Silent Hill Discussion

[Aetherius]

While we're on the subject of cool horror games to tide us over:

Fatal Frame 3, while short, is probably one of the better horror games I've ever played (excluding silent hill).

Sure it asks you to suspend your disbelief long enough to accept that you fend off ghosts with a camera, but the overall mystery (the mysteries are what really draw me to the psych/survival-horror genre) is pretty gripping, and it has some neat visuals.

Unfortunately, I've had a heck of a hard time finding Fatal Frame 1 or 2 :/

[The Instrument of GAWD]

You know what, I really fell out of liking Silent Hill. I blame it on pretensious fans, and fanart. Really sick of seeing characters from SH being portrayed as normal, fluffy lovable people.

[The Joker]

I always wondered what a Silent Hill game could do with a decent human being as the focus. Like, how exactly would the World appear to him/her. What kind of monsters would be constructed, what kind of plot devices. It owuld make for an interesting game.

[StarZander]

I always wondered what a Silent Hill game could do with a decent human being as the focus. Like, how exactly would the World appear to him/her. What kind of monsters would be constructed, what kind of plot devices. It owuld make for an interesting game.

Like in SH4? Henry hasn't done anything bad. At all. Not really anything good either. He was just at the wrong place, at the wrong time, having no real purpose whatsoever. It bothered me. He had no personality either.

EDIT: The Chibi Silent Hill 2 Comic is now finally completed. People have been waiting for the last few endings to be portrayed, and now they have. If you haven't read CSH2, then you're missing out on something wonderful. At first it's just really funny, but later on gets really deep, and gives new perspective to the game. Quite ingenious at times.

Link: http://knickknack.deviantart.com/journal/2864652/

[The Joker]

Nah, Silent Hill 4 was based around Walter's mind. the monster's, locations, & overall feel of that incarnation of silent Hill revovled around him, rather than Henry. I meant, like maybe we have a really nice, likeable, stand up guy who gets sucked into Silent Hill. It would be interesting to explore the metatron/samael angle, maybe blurring the fog worlds with the decaying world.

Though, maybe Origins will delve into it. Who knows.

[ifirit]

Silent Hill Weekly(?) Update:

Konami Gamers' Day 2007 Event and List of Releases for 2007:

Konami Digital Entertainment of America sent out their monthly newsletter on Friday, February 2, 2007 announcing that their annual Konami Gamers' Day 2007 was held at [EDIT]: club Mighty (119 Utah St.) in the SOMA district of San Francisco, California.[/EDIT] The newsletter mentioned briefly what the event was about and what games were announced so far. Although the newsletter listed all the officially announced games so far for 2007, no mention of anything relating to the Silent Hill series appeared. It wouldn't be until the following Monday when the official KDE announcement would be made that information about the series was given.

In Konami's Official Press Release Statement, the corporation officially announced it's line-up for the year 2007, which included not only the list of video games to be released, but other items as well, such as toys, mobile games and other media. Under the digital media/mobile games section is listed a new title for Silent Hill to be released on mobile devices, such as cellular phones. The only information listed is that it will be an Action title created by Team Silent itself to be available sometime in 2007. While the information does suggest some interesting prospects, no real information has been given such as content, story, style of gameplay or even an exact release date, which leads me to believe something else.*

The announcement made no mention of Silent Hill 0rigins nor Silent Hill 5. However, due to a lack of information about the corporation's other big series, it's possible that more information is to be released later.

*Personal Note: Because of the information about the title given suggests that it has something to do with the original title in the Silent Hill series and because Konami already released a mobile game of Silent Hill in Japan last year for mobile gaming devices, I'm inclined to believe that they are just going to be releasing "Silent Hill DX" in other regions outside Japan (which was previously exclusive to the region). However, it is also possible that they could be releasing "Silent Hill Cage of Cradle" to mobile devices outside of Japan, but that probably wouldn't be listed under the games section.

"Silent Hill DX" was the re-released version of the Silent Hill Play Novel (originally on the GameBoy Advance) made for mobile gaming devices. Read my earlier post for more information on "Silent Hill DX."

EDIT: Because of new information regarding "Silent Hill DX" as not being a remake of the Play Novel Silent Hill, please disregard the end of my personal note. "Silent Hill DX" is a recreation of the original Silent Hill game for mobile gaming devices.

Konami Digital Entertainment of America - Konami News - February 2007 (Page 1)

Konami Digital Entertainment of America - Konami News - February 2007 (Page 2)

Konami Digital Entertainment of America - Press Releases - Konami Announces Blockbuster 2007 Line-up (.pdf file / 62 KB)

Konami Digital Entertainment - コナミTV Ch - Konami Gamers' Day 2007 News Report (Imbedded Streaming / Broadband / Japanese)

Konami Digital Entertainment - コナミTV Ch - Konami Gamers' Day 2007 News Report (Direct Streaming / Broadband / Japanese)

Konami Digital Entertainment - コナミTV Ch - Konami Gamers' Day 2007 News Report (Imbedded Streaming / Dial-Up / Japanese)

Konami Digital Entertainment - コナミTV Ch - Konami Gamers' Day 2007 News Report (Direct Streaming / Dial-Up / Japanese)

[Nulion]

O.o

What do you guys make of *this*?

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/765/765395p1.html

A Silent Hill arcade gun game? That's a little much, don't you think? Admittedly, I'd *love* to know exactly what happened on the Little Baroness, since the game never exactly said what happened, if I recall.

EDIT: Here's a link to a thread with a bunch of screenshots. This *definitely* does NOT look like anything in the Silent Hill canon (Even if, somehow, the story actually seems to be - just not in the gameplay sense of canon, I guess)....and it's just weird...but it does kinda look fun! There's pictures on both the first and second pages of that thread there.

http://forums.ffonline.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47508

[The Phalanx]

Sure it asks you to suspend your disbelief long enough to accept that you fend off ghosts with a camera, but the overall mystery (the mysteries are what really draw me to the psych/survival-horror genre) is pretty gripping, and it has some neat visuals.

I don't see anything that requires a sense of disbelief; it seemed more like it was tied to that whole urban myth that a camera will steal your soul. And considering a ghost is often considered a lost soul of some kind, then using a camera to fend them off seems logical...in a semi-backwards kinda way.

[Petara]

O.o

What do you guys make of *this*?

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/765/765395p1.html

A Silent Hill arcade gun game? That's a little much, don't you think? Admittedly, I'd *love* to know exactly what happened on the Little Baroness, since the game never exactly said what happened, if I recall.

EDIT: Here's a link to a thread with a bunch of screenshots. This *definitely* does NOT look like anything in the Silent Hill canon (Even if, somehow, the story actually seems to be - just not in the gameplay sense of canon, I guess)....and it's just weird...but it does kinda look fun! There's pictures on both the first and second pages of that thread there.

http://forums.ffonline.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47508

If I saw this in an arcade, my normal reaction would be, "Hey, cool. I've gotta try this." 30 seconds later, I'm sure I'd be cursing the creators. Smells like a lame-ass spin-off.

No thanks

[Razumen]

While we're on the subject of cool horror games to tide us over:

Fatal Frame 3, while short, is probably one of the better horror games I've ever played (excluding silent hill).

Sure it asks you to suspend your disbelief long enough to accept that you fend off ghosts with a camera, but the overall mystery (the mysteries are what really draw me to the psych/survival-horror genre) is pretty gripping, and it has some neat visuals.

Unfortunately, I've had a heck of a hard time finding Fatal Frame 1 or 2 :/

I'm in the opposite pickle, I picked up the director's edition of FF2 for the XBox, but haven't seen FF3 anywhere.

[ifirit]

Silent Hill Cage of Cradle Update

Masahiro Ito Leaks Information Regarding International Release:

A post on Silent Hill: Origins has an email response from Masahiro Ito about the English translated version of Silent Hill Cage of Cradle. In the email, Ito states that there will be a translation of the comic available in English to be published sometime between May and July of 2007. However, he stated that the release will not be published by Konami but by another major third party publisher. As it stands, the manga, which was released in Japan via digital distribution, is still not available in print form. Although Masahiro Ito did not say so, it is believed that the manga will be published in print form for the international release. No other details are available at the moment, but I'll keep you guys updated in the future.

Silent Hill Cage of Cradle was written by Hiroyuki Owaku and illustrated by Masahiro Ito, two original members of Team Silent. The manga follows the story of Lisa Garland during her residence at Alchemilla Hospital.

