very... different vocabulary?

Poor Alex ... his momma don't seem to like him much. We wonder why in here ...

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Arsonist
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Post by Arsonist »

I do agree that an overuse would be stupid, but I don't think they actually did overuse it.
Or maybe we just have different ideas of what over-used means. :)
specially by Wheeler who would throw around a smart ass remark in the most inappropriate moments.
Ugh... I hated the guy. He was worse then Heather in that department, and he didn't even have to point in the story line... Am I the only one who first thought "fuck that guy" when you had the option to save him?

I was afraid he was gonna follow me again! :lol:
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Post by Greiver »

my god that is totally true, I walked into the room saw wheeler and said "its about time" I also had a huge problem when you got followed through the sewers, and how she takes her time helping you with the gates..and curtis is a dick with annoying remarks...
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Post by Chrism~ »

Arsonist wrote:Ugh... I hated the guy. He was worse then Heather in that department, and he didn't even have to point in the story line... Am I the only one who first thought "fuck that guy" when you had the option to save him?

I was afraid he was gonna follow me again! :lol:
Somehow that guy reminded me of the personality of Cole train, a character that fits in Gears of War, but honestly I don't know why he was in the game or in the story at all. He's just about the most obsolete character, annoying remarks, no personality depth but max stereotype cheesy behavior and no key role in the story.

I don't understand how the developers just passed him as an ok add to the game. Somehow I just couldn't let him bleed out on my first playthrough, I guess I'm just a too kind of a guy =\


Alex didn't have that force fed intrusive kind of personality, he didn't cuss enough for it to be very inappropriate but I think he is more excused. It makes sense that he is the most immature of the main characters that we have followed through Silent Hill, after all he was a kid that felt neglected to his father and tried to obtain his approval.

Other than that cursing doesn't really further any point, it's just excessive wording that doesn't really describe anything specific. Weather you can relate to it or not or if it's socially acceptable I don't think it does more good than bad. I like the older and more cryptic dialogs, Harry wouldn't seem like a good father if he went through Silent Hill calling Dahlias for a f'n crazy bitch and then throwing F bombs every time he felt scared.

For Homecoming I let it pass, but as pointed earlier by Arsonist I don't think this belongs in any Silent Hill game.
Last edited by Chrism~ on 08 Mar 2009, edited 1 time in total.
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Greiver
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Post by Greiver »

I would like to point out that you used one of the most anti-cryptic characters out ther (cole train) and are comparingit to the mild swearing in Homecoming..? it seems to be a little extreme, for an M rated game in this time, they should be allowed to cuss when they get scared or are enraged, that is normal inside and out of games, vocabulary is on a downward spiral, on the terms the swearing is more and more acceptable, but that means eventually it must be forced into media. I think that this was and is inevitable for any series, and don't see the big issue here..

on that note why then did you let it pass for homecoming?
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Post by Chrism~ »

Somehow Cole Train was the first person I thought of when I met Wheeler, both are stereotypes with some similarities. I don't consider it extreme, it's just the association I have. I just got out of the Shepherd's Glen prison and during the short time between when he releases me from the cell till Schisms attack he says "Shit" 3 times and he even says "helluva".

The problem I have with Wheeler is that his personality lessens the experience for me. Not because he cusses, but all the things he does wrong.

I just don't think that he belongs in the game, his dialogs are poorly executed. There are obsolete words and the sentences are awkwardly constructed. Basically the quality of the message he is trying to communicate is low and therefore less clear.

There are 3 problems I have with this.

1. I prefer the more cryptic dialogs where the message was unclear because the meaning was hidden, you would have to think and analyze it. Not that the message is unclear because Wheeler isn't cultivated enough to make a sentence that tries to make sense.

I found a couple of interesting remarks in Homecoming and I really liked some of the moments where you meet other people in the game too. Just not some of the parts with Wheeler.

2. One of the things I like about Silent Hill is that you can be philosophical, there are so many hidden messages in the games in forms of metaphors, imagery and themes. Basically nothing is a coincidence, nothing is obsolete, but filling up the vocabulary with words and sentences like this are.

I'm not saying that I want the characters to talk as if they where feudal lords from the 1700's, but I just don't want mature and decent thought provoking conversations rather than stereotyped and braindead ones.

I'm going to compare it with fast food, once in a while it's ok and it feels good. But it's not like real food that exceeds fast food in the quality in nourishment. By eating fast food as a habit the traditional values are slowly lost and the quality of the food is lowered.

