Silent Hill series

From CS196 Games Research

Title: Silent 1 (1999), Silent Hill 2 (2001), Silent Hill 3 (2003), Silent Hill 4: the room (2004), movie (2006).

Developer: Konami


Tagline: "In my restless dreams, I see this town, Silent Hill..." (from Silent Hill 2)

Genre: Survival Horror

Pictures:

Silent hill Image:Sh1_street.jpg

Silent hill 2 Image:Sh2_fog.jpg

Image:Sh2_doll.jpg

Image:Sh2_start.jpg

Silent hill 3 Image:Sh_bunny.jpg

Image:sh3_wheelchair.jpg

Silent hill 4 Image:Sh4_walls.jpg

Image:Sh4_room.jpg

Image:Sh4_ghost.jpg


Target Audience: Mature Gamers looking for a scare. More subtle and less action based than its competitors, especially the "Resident Evil" series.

Innovation Keywords: Psychological, Fear, Atmosphere, Story, Mystery

Goal: Find main character's daughter (Silent Hill 1), Find main character's wife (Silent Hill 2). Find out about main character's past (Silent Hill 3). Escape your room (Silent Hill 4). In all the games the goal is also to discover the dark past of the characters, and escape the evil that inhabits the town of Silent Hill.


It’s innovative because...

Fear in this game is not just based on the fear of dying like in most games, atmosphere and subtle psychological tricks are also very important.

- For example, at the very beginning of Silent Hill 2, the main character must walk down a foggy hill for a few long minutes, while nothing really is going on. This was purposely made to increase the feeling of immersion, to make the player feel as if there is no turning back. - Also, at a certain point the body of a man can be seen in front of a television screen with just static noise. This is never explicitly stated, but this man is actually the main character. - Another detail is that all the monsters are deformed to emphasize the psychosis of the characters. For example, the mannequins in Silent Hill 2 are a manifestation of the main character's sexual repression because of his wife Mary's hospitalization due to her terminal illness. More info on this at wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Silent_Hill_monsters

This also means that the game is not focused on action as much. Because ammo is limited, escaping enemies is necessary. There is also a strong puzzle side.

The series also has one of the most unclear and exiting story, with plot twists and details that take multiple play through to discover.

Music is also very tied in to the game, both in the sound effects and actual background music. It enhances the atmosphere by playing from very creepy sounding noises when monsters approach to melodic piano in quieter moments. A broken radio signals the presence of monsters by emitting static noise when enemies are close by.

The graphics are also quite amazing for the time (especially Silent Hill 2). The use of fog and darkness in the town allows displaying lots of detail in the foreground while hiding distant objects.


It’s fun because... When taken seriously, these games are probably some of the scariest out there. Fun can come from confronting your fears. The whole game experience feels like a rollercoaster ride of intense and calm moments.

The atmosphere is strong, from both the music and the graphics.

The story is unfolded slowly, creating a suspense that makes it very difficult to stop playing.

The game combines action and puzzles very effectively, none of them taking the lead over the other.

Innovations in subsequent games:

Unfortunately very few games managed to use those elements as well as Silent Hill did. Worst, the quality of the actual series is decreasing. However the game has made a lasting impression on gamers, and games that take those innovations to the next step are sure to come.

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