Silent Hill: Origins (part of Next-Gen-Network)

Image copy of Email sent by Masahiro Ito

Silent Hill Fan Projects Update:

SHINSPA Nearing Completion, Website Launched:

For anyone that's been keeping their eye on the DeviantArt Silent Hill scene, you're probably already aware of this project. Yet, if you are not, it not a bad one to check out, though there is not a plethera of material available online. SHINSPA, originally a fan project, is an original novel (soon to be published) that is inspired by the Silent Hill visual asthetic. It's an odd concept to consider (a novel based on a game's graphics), but beyond the novel (and to tie back to the inspiration) are plans to release a supplement called the "Art of SHINSPA" which creates a visual and audio representation of what the novel in trying to create.

The novel is written by DorianWildeGray and will be a 10 chapter paperback described by the author as an experimental writing piece to see how well [he] can cram as much surreal storytelling [and] symbolic situations with as much emotional detail of things most people don't realize. (Or more accurately, "a expremental writing peice to see how well i can cram as much as sureal story telling in with symoblic situtations with as much emotiaonl detail of things most people dont even realize"). The plot itself focuses on an Unknown Journalist who details her mental breakdown while inexplicably traveling to an alternate dimension of personified manifeastations. The writing style is focused on getting into the frame of mind of the Unknown Journalist. As such, it places predominance on the unraveling of the character's emotions and sentiments over grammatical structure or correct spelling, thus the experimental part.

While a skeptical point-of-view might suggest that the writing resembles a fifth-grader's English skills, DorianWildeGray has a reputation of creating some pretty great stuff; the sketches for the novel itself should be proof enough.

The supplemental material, "Art of SHINSPA," is basically a complilation of the artwork used to create the basis of the story and is just plain ol' nice-to-look-at. Released so far are the sketches by the Unknown Journalist, the book covers and a two short music videos. While the music is created by Jillian Ann, she is not officially affliated with the author or the project. Currently, the project is running off a MySpace.com webpage, but will move to it's own page in the future.

(10% Complete)

MySpace.com - SHINSPA

MySpace.com - SHINSPA - FAQ Page

MySpace.com - SHINSPA - Art of SHINSPA - Main Theme

DeviantArt.com - SHINSPA Gallery (Contains all material for "Art of SHINSPA")

Silent Hill Skit - "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life":

The Instrument of GAWD will probably kill me for posting this, but I found this little piece of sunshine on YouTube.com. This fan video is a musical parody of the Silent Hill series performed by Gomu-Gomu no Cosplay, Sakura Mochi and company, who apparently like the shell-shocking effects of the Silent Hill series and the happy-go-lucky stylings of showtunes. The video, created for the Pacific Media Expo (later reprised at other conventions, such as Anime LA, Fanime, Anime Expo, and the San Diego Comic Convention), is a montage of the four main titles in the series set to the music of Monty Python's

from the film Life of Brian with some appropriate lyrical adaptation. Cheese is the name of the game here and these cosplayers provide the nachos. The video file runs for 4 minutes and 5 seconds, but the skit itself ends around the 3'14" mark.

While I will admit that the video is a mix of bad lighting, off-tune notes and midi greatness, the overall charm, fun and accuracy of parody make the piece more than enjoyable. Check it out to add a little fun to your day.

[StarZander]

That Monty Python/Silent Hill skit was awesome! Laughed my ass off.

In other news, I just read in a Swedish gaming magazine about the Silent Hill arcade game. I'm not sure if this is old news, but it was shown at the japanese AOU, and the story will have ties to SH2 and there will be a number of different endings to the game. The people from the magazine tried the game (after a long wait. the line was apparently huge and they had to wait atleast 45 minutes to play)and they thought it was a really good arcade game, with a promising future. Everyone there were very sceptical at first, but everyone seemed to be very satisfied afterwards.

[Citris]

That Monty Python/Silent Hill skit was awesome! Laughed my ass off.

Ummmm.....That wasn't Monty Python....

[Razumen]

Ummmm.....That wasn't Monty Python....

Yes, yes it was:

is a montage of the four main titles in the series set to the music of Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from the film Life of Brian with some appropriate lyrical adaptation.

[Effector]

What? Always Look on the Bright Side of Life was indeed Python.

EDIT: Ouch, beaten to it.

