Silent Hill 2 Based On The Novel "Crime And Punishment"

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

In the wikipedia page of Silent Hill 2, i stumbled on something i hadnt noticed before...

Quote: "The story was conceived by CGI director Takayoshi Sato who based it on the novel Crime and Punishment, with individual members of the team collaborating on the actual scenario."

Crime And Punishment is a Russian novel written by Fyodor Dostoevsky and delves into the topic of Murder and the justification of the same...

Quote:"Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in St. Petersburg who formulates and executes a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money. Raskolnikov argues that with the pawnbroker's money he can perform good deeds to counterbalance the crime, while ridding the world of a worthless parasite. He also commits this murder to test his own hypothesis that some people are naturally capable of, and even have the right to, do such things. Several times throughout the novel, Raskolnikov justifies his actions by connecting himself mentally with Napoleon Bonaparte, believing that murder is permissible in pursuit of a higher purpose, only to find out he "... is not a Napoleon"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Hill_2

[simeonalo]

Very, very interesting. Of course, you can't trust wiki sites without a source (although they're correct most of the time). The basic premise of the novel doesn't sound much like SH2 to me, but it does seem to do a lot with murder.

[alone in the town]

[citation needed]

[VIVIsect]

It's mentioned in this Gamasutra interview with Takayoshi Sato. Pretty interesting read, actually. Reading this interview, I wish he would have been involved with Silent Hill 3...

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2 ... yoshi_.php

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

Yup, he says it clearly in the interview that he based it off "Crime And Punishment" as well as the background of his University.

Crime & Punishment deals with the themes of murder and the justification of the same...James never justifies his actions (except at the end with Mary in her deathbed) but he is denial of her death...

[lain of the wired]

I think the word he wanted was "influenced." The game was "influenced" by the themes dealt with in Crime and Punishment... or at the very least, the words in the title. I've read Crime and Punishment. I'm just not seeing it as close enough to be throwing around words like "based on."

Unless you want to reframe it the way the story for Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights was based on Communist Cuba and the struggle of a family trying to escape Castro's repression. Because it was (41 minutes in). Catch my drift?

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

Thanks But I'll Take Takayoshi Sato's Word For It...

[Kenji]

I'll take reading the book over somebody else's word.

lain's right. "Influenced" is a better word, as SH2 and Crime and Punishment don't share plot, characters, or even much in the way of themes. The only connection I can see is the desire to compare SH2's depth to Crime and Punishment's... and that makes me uncomfortable.

Between this and Blaustein's interview, I'm starting to wish SH2's developers would just shut up, because everything they're saying is disappointing in one way or another.

[lain of the wired]

Thanks But I'll Take Takayoshi Sato's Translator's Word For It, Even Though "Based On" Is More Common Vocabulary And Therefore Very Well Could Have Been Misused In Place Of The Term "Influenced By"...

There I fixed it.

Also, personal question: It's unnecessarily difficult to capitalize the first letter of every word in your sentences. Why did you do that?

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

1. About The Capital Letters, Just An Old Habit,Deal With It...

2.Takayoshi Sato CAN Speak Proper English, Just With A Japanese Accent..

3. @lain: So You're Teling Me That Takayoshi Sato Never Read The Novel...Some People Can Be So Naive....xD


I Bet What Sato Meant To Say Was That He Based The Themes Of Silent Hill 2 From The Novel...i.e CRIME & PUNISHMENT!

[lain of the wired]

So... exactly what I said the first time around.

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

The apartments section of the game MIGHT also be a reference to the novel...as the portagonist kills an elderly woman in an apartment building....

[alone in the town]

Who kills an elderly woman in the apartments in Silent Hill 2?

[Kenji]

James wears clothes, just like Raskolnikov. If that's not a direct reference to Crime and Punishment, I don't know what is.

I'm not just taking an easy opportunity to be a jerk: When you're stretching that much to make a connection that doesn't exist, it's painfully obvious. Even if the apartments were a reference to the novel, it's not a very good reference, as neither has anything to do with the other.

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

What i meant to say was that the apartments section of Silent Hill 2 could have been a nod to the novel...