Game designer Warren Spector commends David Cage's work on Heavy Rain

Warren Spector has labeled Heavy Rain creator David Cage as "a genius".

One of the lead creators of Deus Ex, System Shock and Thief stressed that Heavy Rain truly showcased Cage's creative talents.

"David Cage is a genius. If Tim [Schafer - a "really good friend"] isn't the best writer in gaming, David is.

"I've never met the guy - I'd love to sit down and talk to him. But, basically, Heavy Rain works because it's five scripts all jammed together and meshing together and branching together. It's like it's the world's biggest choose-your-own-adventure book, and I can admire the craftsmanship behind that, and the skill it takes. I mean, I've actually written choose-your-own-adventure books, and I know how hard writing those is.

"But I also know that in Heavy Rain, nothing surprising will ever happen. No player will ever see anything, do anything, discover anything that David (with his undeniable genius) didn't create. I think that's a shame. I can't look at that and say 'that's the future of gaming', because the flow charts I did for One Thing After Another and Thing in the Darkness and other choose-your-own-adventure books that I did 1984 and 1987 are exactly the same structure as Heavy Rain. Exactly."

While Spector plays "a lot" of games -- most of which are for two hours -- Heavy Rain was one of the two titles he completed last year.

"If I finish a game, there's something really compelling in it for me.

"I loved that game as an experience - it was unbelievable. It made every day mundane things high drama. I mean, holy cow! I'm in awe of the talent of the guy who wrote it and his ability to tell a cinematic story."

Heavy Rain's risks clearly paid off for Sony and developer Quantic Dream with the game selling more than two million units.