Indigo Prophecy

aka: Fahrenheit
Moby ID: 19212
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

January 2009. On a cold, snowy night in New York City, an ordinary citizen named Lucas Kane, under the control of an unknown force, unwillingly murders a complete stranger in a diner. Once he comes to senses, Lucas realizes he must escape while leaving as little evidence as possible behind. Barely managing to accomplish that, Lucas contacts his brother and tries to understand what has caused him to commit the crime, recalling the events of his own past in the process. Meanwhile, two police detectives investigating the murder, Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles, are determined to find the perpetrator, at the same time trying to deal with the personal problems of their lives.

Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit in Europe) is a psychological thriller in which the player is able to control different characters on both sides of a murder - the killer and those who are trying to find him. The game's core gameplay style is adventure. The three protagonists explore various locations, talk to other characters, and interact with the environment in order to advance. However, the game is heavy on various action-oriented sequences, from tasks that must be completed within a limited amount of time to quick time events, which require the player to press the correct button during a scene.

The game emphasizes realism in the player's interaction with the environment. For example, picking up a rag and cleaning the floor requires the player to move the mouse or the analog stick back and forth, imitating the actual movements of the object. Dialogue with character often imposes time limits on the player; failure to choose the optimal response in time will prompt the game to choose another, not always the optimal one. The player's choice will sometimes influence the subsequent events and the outcome of the entire story, eventually leading it to one of the three possible endings.

Cinematic treatment is evident in the game's handling of action-based gameplay and cutscenes, which are often seamlessly integrated into each other. An example of this is the split-screen technique, which is often used during the game's most dramatic moments: while the player is trying to complete the required action in time on one screen, another one displays what is happening around the controlled character.

Spellings

  • 全面失控 - Traditional Chinese spelling
  • 靛青预言 - Simplified Chinese spelling
  • 인디고 프로페시 - Korean spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

192 People (189 developers, 3 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 84% (based on 96 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 211 ratings with 15 reviews)

A unique game with a gripping, thrilling and interesting storyline.

The Good
Fahrenheit is a game I am glad I picked up. At first it seemed a little complicated getting used to (from playing the demo on an Atari demos disc) but eventually I got the hang of it and soon finished the demo. This sparked me to purchase the full game at a good price of ÂŁ9.99. I am glad I made this purchase as this game has so many different ways to it. I love it and it is one of the most enjoyable games I have played this year.

We are introduced to several key characters in the game. The first is Lucas Kane. He was used to carry out a killing by someone else (proxy). This then sparks of an investigation into the killing by two police officers (Carla and Tyler). These two characters are also controllable in a lot of the game. A few other characters are also controllable but not so much as the ones I just mentioned. Some chapters even let you choose what police officer you want to be and you can swap between them during gameplay. Away from the main storyline we are introduced to Tyler's relationship and Carla's loneliness. So, there will be some "off-topic" moments. but these don't detract too much.

What I like most about this game is you can go in the direction you want to go. You control what happens next based on the decisions you make. So, there are probably dozens of ways to go in this game which will eventually lead to the ending. Now, because of this I think it will make you want to play through it again but differently.

It's simple to play. All you need to do is keep track of the storyline and make the right decisions. You'll also need to be prepared for some button mashing in some scenes and remembering combinations of the analog sticks. It's a good idea to be reactive a lot so drink some coffee before playing. The controls are basically you using the analog sticks during most of the game. I doubt you'll ever press the X or O button much except when in the menus.

The sound is by far brilliant. Voice work is clear and it really seems like it is coming out of the character. Really good acting for Lucas Kane and Carla. The cold blizzard sounds and other background sounds add to the addicting gameplay.

The Bad
The biggest letdown is the graphics though. When I first played the demo of Fahrenheit I thought this was an early version of the game but no, I was wrong - this is the actual quality of the graphics when I picked up the full version. Thank goodness for the good storyline which will probably make you buy it. This game would of gotten a really good rating if it wasn't for the bad graphics. It just looks like an early PlayStation 2 game. The characters will have a lot of polygons missing of them and some of the structures just don't look very impressive. If a similar game were to be developed by Quantic Dream then please double the graphics quality.