[Nulion]

Just wanted to post this real quick, found it just this morning.

http://pspupdates.qj.net/Silent-Hill-Origins-gameplay-videos/pg/49/aid/90216

New Silent Hill: Origins gameplay videos. It looks really awesome, actually Keep in mind while watching that the camera can be changed back to an over-the-shoulder view by pressing L at any time, but apparently the guy playing in these videos doesn't do that.

[ifirit]

Radical, but damn, I'm falling behind in my reports. Screw it, I'll make one anyway for posterity's sake. Also, I'll post links to the Game Informer article which came out on the 20th.

WARNING: Possible Silent Hill 0rigins / Silent Hill Spoilers

Silent Hill 0rigins Update:

New Screenshots, Teasers and Gameplay Videos:

On Friday, April 20th, 2007, Game Informer posted their exclusive hands-on report with Silent Hill 0rigins. In the report, they detailed their experience with the latest version of the game. The report showed videos and screenshots of the footage, as well as detailed the changes made to the game compared to the previous gameplay from the demo released in August of 2006. There were a total of 11 screenshots and two short teasers (approx. 40 seconds in length) revealed. The screenshots and videos can be downloaded from the story page as well as from the mirrors linked below.

In addition to the new videos, there is also new music previews in the background of the teaser videos displaying some ambience from the completed soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka.

Game Informer - Silent Hill 0rigins Exclusive Hands-On

GameTrailers.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Gameplay Teaser 1 (.mov file / 5.4 MB)

GameTrailers.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Gameplay Teaser 1 (.wmv file / 5.1 MB)

GameTrailers.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Gameplay Teaser 1 (.mp4 file / 2.9 MB)

GameTrailers.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Gameplay Teaser 2 (.mov file / 5.2 MB)

GameTrailers.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Gameplay Teaser 2 (.wmv file / 5.1 MB)

GameTrailers.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Gameplay Teaser 2 (.mp4 file / 2.9 MB)

Silent Hill 0rigins - Game Informer Screenshots (04/20/2007) (.zip file / .jpg files [11 images] / 270 KB)

----------

A few days after the Game Informer article was posted, the PSP branch of QJ.net posted an article providing a much deeper look at the current demo version of the game. The article provided some raw video files of the gameplay of SH0. Although the videos appear to be exclusive to the article, they were originally posted on GameVideos.com on April 20, 2007 and later posted on YouTube / QJ.net. Please note that the video files contain possible spoilers for the game and, although I may not need to point it out for anyone in this thread, definite spoilers for the first game. The video files are supposedly listed in chronological order (in terms of gameplay) and include FMV sequences from the demo, thus the spoilers. Links for the videos are available for viewing from the YouTube links in the QJ.net article, but I've also included the download links from GameVideos.com

New music does appear in these videos like the Game Informer videos, but for the most part, the demo contains reused music files from the original Silent Hill.

Links Contain Possible Spoilers for SH0

QJ.net - PSP Updates - Silent Hill 0rigins Gameplay Videos

GameVideos.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Raw Gameplay Video 1 (.wmv file / 20.4 MB // .mov file / 26.3 MB)

GameVideos.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Raw Gameplay Video 2 (.wmv file / 38.9 MB // .mov file / 43.1 MB)

GameVideos.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Raw Gameplay Video 3 (.wmv file / 25.2 MB // .mov file / 31.7 MB)

YouTube.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Raw Gameplay Video 1

YouTube.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Raw Gameplay Video 2

YouTube.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Raw Gameplay Video 3

-----------

Personal Notes: I'm incredibly excited about the new trailers/gameplay videos out, because of the return to a more established tradition. Even in a 1 to 2 minute teaser, I got creeped out by the game's form. However, I'm disappointed by the abundant recycling of materials from previous games, particularly the sound effects and music. While I smile whenever I hear the traditional "buh-dum" sound when picking up items in the demo, I frown at the re-use of footstep/attack/miscellaneous/etc. sounds from SH2. While I smile at the new ambience playing in the background of the burning building level, I frown at the re-use of the clanging music from SH1 in the alternate world. Still seems like they are holding on too tightly to the old staples and not trying new things with the portable medium.

