Exclusive SHSM Post-Mortem Interview with Tomm Hulett

Post by **saevitia** » 09 Jun 2010

Okay, so I love this interview for totally selfish reasons. IE. Tomm vindicated my feelings and ideas about the game, because they match up with his apparent intentions. I was always one of those people who didn't like the 'it was all in Cheryl's head' and the 'they're all the same Harry' and hated feeling like I was wrong.

So... yay I guess.

*waves a little flag*

Post by **AuraTwilight** » 09 Jun 2010

To be fair, he only vindicated one of your feelings of those too.

He goes out of his way to note that both ideas (Harry's a construct/imaginary), and just picks his favorite.

Post by **saevitia** » 09 Jun 2010

Oh yeah, I mean, I know the other ways are totally valid (and really convincing); it's just that he lends *any* credence at all to my opinions that makes me happy.

Post by **AuraTwilight** » 09 Jun 2010

...Yea, but he lends credence to all opinions.

Except for my "all endings are true" idea.

Post by **saevitia** » 09 Jun 2010

...Yea, but he lends credence to all opinions.

Exactly. He's not telling me "no you're wrong". XD

Post by **Droo** » 09 Jun 2010

Tomm Hullett wrote:Personally I take a different approach, and imagine that Harry is a Maria-esque manifestation that roams the town, Cybil is a real police officer, etc. In this instance, all these messages are just creepy/skeevy/strange things that happened, and their echoes have remained trapped by the town. Since Harry is somewhat of a spirit, he can hear/see remnants of these events, and the true character of the town rather than the outside appearance that people might work to keep nice and happy. He sees some that involve Cheryl directly, like the mall thief â€“ this is him slowly retracing his daughterâ€™s steps on his search. Others he just happens to pick up along the way. If you take this view, youâ€™ll have to decide for yourself which events are Cheryl and which arenâ€™t.

THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING SINCE THE GAME CAME OUT.

Thank you for validating the theory, Tomm. It's nice to be correct in the face of fierce opposition sometimes.

Post by **Arsonist** » 09 Jun 2010

^He didnâ€™t say it to be true though, he said that he likes to think that it is.

But if it was; How do you explain Cybil popping up under the bridge or at the lighthouse just in the nick of time? Or her freezing over twice and not noticing that somethingâ€™s off? She doesnâ€™t even mention the fact that Harry twice disappeared in front of her eyes.

How did Lisa get Harryâ€™s number? How does she sometimes know about Harry having a daughter without him telling her? How do you explain sleaze and sirens?

How did Michelle get Harryâ€™s number? How do you explain her disappearing act, or, again the sleaze and sirens ending?

The only characters Harry meets that could be real are the Stewarts (although they interact with nice!Cybil) and the barmaid.

If they all really are real, the SH:SM is the most poorly thought-out and written Silent Hill game up to date.

Post by **saevitia** » 09 Jun 2010

But if it was; How do you explain Cybil popping up under the bridge or at the lighthouse just in the nick of time?

Either legitimate good luck, or the Town placing Harry in the right place to get rescued.

Or her freezing over twice and not noticing that somethingâ€™s off? She doesnâ€™t even mention the fact that Harry twice disappeared in front of her eyes.

Perhaps she didn't freeze over, but rather that was what Harry perceived as he transitioned to the Otherworld. Also, by the time we're in a position for her to react (the rescue sequence) she's got stranger things to say to him.

How did Lisa get Harryâ€™s number?

My guess is that either Lisa is *also* a manifestation of the Town, or it isn't her calling him, but the Town calling him on her behalf.

How does she sometimes know about Harry having a daughter without him telling her?

Another point in favor of Lisa being a manifestation of the Town. BUT I don't remember her knowing about Cheryl, so I'd need some elaboration before commenting further.

How do you explain sleaze and sirens?

I don't. It always seemed the "odd man out" ending to me.

How did Michelle get Harryâ€™s number?

Town.

How do you explain her disappearing act.

She didn't disappear, Harry did.

Post by **Droo** » 09 Jun 2010

Everything we see in the game is Harry being directed by Cheryl's unfolding narrative in her therapy sessions. The town is likely making Cybil and everyone else act as they do and go where they are to fit the story.

Post by **Arsonist** » 09 Jun 2010

Either legitimate good luck, or the Town placing Harry in the right place to get rescued.

The thing is, he swam to the place where Cybil found him on his own, he doesnâ€™t randomly spawn, and he came to the lighthouse for a reason.

