Clown

"Hey, champ! What's your name?"

- The clown to Jason Mars

The clown is a minor character in Heavy Rain. He appears for the first and only time in "The Mall" at the beginning of the game. Upon seeing him, Jason asks his father Ethan to buy him one of the balloons the clown is selling. Ethan agrees, and the clown gives him a red balloon before Jason promptly walks away with it, not heeding his father's wishes to wait for him as he pays. The player must pay the clown two dollars before leaving to find Jason, or the clown will stop Ethan and tell him he still owes him the money. In a way, he can be viewed as somewhat liable for Jason's death and the reason the Origami Killer began claiming victims.

Trivia
Clown
 * Although clowns are those typically viewed as those who contribute to the happiness in society, the clown in the game ironically contributes to the plot's conflict.
 * The clown is a representation of the diverse and vibrant colors found within the prologue, contrasting with the dark and dull color scheme accompanying the majority of the game.
 * To many players, the clown has at some point been their prime suspect as the Origami Killer. There are multiple reasons for this, but arguably the main one is that some speculate that the clown purposely left Jason to die.
 * One could consider the clown to be an accomplice of the Origami Killer, though the killer probably would not want to work with someone who knew his true identity. In addition, since the killings didn't begin until the fall of 2009, it seems unlikely that the killer would have been assisted early on.