The jury is still out for the best videogame of 2010. But it looks to be Heavy Rain. The narrative genre is that of a psychological thriller, the visuals are captivating and the number of permutations there are to the story truly makes this a choose your own adventure game. You will get absorbed into the life of Ethan Mars, the lead character, who is an ordinary architect and father. Unfortunate events lead him to try and track down a killer who leaves origami beside his dead victims.

But for domainers and Internet enthusiasts, what is truly revolutionary is the way that Heavy Rain is using the Internet. After I saw the trailer below and all other Heavy Rain trailers on YouTube, I decided to participate in the Heavy Rain 4 Day Challenge (it is not too late to play). The point of the challenge is to track a bunch of clues around the web to uncover part of the mystery of the Origami Killer who is featured in the game.

Here was my journey so far (***WARNING: 4 DAY CHALLENGE SPOILERS AHEAD***):

-Uncovered the anagram that is the killer’s Twitter account (@perfectfolds)
-Found related news clippings
-Used PicExaminer to uncover hidden messages
-”Talked” to an eyewitness at a crimescene using a novel YouTube feature (see video here)
-Found the Twitter account of an eyewitness (@sleeperinthesun)
-Went to a number of other interactive sites featuring animations or downloadable evidence, which were created specifically for the game

As a bottom line, remember that interactivity is the main advantage the Internet has over print media. Chef Patrick and Morgan Linton are pushing the envelop with video and more innovative uses are sure to come. Plus the trailer below is an absolute must see for anyone with a pulse: