Using the Same Characters for Sales Purposes?

[LuLu]

Does anyone else think that they used the same characters in SH1 for sales purposes?

Many people know of SH1... it was a really good PS1 game back in the day... but none of the characters in SH: SM related to the characters in SH1, but they have the same names. I really wish they would've just used new characters altogether because I really enjoyed the game, but I was really disappointed by the fact that they used the names from SH1 for the characters in this game. I kind of think they did this for sales purposes... what do you think? Just curious, really.

People know Silent Hill 1, so perhaps they believed that if they made a "re-imagining" they would get more players (buyers)?

I suppose the real question is... do you think they should've kept the original names of SH1 for this game, or do you think they should've changed the names altogether to create a whole new game instead of claiming it as a re-imagining of the first game?

[Survival]

I think it was a smart move. They played with our expectations because we didn´t know what to expect from the story and characters.

[AuraTwilight]

They've gone on record as saying they re-used the characters specifically for the purpose of subverting what we thought we knew about them. It was a typical Silent Hill mindfuck, but for the player instead of the character. Using original characters would've defeated pretty much the entire plot of the game.

And considering how the Silent Hill fandom is, if they wanted to make sales, re-using characters is a stupid idea and they know it.

[Empyrean]

The might have done that but for the most part I think they did it to bring back old fans and mess with them in an all new way that the SH series has yet to do and in a way that a set of different character could not do.

[cascade88]

I think it was a smart move. They played with our expectations because we didn´t know what to expect from the story and characters.

Ditto'd. As far as I can tell, the game's storyline wouldn't have worked half as well if it hadn't of used characters that you're already familiar with. It's what practically helped to make the plot twist.

[LuLu]

That could be true... hmm...

[Nyarlathotep]

But I think that attempt failed the moment they explained it to us.

I went into the this expecting a new game with a new story that was just using similar character names. That is what I got. The story was good, but I don't see how it benefits in the slightest by leeching off of the original. I would have enjoyed this entry even more if they would have just taken it a step further and went with new characters.

[AuraTwilight]

Think of it this way. Think of all the ways they take Harry Mason apart and portray him as potentially terrible, abusive, neglectful, and ultimately....flawed.

Now think of Harry Mason as we originally knew him. He's the only (interesting) protagonist without any sort of personality flaws. He's not being punished for any darkness and he has no secrets. He is, essentially, the perfect father, and the perfect human being. Exactly the sort of hero Cheryl made him out to be, really, as he literally goes through Hell to save his daughter, even going so far as to kill a fucking God.

This is essentially how Cheryl Heather Mason saw her father, even though this wasn't the case. We ARE Cheryl in Kauffman's office. We loved Harry Mason, we refused to accept his death, we hated whoever was responsible for killing him, and we even felt terrible at being unable to prevent this. We've all read the forum threads: "WTF? Bullshit, Harry wouldn't of been killed by some fucking monster! He must've been asleep or something!" or "Well, I bet Harry's spirit is what Heather sees at the end of the game!"

We loved Harry, idolized him as a hero and a loving father, and took great offense at absolutely anything that could possibly tarnish his image. And Shattered Memories played on that like a fiddle, tearing our hearts apart just like Cheryl's, forcing us to accept that Harry was just a man.

Afterall, let's be honest. If instead of Harry Mason, we played a...Jerry Stone, we'd play the whole game thinking "Pfft, this guy raped his daughter, or she's dead or some shit. Asshole's crazy and probably lying about loving his daughter."

But this is Harry Motherfucking Mason. When we played through this game, I'm sure a good number of us tried to think of any possible reasoning besides Harry being a flaw. We probably demonized Dahlia as Cheryl did. Even if we came to accept Harry's flaws, we didn't want to, and we sure fought it along the way. We wouldn't of gotten that with any other character. The use of Harry Mason and the other characters was nothing short of absolute genius, and it was a psychological player punch the likes of which will possibly never be seen again in the series. I daresay it's even more powerful than Silent Hill 2.

[cascade88]

But I think that attempt failed the moment they explained it to us.

I went into the this expecting a new game with a new story that was just using similar character names. That is what I got. The story was good, but I don't see how it benefits in the slightest by leeching off of the original. I would have enjoyed this entry even more if they would have just taken it a step further and went with new characters.

But would you have felt as emotionally pulled in and shocked by the twist had it been all new characters? I haven't even played it yet, I only watched a walkthrough, and I know I wouldn't have cared half as much if the characters weren't ones that I had been previously familiar with.

The game is not very long, and it's narrative is therefore not allowed to be entirely too extensive, though it is a good one all the same. You, arguably, wouldn't have been given enough time (within the five hours or so it takes to complete the game) to become highly emotionally attatched to the character you're playing as, or a couple of the others you end up seeing as well (Lisa, then eventually Cheryl).

However, since they did use the original characters, one would, presumably, already have an attatchment, or at least a fondness toward Harry's character. You therefore already care about what happens to him that least little bit more than you would with some new guy that wasn't given enough time to develop his own character.

It's sadder when you have to see poor Lisa's fate once again. What if she was just some random nurse character who died? So what, really?

It was about emotional immersion, this game, and I think that they managed to pull it off perfectly.

And I also agree with AuraTwilight's above post, 100%. Like I said, we all knew and loved Harry Mason before this game came out, so of course we care more about him and his fate than we would with some new character randomly tossed into Silent Hill.

[Empyrean]

^and that is why it would not have worked with a all new cast.(a reply to Auras post)

[paladin181]

It was a questionable game mechanic. It is on a system that has abysmal sales for these types of games. They did everything they could to get the existing fanbase to say "I MUST play this game" rather than "Oh, a Silent Hill for the Wii? Nevermind. I'll pass." Sure it was for sales. Because the gimmicked control scheme may have failed, but at least they'd have sold to the faithful who absolutely HAD to know what happens to Harry and Cheryl. The point is they could have MADE it about other people, and really thrown in the exposition, but it was far easier to take something you know and blow it apart. Genius marketing strategy in the end to sell discs on a console where they probably wouldn't have sold half as many if it was just Silent Hill, Shattered Memories about Wesley Bevins and his sister Louise. In the end at least the controls do work out and the psych eval is sheer genius in interactive gaming.

[Nasta]

It was a questionable game mechanic. It is on a system that has abysmal sales for these types of games. They did everything they could to get the existing fanbase to say "I MUST play this game" rather than "Oh, a Silent Hill for the Wii? Nevermind. I'll pass." Sure it was for sales. Because the gimmicked control scheme may have failed, but at least they'd have sold to the faithful who absolutely HAD to know what happens to Harry and Cheryl. The point is they could have MADE it about other people, and really thrown in the exposition, but it was far easier to take something you know and blow it apart. Genius marketing strategy in the end to sell discs on a console where they probably wouldn't have sold half as many if it was just Silent Hill, Shattered Memories about Wesley Bevins and his sister Louise. In the end at least the controls do work out and the psych eval is sheer genius in interactive gaming.

Except it's being ported to the PS2 so... there goes your entire argument.

I bought it for the Wii because I thought it would be interesting to play a Silent Hill game in a totally different way, not because I HAD TO KNOW!!!!111!!!1 I could have waited, but I chose not to, just like everyone else who got it for the Wii.

[Escapist]

Well... thecnically, they did that for sales, yes.

Think as Climax: you have a very good idea, and you want to try to reinvent the survival horror genre. Now you see that you beloved series is dying and heading to a third person shooter. You're beloved franchise is the best point to start, you give a lot of innovations and at the same time you save a franchise.

But how do you tell Silent Hill fans that this game is, after all, Silent Hill? If the game would be a completely new story, plus all the changes they did to the gameplay, I'm sure that everybody would be bitching of why the fuck Climax put the name "Silent Hill" to that game, and why the fuck they simply did not create a new franchise. What to do, then?