Anyway, it looks like a certainty that they're not going to have Jarion Monroe or Liz Mamorsky reprise their roles as Dr. Kaufman and Dahlia Gillespie in this title. It's such a shame too, since they still live in the San Francisco area, where the game was originally being developed.

The menu system could be streamlined more to access items and equipment easily. The text font is a little to large and block-y for the screen ratio. The screen flashing red every time an enemy attacks is pretty annoying and has some glitches. And, the flashlight aims too low. Otherwise, the game looks great. Using your fists is awesome, but melee' weapons that break sucks.

Although still unconfirmed, the game is expected to release in the fall of 2007.

[Nulion]

Extremely great post yet again, hehe. Always blows mine out of the water.

There's one thing about Origins that actually has me confused, though. I know that early in development, the game was to have a Resident Evil 4-esque camera system, but now it seems to have lost it. I've heard conflicting reports that the RE4 system is still in, and can be switched back and forth by using the L1 button...but then I've heard people saying that there's no more RE4 camera, and that the L1 button merely centers the camera behind Travis, similarly to the older SH games on PS2.

No idea which one is the truth...any ideas?

[ifirit]

I heard the same things to the effect and for the most part it seems uncertain. However, there are a few things that you have to consider when looking at the information. For one, the guy/gal controlling the game in the gameplay videos doesn't seem to use the L button at all during his/her play. I've been trying to determine why since there were certainly opportunities for him/her to do so.

I suspect that the controls do allow you to switch the camera angle between "Silent Hill 4" mode and "Resident Evil 4" mode, but that the player didn't like the switch very much so they didn't use it. The reasoning is in the way that he moved the character around the stage, wavering in and out of corners and hallways rather than changing the camera angle to see down those areas. It's very similar to the demo gameplay videos from Silent Hill 4: The Room back in 2004. Players in certain areas of the demo stages could not press the L2 button to re-center the camera and so would wander around in odd patterns in order to have the camera see as much as it could. (Needless to say, it makes you a little dizzy to watch.)

Yet, in the last video there is a little bit of a problem with my suspicions because while fighting the nurses in the alternate world, the camera centers behind Travis on fallen nurses that you can kick. I can't quite tell if the camera switch is automatic or player-controlled. If the switch was automatic it would confirm that the camera switch mode is the "SH4/RE4" style, but if it was player-controlled, then it would mean that the mode centers on objects/items/events of importance. This control-scheme, though, is the worst of the two since it requires timing in addition to proximity to control on the player's part.

Personally, I think it's a matter of poor word choice in describing the camera system as the original GameInformer article only writes one sentence about the camera set-up. The vagueness of the description has thus caused many other sites and news forums to interpret the information as they can. We'd need another game magazine to perform their own demo-run to verify the matter. (I hear PSM has an interview scheduled for their next issue.)

[Schwaltzvald]

Hey sorry for breaking into this thread without adding anything relevant to this wonderful thread, but will some one please sticky this thread. I ask because the other thread "Internet Videos II" disappeared

I'm thinking it has to do with s post count..?

[ifirit]

Hey sorry for breaking into this thread without adding anything relevant to this wonderful thread, but will some one please sticky this thread. I ask because the other thread "Internet Videos II" disappeared

I'm thinking it has to do with s post count..?

It would be a nice gesture to sticky this thread for the community. But as far as the site is concerned, this thread has little relevence to this forum as a whole, much less the entire site. Making this a sticky would be preferencial treatment and I don't see much reason why the moderators would do that. Besides, the thread's been around for almost four years without much problem. No reason to worry about it dying now.

Anyway, with SH0 being back on track and development for SH5 beginning (according to a recent interview with Akira Yamaoka), I think that there will be plenty of information to keep the thread going for a while.

Speaking of SH0...

WARNING: Possible Silent Hill 0rigins / Silent Hill Spoilers

Silent Hill 0rigins Update:

IGN's William Oertel Interview; Additional SH0 Videos and Screenshots Released:

On Monday, April 23, 2007, IGN Entertainment, Inc. revealed their hands-on review of the Silent Hill 0rigins demo in addition to interviewing William Oertel (Producer, Climax Studios) about the changes to the game. Along with the demo-review and the on-hand interview, IGN also revealed some additional screenshots and gameplay videos from the demo.

