Support NeoGAF

[RaidenZR]

ah yes, this old chestnut.

the 'point' of some notes in an artbook. was it even printed in English?

there is no reason that the town cannot use different archetypes to represent different elements of different character's personal demons, and i think it's readily apparent from the games that this occurs with variations on different monsters.

pyramid head meaning one thing to James and something else to other people is no different to the numerous (and varying) appearances of nurses, which represent different things to different people.

he isn't identical in his appearances either across the games, so you can absolutely believe that James' pyramid head is different to the other we saw in homecoming.

the fact is that whatever the developers intended pyramid head to be, they also blatantly intended things to be left open to interpretation, pyramid head included. there isn't meant to be one absolute version of events that cannot be argued.

they wanted it to be DEBATED about what he meant and who he was, so to say that any developer using him 'has missed the point' is missing the point in and of itself.

This is right.

yeah except their point is generally LOOK! PYRAMID HEAD! WE TOTALLY 'GET' SILENT HILL, PLEASE BUY OUR GAME!

No that's just most people's reactionary response to seeing him.

Pyramid Head is a strong symbol and icon for the franchise. It's something they probably don't feel like throwing away. That said, they should try very hard to make new symbols and powerful characters for each chapter as well. But they have left it open enough in the background contexts that most open minded people don't jump off a bridge at the slightest suggestion that Pyramid Head may creep into a new game installment.

 

[plagiarize]

yeah except their point is generally LOOK! PYRAMID HEAD! WE TOTALLY 'GET' SILENT HILL, PLEASE BUY OUR GAME!

yeah. i'm sure Climax thought that putting a single picture of pyramid head on the wall was going to sell millions of copies of silent hill zero.

and how much was he in homecomings? like one minute? clearly a cash grab.

 

[badcrumble]

No that's just most people's reactionary response to seeing him.

so why choose Pyramid Head over Valtiel or establishing a new character?

 

[Combichristoffersen]

yeah. i'm sure Climax thought that putting a single picture of pyramid head on the wall was going to sell millions of copies of silent hill zero.

and how much was he in homecomings? like one minute? clearly a cash grab.

I liked what Climax did in SH 0rigins, by creating the 'Butcher' character, a sort of reimagining of PH.

Including him in Homecoming stank of 'WE HAVE PYRAMID HEAD, BUY OUR SHITTY GAME PLZ' though.

 

[badcrumble]

Yeah, the Butcher was a good move, and I was annoyed when people thought he was a PH 'ripoff;' it's the same damn series, and it's clearly established that there can be something of a teratological pantheon for Silent Hill that successive games should feel free to add to. Going back to the Pyramid Head well - and using the design from the movie, no less - reeks of a lack of strong new ideas and feels like playing fanfiction.

 

[disappeared]

so why choose Pyramid Head over Valtiel or establishing a new character?

Valtiel was represented as a figure pertaining to birth. Thus, since Heather

Spoiler

was pregnant/supposed to give birth

, his presence was relevant. He's not going to be around anywhere else unless that circumstance presents itself.

Pyramid Head is simply a figure of punishment, which is a more general and applicable theme throughout the town and its passers-by.

 

[NinjaMouse]

aaaaaaand bought.

...just like the new Mortal Kombat is going back to the MKII style, Street Fighter IV brought it back "home" to SFII, etc, etc...

 

[Mr. Enigma]

I think Double Helix gets too much shit from using Pyramid Head in Homecoming. If they were really just thoughtlessly cashing in, he would have been the final boss fight. I really liked how you never fight him and instead he just wrecks the fuck out of the evil parents. I thought his use in Homecoming was very well done.

 

[plagiarize]

I think Double Helix gets too much shit from using Pyramid Head in Homecoming. If they were really just thoughtlessly cashing in, he would have been the final boss fight. I really liked how you never fight him and instead he just wrecks the fuck out of the evil parents. I thought his use in Homecoming was very well done.

i love the very start of the game when you're in the hospital and you just hear him in the distance dragging that blade around but don't see him.

 

[RaidenZR]

so why choose Pyramid Head over Valtiel or establishing a new character?

disappeared has already gave the smart answer here, but the dumb answer is just that compared to PH, that figure is not as impressive or as intimidating in a game scenario. PH has a lot more presence, is more treacherous, and is mobile.

But I agree, I'd love to see any team working on future Silent Hills make new, impressive symbols for the protagonists to fall prey to. However, there's enough material out there to conclude that Pyramid Head is not exclusive to Harry's torment, as previous posters have already cited.

i love the very start of the game when you're in the hospital and you just hear him in the distance dragging that blade around but don't see him.

I agree. Homecoming definitely had problems but I thought the way they handled Pyramid Head and his integration within this particular main character's story was executed well enough.

 

[faceless007]

Last I heard, they're pretty annoying to get running on modern hardware. Something about having to disable all but one core on multicore processors and such. As much as I'd love to see them on Steam, I doubt it'll happen.

Who knows, maybe GoG?

I haven't had to do that to play 2 or 3 (or 4) on my C2D rig. The PC port of 2 is pretty buggy, however (occasional freezes, sound glitches). 3 and 4 run fine, but I'm on XP so it might be worse on Vista/7.

 

[timetokill]

I didn't think I'd have to, but I guess I do. To clarify -- I don't take issue with Pyramid Head simply being there -- I take issue with him being used in a very flat, uninspired way.

My favorite aspects of Silent Hill relate to the world being a representation of the main character's psyche in some way. It's not that Pyramid Head can't be repurposed, it's that he needs to be better representative of something related to the character. all I've seen so far hasn't been that -- even in Homecoming, which was blatanty trying to copy SH2 in the twist/punishment regard.

Saying "we're going closer to SH2!" every time, especially when each of the previous games said the same thing, shows the divide. It's like Sega saying they're going to go back to what series fans love, and then just making Sonic go really fast.

 

[RadioHeadAche]

They say they're not using any influences from the movie, but if I recall correctly, the transition to the otherworld seemed very similar to the style used in the movie.

 

[RedAssedApe]

New developer interview up on Silent Hill Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=161170343913477

 

[Lime]

For those who missed the other thread about Game Informer's next issue:

From Andrew Reiner's twitter:

The game I was talking about this week is Silent Hill. Unfortunately, I can't reveal the full name of it yet.

So we'll see more of that soon (in a new thread perhaps).

 

[BosSin]

They say they're not using any influences from the movie, but if I recall correctly, the transition to the otherworld seemed very similar to the style used in the movie.

But to be honest the wall peeling effect is awesome and probably the best thing to come out of the film

 

[Hahaq8]

the new silent hill title is Silent Hill: Downpour! and the scans are out but i cant read the info from it =/ and i liked the atmosphere.

 

[brandonh83]

the new silent hill title is Silent Hill: Downpour! and the scans are out but i cant read the info from it =/ and i liked the atmosphere.

Wow, I thought that was just a rumored title.

It beats something like Silent Hill: RETRIBUTION or the many other R titles that are frequently used for subtitles.

edit: THE SCANS OMFG!!!!

 

[Garcia]

Wow, I thought that was just a rumored title.

It beats something like Silent Hill: RETRIBUTION or the many other R titles that are frequently used for subtitles.

edit: THE SCANS OMFG!!!!

No links !? </3 You're breaking my heart man !

 

[brandonh83]

I don't want to get banned.

From the scans--

-demo takes place in the outskirts of SH
-the town is so large that you can use a subway system to travel between focal points
-sidequests
-avoid fights when possible, better to deliver incapacitating blows and run away (so good!)
-boss fights with quicktime events (not so good)
-water plays a huge part in the game, article implies that water will be to "Downpour" as ice/snow was to Shattered Memories
-otherworld segments will be their own thing instead of backtracking through the same environments but transformed

I'm still trying to read, the text is very small and blurry.

 

[Diebuster]

Screens look great, I have hope for this game yet! But goddamn that text is hard to read.

Hurry up with my issue GI

 

[Garcia]

I don't want to get banned.

From the scans--

-demo takes place in the outskirts of SH
-the town is so large that you can use a subway system to travel between focal points
-sidequests
-avoid fights when possible, better to deliver incapacitating blows and run away (so good!)
-boss fights with quicktime events (not so good)
-water plays a huge part in the game, article implies that water will be to "Downpour" as ice/snow was to Shattered Memories

I'm still trying to read, the text is very small and blurry.

Found them, and I didn't know posting scans was ban worthy. Rarely do I post on the gaming side of GAF.

I'll wait for gameplay videos. Scans look neat.

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

I just hope the monster designs are much better than either of the last two games. I thought the monster with a victim bound to her rapist with her fused wrists blinding him in Homecoming was amazing, but the rest were atrocious. Of course the scans show the back on one enemy and it's impossible to talk about graphics from scans. Of course subways are always great in silent hill games.

 

[dark10x]

the town is so large that you can use a subway system to travel between focal points

Ah shit. It's not going to be a sandbox game, right?

I guess some freedom could be OK and even a nice addition, but I would hate to see it become another NPC mission dispenser kind of experience.

 

[brandonh83]

Ah shit. It's not going to be a sandbox game, right?

I guess some freedom could be OK and even a nice addition, but I would hate to see it become another NPC mission dispenser kind of experience.

I think the bigger the better, but from the scenes described in the scans and other things, I wouldn't expect GTA: Silent Hill. But it does sound like the town is really big. I do hate the parts in the older ones where you have to run down streets for what feels like an eternity.

 

[theinfinityissue]

I wouldn't mind a sandbox-ier silent hill, I'm obsessed with exploring every nook and cranny of the town in every game. More to love.

Also, really glad to see some excitement about this title, cautious optimism building.

 

[How About No]

-the town is so large that you can use a subway system to travel between focal points

...the fuck.

-sidequests

Yay!

-avoid fights when possible, better to deliver incapacitating blows and run away (so good!)

That's quite good

-otherworld segments will be their own thing instead of backtracking through the same environments but transformed

That's disappointing. I liked traveling through a familiar place but 20 times more fucked up than it was before.

 

[mollipen]

Ah shit. It's not going to be a sandbox game, right?

I guess some freedom could be OK and even a nice addition, but I would hate to see it become another NPC mission dispenser kind of experience.

The best part of the original Silent Hill was the parts where they opened up the city more so you felt like you could explore it, even if all of the areas you went to had no purpose game-wise. I'm totally for the idea of the game getting away from how linear it's become (Shattered was crap-tastic in this regard).

 

[Barakov]

Sounds interesting from what was in the scans. The only thing that irks me is the inclusion of QTEs.

 

[dark10x]

The best part of the original Silent Hill was the parts where they opened up the city more so you felt like you could explore it, even if all of the areas you went to had no purpose game-wise. I'm totally for the idea of the game getting away from how linear it's become (Shattered was crap-tastic in this regard).

Those were my least favorite parts, actually. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the town wandering in the first two games as it was good for pacing, but I don't want that to become the main focus.

Still, I guess I'm glad they are attempting to branch out a bit. The series definitely needs a new approach. Shattered Memories COULD have been that, but was ultimately disappointing.

 

[Teknoman]

The best part of the original Silent Hill was the parts where they opened up the city more so you felt like you could explore it, even if all of the areas you went to had no purpose game-wise. I'm totally for the idea of the game getting away from how linear it's become (Shattered was crap-tastic in this regard).

Exploration works for me. I just hope it doesnt end up seeming like Silent Hill Alan Wake or something.