Actually, Cybil randomly finds Harry three times. I forgot about Lisaâ€™s apartment.

Perhaps she didn't freeze over, but rather that was what Harry perceived as he transitioned to the Otherworld. Also, by the time we're in a position for her to react (the rescue sequence) she's got stranger things to say to him.

That seems a bit stretched. Try calling her after she freezes. â€œHarry are you still in the hospital?â€ â€œYou want to help someone, then turn yourself in.â€
No â€œOMGWTFHarryHoudini?!?!â€. Just, â€œYo, you still here? We need to talk.â€

Another point in favor of Lisa being a manifestation of the Town. BUT I don't remember her knowing about Cheryl, so I'd need some elaboration before commenting further.

While walking she goes, â€œSo, tell me about your daughter.â€ While Harry never mentioned having a daughter. Kind of like Maria calling James by name without him introducing himself to her. And we all know what she ended up being.

Also, Cybil interacts with Lisa, wouldnâ€™t that make her a manifestation as well?

How did Michelle get Harryâ€™s number?
Town.

And for what purpose does the town call Harry in Michelleâ€™s name? She doesnâ€™t derail him, or help him in any way over the phone. The call and the text are just kind of, thereâ€¦

She didn't disappear, Harry did.

Fair enough.

Droo wrote:Everything we see in the game is Harry being directed by Cheryl's unfolding narrative in her therapy sessions. The town is likely making Cybil and everyone else act as they do and go where they are to fit the story.

That's an interesting idea. The only problems are the sleaze and sirens, the fact that the town has never before acted that way and the Occam's razor

Post by **AuraTwilight** » 10 Jun 2010

If you have to invoke that Cheryl somehow has mind control powers, your theory needs work. My two cents.

Post by **saevitia** » 10 Jun 2010

If you have to invoke that Cheryl somehow has mind control powers, your theory needs work.

But she....does. Cause. ya know....Alessa?

Post by **NanayaShiki** » 10 Jun 2010

Shattered Memories =/= Silent Hill 1

Post by **saevitia** » 10 Jun 2010

Shattered Memories =/= Silent Hill 1

And? There are points of continuity between the two. Whose to say Cheryl/Alessa's powers AREN'T there? After all, she had to have *some* way to conjure Harry (a la Maria) subconscious or not.

Post by **NanayaShiki** » 10 Jun 2010

If Harry was conjured (that's not a stated fact just because he likes the idea) then it would be the town that did it.

There is no Alessa in this game because Silent Hill 1 did not happen. Harry is Cheryl's real birth father. You can't just make things up and base theories on that.

Post by **Droo** » 10 Jun 2010

Sirens & Sleaze is easy to explain. Michelle and Lisa APPEAR in the story as their younger selves, when in fact they are really older, due to Cheryl's memory of how they appeared in the videotape.

Post by **AuraTwilight** » 10 Jun 2010

1) When did Alessa Gillespie have mind control powers?

2) Michelle and Lisa were young adults 18 years ago. Assuming they're...both 24, let's say, that would make them both 42 or so. Doesn't seem congruous with their dialogue. Michelle treats Harry like he's way older than her, old enough to be her father in fact, and remarks about wanting to start a family later when her biological clock is almost over.

That, and why wouldn't Lisa and Michelle recognize Harry in a Sleaze and Siren run?

Post by **NanayaShiki** » 10 Jun 2010

I still stand by it all being in Cheryl's head, personally. I like the idea of it really happening through the Town's power. But I like the idea of it all being Cheryl's delusion even more.

Post by **Yuki** » 10 Jun 2010

It doesn't make sense to me to have EVERYONE be real. I like the idea of Harry as a construct, but having Michelle and Lisa be real doesn't make any sense. Cybil being real COULD potentially be plausible; I chaulk it up to good luck and maybe Silent Hill guiding her, with the only problem being the freezing (though I don't think we ever get a confirmation that it's only constructs that freeze). The Stewarts, though... they act as if Harry is a little kid, which doesn't make any sense at all.

Also, remember, for our rule that real people cannot make contact with constructs: this isn't the old Silent Hill; it's a separate universe, by our terms of canon (as opposed to Tomm's).

Post by **AuraTwilight** » 10 Jun 2010

(though I don't think we ever get a confirmation that it's only constructs that freeze)

Outside of Cybil, everything else frozen is a confirmed construct. Harry, Dahlia, the Raw Shocks...

There's precedent, and literally zero reason to go against it.