Most young children have an “invisible friend”; someone only they can see and hear.
And for little Jodie Holmes, her special childhood pal is a little more… real.
This “friendship” allows Jodie to communicate with an unseen force of unimaginable power.
To some, this ability would seem like an incredible gift. But for Jodie, this strange power is often a curse, haunting every second of her life.
The Department of Paranormal Activities (DPA) had worked with Jodie’s parents Norah and Jonathan, who also possessed psychic abilities.
As soon as Jodie was born she was taken from her mother and raised by Philip and Susan Holmes on a military installation affiliated to the DPA. She never knew she was adopted.
Quantic Dream studio director David Cage shares his thoughts on working with Hollywood star Elliot Page, who played the lead character Jodie Holmes in BEYOND: Two Souls™.
“Working with Elliot has been an incredible experience.
They were really the actor I wanted for the role of Jodie, and they gave a very unique presence to the character.
The shooting sessions have been very intense; with Elliot playing the stubborn teenager, falling in love and laughing or crying with the same talent, sincerity and energy.
Elliot is a very special actor; very honest with a lot of integrity, instinct and guts.
Working with them as well as Willem Dafoe has been a wonderful experience.”
| Move | left stick |
| Look around | right stick |
| Interact | right stick (when white orbs are in view) |
| Switch to entity | button |
Jodie will often need to rely on her wits and reflexes to complete a challenge, or to get out of trouble.
In these situations an icon of the action you need to perform is displayed on-screen – you may need to press specific buttons, or move the right stick or your wireless controller in a certain direction.
During high-pressure situations, or intense moments of hand-to-hand combat, time will briefly slow down for Jodie and give you a quick chance to make your move.
Always make sure you follow Jodie’s movement by pushing the right stick in the same on-screen direction.
Example: If Jodie is on the right-hand side of your screen and is ready to throw a punch at her opponent on the left-hand side of your screen during a fight, time will slow down.
You then need to push the right stick to the left to hit her opponent.
Always focus on Jodie’s movement, and not that of her opponent.
You will fail if you do not react in time, or if you move the right stick in the wrong direction – and this could have consequences on the story.
White orbs will appear around Jodie – they could be on a physical object, a person or in a specific location.
To get Jodie to interact with her surroundings, push the right stick in the direction of the white orb; if there is more than one white orb in view, you can choose which one to investigate first.
Not many people can understand the very idea of Aiden.
A mysterious “entity” that can only communicate with Jodie, Aiden is capable of performing incredible − and often very dangerous − acts.
Despite their close relationship, Jodie cannot always control Aiden against his will – often likening him to a “caged lion” – but one thing is clear, he will protect Jodie no matter what the cost.
Bound together by an ethereal tether, Aiden’s movement depends on his and Jodie’s mental and physical state – sometimes Aiden has to stay close to Jodie or she will suffer excessive pain, whereas in other situations he is able to move further away.
As Jodie grows older, Aiden’s powers will increase… they must both use these abilities wisely.
| Move | left stick |
| Look around | right stick |
| Use powers | left stick + right stick |
| Lock on to target | button (hold) |
| Turn around | button |
| Move up | button |
| Move down | button |
| Switch to Jodie | button |
Aiden is an entity, a ghost, an invisible presence around Jodie. As Aiden you are capable of flight and can even pass straight through certain objects and buildings.
When Aiden reaches the limit of the tether, the screen will turn black and white, indicating that you cannot go any further away from Jodie.
Aiden can interact with objects and characters that are marked with a blue orb.
Lock on to the blue orb by pressing and holding the button – two purple orbs will then appear which can be controlled by using both the left stick and the right stick.
The position of these purple orbs will differ depending on which of Aiden’s powers you can use.
BLAST
Unleash an energy wave to hit objects with an invisible force.
Purple orbs will appear below the blue orb.
Pull both sticks down, then release to move an object.
