William Kirk at GameCloud writes: "Horror as a form entertainment is a fascinating and bizarre construct. First of all, it’s likely going to be something you either love or hate. There isn’t often a middle ground when it comes to the genre – especially in games, given the interactive and participatory nature of the medium. However, for those of us who love it, why exactly do we enjoy artificially inducing feelings of fear, shock, and disgust? It sounds like a terrible idea, and yet it’s an activity that millions of people around the world indulge in every day, whether that be through film, television, books, and, of course, video games. As an insatiable fan of horror myself, this is something I’d like to better understand about myself too, and to do this, I wanted to delve into one my favourite survival horror video game series, Silent Hill, and why exactly I enjoy it."
GOG appears to be teasing potential re-releases of Konami's survival horror game, Silent Hill, and Xbox Game Studios' Halo: Combat Evolved.
It's crazy to think that GOG will have Silent Hill 1/2/4, Dino Crisis 2, and Resident Evil 2/3 before the PSN. What the actual fudge is Sony even doing over there?
I will probably pick up Silent Hill 1 right away if GOG gets it, I grabbed BOF4 as soon as it was released, haven't picked up Dino Crisis yet since I already bought it on PS.
Keiichiro Toyama—the creator and original director of the 1999 Silent Hill—shared his personal thoughts on the recently announced remake by Konami, reflecting on what the project means to him after more than two decades:
“I felt something similar when the game was adapted into a movie. It deeply moved me to see the names of the characters and locations I had created come to life visually, even though I wasn’t directly involved. That wouldn’t have been possible without the continued support of the fans and the dedication of the developers who’ve kept the series alive.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how the remake evolves this time. With the advanced technology we now have, I’m sure I’ll be surprised by how the game is reimagined. Since the original was built for the first PlayStation, there will naturally be challenges—like the camera and controls—but I’m eager to see bold and creative solutions to those elements.”
Haha Not only is bold and creatively not what the industry wants, it’s not what most people want.
They want to get scammed and pay twice for a thing they already own.
I’m sure many would want bold and creative done well, but that’s easier said than done. I like variety so give me a little bit of everything, done well of course.
Was the SH2 remake even bold? Or was it more or less just a 1 to 1 over the shoulder remake?
it was not. it greatly expanded the areas and puzzles to the point where it felt like an entirely new game. the enemies and boss fights were given a MASSIVE upgrade. the abstract daddy fight in particular was incredible. and the team added two new endings.
In a career spanning interview, I speak to the creator of the Silent Hill, Siren, and Gravity Rush franchises about his 30 year time within the industry, what his thoughts are in making the transition from working for a AAA publisher to essentially becoming an independent, whether he’d be open to working on new iterations of the franchises that he’s renowned for, whether he’d be open to collaborating with any of the horror greats in the games industry, and what his long-term goals are for the next 30 years… Enjoy!
Interesting read, although the questions should have been more focused, and I think Gravity Rush, at least the first one, is fairly dark. Never got into the sequel.
I loved both games. There are pervasive themes of darkness worked in, but they're very vibrant games and Kat (history withstanding) is a very light-hearted character in a world that has its dark moments, but it's very generally upbeat, especially in comparison to Siren and Silent Hill.
Wait, dude made all 3? Wtf? Dude has a knack for cult classics like damn
"So most of the games that I’ve worked on have been new IPs, even though I’ve made different franchises and stuff. But I want to note that every time I make a new IP, my resources are pretty limited, and they’re limited by the company that I’ve worked for. So in that sense, Silent Hill, Siren, and the first Gravity Rush game, I think that we were striving to achieve something new, as opposed to making a big budget videogame. So I feel the need to do that every 3, 4, or 5 years. And I keep making new games, so going individual, like going indie right now, for me, I don’t really feel limited, I feel that it suits me more. So it feels like I’ve got an advantage, because I know how to work with limited resources."
That's encouraging. I really hope Sony would approach Toyama-san for a Gravity Rush sequel.