In the interview with Mr. Oertel, he talks about the importance of the experience created by previous Silent Hill games and how his team has attempted to recreate those experiences on the PSP. The important aspects that IGN focused on were the inclusion of the self-shading lighting and the particle/weather effects, items that defined the console games' environments, and character/plot developments, which Mr. Oertel believes combine the best of the series'. All in all, the article didn't necessarily reveal anything that wasn't already mentioned in previous Oertel interviews. Yet, it did provide greater details into the thinking behind the development and from the look of things, that thinking seems justified.

In the demo review, IGN reveals that the game will allow players to "portal" between the Misty and Alternate Silent Hill's by pressing against mirrors marked by a bloody handprint. The player will also be able to access items and weapons using the directional buttons on the PSP ala' SH4, however, unlike the previous game, players seem to be able to carry all of their items with them at once. Weapons include Travis' fists, breakable weapons with varying durability limits and special one-hit weapons that can kill ordinary monsters with a single attack. According to reviews, these weapons are environment dependent and cannot be moved from room to room. Lastly, is the inclusion of the ciner-active elements in the game, which have been added for the development of the player's tension. However, it allows players the opportunity to avoid attacks from behind by pressing these on-screen commands making it a little more tense to play, but easier to respond to.

In addition to the public videos, through IGN's Insider membership, you view their premium demo-preview which features 9 minutes of extended gameplay (from title sequence to the first enemy encounter). The premium footage is definately worth checking out because you recieve a much more full experience of the game as it enters it's beta stage and it's pleasing for fans of the previous games due to the number of references to those titles. Fortunately, Silent Hill: Origins has partnered with IGN to allow you guys to view the extended gameplay video and also offered it for download. It provides a nice alternate to subscribing to IGN Insiders just for this single video.

The extended gameplay video also features more of the original soundtrack, including the introductions for both of the previous trailer songs from the German Games Conference trailer and the Tokyo Game Show trailer.

WARNING: Possible Silent Hill 0rigins / Silent Hill Spoilers

IGN.com - Silent Hill 0rigins Impressions and Interview

IGN.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Images

IGN.com - Silent Hill 0rigins - Videos

SilentHillOrigins.com - Silent Hill 0rigins Intro (First 9 minutes) (.wmv file / 102.64 MB)**

Silent Hill 0rigins Extended Gameplay Video [MegaUpload Mirror] (.wmv file / 102.64 MB)

**Footnote: Because of the way that Silent Hill: Origins has set-up their page for this story, many of you may only be able to stream the video from the site. However, there is a way to download the video, but rather than betray the site by jakcing their bandwidth, I'm posting a mirror on MegaUpload.com. If you wish to download the preview directly, please use the mirror to conserve SH:O's bandwidth.

Personal Note: It seems that after looking at the extended preview provided by IGN, the camera system has completely removed the "RE4" camera mode. Tapping on the L button recenters the camera on Travis ala' Silent Hill 4: The Room. It's a little disappointing to see that, considering that the RE4 mode is better suited for the handheld device and that frankly, SH4's camera system bites hard.

Silent Hill theorists are going to have a field day with these preview trailers because of the amount of insight that the game provides on the later installments. I myself was skeptical on how Climax would be able to reference later titles in the game aside from the original, but seeing the demo has completely erased those doubts and made it even cooler than I could have possibly imagined. Sweet stuff.

[Nulion]

Downloading the video now Thank you VERY much for posting these, and equal thanks to Silent Hill: Origins (The website, of course) for getting past IGN's Insider thing to get this video available to more people.

Was killing me that I'd have to pay for a preview to a game, ugh >.<

Also, it's a shame to hear about the removal of the RE4 camera...but then at the same time, there's a bright side to it. I think that if Origins had kept the RE4 camera, there might've been a little TOO much of a reminder of RE4 in there...and to be blunt, RE4 didn't scare me all that much; the camera angle was a large part of this.

It's really weird and even paradoxical, at least for ME (Not sure who else this affected), since the over the shoulder camera angle of RE4 brought the player up closer to the action. At the same time though, for some odd reason (And combined with lots of other subtleties), it made you as a player feel much more capable of handling whatever went on in the game. That made sense when you played as a guy like Leon.

The SH games derive some of their scare factor from NOT feeling capable. If Travis had a laser sight on his gun and could precisely shoot nurses and other atrocities with pinpoint precision, it would lessen the scare factor, and give the player a sense of "I can do this, those things can't possibly kill me!". I'm wondering if the developers got this feeling, themselves.

