Just one more on Shattered Dreams (Memories?)...

I'm not going to say anything negative about these videos, even though I really want to, because I desperately want to like this game. I'm being positive - see? I can do it if I really put my mind to it. So I'll just say thank you Climax. Thank you so very, very much for snow. Thank you also for recognizing that snow is not black. Thank you.

Okay, I can't resist one easy one. Why is Harry a nerd? Why? Did someone on the team become enamored with that guy from Siren: Blood Curse (see above jpeg)? Actually, come to think of it, I'm seeing some parallels in the first paragraph here... In any event, and more importantly, why isn't he a new character with a new story?

A note on Silent Hill: Shattered Dreams

So I've just heard about this new Shattered Dreams thing. I gather it's being made by the designers of Origins, so I'll soon know whether or not I agree with their past work. Aside from that, they are unfortunately treading on dangerous ground as it's *gasp* a "re-imagining" of the first game. Now, to be clear, I'm not in favor of a straight remake of the original game, but per our little discussion yesterday - why not tell your own damn story? You can do it, I trust you. Furthermore, I don't trust you to retell the old story. Consider this passionate letter I have just written:

Dear Climax Group,

Please do not feel inclined to fill in the "gaps" left in the original plot. Please.

Sincerely,

SH FaN#1

Now that that's out of the way, check out this preview on IGN here. All the blathering in this post notwithstanding, I am incredibly excited. Jesusmarythemotherandjoseph does this game look good or what? Call me an optimist, but I'll give this thing the benefit of the doubt for sure. There is a pretty long interview with some of the staff here.

I've excerpted some of it:

"We dared people to play Origins on their own in a graveyard." I may just take you up on that.

"We want more than anything to put SH back on the map as the only game that delivers the kind of story-telling that a Silent Hill game can." I'm absolutely with you - but that doesn't mean the character's name needs to be Harry, if you're picking up what I'm putting down.

"This shares the same starting point as SH1, but then uses it as a springboard to go to new interesting places." I would argue that starting at the same point, with the same character even, is not only totally unnecessary if you're not in fact telling the SH1 story, but will also be detrimental to the enjoyment of the people who do know that story. No matter how hard you try, you are going to alienate people as a result of this choice. But by all means, make me eat my words.

"There's no true first person though." Thank you kindly!

"We want this world to come off as authentic, not as a Lovecraftian template forced onto the modern world." (With respect to notes left throughout the game.) I will reserve comment for now.

The following made me literally shout YES! at my computer as I was reading:

"The flashlight and the radio static -- two trademark features of the series -- are right there on the controller."

"You're inside Silent Hill, and the town is inside your mind. Things might get a little strange."

"The enemy will evolve as the game goes on into your perfect nightmare creature based on your psychological profile." Spoken like someone who really understands what SH should be.

"The horror experience in Silent Hill is built from the ground up around the concept of escaping -- running for your life." I.e. no weapons? YES YES YES!

I'm now even more excited to play SHO. I'm very curious to see how they've handled the story.

A note on the film

I won't be addressing the movie, as it is, for obvious reasons, not pertinent. However I will say a couple of words here. Firstly, Christophe Gans. I love you man. You put on a bit of a visual clinic here, and it's what you do best. (Unfortunately you set yourself up for failure - about which more later.) Even the dialogue, though bad, was passable. Luckily for you Roger Avary, my expectations have been significantly lowered when it comes to the writing in videogame adaptations. At least the film kind of worked. Right up until the end that is, when instead of climaxing it crumbles contemptibly under the weight of its own bullshit. Oh the denouement... What the fuck were you thinking? Seriously. Please revise and resubmit. I'd put that up against pretty much any other film I've ever seen for the worst writing Oscar based simply on the ending.

And speaking of failure Christophe, please decide what you want to achieve and do so without unnecessary compromise. Are you retelling the story of the first SH game? If so, don't produce a semi-canonical mishmash of several disparate games. Note to self: SH2 is not a proper sequel to Silent Hill. Retelling the story straight also doubles as a simple way to help you avoid adding unnecessary extra elements to compel your Frankenstein plot to make a little more sense. Fail.

Now, may I presume to suggest that you avoid all those problems altogether and tell your own story guided by the "rules" of the Silent Hill setting. Even the comics were smart enough to get that right. You would then be free to make a film that isn't likely doomed to failure before you even begin generating ideas. Silent Hill is a tailor-made storytelling platform. This is an axe I'll grind at length later, so I'll leave it for now.

A final point: any iteration of Silent Hill needs to be a primarily claustrophobic, solo endeavor. There can never be, for example, an effective cooperative Silent Hill game. A sense of solipsism is necessary not only to the themes of the story, but in many ways it is also integral to the plot. A large part of the atmosphere and appeal of the SH series depends on a sustained stay in the dreamlike world, where the character is alone and unsure of his surroundings. Taking the player/reader/etc out of that environment is never more than counterproductive. Which is to say that, for example, Cybil and your bastardized female Harry should mostly not be allowed to come to each other's rescue, or even appear in too many scenes together. And as much as I like Sean Bean, his character and storyline diminish the impact of your film. I know, you're worried about pacing, but the pace of the story can still be altered - obviously the player can't be imperiled continuously. As I'm sure you're aware, there is a mechanism for this built into, and dare I say masterfully employed by, the game. Why mess with it?

There are a lot of specific things I'd love to go on and on about, but I guess this isn't the place to do that. *sigh* I should add that, all things considered, I did enjoy the film...

[update] - For the purposes of this blog, the film will be considered outside canon!

Welcome

What a lovely looking little lakeside town! I sure hope this isn't another manifestation of my fears and guilt like that last town... What a terrible experience that was. Hold on, is that an air raid siren? Crap.

Welcome to Silent Hill everyone. I guess I should start with a brief introduction so you have some idea as to what's going on here. Firstly, I am a SH fan. I love the series and mark Silent Hill as the first time I was ever told a story by a videogame that was the least bit compelling. I have become a fan of certain types of horror as a result of playing the Silent Hill games, but it is worthy of note that I was not the least bit interested before playing SH1 and I consider this a testament to its storytelling prowess. At this point I also became truly excited about games as I assumed that I would become increasingly compelled to play videogames for the purpose of experiencing their stories. Sadly, for the most part, this has not proven to be the case. With respect to the SH series in particular I would say that there have been ups and downs, but that the general trend has been downward after SH2. I intend to play through all the games in (basically) chronological order to investigate what the games do or did well, what they do or did poorly, and the state of the franchise at this point. I should note that I do this with some trepidation as I played the first SH game in 1999 - ten years ago. As both technology and the game industry have progressed a great deal in that time, I'm expecting to be let down in many ways.

So, a brief warning: there will be spoilers on this blog! I'm investigating storytelling and will be including some form of plot summary in most every post. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I have already played Silent Hill 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and so already know everything that happens (at least, as much as I can remember). Furthermore, I probably won't be strictly talking about the story. I'll throw ideas out there on anything that piques my interest, from gameplay to architecture. I'll be playing all the above games in order but starting with Silent Hill: Origins. The reason is that I think it may soften the blow of being confronted with Play Station era technology in approaching SH1, and that it is technically a prequel in terms of the storyline. Also, I haven't played it yet and I want to - so there.

Finally, Opinions - I have them. So consider yourself warned: a great deal of what I say will be my opinion, and I am opinionated. Please feel more than free to disagree.

So cheers and I hope you enjoy following along and commenting - all you readers I don't have!