The Bottom Line
Purchasing this game I recommend. You could rent it but you probably won't have enough time to check out all the different ways of playing through the storyline. If you do purchase this game, then you can play through the storyline for many hours and when you're finished you can explore it differently. So, this definitely adds up to more hours of gameplay. You'll also be entertained by the occasional jokes and sex scenes.

Despite the poor graphics it doesn't mean it isn't worth buying. I bought this game for the storyline and gameplay. It would of added to the value if they had much better graphics on the characters and backgrounds though. I hope to see another game with a different story to it containing all of the elements of Fahrenheit sometime in the future.

PlayStation 2 · by Deleted (20) · 2006

Wonderful and Awful at the same time

The Good
Here it is 2 years after the release of Indigo Prophecy and I'm just now getting around to playing it. Why? I suppose that the adventure gamer side of me avoided it like a hot potato because of the purported "action" segments. Yes, I realize that all of the major gaming websites (even the adventure sites) gave it high marks, but that still didn't compel me to purchase the game. All the while the role-player in me was whispering to my subconscious "You should get this game" .. "Go ahead, what have you got to lose?" When I found it really cheap on eBay, I gave in and bought it several months ago. But still - I let it sit on my shelf, opting instead for other standard point-and-click style games. Now that I've gotten into it, I can write my biased opinions in this review. Was I sorry? Was it as good as everybody said? Read on.

First looks at the game can be intimidating and exciting at the same time. The story grabbed me during the introduction as I watched a man under the influence of a mind-controlling force committing a terribly bloody murder. Afterwards he is aghast as what he has done and extremely "dazed and confused." Since I had gone through the beginning tutorial (which I urge you to do), I helped my character perform the beginning actions to clean up the mess and proceed to getting away from the crime scene. Two more characters arrive to investigate the crime and I proceeded to guide each of them through their various tasks, looking for evidence, talking to witnesses and between themselves. Okay, I said to myself, this isn't so hard. I can do this!

Ultimately strong is Indigo Prophecy's storyline and character development. Set in the year 2009, it feels like a mix of CSI and the X-Files - criminology, science-fiction and the paranormal. While playing the four different characters, it's necessary to keep them healthy - in mind, mood as well as in body. So sleeping, eating, taking a shower, listening to music and other every day actions are part of the gameplay. For me, these simple things helped me identify with the characters and added to the realism factor. Listening to their thoughts also brought the characters to life.

Viewing scenes in split-screen is a bit disorienting at first because it's hard to look at all screens at once. But this is one of the things that the major review sites lauded as innovative.

I thoroughly loved the music which added so much to the feelings I had while playing. Those feelings included apprehension, excitement, shock and sympathy.

The Bad
Oh, this part is so very disappointing. I really wanted to love Indigo Prophecy as much as everyone else, but I just couldn't. It all boils down to my inability to get through the action segments. I tried - I really did - but I couldn't master the "flying fingers" technique of frantically punching keyboard keys in the proper order. I died and I died and I died again until my frustration led me to uninstall the game after 2 days of play. I played the game from the beginning in the Easy mode and still couldn't get it. I'd hate to think what it would be like for the color-blind.

In my opinion, this game should have been redesigned completely for the PC to allow mouse-only action. Leave the arrow keys for movement as an option, but take away the number pad entirely. As for the mouse control that exists, it's different to say the least. The drag-hold and drag back-and-forth quickly in various directions was not what I consider ease of control either.

The Bottom Line
As I said above, the story is absolutely the best part of the game. Graphics are good, too, especially those of the characters in motion. Mood-inspiring music, great character back story and top-notch voice acting are additional pluses.

Indigo Prophecy is a wonderful game, if you are adept with the keyboard and have good reflexes. Having a gamepad connected to your PC would be of major help here since many portions of the interface are console-like.

I'm upset that I can't finish the game. If you like action in your adventures, this might be the game for you. Point-and-click adventure fans may find it as frustrating as I did.

Windows · by Jeanne (75959) · 2007

An immersive, deep, emotional game that will keep you at the edge of your seat

The Good
When I first heard about Indigo Prophecy, I was stoked. Finally a game that wasn’t linear, that allowed you to do things and find out things yourself. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this title and I finally got to rent it this week.