Did any of you guys feel less afraid of RE4 because of its camera angle? Not that I'm putting RE4 down at all; that was an amazing thrill ride of a game. Problem was though, was that it was a thrill ride; not truly a frightening experience...at least, when compared to how the SH series can do it.

[Razumen]

Downloading the video now Thank you VERY much for posting these, and equal thanks to Silent Hill: Origins (The website, of course) for getting past IGN's Insider thing to get this video available to more people.

Was killing me that I'd have to pay for a preview to a game, ugh >.<

Also, it's a shame to hear about the removal of the RE4 camera...but then at the same time, there's a bright side to it. I think that if Origins had kept the RE4 camera, there might've been a little TOO much of a reminder of RE4 in there...and to be blunt, RE4 didn't scare me all that much; the camera angle was a large part of this.

It's really weird and even paradoxical, at least for ME (Not sure who else this affected), since the over the shoulder camera angle of RE4 brought the player up closer to the action. At the same time though, for some odd reason (And combined with lots of other subtleties), it made you as a player feel much more capable of handling whatever went on in the game. That made sense when you played as a guy like Leon.

The SH games derive some of their scare factor from NOT feeling capable. If Travis had a laser sight on his gun and could precisely shoot nurses and other atrocities with pinpoint precision, it would lessen the scare factor, and give the player a sense of "I can do this, those things can't possibly kill me!". I'm wondering if the developers got this feeling, themselves.

Did any of you guys feel less afraid of RE4 because of its camera angle? Not that I'm putting RE4 down at all; that was an amazing thrill ride of a game. Problem was though, was that it was a thrill ride; not truly a frightening experience...at least, when compared to how the SH series can do it.

The Resident Evil games never were truly frightening experiences, at least for me. Basically all of the games were thrill rides, RE4 just got it down to a tee.

I believe there's more to a game than it's camera, yes it helped in RE4, but the real reason you feel so capable is because Leon is just that much of a badass in that game. If you weren't roundhouse kicking a zombie (parasite-infected human, whatever) you were suplexing him or blasting his head off with a shotgun. Sure, the game threw horrific monsters at you, but it also continually gave you ways to blast away at those same crearures.

Personally I feel that SH could work wonders with a first person view. It might even add some new life and innovation into the series, the way RE4 did. To some extent, I think developers have taken the easier route with similar games, using third person with there's a lot that can be done from with a first person viewpoint. Such a view doesn't mean there should be things like headshots, or less of a emphasis on characters and plot, but would serve to add a lot to the immersion of the game's creepy settings, which will undoubtedly benefit a lot from the capabilities of the next-gen consoles.

[Nulion]

Yeah, I suppose that's true with what you said there Razumen. There was a lot more to the badass factor of RE4 than the camera, but then again it was the camera that seemed so relevant when compared to SH:0

A first-person Silent Hill game though, when done right, could be amazing just as you said.

Then again, it could be awfully easy to screw up, a la Silent Hill 4. I love SH4 of course, but I, like a lot of people it seems like, like it the least. I'd even just started helping a friend get into the series, and when we got to SH4, he told me that the first-person scenes just didn't at all feel anything like what should be in the series as a whole.

In order to make a first-person SH game work right, it'd need to be almost *perfect*, and to be honest I'm not really sure how you'd keep a first-person game with guns from turning into an all-out shooter fest, aside from simplistic fixes like fewer enemies or scarce ammo. (And to be honest, not having enough ammo in a FPS game DOES get me to panicking...just a little, hehe)

There's gotta be a right way to do it in there though, a way to make the player kinda handicapped, as a normal, inexperienced person with a gun would be, without dampening either the fun or the scare/psych out factor.

There's tons of untapped stuff out there though, and really, this is one kind of game style that's pretty much untapped. I really hope someone, hopefully Konami with the SH series, can figure this out.

[ifirit]

Just a quick bump and place holder to remind everyone that Konami will be attending the new version of E3 this year and that a Silent Hill 0rigins announcement may be present. (Release date, anyone?)

Stay tuned for updates.

Also, keep an eye out for the international release of Silent Hill Cage of Cradle, which is set to release between now and July.