Indigo Prophecy - suspense, characters you care about, romance. Awesome.

Nigeria (Someone stole my bike seat) @ May 21st 2009 8:41AM

Why don't I rememeber sex with a dead guy and why do I have sudden urge to boot up my Xbox?

Hyams @ May 21st 2009 10:10AM

Heavy Rain is clearly a step up. Now it involves having sex with dead *women*, preserved and dressed up in kinky uniforms.

Neuromancer @ May 21st 2009 11:19AM

"Now it involves having sex with dead *women*, preserved and dressed up in kinky uniforms"

DAY ONE PURCHASE

abthespian @ May 21st 2009 8:59AM

*sigh*

I always hoped there would be an IP sequel. Yes, there was a clumsy ending but I really wanted to know what happened to the characters in the aftermath of the game's events. I thought it would be neat if, based on your saved game from IP, the sequel would unfold in a certain way like a true continuation of the story. That's the level of storytelling I kind of expected. Sad to hear that will never happen.

Ah well, I guess I'll just have to hope that Heavy Rain doesn't leave us wanting more...forever.

Owyn @ May 21st 2009 8:59AM

I had no idea this was under a different name outside the UK. Did they state the reasons?

Storm Eagle @ May 21st 2009 9:01AM

Did you make Mario's nose into a penis? I really can't tell if that's a Fail or a Win.

Hyams @ May 21st 2009 10:12AM

The European (and origional) name was Fahrenheit. It was changed in the US so people wouldn't get it confused with the Fahrenheit 911 movie.

Neuromancer @ May 21st 2009 11:20AM

Because people are dumb

Owyn @ May 21st 2009 11:32AM

Who the fuck would get confused between a Game and a Documentary? Especially when one has a 911 on the end.

¬_¬

Video Games Blog @ May 21st 2009 4:14PM

I believe it had something to do with Michael Moore's Documentary "Farenheit 9/11" (Farenheit being the title of the game outside the US Market) being released around the same time as Indigo Prophecy. They didn't want any sort of affiliation with the aforementioned nutter/documentary maker.

Storm Eagle @ May 21st 2009 9:00AM

The first Indigo Prophecy was an amazing. You hear people talk about which video games had the best endings, but I think this one had one of the best beginnings. All the sudden being forced to clean up the murder scene that you can't remember being the cause of. It really was a rush. Although I can't say I'm sad there won't be an IP2, it does make the 1st one all that more unique not to have a sequel "just because".

Owyn @ May 21st 2009 9:32AM

It's Win x 512

Owyn @ May 21st 2009 9:33AM

D'oh!

Neuromancer @ May 21st 2009 9:52AM

Great beginning, horrendous ending. No sequel is fine with me, it's time to move on.

Carlo @ May 21st 2009 10:57AM

My sentiments exactly.

I really REALLY enjoyed the first half of Indigo Prophercy

Hyams @ May 21st 2009 10:15AM

I'm really looking forward to Heavy Rain.

For those that haven't seen it already, here's the 20 minute gameplay demonstration:

Part One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycoxWUXPJ3Q
Part Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XyE4dfed_A&feature=related

This is the 'demo level' (ie. it won't be in the actual game) shown last year.

Neuromancer @ May 21st 2009 11:21AM

Don't want to look, thanks for the link but I know I'm getting the game so I want it to be completely fresh.

Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 21st 2009 1:29PM

I'm also really anticipating this title. From all the descriptions and developer accounts it's going to a completely unique and original experience. It's a game that I have been looking forward to since I first saw the casting video.

j.howlett @ May 21st 2009 1:52PM

i'll have to check those youtube links out later. i just hope that we get the full uncut version.

google @ May 21st 2009 10:52AM

I dont want anything more to do with any of the characters that were featured in Indigo Prophecy.

I'm still reeling from the events of 2006. What a disgusting turn after such a wonderful beginning.

Neuromancer @ May 21st 2009 11:39AM

David Cage - the creator of the game - sums up all these problems very well. Glad to see a developer with some humility, and who can admit to his mistakes. CliffyB would learn a lot from this guy.

"- one bad guy per story is enough: the Oracle was the real enemy in Indigo Prophecy and I think his characterization was quite good. The AI that comes into play at the end of the game only adds confusion to the plot.

- you can make people believe anything in a scenario, but only once per story. In the case of Indigo Prophecy, the story of Lucas, guilty of a murder he never really committed because controlled by the Oracle, was THE unreasonable proposition in my scenario, which the players accepted without difficulty. The series of new developments at the end, although built into the first scene (the crow representing the AI is a leitmotif throughout the game) constituted a series of added propositions that went beyond what the players/spectators could reasonably accept.

- I made the mistake of not devoting enough time to the last hour of the game. I was convinced (and rightly so) that the first hour of the game would be decisive for hooking the player, but I naively thought that one hour from the end the player's opinion would be made. I therefore devoted most of my time to the rest of the game in order to make it as perfect as possible."

From Gamesutra's postmortem at http://gamasutra.com/features/20060620/cage_03.shtml

KindredWarr @ May 21st 2009 12:41PM

The first one was awesome, except for all the crazy crap that happened in the end, with everyone getting matrix-y powers and flying for whatever reason. It seems like they had such a great idea and excellent writing at first, and then didn't know how to finish it.

So hopefully Heavy Rain will be awesome, cause I thought Indigo Prophecy was better before all the super-powers came into play.

Ganzor @ May 21st 2009 2:00PM

A lot of words describe "Fahrenheit 911", documentry is not one of them.

K1LLSWITCH @ May 21st 2009 3:30PM

The first hour or so of Indigo Prophecy was interesting which drove me to completion. However, after those first few hours I quickly realized how dumb the game really is. How can you not tell that the person your sleeping with is dead? Cmon! Not to mention those stupid quick time events that had nothing to do with the outcome of what was happening in the background.