httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=c_mEwoZEbZs

It's hard not to be impressed by David Cage. The Beyond: Two Souls director has been mightily successful at procuring Hollywood talent for his upcoming spiritual thriller; last week's Quantic Dream panel at San Diego Comic-Con showed why with the announcement of actors Kadeem Hardison and Eric Winter joining lead star Ellen Page on the credit reel. (Unfortunately, Cage did sink the rumor that Spider-Man and The Boondock Saints actor Willem Dafoe had also signed on for the game. His salary negotiator allegedly demanded Everything or Nothing.)

But immediately following the developer's main panel (which also yielded a conjoining Beyond: Two Souls motion capture trailer), the Quantic Dream founder Cage and Inception star Page joined Jeff Rubenstein of the PlayStation Blog for a discussion, primarily, about what lured the starlet to the role.

It was a miracle Page accepted. Cage talks about how he had written the character of Jodie Holmes exclusively with Ellen Page in mind - before knowing she would sign on to the role. The two had their first meeting Southern California bar and Page - who admits to vacating video games during the the PlayStation One generation - was sold after eventually playing Heavy Rain, reading the script of Beyond: Two Souls, and becoming enthralled with Cage's vision for Jodie's "emotional" and "subversive" story.

As much credit as Cage deserves for his masterful storytelling ability, however, he was quick to toss the gratitude back at the people who enable his incomparably dramatic productions, like Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain:

"Well, what I try to do is trigger emotions with the players, so I use story to do that. But the real vehicle for emotion - it's actors. When you have actors of this talent, it makes everything easier."

Eleven-and-a-half minutes in all, the Beyond: Two Souls discussion ensues further with moments like Ellen Page explaining the differences between film and game acting (aside from the motion capture suits); Cage detailing the magnitude of the production, fueling speculation that the indefatigable director is an insomniac ("10 months of shooting with about 160 actors."); and how different character choices shouldn't deter from a good story (Cage wants player to tell the story their way, but each path is "consistent with who Jodie is").

Ranters, knowing roughly how the game's format is set up, it shouldn't be long before more Beyond: Two Souls gameplay and story details are released; how do you want to see the work of David Cage and his talented cast shape the narrative of Jodie Holmes? Does the game's additional focus on thrilling action lend it more appeal than 2010's terrific Heavy Rain?

Beyond: Two Souls releases in early 2013, exclusively for the PlayStation 3.

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Follow me on Twitter @Brian_Sipple.

Source: PlayStation Blog