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''Fahrenheit'' (known as '''''Indigo Prophecy''''' in the United States and Canada ), is a Video Game , released in September 2005 . It is developed by French studio Quantic Dream , and is published by Atari . It was written and directed by Quantic Dream founder David Cage . ABOUT THE GAME ''Fahrenheit'' is the European director’s cut of ''Indigo Prophecy'' – the critically acclaimed adventure game featuring notably unique gameplay and a rich storyline. This special edition contains the full game as envisioned by '' David Cage '' – including original scenes and actions deleted from the US release. ''Indigo Prophecy'' is an adventure game where every decision has a direct effect on the story path of an unfolding mystery. In this paranormal thriller, New York City is stunned by a series of mysterious murders that follow the same pattern: ordinary people become possessed and kill absolute strangers in public. Lucas Kane becomes another one of these murderers when he suddenly kills a stranger in a men’s bathroom. Hunted by police, Lucas must uncover the supernatural forces behind his crime before being incarcerated for life. A good deal of publicity was generated from the developer's rejection of conventional game genre labeling for the title; Quantic Dream prefers to brand it as the first truly "interactive film" rather than an Adventure or third-person Action title. ''Fahrenheit'' features a large amount of motion captured-animation as well as branching storylines, split screen cameras (used in a manner very similar to the television series '' 24 '') and an interface designed to be intuitive and realistic. Event Triggers in ''Fahrenheit'' are also mainly time-based, as opposed to the more common player-initiated progression found in most games. A majority of critical reviews were enthusiastic, and considerable praise has been given to the developers for their attempt to reinvent and reimagine the "adventure game" genre. Quantic Dream's only other game to date has been the similarly ambitious, but less successful '' Omikron '' for Windows and the Sega Dreamcast . CHARACTERS Lucas Kane: The primary male Protagonist of the game, and the one who the player will be controlling for most of the game. Lucas, try as he might to fit in, is hardly an everyday Joe milling through life in Manhattan. He grew up with his parents and brother on a Military Base where scientific experiments were conducted, and now works as a technical expert for a Bank before going home to his apartment. He's currently single, having recently broken up with his previous girlfriend Tiffany Harper, for whom he still has feelings. His hobbies include playing the Guitar and boxing. There are times where he will see startling visions about those he knows or the situations around him, which have an uncanny method of coming true, although most people he knows pass this off as coincidence. The game opens with Lucas murdering another man, apparently against his own will. Carla Valenti: The primary female protagonist of the game. Carla is an Inspector with the NYPD , with a serious outlook about work and effort. She lives in a high-rise across from a friendly neighbour, a Gay Stock Market follower named Tommy who likes to dabble in Fortune Telling using the Tarot . Naturally inquisitive and completionist, Carla tends to brood over cases which are going nowhere, working long hours trying to find that one clue that might be eluding her. She is highly Claustrophobic ; prone to panic attacks if she can't keep her mind on the task at hand when inside dark, enclosed spaces. Tyler Miles: Carla's partner, he has a much more lackadaisical attitude towards life, although he is very devoted both to his job and his fianceé, Samantha Malone ('Sam' as he calls her). The long hours and increasing cold have begun to sink his spirits greatly, and this latest murder case hasn't helped, leaving him to reconsider life as a police officer and perhaps leaving for Florida with Sam to run her parents' store. His hobbies include playing Basketball , Video Games (which he often talks about or makes references to) and collecting 1970s memorabilia and vinyl Motown albums. Markus Kane: Lucas' brother and a devout Catholic, working as a priest at Saint Paul's Church. He worries about the current state of affairs involving his brother, but his faith prevents him from seeing very much past the fact that Lucas has murdered a man, despite his best efforts. When they were kids, Markus tried to get Lucas, who was something of a loner, more involved with the other children on their military base home. The Oracle: A man of unknown identity who has begun appearing in Lucas' visions. He has only been seen wearing a gray hooded coat which hides his face, leaving his true nature a mystery. He is later revealed to be a Mayan oracle over 2000 years old, working for the Orange Clan to find the location of the Indigo Child. The Indigo Child: The indigo child is a child born with a pure soul, having not been incarnated before. The child holds the Secret to the meaning of life itself, and whoever hears the secret, will gain infinite power. Jade: A young girl living in an orphanage, who is revealed to be the Indigo Child. Agatha: An aging, Paraplegic, Blind woman who, using her mystical abilities, helps Lucas understand what happened to him at the diner. The Purple Clan: A group of Artificial Intelligences wishing to use the secret of the Indigo Child to become the dominant species on the Earth. The Orange Clan: An Illuminati-like Secret society ruling the planet from behind the scenes. They wish to utilize the secret of the Indigo child to become Immortal and rule the Earth for eternity. The Invisibles: A secret underground orginization that monitors the other clans, and wishes to make sure that the secret of the Indigo Child does not fall into the wrong hands. STORY The game is set in the year 2009 . The story begins on a cold New York night, when Lucas, in a possessed trance, stabs a man to death in the restroom of an East Side diner and then flees the scene in confusion. His crime is set against a backdrop of similar ritualistic murders and falling temperatures (hence the name). Valenti and Miles are charged with solving the case and tracking down Kane. The player is placed in control of all three, and occasionally of Markus, over the course of the game, and thus is forced to sometimes aid one character in opposing another. The game's plot is also unusual for its manifold branchings and options. The creators describe the plot as "elastic," capable of much stretching to accommodate the player's choices and decisions across all three characters, although it still follows a set plot thread. For instance, in the opening scene, the player is placed in control of Lucas and left to deal with the aftermath of the murder. The player's choices, such as what to hide, what to leave alone and how to escape the diner, determines what clues Valenti and Miles find and how the patrons recall him, and thus the ease with which they later discover (or don't discover) Kane's identity. CONTROL Console versions of the game eschew most of the traditional methods of control, making minimal use of the face buttons on the controller, and instead using twin Analog Stick s almost exclusively. The left stick controls movement of the character, and the right is used for context-sensitive actions. For instance, when Lucas approaches his table at the diner in the opening scene, one direction may cause him to take a seat, while another makes him examine his bill, and a third lets him pick up his drink and take a sip. The available options are displayed with simple diagrams at the top of the screen. Some more complex motions, such as climbing a fence or spinning a yo-yo in "around the world" fashion, require controller motions akin to those used for special moves from conventional fighting games. There are also large action Set Pieces , which are completely scripted, but do require reflexes to complete. During these scenes, two circular diagrams are superimposed over the full-motion animation, each one corresponding to one of the analog sticks. The diagrams depict sequences of control inputs, which the player must mimic in order to maneuver the character out of danger. It is similar to the gameplay of '' Dragon's Lair '' or the "Quick Time Event" sequences in '' Shenmue ''. The game also requires feats of endurance, involving the alternate pressing of the left and right shoulder buttons as rapidly as possible. These L-trigger/R-trigger sequences are generally used to evoke (and cause) physical strain, such as running or swimming. The game provides each character with a "Sanity" meter, which goes from full ("Neutral") to empty ("Wrecked") and represents the character's mental health. Many of the game's events (such as the opening, where Lucas Kane comes to over the prone body of his victim) subtract points from the meter, but everyday or habitual activities (such as Eating , Urinating or fiddling with a favorite toy) will add them, as well as scenarios in which the character makes a revealing discovery or action that helps him or her in some substantial way. An empty Sanity meter leads to suicide and a Game Over. Finally, conversation is also implemented by the game, with the right analog stick being used to choose dialogue options. This is sometimes accompanied by a "Suspicion" meter which is affected by the player's choices, indicating how suspicious the character who Lucas Kane is conversing with is. For example, failing to give convincing answers when being interrogated would raise the Suspicion meter. In these situations, if the player does not make a choice within the alloted time limit, the game will make a default choice for you, or else the conversation is abruptly ended. It should be noted that it is impossible to leave a conversation without the minimum amount of information necessary for the characters to progress in the game, and if you continually stray too far from the topic's intended resolution, the game will automatically make the choice for you. Examples include the cop in Joe's Diner telling you (as Carla Valenti) about the waitress and the table Lucas was sitting at. US VERSION CHANGES The original title of ''Fahrenheit'' was changed to ''Indigo Prophecy'' in the . Both the name change and censorship were made at the request of the publisher. A likely cause for the requested censorship was due to the infamous '', which garnered unfavourable media attention and controversy in mid- 2005 . Although ''Fahrenheit'''s sex scenes are not explicit (less so than a typical "R"-rated film), Quantic Dream claims that the cuts don't "dramatically affect" the plot of the game. The censored scenes are completely ancillary to the plot. The game faced no censorship problems in other parts of the world; any copy of the game titled ''Fahrenheit'' has not been censored or modified in any way. In 2006, the game will be re-released in Canada and the USA under the title ''Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Director's Cut''. This version of the game, available only for the PC, is uncensored and rated "Adults Only (18+)". CRITICISM Though Fahrenheit received a majority of positive reviews, many criticisms were also applied.
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