3) I like that the whole fog world atmosphere is so surreal and puzzling, it's almost like a dream or a nightmare. In order for me to live myself into the whole experience I like to keep it this way, there's nothing ordinary or normal about what's going on.

When I met some of the other characters they would point out how strange things are and how unreal it all seems, sometimes the way they talked was as if they where abstract, like if the reality of what was going on was irrelevant. I don't know how to describe this, but there is something deep and satisfying about that, it almost feels like I'm in a pleasant and lucid dream. It is realistic, but it's nor ordinary, and it allows me to completely immerse myself into the experience.

As soon as wheeler says "shieeeet, where not going that way" pulls out his shotgun and yells "why won't you die?" somewhat wakes me up from that feeling.

I hope that I'm making some sense here.

Greiver wrote:on that note why then did you let it pass for homecoming?
Because the next time I will let Wheeler die, I'm going to sit there and watch him slowly die with all those knives stabbed right into his chest and stomach. (Obviously I wasn't the only one who didn't like him) = )

In all seriousness I'm pleased with the Homecoming, overall I am very happy. The game isn't flawless but the things they did right allows me to see past the flaws. I can still immerse myself into the story, the music and the atmosphere without being too bothered about it.

I'm just a bit bummed that I've already swooped through the game, I still have some thing to do though.
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Post by Shoot The Sky »

specially by Wheeler who would throw around a smart ass remark in the most inappropriate moments.
Ugh... I hated the guy. He was worse then Heather in that department, and he didn't even have to point in the story line... Am I the only one who first thought "fuck that guy" when you had the option to save him?
hahah no, you arent, wheelers an idiot.

as for the swearing, 'over-used' is an understatement to the amount of swearing that came out of my mouth during homecoming. the game would be banned
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Post by Skele »

Chrism what the fuck are you talking about? can you just admit you don't care for Black people and be done with it? i mean seriously, i've seen you rag on Wheeler for quite some time now, but this last post of yours is just ridiculous. comparisons to Cole Train? bad fast food analogies? speaking cryptically? is this Homecoming or the Da Vinci code? no one else in the game uses this cryptic dialogue that you want Wheeler to use. most of them are just being vague.

Wheeler and Cole are totally different . there's a big difference in cheesy "you cuff him, i'll read him his rights" and "after this, im buying the first round and the second" lines by Wheeler. and "Yeah! Wooo! Bring it on, sucka! This is my kinda shit!" and "the Train's at home on the rails!" lines from Cole. plus, they both speak differently. it's pretty obvious that Cole speaks like a stereotypical Black male, going all out with his Ebonics. Wheeler on the other hand, talks like a regular guy who uses a little slang here and there.

you do know that "helluva" isn't just associated with Black people/culture?

figured i'd throw in some more memorable lines from Cole Train

"Shit yeah, baby we got the hook-up! They given us a big-ass dinner!"

"Who loves ya, baby?"

"Aw, you know you love it! "

"We've been trying to contact Control, but our radios don't work for *shit*. "

"I can't die... Momma said I can't die... "

"Uh-oh! Sorry baby!"
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Post by Mizz Stalker »

I think it seems for relistic, i like it. Becaues if I saw a nunu i would say words that i would never say in church.
I like that he curses becaues it shows me that he is also freaked out, and us both shareing the scare seems a bit calming xD and i dont feel like a scaredy cat.
untill my boyfriend calls me out D:
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Post by Bishop Sasarai »

hahah no, you arent, wheelers an idiot.
Because he's a colored boy, right?
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Post by Video Gamer »

James swears.
"The damn disease..."
Heather swears.
Henry swears.

It's nothing new.
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Post by Architect Eyes »

Skele wrote:Chrism what the fuck are you talking about? can you just admit you don't care for Black people and be done with it? i mean seriously, i've seen you rag on Wheeler for quite some time now, but this last post of yours is just ridiculous. comparisons to Cole Train? bad fast food analogies? speaking cryptically? is this Homecoming or the Da Vinci code? no one else in the game uses this cryptic dialogue that you want Wheeler to use. most of them are just being vague.

Wheeler and Cole are totally different .
They aren't different at all, except in physical appearance (Cole is gigantic and facial structure is, oh man I don't even want to go there; Wheeler is chubby with softer features, iirc). They are both the 'token black guy', and I can't help but feel like Wheeler was made to be black so this can be the first game with a major character who is black. It's just a poorly-written game: blonde girl in distress while young hot white guy comes in to save the day with guns blazing and weapons out, and a black cop who blows everything up and cracks jokes and screaming, 'Shyiiiiiit,' all the time.