The games main focus is the story, rather than action. It takes the form of being a movie, with the director addressing you in the beginning of the game, telling you that you now have complete control over the action of the movie AND the dialogue. The basic drive of the game is not like a sand box game, but the actions you feel most natural taking affects the plot in every way, right down to the order you do things. And God they did it perfectly.

The story starts off pretty simple: you were possessed by some unknown being and forced to commit a murder. Now you, Lucas Kane, are on the run from the police. The story is brilliantly made though. Even though you control the game, the game makes sure that sooner or later you get all of the essentials in before the game is over. As it develops a deep, dark, twisting plot emerges that will blow you away.

The best part easily about this game is the fact that YOU control the story. Where it goes is completely up to you. You reveal the story through directing what the characters say. You choose the best way to reveal a story. Suppose you want to make the story completely baffling until the end of the story. Okay. All you have to do is make sure that the dialogue that takes place doesn’t reveal too much. Or maybe you want to reveal bits and pieces and then towards the end, all of the pieces fall into place. Or even if you want a good, slowly developing story that reveals it as you go, it doesn’t matter. You control all of the characters (or at least all of the main characters), and as a result, you have the welcoming feeling that you control the storyline, and it doesn’t control you.

Now, not only do you control the way the story is revealed, but also what is in it. My making certain decisions, you can completely alter the content of the story. For example, if you make the right decisions, you are able to save your brother from death. However, if you make the wrong decisions, your brother will die a tragic death. This combined with the fact that you control how the story is revealed makes for one of the greatest video games experiences ever.

As a result, the game has tons of endings to it. Not only will game play be different every time, but the story will be as well. And every time you do it the dialogue will be different, resulting in a new story every time you play it. Some games claim to have open-ended game play with branching storyline. But Indigo Prophecy is far from a branching game. It is never set up before you play, but instead it alters itself depending on what you choose during the game, to ensure a good changing storyline as you go, and that the story isn’t predictable.

Game play consists of a combination between story parts and action sequences. Story sequences are usually in the form conversations, which you have direct control over. You can choose to talk to someone or not, which reveals certain parts of the story. You can ignore premonitions that the character gets and go with your gut instinct. Directing the story is easy, as the direction you want the story to go in is directly reflected in character’s dialogue options. You have to choose a conversation option quickly, as you have a time limit to choose an option. Also, you don’t get to go back and make all of the choices because most of the time the game will only allow you to ask a few questions, not all of them, or the option to make one choice will disappear once you ask another. This keeps the game from getting stale and letting you ask all the questions you want.

Because the game’s main focus is the story, this does not mean it has no action scenes. In fact, action scenes make up a good part of the game. Instead of moving around with the character as most games would, you hit buttons on the screen to ensure that your character gets out of the scene alive. There are two types of button mashing to do. The first is pressing L1 and R1 repeatedly to make sure that the character can withstand something for a prolonged period of time. An example of this is hanging from a rail or pushing against strong winds. The other, and more common, test is moving the analog sticks when told to do so. Two circles with four colored sides appear at the bottom of the screen. When one side lights up, you push that side with the right or left analog stick as indicated. Sometimes this can get very intense. Sometimes two directions appear at once, and a lot of times it gets VERY fast, especially when you’re dodging something. As a result, quick reflexes and good hand-to-eye coordination is needed to stay alive. Failing a test means losing a “life”. Lose all your lives and you must restart from the last save point.

Interaction with objects and people is innovative. You use the right analog stick to choose options in interaction, as well as choosing options in a conversation. Even doing other actions you use the analog. Like if your are climbing over a fence, you first have to push your analog right to move your leg out, and then swing it up to swing up your leg, which gives a great immersive feel to it. The use of the analog sticks gives a great smooth feel to interaction in the game, as it uses your thumbs and avoids the use of having to pull your fingers up to the buttons to play.

During the game, the screen splits up to reveal two sides of what is happening. It sometimes warns you of incoming cops, while other times it is just for a flashy show. It adds to the illusion of a living, breathing world around you, because it shows you that other thing go on while you aren’t there. This definitely adds to the immersion of the game.

The characters are some of the best you will encounter in a story based game. In the beginning you will be presented with characters that aren’t cardboard cut-outs at all. They seem real, and the game designers went to great lengths to make them seem like they have emotions. When they hear bad news, their facial expressions become solemn and sad, but when they become aggravated, they become tough and anxious. By the end of the game, you will become attached to even the game’s main enemy, who is mysterious and powerful in every way. The voice acting is superb on all of them, which makes the game seem more realistic. There is almost no cheesy lines in the game, which make the characters more believable

The graphics, while I will not say are revolutionary, are satisfactory for a game like this. Graphics had to be toned down just slightly to make room for more memory for storyline. But I will assure you it was worth every byte of memory. The graphics are far from crappy, and you will find that they are perfect for a game such as this. The character models are done well, and facial expressions are clear and crisp.

A great part of the graphics is that all pre-rendered cut scenes are done completely with the game’s game play engine, so you will fell that when a cut scene comes, it does not break away from the immersion of it. Instead, the cut scenes flow with the game play perfectly, as there is no lag before or after the cut scene, and graphics are the same as the game play graphics. As a result, cut scenes do not cut into the game, but flow seamlessly in and out of game play, which is good, because cut scenes can occur unexpectedly and surprisingly anytime during the game.

Sound is surprisingly good. Directed by Angelo Badalamenti, the music is well fit for each situation. It becomes tense at the right moment and sad at the perfect moment, to add a great deal of immersion to the game. You will be gripped by the main theme, a sad combination of violins and other instruments, which lends to the games dark atmosphere. Sound effects are done quite well, so that they don’t seem fake, which again contributes to the immersion.

Finally, a great feature is the use of “chapters” throughout the game. The game automatically creates chapters, so that when you are done the game you can go back and make new decisions at key points in the plot. It also has an amazing system in choosing. You can choose to play the chapter in a new save file, and by doing so you can create multiple stories without ruining your old one. Also, if you are done with the story you are on, you can choose to go back and overwrite your old story with a new one. This way, creates multiple storylines is easy, and you don’t have to mess with multiple save files for multiple stories.

Finally, the game obviously has some great replay value. You can choose to keep replaying the game for a while before the overall story gets boring, and even that will take a while. This game has one of the greatest stories, and some of the most lovable characters to boot.

The Bad
While a game such as this seems flawless, it is not perfect.

Even though you can change the story around a lot, you can throw something new in every time. The story is flexible, but it still has a basic backbone of the same story. Even when you replay the game, you will still know the story already, and you can’t throw something new in like killing a character or refusing to progress the story. As a result, the game will only be tolerable a few times through until you get bored of the story, even if you can change the way its told every time.

I would like to point out that while the interaction controls are fun and good, moving around can be a nightmare. The problem is that the game gets its movement controls from the position of the camera. However, the controls do not adjust accordingly when the camera changes. As a result, the directions feel mixed up. You could be moving down when in fact you are pushing left on the controller. This can make some of the parts frustrating. LUCKILY, the game has no major parts where you have to dodge bullets manually, or where you have to run manually, so we have a good break there.

The game is pretty short. Even on my first time through I was able to beat it within 6-8 hours. As a result, the game completely relies on the replay factor. Fortunately, the game changes every time you play, and as a result every time you start a new story, the game doesn’t get any shorter. It relies on your ability to make good decisions, not your skill at the game, so game will never be shorter the more you play them.

Action sequences are fast and action-packed, but unless you can look in two directions at once, you will be staring at the bottom of the screen for the most part. They are perfect for any matrix fan to enjoy, but in order to get past these scenes you will be continuously watching the bottom two circles for your next move. The lucky part is that you can go back to watch all of the action sequences again in bonuses to have a nice look at what you might have missed.

On top of this, sometimes when you miss your chance to hit a direction, you miss every other one as well. Imagine something like DDR. Once you miss one, sometimes it is going so fast that you miss every one after it until you get your rhythm back again. However, this happens very rarely during the game, and most times you won’t notice.

