Madison Paige

(born 3/5/1984) is the deuteragonist of the 2010 video game Heavy Rain and the protagonist of the prequal DLC The Taxidermist. She is a journalist who ended up getting involved with searching for the Origami Killer. Along the way, she begins to find love in Ethan Mars.
In Heavy Rain, she was voiced by . In The Taxidermist, she was voiced by Barbara Scaff, who also voiced Carla Valenti and Tiffany Harper in , 's previous game. Her motion capture was provided by , who is now the wife of .
==Biography==
===Background===
Madison is a young photojournalist living alone in the city. Little is known about Madison's life before the events of the game. In fact, in a developer video that explained some plot holes in the game, it is even admitted by the narrator that Madison is one of the game's most enigmatic characters.
It's stated in her ARI file in "Fish Tank" that she was born on Thursday 3rd May, 1984, in . It is unknown how long she has lived in the city, but it is known she was living there by 2009. She has also known Sam for a long while.
She explains to Ethan that she grew up with several brothers and would always be the one to tend to their injuries whenever they got into trouble. She also states she has had since she was a little girl in response to an inquiry from Ethan about it after the events of "Fugitive" and possibly "Under Arrest." However, this statement is a "Lie" response, making her statement false.
She can possibly mention to Ethan in "The Nurse" that she grew up with several brothers and would always be the one to tend to their injuries whenever they got into trouble. In the same chapter, she can also claim that she has suffered from insomnia since she was a little girl. However, she only gives this statement when choosing "Lie" in response to Ethan's inquiry, which implies her statement is false.
She has been suffering from chronic insomnia and nightmares for years, and she occasionally checks into motels, as they are the only place she can properly sleep. Heavy Rain: Cutting Room Floor reveals that Madison was embedded with troops as a during the . The horrors she witnessed caused her to develop insomnia and suffer from nightmares, in which she is ambushed and brutally murdered by masked intruders.
She eventually finds herself involved in the latest Origami Killer case, conducting her own investigations. If Madison goes to the warehouse alone in "The Old Warehouse" chapter, she may tell the Origami Killer (whom she knows to have a troubled past with their parents) that there is nothing harder than not being loved by one's parents, suggesting she may have had a bad relationship with at least one of her parents.
===The Taxidermist===
In 2009, Madison began investigating the Origami Killer case. Sam provided her with information about Leland White, a taxidermist suspected of being the Origami Killer. While visiting his home, she discovered the stuffed bodies of several women Leland had brutally murdered, but her investigation was cut short when Leland returned home. After escaping the house (and potentially killing Leland during her escape), an article about Madison's discoveries was posted in an issue of The American Tribune.
===Heavy Rain===
Madison is introduced in the eleventh chapter of the game, "Sleepless Night," the latest of any initial appearance. She wakes up at 2 a.m., tired and suffering from insomnia. She notices a series of strange goings-on in her apartment as if someone is there. Suddenly, a gang of intruders appear and ambush Madison. Madison will always end up being defeated by them, and will "die", before this is all revealed to be a nightmare. Madison will then check into the Cross Road Motel in the "First Encounter". She meets Ethan Mars for the first time in this chapter, and tends to his wounds from "The Bear". She later nurses him again after his wounds from "The Butterfly".
In "Fugitive", Madison must help Ethan escape from Carter Blake and Norman Jayden; failure to do so will result in Ethan being imprisoned (only to be broken out by Norman later). During these chapters, Madison will learn about the Origami Killer and begins seeing how he has forced Ethan to do a series of trials for his son's sake. She now begins her own investigation into the killer.
In "The Doc", she confronts Adrian Baker, who is the legal owner of the apartment in which "The Lizard" takes place. Unfortunately, Madison will engage in a fight with Baker - in which she can end up killed - if she doesn't find the evidence she is looking for and get out. Whether she fights Baker or not, she will find evidence pointing her in the direction of Paco Mendez at the Blue Lagoon.