POSSESS
Take over the mind and body of any person with an orange aura.
Purple orbs will appear either side of the blue orb.
Use both sticks to pull the purple orbs apart, and then hold in position until you take control of your target.
Aiden will be ejected if the possessed body is touched by another character.
CHOKE
Squeeze the life out of any person with a red aura.
Purple orbs will appear either side of the blue orb.
Use both sticks to bring the purple orbs together, and then hold in position until your target succumbs.
SHIELD
Protect Jodie from fire, bullets or a deadly fall by creating a shield.
Purple orbs will appear either side of the blue orb.
Use both sticks to bring the purple orbs together – then hold in position.
HEAL
Heal injuries for anyone who has a green aura.
Purple orbs will appear between Jodie and the injured person.
Use both sticks to move the purple orbs over the wounds, and hold in position until the aura leak disappears.
CHANNEL
Retrieve the memory of recent traumatic events.
Purple orbs will appear between Jodie and the target.
Use both sticks to control the purple orbs and redirect the emanation towards Jodie’s head to trigger the flashback.
WEDNESDAY, 2 DECEMBER ’98
Nathan told me about a little nine-year-old girl that he saw in consultation for the first time.
For someone who’s usually so calm, I’ve never seen him so excited.
He says she’s linked to an entity. That seems hard to believe, but Nathan is not the kind of guy to get excited about nothing.
He’s gonna continue to see her twice a week. Time will tell.
Woken up in the middle of the night by a call from Nathan.
Jodie’s parents are terrified. The kid was attacked again. They’re scared for her, and for themselves.
Nathan and I decided to have Jodie spend a night or two in the lab.
We’ve got a place set up for long-term experiments with permanent supervision systems. If anything happens to Jodie in the middle of the night, we can at least try to understand what’s going on.
Her parents seemed relieved to leave her with us.
Nathan tried to console her.
She’s the saddest, most lost little girl I’ve ever seen.
TUESDAY, 29 DECEMBER ’98
Things are happening around Jodie.
We asked her parents if we could keep her for another week so we can study her some more.
They didn’t make any objections.
Nathan asked Jodie’s parents if we could keep her in the lab with us for an indefinite period, until we can figure out what’s going on.
He got funding from the DPA so she can have correspondence courses and we are trying to look after her as well as we can.
Going by Nathan’s report, the DPA agreed immediately. She’s what they’ve always dreamed of: proof that there’s something after death.
WEDNESDAY, 17 FEBRUARY ’99
I asked Jodie where the name Aiden came from.
She said she didn’t know; that it just came to her like that, out of the blue.
I asked her if Aiden was a spirit or a ghost.
Same answer.
Aiden himself doesn’t seem to know exactly what he is.
The experiments with Jodie are fascinating.
We’re learning more every day, and we still have the impression that it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The existence of Aiden has incalculable implications.
It calls into question everything we’ve always believed in.
WEDNESDAY, 19 MAY ’99
The presence that Jodie calls “Aiden” seems to be linked to her by some kind of cord.
Aiden can never go away; it’s as if they’re attached to each other.
How far Aiden can travel seems to vary; perhaps it’s connected to Jodie’s psychic state?
Worth investigating.
TUESDAY, 13 JULY ’99
Aiden’s power seems to be linked to Jodie’s physical and mental state.
When Jodie is tired, Aiden’s link to our world seems more tenuous, as if he was losing some of his reality in our dimension.
Jodie says Aiden “sees people’s colours”.
The colours change from one person to another, Jodie doesn’t really know why. Is she talking about auras?
Must remember to discuss it with her another time.
THURSDAY, 2 DECEMBER ’99
It seems that Aiden can’t travel through everything.
It appears that certain walls prevent him from passing through them.
We did some experiments in the building with Jodie today, to see if it was a question of density, thickness or the type of material. Nothing conclusive.
I must organise a session to try to get a better understanding of what restricts Aiden’s movement.
