David Cage

David Cage

Cage at the Festival du jeu vidéo in 2008
Born David De Gruttola
June 9, 1969
Mulhouse, France
Occupation Video game developer
Known for Omikron: The Nomad Soul
Indigo Prophecy
Heavy Rain
Beyond: Two Souls
Title Founder and CEO of Quantic Dream
Term 1997-present

David De Gruttola[1] (born June 9, 1969), known by his pseudonym David Cage,[1] is a French musician, writer and video game designer. He is the founder of the game development studio Quantic Dream. Cage wrote and directed both Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls for the PlayStation 3.

Biography

Born in Mulhouse, France, Cage is the head of game developer studio Quantic Dream.[1] Cage plays a central role in the company and the development of the games, being founder, co-CEO (with Guillaume de Fondaumière), director, lead game designer, and screenwriter.[1] As a professional musician, he created the company Totem Interactive in 1993, which worked in music and sound productions.[2] He worked as a freelance musician on several television, film and video game projects, involved with original soundtrack work.[2]

His earlier works (under the name De Gruttola) include the music in the video games Super Dany (1994), Cheese Cat-Astrophe starring Speedy Gonzales (1995), Timecop (1995), and Hardline (1997). David Cage founded Quantic Dream in 1997. He has designed and directed all four games released by the studio: Omikron: The Nomad Soul (1999), Fahrenheit / Indigo Prophecy (2005), Heavy Rain (2010), and Beyond: Two Souls (2013).

At the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards, in which Quantic Dream won three 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." Game developer Warren Spector described Cage as one of the best storytellers in the business, calling him a genius.[3]

Cage has been critical of "game over" events in story-driven, non-action video games, calling them "a state of failure more for the game designer than from the player".[4]

Cage was the first game developer to receive the Legion of Honour,[5] the highest decoration granted in France.[6]

Personal life

Cage identifies as an atheist.[7]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bliss, François (2005-05-10). "Fahrenheit : Interview David Cage / part 1 : L'homme orchestre" (in French). Overgame.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "MIT Comparative Media Studies: French American Dialog on Video Games". Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  3. ↑ "Game designer Warren Spector commends David Cage's work on Heavy Rain". Neoseeker. 2012-07-05. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  4. ↑ "In story-driven games, 'Game overs' are a failure of game design, says David Cage". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  5. ↑ Rose, Mike (17 February 2014). "Quantic Dream founder David Cage awarded France's highest decoration". Gamasutra. Think Services. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  6. ↑ Maiberg, Emanuel (16 February 2014). "Beyond: Two Souls' David Cage first game developer to receive France's highest honor". Gamespot. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Kelly, Neon (2012-08-23). "David Cage: 'I remember how scared we were'". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.