In "Sexy Girl", Madison will go to Paco's office, and she will have no choice but to do a striptease (removing at least one article of clothing). Madison cannot die in this chapter. She will also appear briefly at the start of Norman's chapter "Fish Tank" if she is alive. In Ethan's chapter "On the Loose," if she is alive, Madison will appear and sit with and discuss with Ethan about how he did or didn't kill a man to save Shaun Mars.
Either way, Ethan will have the choice of kissing Madison. If he doesn't, Ethan will push Madison away, and she promptly leaves. If he does kiss her, then they make love. Ethan wakes up the next morning and finds that Madison has taken photos and started a story about him possibly being the Origami Killer (thus learning she is a journalist). After hearing Madison claim that she was planning to quit after seeing the emotion in the story, Ethan can either reject or forgive her. Either way, Madison leaves the building, and notices Carter Blake and the cops outside. She can either get on her bike and exit or call Ethan from the motel. Ethan will then proceed to be arrested or escape.
In "Ann Sheppard", Madison goes to visit Ann Sheppard, who is suffering from . Either way, she will be able to get her to divulge the Origami Killer's identity, Scott Shelby. She will then go over to his apartment in "Killer's Place." She will go into his secret room, and must find out the password to find Shaun. After finding Shaun's address, Scott finds Madison, points a gun at her, and sets the apartment ablaze after driving her back into the room, forcing Madison to find a way out.
Staying in the fire too long, or jumping out of the first two windows seen will kill her. The player must jump out of the safety window or hide in the fridge in order to survive. If she finds the address, she will get the ability to inform either Ethan or Norman about it. What happens in the game's final chapter, "The Old Warehouse", if Madison makes it, depends on whether she arrived alone, with Norman and/or Ethan. Then, Madison will get an ending.
==Appearance==
Madison Paige is 5' 9" (1.75 m) and weighs 125 lbs (57 kg). She is apparently extremely attractive, as multiple characters throughout the game can often be seen leering at her body (usually, but not always, her rear) when they think she's not aware, much to her dismay. Some even go as far as to sexually assault her.
There are three optional points during the game which display Madison with some degree of nudity: a shower scene in her flat, a stripping scene at the Blue Lagoon, and a sex scene with Ethan. Only her breasts and buttocks are shown. There is also a glitch where she will occasionally load her naked model by accident.
==Trivia==
* She keeps a in her purse.
* Seven of the game's trophies are related to her chapters.
* She is playable in every chapter she appears in, except "Fish Tank".
* She is the only protagonist not to bring a gun in "The Old Warehouse".
* She is the only protagonist not to appear in the game's first ten chapters.
* She is the only protagonist that is female, and the only protagonist voiced by a .
* She is the last of the four protagonists to begin their search for the Origami Killer and/or Shaun.
* Madison and Lauren Winter are the only female characters who can kill someone (Scott Shelby).
* Her first name is derived from Matthew, meaning "gift of God"; or from Matilda, meaning "strong fighter".
* She appears to be a fan of , as a texture file for an in her flat displays their album .
* In the "Heroine" ending, her name is incorrectly subtitled as "Madison Page" when Glenn Sanders states her name.
* Despite mentioning that she's both a journalist and a photographer, Madison never uses the term "photojournalist."
* One of her best sources and friends is Sam, an informant heard multiple times in both the game and DLC, though he never appears on-screen.
* She and Ethan are the only characters to be playable in another character's chapter; Madison is partially playable in Ethan's chapter "On the Loose".
* She is the only protagonist who is not playable for more than one chapter at a time, unless she survives in "Killer's Place" and makes it to "The Old Warehouse".
* She has the third-most fight scenes of the protagonists (the second being Norman). She fights the intruders, the Doc, Paco, Scott (optional), Blake, and Leland.
* Early concept art depicted her with shoulder-length hair, while an early model showed her with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, similar to Jacqui Ainsley's real hair.