More experiments today into Aiden’s interactions with his surroundings.
Also asked Jodie if she thought Aiden could interact with living things.
According to her, he can’t do this. She seemed to want to say more about it, but she broke off when she looked up.
She usually does that when Aiden talks to her.
MONDAY, 10 APRIL ’00
Jodie is pretty low today.
She seems to be very affected by the fact that she hasn’t heard from her parents for several weeks.
Nathan and I do everything we can to try to cheer her up.
Jodie’s birthday.
She’s 10 today.
She’s been with us for a little while now.
Nathan brought in a cake.
We bought her a new doll and the T-shirt she saw in the mall.
I think she was pleased. She still looks just as sad and preoccupied with herself. It breaks my heart to see her like that, but what else can we do?
In 1997 David Cage co-founded game development studio Quantic Dream in Paris, France.
A hive of creativity and forward-thinking, Quantic Dream has produced some of the most iconic and memorable moments in PlayStation® history, including:
Here David shares his memories on creating BEYOND: Two Souls™, his gaming and movie passions – and also offers some invaluable advice to any up-and-coming game makers.
Creating games like BEYOND: Two Souls™ is really a journey for the team and myself; with moments of enthusiasm, frustration, hope and stress.
There were so many unique moments…
I guess I will remember moments like the first meeting with Elliot in a bar in LA and our first meeting with Willem on the terrace of his apartment in Rome, where we did a reading of the script together.
I also remember the premiere in Paris when all of the team was on stage, which was a very emotional moment for us.
Our games are made by a very talented team and it was great to have everyone there, and to thank them for their passion, talent and hard work.
Last but not least, I did a promotional tour across the Middle East and Asia; including Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Seoul, Tokyo and Sydney… and it left a very strong impression on me.
I’ve travelled a lot to promote our games over the past 20 years, but I knew little about Asia.
This trip allowed me to meet our fans over there and to see more about a very exciting and inspiring part of the world.
I had their names in mind pretty much from the start.
I am used to having images of actors on my screen as I write, so I have someone to look at and imagine how they would behave in different situations.
Elliot and Willem were my first choices to help me writing, and after a year in the script with their images in front of me, I could not think of anyone else for the roles.
Fortunately, they responded positively when we asked them if they would like to get involved in the project… I really had no second choice if they had refused.
Actually, I don’t like to revisit my work afterwards.
The game is what it is because I was who I was while I made it.
It is like a Polaroid of yourself at one point in your life, you may want to change the picture, but it won’t change who you were.
I have this kind of integral version of my work; I put a lot of myself in every project and my approach is always genuine and sincere.
Changing a game afterwards would compromise the sincerity of the work.
No, there is no plan at the moment for a sequel to BEYOND: Two Souls™.
We love starting new ideas and exploring different directions game after game.
I know this is quite unusual in the industry, but we don’t want to make the same game ten times, or feel too comfortable only doing things we know.
We love the excitement of new risks to take, new things to try, new crazy ideas to explore; and see how our fans and the community will react.
This is never something I have in mind writing my stories.
I write an interactive drama and try to do my best at that.
If other opportunities arrive, great; if not, I am not actively looking for them.
Actually, BEYOND: Two Souls™ is probably the least-influenced story I’ve written in my career.
It was a story that was more personal, far from the traditional influences of films or games.
There are probably many influences that players will notice, but I wasn’t aware of any while I was writing.
The story is just a mix of feelings: how it feels to be abandoned, to be left aside at a birthday party, to feel desperate and alone, to be betrayed and to be homeless; and moments I have experienced myself.
Although the plot evokes CIA and supernatural powers, it is not what the story is really about.
For me, the most important parts are the underlying themes, the subtext; and it was really fascinating how some people responded very positively connecting some moments of the game to things they experienced in their personal life.
Playing with chronology was also something interesting to me.