The language in this game is in excess, and I think it's only done to be shocking or cool or hip. Sure, it makes it more normal, more realistic for most people. But Silent Hill isn't so much about realism - it's about surrealism and surrealistic situations that make you feel like, 'This isn't right.' Having some guy come in wielding a fire axe screaming, 'Fuck you!' is not subtle or surreal. It doesn't make me even feel uncomfortable or scared. I felt like I had too much control in this game (outside of the horrible combat system), and having a main character screaming out in place of me took away a lot of the creep and scare factor for me.

So yeah, different strokes for different folks, but anyway, both Cole and Wheeler are both so stereotypical it's not even funny. To jump to the conclusion that he hates black people (what) because of bringing up the obvious similarities is so juvenile. I'm not even going to say that I could write a better game, but seriously. The writing and characterisations in this game were so horrible that it was more a fanfic than an actual Silent Hill storyline.

EDIT: To add another comment, I typically view excessive swearing as a sign of someone who just simply isn't intelligent enough to forumlate other words. Not that I'm saying I don't swear like a sailor myself or that I wouldn't be like, 'Holy shit, it's a monster; get in the car,' but it really does cheapen the experience to hear fuck this, shit that often.
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Post by stopped_clock »

What I don't get is what exactly people would rather Wheeler spoke like? It would be a lot more incongruous to hear him say: "Bloody hell, Alex, we shan't be taking that route after all!" than what he actually does say.

Furthermore, as has been pointed out numerous times, the fact that he sounds more like he comes from a city than from Shepherds Glen does not make him stereotypically black, unlike Cole, who is, they are in fact totally different types of character and that you can't see that is your own problem not the creators of the game.

He's not an amazingly well written character, I'll give you that, in fact I felt that most of the characters in this game (excluding Alex's immediate family) felt weak, but weak does not equal stereotypical.

>I can't help but feel like Wheeler was made to be black so this can be the first game with a major character who is black.

Or, to put it in a more positive light, maybe Double Helix realised that as of yet there had not been a black character and so created one for this game, not so they could claim "Yays first black!" but because they realised that with 5 games already proportional representation would suggest that at least one of the characters in the series should be.
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Post by Architect Eyes »

Weak doesn't equal stereotypical, no, but when the writing is weak, it will typically lead to Mary Sues or stereotypical characters, if that makes sense. I felt they should have given him a bigger, better role.

I don't really know if there's a way to respond to this whole thing without someone accusing me of being racist or hating black people, to be honest. I didn't want to get involved in it, but it's seriously not okay to be like, 'Oh, so you don't like him, so you're racist,' even if it wasn't directed at me.

I am having a hard time elabourating on the topic since I haven't played the game in months, and my XBox is unusable.

I do realise the topic at hand has to do with swearing, so I will stop derailing the thread.
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Post by Meeks »

I liked it. he's a young guy, most people at his age is always saying "fuck" anyway! it's sorta a way to connect with the players. I liked how wheeler was made, I guess I just like the whole "ghetto" attitude. but that's just me.
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Post by Skele »

Architect Eyes, this isn't the only thread in which Chrism has spoken out about disliking Wheeler. In a number of his other posts, his comments are ignorant and sometimes offensive.

sorry, but if you can't see the glaring differences between Wheeler and Cole, i can't help you. Cole's facial features aren't bad. sure he's got big nose, big lips, a lot of us Blacks have that. but in general, the facial features and bodies for most of the characters in that game are a bit exaggerated.
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Post by repoelfie »

If I were in Silent Hill...every sentence I said would have "fuck" in it.

"Fuck, a nurse!" "Holy fuck it's Robbie the Rabbit!" "Fuck, I can't see through the fucking fog!" "Fucking street sign!"
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Post by AuraTwilight »

I think repoelfie is a pretty cool guy. He says fuck and doesn't afraid of anything.
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Post by Bishop Sasarai »

What's even cooler is that repoefile didn't even get mad when you called her a guy.
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Post by Mephisto »

The explosions of "goddamns" "fucks" and "shits" in Homecoming made me feel like I was in home. I liked it 8)
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Post by simeonalo »

Sometimes swearing in games is overused, then it seems un-realistic.
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