* Her episode of Heavy Rain Chronicles was meant to explain her backstory as a war correspondent, before the release of The Taxidermist and the later cancellation of the DLC.
* She is playable in 10 chapters, the fewest of the four protagonists (compared to 20 for Ethan, 16 for Scott, and 13 for Norman). She is, however, the only protagonist in the DLC.
* In The Taxidermist, if Madison remains undetected in Leland's house until the police arrive, she sits on the front porch in a position identical to the one she wakes up in in "Sleepless Night".
* While in Debug Mode and using the free camera option, it is possible to see that the character model used for Madison's loading screen is the same one used during the book signing in the "Heroine" ending.
* Throughout the story, she confronts three serial killers (Scott Shelby; Leland White; Adrian Baker) and meets a potential fourth one in one of her endings. This number is the most out of the four characters.
* Three of the epilogues are based around her. She also appears in three of Ethan's epilogues. If her appearance in Ethan's epilogues count, she appears in the second most epilogues with 6 (behind Ethan with 7 epilogues).
* She is the only protagonist who initially isn't involved with the Origami Killer case. Ethan is the father of the latest potential victim, Norman Jayden is called specifically to deal with the cases, and Scott Shelby is the killer himself.
* On top of her insomnia, Madison is implied to suffer from due to the horrors she saw in Iraq. In "Square One", her condition worsens to the point that she has started to see several assailants roaming her flat while she is still awake.
* She is the only protagonist who doesn't own a car. Instead, she owns a Confederate Hellcat F-Series. She is also the only one of the four main characters who at no point in the game will have a scene where they are trapped in a car that is about to be destroyed.
* She is similar to Carla from Fahrenheit. Both are the female protagonists of the story, are investigating the main protagonist, and can develop a romance with them. However, Madison's romance with Ethan is optional, whereas Carla always ends up with Lucas.
* She is 25 in The Taxidermist and 27 in Heavy Rain. An early character bio and the user guide for Heavy Rain state that Madison is 28, suggesting she was made younger during development, since her given date of birth would make her 27 in October 2011.
* She is implied to be either an or , or at least was during the events of The Taxidermist, as one of her thoughts is "If I believed in God, this would be a time to start praying". Interestingly, this might be a reference to the player, as the player is responsible for the outcome of this DLC.
* When Ann Sheppard reveals the Origami Killer's identity to Madison, Madison reacts with shock, as if she knows the killer, although she doesn't meet him in the game until the "Killer's Place". However, it is possible that they met each other at some point before the game begins, an encounter that might have been detailed in an unreleased chapter of Chronicles.
* If she survives in "Killer's Place", once in the street, she can either call Ethan, call Norman, or go to the warehouse alone. It is unknown how Madison has Norman's number in her phone, as she never meets Norman face-to-face or talks with him (though they both appear in the chapters "Fugitive" and "Fish Tank"). The only time they can meet in person is in "The Old Warehouse" if Ethan doesn't make it. However, since he identifies her as a witness to the death of Paco, it may be possible that Norman contacted her off-screen. It is also possible that Norman publicly gave out his number so that anyone with information about the murders could contact him.
* Out of the four main characters, Madison has the highest number of deaths. She can die in "The Doc", "Killer's Place", "The Old Warehouse", and The Taxidermist.
** She is the first main character who can be killed, and also the only one who cannot die in any of the epilogues in which she appears.
** She is the only playable character who cannot possibly die in the scenario where all characters make it to the warehouse, possibly because she is the last to arrive there.
** Madison can choose to jump out a window of the Origami Killer's burning flat even after observing that the fall will kill her. This makes her the only playable character who can intentionally kill herself when being controlled by the player. There are other ways for her to die in the apartment, but none of them are triggered by pressing a button after she explicitly tells the player that they will be fatal.
==Licensing==
This article contains content derived from the "Madison Paige" article on the Heavy Rain Wiki, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
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