Silent Hill Heaven

Augophthalmoses, your reply is nothing short of goading.

Unless you have something constructive to add to this discussion, keep disagreements to the threads they are in.

So, what's the true meaning of Howard?

I don't think he's a human but something along the lines of a "deity", trying to show the truth to Murphy. He's the one who speaks while Murphy's in the otherworld, right?

Mephisto wrote:He's the one who speaks while Murphy's in the otherworld, right?

You mean the disembodied voice? That's not Howard, that's Officer Coleridge.

^Yeah.

I think Howard serves mainly as Murphy's guide. He helps lead him in the right direction, whether it be in the moral direction, or in the direction to follow to get to the next location.

Mephisto wrote:So, what's the true meaning of Howard?

I don't think he's a human but something along the lines of a "deity", trying to show the truth to Murphy. He's the one who speaks while Murphy's in the otherworld, right?

Howard's not a deity. Silent Hill: Past Life gives him a back story.

Howard's generally the thing I want to learn most about, since he's the one element of Downpour I feel could be the most rage-inducing if handled improperly. My own personal theory is that he's human, but locked in the circuit of Silent Hill's bullshit, like DJ Ricks seems to be. While Howard might see himself as some servant of a higher power, and might be GOOD at reading people, guiding them, and doing what needs to be done, he might just be deluding himself and running from his own issues.

Why is he still alive after a couple centuries? Time doesn't flow in the Otherworld, yo.

AuraTwilight wrote:Howard's generally the thing I want to learn most about, since he's the one element of Downpour I feel could be the most rage-inducing if handled improperly. My own personal theory is that he's human, but locked in the circuit of Silent Hill's bullshit, like DJ Ricks seems to be. While Howard might see himself as some servant of a higher power, and might be GOOD at reading people, guiding them, and doing what needs to be done, he might just be deluding himself and running from his own issues.

I like that theory. Personally I dislike theories that there is a higher power that is punishing people or giving them a chance to redeem themselves because it just seems so cliche and cheap, imo. I much prefer the otherworld and the power around Silent Hill to be neutral and mindless; something beyond human comprehension that has always existed in some form, but has changed over time and will continue to do so. That way there's more emphases on the characters and their individual stories rather than something hiding in the fog and shadows and pulling strings for no apparent reason.

Ummm I have this crazy idea that maybe some monsters stem from Anne's psyche, and not just Murphy's. There's not so much for backing this up other than her also having seen the Otherworld and that Screamers attack both Anne and Murphy (and Rick) at the Radio Station.

Screamers are obviously the extreme anger she has towards Murphy.
The Dolls represent her, she's seen by inmate as a lustful object; the Shadows are the fact that she alone can't do much. She had to pull a lot of strings to get Murphy to her prison.
The prison monsters are quite obvious the way she looked at them; crazy monsters with blazing eyes, only to kill.
I don't think I have to explain the Boogeyman anymore, same goes for the Wheelman.

^I believe the monsters have symbolism with both of them, not one or the other. Also, it is very apparent that the Wheelman is only from Anne's psyche because only Anne saw Frank in his vegetative state. Murphy never did and always believed him to have been murdered.

ashatteredmemory wrote:Ummm I have this crazy idea that maybe some monsters stem from Anne's psyche, and not just Murphy's. There's not so much for backing this up other than her also having seen the Otherworld and that Screamers attack both Anne and Murphy (and Rick) at the Radio Station.

Screamers are obviously the extreme anger she has towards Murphy.
The Dolls represent her, she's seen by inmate as a lustful object; the Shadows are the fact that she alone can't do much. She had to pull a lot of strings to get Murphy to her prison.
The prison monsters are quite obvious the way she looked at them; crazy monsters with blazing eyes, only to kill.
I don't think I have to explain the Boogeyman anymore, same goes for the Wheelman.

i just don't get why does the boogeyman has a mask >_<, if anyone has any idea, tell me pwease. About the screamers, that could be it (that they are annes rage towards murpheh), AND, about the dolls being anne, i really don't think so. the dolls and the prisioners are the only monsters that, right after i finished the game, i knew what they were. the doll is the victim of some crazy rapist, just like murphy's son and that's why when murphy sees his first doll in the centenary building, he says "someone had a weird way of entertainment" (or something like that).

ps: i still think the screamers are nuns representing the fact that murphy was raised in an orphanage (and that is why there's that hole in the orphanage. all the screamers from the game came from that one hole). haters gonna hate

i just don't get why does the boogeyman has a mask >_<, if anyone has any idea, tell me pwease.

Because it makes him anonymous and thus dehumanized, similarly to Pyramid Head's helmet. But while Pyramid Head's helmet reflects James' self-inflicted torture, the mask of the Boogeyman is something some creep could wear in real life. Any evil fuck could just up and date your kids or kill your father...

Hey guys! I know it's been awhile. Just wanted to check in and see how things are going on my favorite thread.

Has Tomm said anything on his blog or the other SH forum about the monster symbolism? What I want to understand the most is why they chose the appearances for the monsters rather than the meanings themselves. The only one they've really explained is Weeping Bat, so I'd like to hear more about the others, especially the Screamer

Aerith Gainsborough wrote:^Yeah.

I think Howard serves mainly as Murphy's guide. He helps lead him in the right direction, whether it be in the moral direction, or in the direction to follow to get to the next location.

Howard is a manifestation of the town, the same way Ernest Baldwin is a manifestation of the town.

Ernest Baldwin wasn't a manifestation of the town, though.

Ernest Baldwin was wawy more interesting than Howard, though. They didn't include him enough to leave a significant impression on me, yet there was potential.

we barely know anything about howard. As far as I know, he could be the boogeyman (I don't know, the game didn't tell me who on earth that guy is)

CandyLander wrote:we barely know anything about howard. As far as I know, he could be the boogeyman (I don't know, the game didn't tell me who on earth that guy is)

umm, Boogeyman is Murphy and Napier. The game does show you that

Also, while we don't know much of Howard, Past Life gives us a little bit of his story

Check out this cool concept art for the Prisoner Minion.

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2 ... soners.jpg

Pfft. I'd rather not have juggalos, thank you. We have enough people complaining about the monster design being impossible to take seriously.

There's no doubting that the biggest disappointment about Downpour was its monsters. They either too forward with what they represent or so extremely vague and misplaced that they could be enemies from any number of games, survival horror or otherwise noted. It's a serious point of disconnect for me, primarily because I don't know where to start with speculation and theorizing. That and they leave no great impression on me beyond another obstacle to either beat into pummel, get beaten or avoid at all costs. Fun suckers, the lot of them.

What I do disagree with, however, is that the Screamers are representative of Murphy's wife, Carol. Most of this really seems to be stemming from the "Nagging Wife" stereotype, which is not what his wife strikes me as at all from what I've learned about her. She's a woman in mourning over her son and the destruction of a relationship. Screamers, in my honest opinion, strike me as vicious and not in the same way a person in mourning is when they lose something. I can't count how many times I wanted to throw my control at the screen because of Void, however. I understand that it could be a perfectly decent representation of Murphy's numerous emotional and mental issues with his present situation; it works on some level, but there had to be a better use of it than "get ready for the next gauntlet through the otherworld!"

The Bogeyman, Doll and Monocle Man, on the other hand, I thought were the few monsters in the game wherein thought was placed by the developers. However, the problem is that the Dolls never once felt relevant as a enemy to Murphy or the characters (Ricks and Anne) around him. Monocle Man, I wish had ended up as a mini-boss in the game. Sater's "moral sin" and negligence with the children in his care would've been good foil for Murphy to confront.