Quantum Dream has cooked up multiple endings for Heavy Rain, the PS3-exclusive thriller following four strangers caught up in the hunt for the enigmatic Origami Killer, but if company founder David Cage had his way, you’d only see one.

“I would like people to play it once … because that’s life. Life you can only play once … I would like people to have this experience that way,” said Cage. “I’m fine with [people reloading saves to avoid bad endings], but the right way to enjoy Heavy Rain is really to make one thing because it’s going to be your story. It’s going to be unique to you. It’s really the story you decided to write … I think playing it several times is also a way to kill the magic of it.”

In a world where replay value ranks high on the videogame consumer’s checklist, it goes without saying that gamers are gonna play the hell out of each and every possible ending. That’s the great thing about games - once in the hands of the gamers, it doesn’t matter what the game makers wanted you to get from the experience, or how they wanted you to experience it,  the game belongs to the gamer. It’s your world to explore, to experience and to experiment with, dead magic be damned. Still, you gotta respect the brass balls on Cage for his uncompromising vision of the game, even if it means telling customers a proper playthrough will result in less bang for their buck.