February 7, 2012 — Comments are o for this post.

3 Act Structure: Heavy Rain

3 Act Structure: Heavy Rain
Also submitted to VFS GD25 Storytelling Class

This paper is an analysis of a 3 Act Structure based within the

game Heavy Rain (PS3). The analysis was written considering
Ethan's original plot in the game. This paper was also used as
one of the Storytelling Class Assignments at Vancouver Film
School – Game Design Program 2012.

ACT ONE

Clear Setup
How far WOULD YOU go to save someone you love? In Heavy
Rain you see yourself in control of four di erent stories that try
to answer this question. (Compelling Theme) Four characters,
with di erent lives and motivations, each with their own
strengths and weaknesses that somehow end up together in a
central plot: The Origami Killer. The Origami is a serial killer
who is kidnapping and drowning little boys, leaving an origami
gure on their dead bodies.

Ethan Mars, protagonist of this whole story, is a father,

architect, married and has two children. His life could be
seen as a trouble-free life, until an incident happens and
he witness the death of one of his sons;
 Madison Paige is a photojournalist who recently also
attracted to the cases of the Origami Killer to get more
information for your story. She su ers from insomnia,
which causes it to her spend your nights in motels;
Norman Jayden is an FBI agent who ends up being
scheduled to investigate the case of the Origami Killer.
Early on we can see that his “problem” is the main
dependence on a drug known as Triptocaine;
Scott Shelby is a private detective who investigates
crimes committed by Origami Killer. Like all the other
characters, Shelby also has a physical problem, which in
his case is asthma.

Inciting Incident
Some months after Ethan lost his rst son in a car accident
(Quiet Character Moments), his second son – Shaun - disappears
when both are playing in a park. (Reversal) Ethan spaces out
and when night time comes he recovers his senses and returns
to the park to search for his son. Trying to nd him in any
place, Ethan returns to his house and searches for Shaun in his
bedroom, but the boy really disappeared. He nally starts to
question if his son was kidnapped by the Origami Killer.

A compelling central question

A story sets up a question to be answered: “Will Shaun be found
before the Origami Killer kills him?”.
First turning point
After Shaun be kidnapped by the Origami Killer, Ethan leaves
his normal everyday and decides to follow his quest in search
for his son, trying to succeed in time, before Shaun dies.
ACT TWO
Progressive Complications
The second act does not really begin until Shaun goes missing.
Because of Shaun's kidnapping, the story develops through a
series of complications and obstacles. Ethan embarks on his
rescuing journey and goes through ve di erent obstacles that
the player can choose (Tough Choices) if they want to follow the
Origami Killer rules exactly, or trying to solve it in a di erent
way. In parallel with Ethan’s con icts, the other characters are
solving their own obstacles (A Balanced Cast) while searching
for more clues. Madison has her encounter with Ethan and
begins to help him on his journey.
Midpoint Sequence
When everything seems very bad in Ethan’s life, the midpoint
sequence starts with the police suspecting that Ethan is the
Origami Killer, because of his psychological condition. After
that, the rest of the game is remarkably more di cult (Major
Sequence of Action) considering that the cops keeps trying to
arrest Ethan during all his rescuing journey.

Second turning point

Ethan needs to follow your last choice, deciding if he will drink
the poison – which will leave him with only one hour of life –
that the Origami Killer o ers to him, in exchange for revealing
where his son is hidden. (Set Up/Pay O s & Convincing and
Empathetic Antagonist). A quick background story of the
Origami Killer is presented.
ACT THREE

Climax
Is revealed to the players that Detective Scott Shelby is the
Origami Killer. Depending of player's choice in other moments
of the game, Ethan will nally reach the place where his son is
held. If Ethan died before this, or didn't  nd all clues about his
son’s location, Norman or/and Madison will confront the
Origami Killer.

A Crisis Decision
Ethan is confronted by the Origami Killer and needs to decide
whether to follow him to not let him get away, or whether to
save his son who is trapped in a well that is lling with water.

Resolution
The game ends with an epilogue showing the scene of Ethan
moving into a new apartment with his son. Ethan asks if Shaun
is satis ed with the new house and Shaun says:
“It doesn't matter where we live, as long as we’re together.” If the
other characters in the game have survived to the end, their
story are also presented in a positive or negative way,
according to choices that the player made during the game.
[button type="icon" icon="paper"]Written by Matheus Pitillo.
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Published by Matheus Pitillo in Game Articles