Also, they could have done way more in an action sequence than just use the bottom two circles. You feel that pressing directions on the analog sticks will get repeating, and even the occasional pressing of the L and R buttons won’t mix things up much, and you just can’t help but wonder why they didn’t add some more stuff to it than that. I mean, the way they used the controller during the game was fairly impressive, so why couldn’t they just add a little more to mix things up a bit?

Another problem is the lack of something to do BESIDES the story. Out of the main game, the title really has nothing else to offer. It includes some extra unlockable content like “making of” films or concept art, which you can unlock through collecting “bonus cards” throughout the game. However, this only gives you about a half an hour or so extra content before you get through it all.

The Bottom Line
This title is definitely something to look at if you are tired of bland FPS and shooters where the entire game is how many bullets you can pump into. If you are a fan of a deep, intriguing plot and likable characters then this is definitely a game for you. Whether you want to buy it or not, this is a game for you to definitely try out once. I would recommend that you rent this game first, to make sure that you can handle replaying it, as that is where this game gets its most of its content. I would also recommend renting it due to the fact that not all gamers can go a long time in a game without shooting something. If you love the game then, and want to be able to go back to it time after time, then this is a game for you to get!

PlayStation 2 · by Matt Neuteboom (976) · 2005

[ View all 15 player reviews ]

Discussion

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Skipping cutscenes DreinIX (10472) Sep 25, 2009

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Fahrenheit appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Cut Content

In the U.S. version, the sex scenes have been toned down to maintain a Mature rating.

Development

  • Fahrenheit was first announced as an episodic game. With this business model, Quantic Dream wanted to sell the game at a budget price, and then release monthly episodes and half-yearly bundles. This concept allowed for cliff-hangers, red herrings, mysteries, and surprises, with a new build-up in hype every month. Ultimately, they did not go along with it and released the game as a whole, at a regular price.
  • The game was in development for five years - two years to create the tools and engine, two years to develop the game, and an additional year to sell it to the publisher.

Genre

The developers themselves do not call the game an adventure, but rather interactive drama, a story that is evolving according to the player's choices in the game, where gameplay is the story. It consists of bending stories, with a beginning, a middle and an end, but everything in between can be stretched or has multiple paths.

Publishing

The game was first to be published by Vivendi Universal, but developer and publisher parted ways in November 2004 because of differences in creative vision.

References

  • Early in the game when the player wakes up as Tyler there is a desk in the bedroom with an action figure on it that when checked says: "This is a figurine of Sox, a character from my favorite videogame." Sox is a robot from another Quantic Dream game, Omikron: The Nomad Soul.
  • At one point of the game there's also news about Omikron on the Internet. It can be accessed from Tyler's computer at the police station. Notice also how much the archive computer in the basement of the police station looks like a Commodore VIC-20.
  • The concept of an Indigo Child is an actual theory, though not quite the same as the game presents it.

Technology

The game contains thirteen hours of full body and facial animation, which, according to the developers, has never been done in a video game, a TV series, or a film.

Tutorial

In the tutorial, the player is introduced to the game in a training room by director David Cage, not just with a voice-over, but using a rendered model as well. He also briefly discusses his creative vision.

U.S. Title

The decision to rename the game Indigo Prophecy in the U.S. was made by Atari. Fahrenheit suggests September 11th because of Michael Moore's critical film Fahrenheit 9/11, even though it's equally well known as a temperature scale, or in reference to Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451.

Awards

  • 4Players
    • 2005 – Best Adventure of the Year
    • 2005 – Best Innovations of the Year
  • GameSpy
    • 2005 – PC Adventure Game of the Year
    • 2005 – PC Adventure Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
  • Golden Joystick Awards
    • 2005 - Unsung Hero of the Year* PC Powerplay (Germany)
    • Issue 04/2006 - #2 RPG/Adventure in 2005 (Readers' Vote)
    • Issue 02/2006 - Most Innovative Adventure in 2005

Information also contributed by Jeanne, Mr. Sefe, piltdown man and Zack Green.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Jeanne.

PlayStation 4 added by Sciere. Xbox 360 added by Parf.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Sciere, Zeppin, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger, Rik Hideto, FatherJack.

Game added September 20, 2005. Last modified February 23, 2024.