David Cage: focus on feedback and "you become a marketing person"

Quantic Dream boss David Cage doesn't believe in design by metrics and committee, because he's interested in creative acts, not filling out a checklist of features.

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."

Cage is in Sydney on a promotional tour ahead of his appearance at Eurogamer Expo this weekend. Because we're greedy, we'll be speaking to him twice this week.

Beyond: Two Souls is a PlayStation 3 exclusive due on October 8 in North America; October 9 in Australia; and October 12 in Europe.