My opinion of Silent Hill as a whole
Hey I just wanted to talk about, and slightly rant about one of the most important, and kinda forgotten horror franchise, Silent Hill. I want to express my opinions on the franchise and go over how I would rate it. First off I looked over some of the other games, and honestly they are alright, but aren't my favorite. They just felt like they were trying to be good, or entertaining as their predecessors. Silent hill 1 from what I've seen actually looked decent, maybe not my typical style of a horror game but actually decent, I would've loved this thing with brand new textures, and see it again. But unfortunately not, however I did play SIlent hill 2 and 3 from hd collection.
I will say both games were amazing for what they were, it didn't scare me a bunch at first. I didn't see the symbolism of the monsters, but once I did, it changed my whole perception, and it creeped me out quite a bit. Mostly it was good, I didn't like the camera angle a whole lot and the repeated sound effect of running was annoying as hell to say the least. It was bearable but irritating, I enjoyed the fact of how the boss mechanics worked, and some were actually entertaining, it also had a unique story that in some cases, had no actual good ending.
Now moving away from the games I played, I'll talk about the other games. Honestly they don't even remotely hold the candle as the first three, except 4, even if it wasn't the best. The games just felt like they were just re-hatching old scares in which weren't that scary anymore or didn't even show the same symbolism, and began to feature more action and humor based. I got to see the movies which I thought the first one was great, with excellent gore, even if it was cg, the second one... yeah let's not talk about it.
But the worst came when I actually had a chance to play P.T. of Silent Hills, now this game even as a demo, was ######### EPIC! The amount of detail and puzzles you had to do felt like it was its own game, and it was just a demo! Its the best demo of any horror game I have ever played. So it angers me that Konami canceled this project. If you ask me, the cancellation of Silent Hills is in my opinion, the most damning fuckup ever, in the horror video gaming genre. People literally tried to buy the rights to SIlent Hills, which ultimately failed, and from then the series was forgotten by modern horror franchises
I never even heard of Silent Hill until it was introduced to DBD, the moment I watched the reveal of SIlent Hill chapter. I was so damn confused as to what this was, the whole time I was just cringing, wondering what in the hell is this, and why was it called ' a landmark moment'. Which brings me to a second point, bringing Silent Hill into today would be very difficult to do, because... well not a lot of young people actually know about it. Literally I had to do research to even remotely understand it. Anyway I do like they are trying to bring it back, but I tend to see people hate on the fact of just adding Silent Hill as dlcs or events, then actually enjoying it. THis is just my opinion on the franchise, and I could be wrong.
Comments
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I grew up during the evolution of Silent Hill (I accidentally bought the game, mistaking it for another .. one of the best mistakes I've made), and I think what made it so poignant was that back then psychological horror was relatively new, and it was done so amazingly well that any psychological horror since owes a lot to Silent Hill.
If it did come back, they'd need to focus more on the madness aspect, rather than the blood and gore. Maybe borrow ideas from The Magnus Archives in order to create personal hellscapes.
Silent Hill 4 will always be my favourite, but there are some things about the glory days I would not want back: The community back then could rival most toxicity that you find in multiplayers today. The amount of times I came across someone starting a rant with: "Any TRUE Silent Hill fan knows..." became very tiresome!
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It could even rival the toxicity of DBD?
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Considering it was a single-player game, yet people would passionately argue and berate over aspects of lore which even Team Silent purposefully left ambiguous, I'd say it rivalled it.
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Wow, that's quite crazy. I also wanted to comment about if I wanted to make a horror game about my projects, I would try to mix both the gore, and psychological aspects as well. But mostly focus on less of the gore aspects, and shooting and focusing more on psychological, and more melee combat side of things
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Psychological horror is the way. Gore does have a place, but too much of it and it just becomes part of the scenery. "Agony" is a prime example of how the horrific can become mundane.
Also, melee is a good way to go. Just remember to make some monsters where melee would be no match for the protagonist. He/she/they need to feel vulnerable, at least to a few of the beasties.
Sounds a decent project to take on though! Best of luck with it!
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Okay, I'll put that in mind thank you. Although you can use guns, just not a whole bunch, like you have 20 shots of this gun type for the whole game, then you're done, and the protagonist can craft homemade bombs, like powder bomb ( which would work like a stun grenade, only affecting certain types of monsters) and Molotov cocktail. he also suffers from exhaustion causing him to take small breaks between fights, except for bosses of course. I'll mostly focus on some atmospheres for gore, and even scenarios as well
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You're welcome! Also, if you're looking for any unusual ideas on fear, check out a podcast called "The Magnus Archives", which has some amazing imagery and ideas on fear.
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I would also do it episodically, so it would allow us to take time to make the game, receive feedback, and improve, but also create a fanbase along the way.
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That sounds good. That way, the characters and story can build up, allowing the player to develop attachments and empathise with the characters. I find the most likeable characters are those who have flaws, which people can relate to.
It does sound like something to be excited about! Do you have a time frame for development?
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This is just an idea, one I might do. But I need to finish one other project first beforehand. I am in the early phases, and I don't have a team as of yet, but it still is a thought I'm more than happy to undergo. I will need to learn more in coding, and I might play as the main character. so I do need a group of people to help me and a good portion of the money.
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Well, I certainly wish you well with it! Hope to perhaps hear more about it in future on these forums :)
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