It may be disorienting for some, but experimenting with this different approach was truly fascinating and created a very different narrative experience for the players who started the game with an open mind and were ready to let the game take them on a very unique journey.
I play a lot of indie games.
I think that there is a lot of creativity there and some brilliant ideas.
I am always very interested in people trying new ideas and experimenting rather than reproducing recipes we have seen many times before.
Indie is at the moment a space for experimentation and crazy ideas, which makes it a very fascinating space to me.
There are so many amazing films out there, different colours for different tastes; from quite unknown films to blockbusters.
So here is a short list of films as they come to my mind, some are recent and some a little older. A quite eclectic list:
| Jeff Nichols’ TAKE SHELTER. American indie films at their best, the kind of films I really enjoyed − clever, original and surprising. |  |
| Damien Chazelle’s WHIPLASH is another very interesting indie film. As with games, the indie film space is the most exciting to me. |  |
| Mortem Tyldum’s THE IMITATION GAME. The story of Turing is fascinating, and Cumberbatch delivers a great performance. |  |
| Clint Eastwood’s GRAN TORINO. Released in 2008 so it’s not too recent, but it’s one of the best scripts I have seen, and features another fantastic performance from Clint. |  |
First advice: never listen to advice ;-)
Trust what you believe in, try to define what games will be in the future, not what they were in the past.
Don’t follow trends, create them.
Put passion and enthusiasm before money; and exciting concepts and innovation before business models.
Remember you always have more chances to fail than to succeed, so you’d better fail with something you believed in, rather than with something you just did for money.
Be true to who you are and create something you are proud of, because life is short and you don’t want to waste your time doing things you don’t really care about.
See how BEYOND: Two Souls™ was brought to life.
Learn from David Cage how the game was filmed, take a look at some of the amazing concept art, and see before and after shots of Elliot Page transforming into Jodie Holmes.
THE EXPERIMENT
Working with little Caroline Wolfson (who plays the young Jodie Holmes) has been a fascinating experience.
We hired tutors to teach her acting for a year to prepare her to be on stage with Willem Dafoe, and she did a fantastic job − not being impressed (by working with world famous actors) at all!
Working with all kinds of actors, from kids to Hollywood stars, has been one of the interesting aspects of this game; an opportunity to meet fantastic people, famous or not, who share passion for their roles and give their best on set.
THE PARTY
The scene when Jodie and Dawkins talk in the car in the intro of the scene THE PARTY was the very first time we had both actors on set.
We’d shot with Elliot for two weeks, but it was Willem’s first day.
It was a very interesting moment to see two fantastic actors working together for the first time. It is always a special moment where you discover if the chemistry between actors works… and to my big relief, it did.
Oh yeah, the two seats and the wheel are… the car.
We all had a big laugh looking at the props, but it did the job!
DINNER WITH CLAYTON
Interactive dialogues were particularly demanding for the actors.
They had a significant amount of texts to learn by heart, due to all the different choices that the player could make.
In the romantic meeting of the DINNER WITH CLAYTON scene, Elliot and Eric Winter had to play all variations, sometimes with very different tones, attitudes and reactions. Jodie could prove to be a very charming and organised woman; or a very stressed, disorganised host… not to mention what can happen if Aiden gets in the mix.
SOMALIA – FIGHT ON A PICKUP
The stunt team, led by French choreographer Olivier Schneider (who worked on films like Taken and 2015 James Bond movie Spectre), did a very impressive job on the game.
This is our truck sequence in the SOMALIA scene, during which Jodie fights against rebels as the truck speeds through the streets of Mogadishu.
Again we had just a bunch of crates and grills to simulate the truck, so actors can have contact points and jump from the back to the front, etc.
The entire environment and the illusion of speed will be added later in 3D.
SOMALIA – HELICOPTER SCENE
This is our helicopter for the scene in Somalia.
All we need is props that have the right dimensions and properties as the final helicopter, knowing the vehicle itself will be done in 3D.