And now I quote Aura's post. Why don't pick up the fans and fuck up everything they think they knew -just as a Silent Hill game has always do to their protagonist?

They just did it to attach the game to the franchise and increase sales, of course, but it was a very genious movement.

They didn't reinvent the survival horror though, but I really appreciate Climax for trying.

[Burning Man]

With new characters, this game would have had a hard time convincing fans that it's a "Silent Hill" game. There was so much departure from the conventional Silent Hill games that it could have been a new IP altogether.

There's a lot to like about Shattered Memories, but with new characters, I probably would have thought this was a new IP and as a result would have thought twice about it.

[Mis Krist.]

Meh, I remain in the opposite camp of Burning Man. Had they been new characters, I would've easily accepted this as a ~new generation~ of Silent Hill games and mythos and would've been happier for it. I also think they did the same characters not only for a sales purpose but because they knew by doing so they'd immediately have a fanbase to work with, instead of introducing us to totally new people and taking a risk.

I think this despite what they say because hey, come on, who's really gonna come out and admit they did it because they knew they'd make money? A ballsy person. And Climax seem to be a cautious lot.

Now, making money isn't a bad thing, but to me if it comes down to artistry and makin' bank, I'd choose the former. I'm condemning them only mildly, but it is with a deep frowny face and a Marge Simpson grumble of distaste.

[BloodRedScarlet]

Think of it this way. Think of all the ways they take Harry Mason apart and portray him as potentially terrible, abusive, neglectful, and ultimately....flawed.

Now think of Harry Mason as we originally knew him. He's the only (interesting) protagonist without any sort of personality flaws. He's not being punished for any darkness and he has no secrets. He is, essentially, the perfect father, and the perfect human being. Exactly the sort of hero Cheryl made him out to be, really, as he literally goes through Hell to save his daughter, even going so far as to kill a fucking God.

This is essentially how Cheryl Heather Mason saw her father, even though this wasn't the case. We ARE Cheryl in Kauffman's office. We loved Harry Mason, we refused to accept his death, we hated whoever was responsible for killing him, and we even felt terrible at being unable to prevent this. We've all read the forum threads: "WTF? Bullshit, Harry wouldn't of been killed by some fucking monster! He must've been asleep or something!" or "Well, I bet Harry's spirit is what Heather sees at the end of the game!"

We loved Harry, idolized him as a hero and a loving father, and took great offense at absolutely anything that could possibly tarnish his image. And Shattered Memories played on that like a fiddle, tearing our hearts apart just like Cheryl's, forcing us to accept that Harry was just a man.

Afterall, let's be honest. If instead of Harry Mason, we played a...Jerry Stone, we'd play the whole game thinking "Pfft, this guy raped his daughter, or she's dead or some shit. Asshole's crazy and probably lying about loving his daughter."

But this is Harry Motherfucking Mason. When we played through this game, I'm sure a good number of us tried to think of any possible reasoning besides Harry being a flaw. We probably demonized Dahlia as Cheryl did. Even if we came to accept Harry's flaws, we didn't want to, and we sure fought it along the way. We wouldn't of gotten that with any other character. The use of Harry Mason and the other characters was nothing short of absolute genius, and it was a psychological player punch the likes of which will possibly never be seen again in the series. I daresay it's even more powerful than Silent Hill 2.

...you really hit the nail right on the head. This is just the perfect way of describing SM. A total mindfuck for us and somewhat of a reality check.

[carneeval]

I completely conqur, that was a perfect way of seeing it! I loved the game when it came to the end (The rest of the time I was insulting it...) Because you can get an ending where the whole game wasn't happening and Harry was dying in the first it seemed completely logical that the whole thing could just be a false dream made up from Cheryl's view.
I ended up loving the game and replaying for the UFO ending. Though, the Dahlia being a punk teenage girl always makes me die a little more inside.

[ww_andi]

I agree with aura completely and disagree with anything along the lines of krist.

i also feel that is all that needs to be said