The platform was mounted on wheels, with five people pushing it to recreate the movement of the helicopter perturbed by Aiden – this way the actor could feel the moves and react accordingly.
HOMELESS
HOMELESS is one of the most emotional scenes in the game, full of many intense moments with Elliot.
As they were really crying during these scenes, their tears often made the markers fall off… and we took a lot of time to get the markers back on their face between takes.
DRAGON’S HIDEOUT
This is Elliot Page and Eric Winter in their mini-submarine in the DRAGON’S HIDEOUT scene.
No submarine, no costumes, no water, no special effects on set… just actors with a script and their talents to imagine the situation and provide a great performance.
FACIAL TESTS
Quantic Dream’s facial animation technology has been designed to be as transparent as possible for actors.
We don’t need to use backpacks, helmets or wires, and we don’t have to shine lamps in actors’ faces
By scanning the actors’ faces we were able to create a plastic mask – this allowed us to then stick just 90 small markers onto their faces and attach a small microphone.
Most of our actors completely forgot about the technology within 10 minutes, and so could focus solely on their performance.
READING SESSION
Here I’m going through the script with Elliot and Willem on the MoCap stage.
There are very few technical people on and around the stage, which allows for a quite intimate working atmosphere.
Everybody can really focus on their acting without having to stress about cameras or lighting.
Shooting for BEYOND: Two Souls™ was an interesting exercise for the actors; Elliot often referred to it as an “Acting Boot Camp” because they had to switch quickly from one scene to the next, and from one emotional state to another.
We also discussed with Willem how his experience as a stage actor was useful to him shooting Motion Capture.
TIPS
Take a look at a bunch of helpful hints from the makers of BEYOND: Two Souls™:
GENERAL PLAY
PLAYING AS JODIE
PLAYING AS AIDEN
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TOGETHER TILL THE END – Complete the game in Duo Mode. |
 |
UNCONTROLLABLE – Take every opportunity to carry out evil acts as Aiden. |
 |
HOUDINI – Escape arrest three times as Jodie. |
Before you begin your journey you need to decide if you would like to play alone or alongside a friend − with one player controlling Jodie, and the other playing as Aiden.
The second player can choose to play the game by using another DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller, or an iOS or Android mobile device in Touch mode. See the “Touch Mode” section of this Gamer Guide.
You can also change these settings at any time in the Main Menu.
When both players are using a DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller, each player can choose which difficulty level they would like to play for their own character.
If a secondary player controls Jodie or Aiden using an iOS or Android mobile device, for that player the game difficulty defaults to the lower level and the game controls will be simplified to be compatible with the chosen mobile device.
Download the free the BEYOND Touch™ app today:
To enjoy the full, uncompromised gameplay experience in BEYOND: Two Souls™, we recommend that you play the game using your DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller.
However, for casual gamers and those not familiar with dedicated gaming controllers, you can also play BEYOND: Two Souls™ using your iOS or Android mobile device, and control Jodie and Aiden’s actions via the touchscreen on your device.
Please note that playing the game in solo mode with an iOS or Android mobile device defaults the game difficulty to the lower level, and simplifies the game controls to make them compatible to your chosen device.
Simply download the BEYOND Touch™ app and follow the on-screen instructions to get started. Your PlayStation®4 system and your mobile device must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
The app includes a tutorial on how to control the game with your iOS or Android mobile device.
A second player can join in the action by also using their using iOS or Android mobile device in two player mode.
You can choose your difficulty level from the Main Menu before you play, or in the Pause Menu.
In the lower difficulty level, you will find it easier to perform Jodie’s actions in general, and a red arrow will appear on-screen during action scenes showing you exactly what you need to do.
And while playing as Aiden, you will be directed to all of the points of interest by orange orbs – you can easily jump from one orange orb to the next by pressing the button.
Anyone who loves a real challenge will love to test their reflexes and quick-thinking in the Skilled Gamer mode.
