One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror games.

Heather finds out why it's true that you shouldn't talk to strangers. Or look in mirrors, quite honestly.

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Dr-G0nz0
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One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror games.

Post by Dr-G0nz0 »

We've all played many different types of horror game, (I assume :P) so it should be no suprise to know how the horror game works.

One thing I noticed on SH3, and not with any other horror game, including the SH series itself, is the thoughts that go threw the protagonists head.
Allow me to explain: when you walk up to an item or a piece of the scenery that has caught your eye, you walk over to it, press the action button, and abit of text will come up at the bottom of the screen. Obviously this is the characters thoughts being read out to you. And to be fair, whenever it does, it's always straight down to the point, and all abit boring. What I absolutely loved about Heathers character, was that she wasn't one of these. Whenever you walked up to something she always put abit of her persona to the text. Like when you read a painting for example, she'll say "it's a painting", but she'll then put her 2 cent into the mix and say if she hates how it looks.

I think more horror games should look at this more, because it makes reading the text a hell of alot more interesting. I also find it weird how SH 4 onward haven't carried it on.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by AuraTwilight »

This is one of many reasons why Heather is one of the best Survival Horror characters ever.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Dr-G0nz0 »

I was never fond of the 3rd game, but I've recently played it and it's really, really good. Heather is just such a charismatic person.

I've actually looked at some of the things that come up in the text and I've actually laughed at some of the things she says. Brilliantly done,
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by PIE!!! »

I think this helps flesh out the characters more. It is a really neat feature, but only if it shows off the character's personal thoughts. It's also one of the reasons why I've become so attached to Heather. Gotta love how she's so funny even with all the weird stuff going on around her. Love you, Heather.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Uyrikeustek »

I've always thought this was amazing, too and made me love Heather. She's just so realistic and humorous, but can kick ass as well. She's pretty hot too. I love when she looks at the van in the beginning blocking the path and says something like, 'Maybe I can try to walk around it. Nevermind." That cracked me up.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by SPRINGS02 »

Yes heather definitely was a great character. My favorite protagonist out of any horror game i think. Her comments about things always had her little opinions about them thrown in. But i don't think this is the main thing that separates silent hill from other horror games. . .
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by stopped_clock »

They do something similar in Obscure, and all of the different characters have their own slightly different take on whatever it is you're looking at. Unfortunately this kinda falls flat because all the characters in Obscure are annoying highschool dickbags.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by NeoAquarius12 »

Some of the things she says is REALLY strange even for SH. haha. I believe at one point in the mall, she sees some clothes and just like a typical 17 year old girl makes fun of how ugly they are. I mean, she's in this otherworldy and beyond scary predicament, but she still has time to comment on the style of clothing in the mall.

The best example of the unusual narrations made by Heather is the toilet scene in this one. It's a running joke at this point, but Heather's reaction to reaching into the toilet water is priceless. She is unique. haha
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by AuraTwilight »

stopped_clock wrote:They do something similar in Obscure, and all of the different characters have their own slightly different take on whatever it is you're looking at. Unfortunately this kinda falls flat because all the characters in Obscure are annoying highschool dickbags.
Atleast it makes getting a gameover really fun.

Obscure does a PERFECT job of replicating teen horror movies.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Dr-G0nz0 »

AuraTwilight wrote:
stopped_clock wrote:They do something similar in Obscure, and all of the different characters have their own slightly different take on whatever it is you're looking at. Unfortunately this kinda falls flat because all the characters in Obscure are annoying highschool dickbags.
Atleast it makes getting a gameover really fun.

Obscure does a PERFECT job of replicating teen horror movies.
Definitely agree with you on that one.

Yeah, I think it's really cool that she's like this in the game. Like I say, it's just a shame they haven't carried it on, but I guess thats what makes it all the more special on Heather's part.
I also find it funny how Heather is so full of life and character and Henry is the exact oposite lol. Kind of a Yin and Yang thing.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Doctor Eggnog »

I enjoyed being able to look at things and hear more thoughts from the protagonist, but it didn't matter to me much after a couple of playthroughs.

In the first two games, Harry and James still did that but not as much, but I don't mind as it let the enviroment speak for itself, and I like the enviroments in 1 and 2 better than 3, and that outlasts the thoughts on the protagonists' mind to me.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by NeoAquarius12 »

Eggnog, you're crazy. haha. What would you say is your overall favorite location in any of the games?

Amusement Park, Mall, Church, all too unbelivably designed for words. I mean, 1 and 2 had the iconic locations that would cement the foundation for the series, but I mean, if they used half the detail they did in the third one, you'd explode with awesome juice after playing the games. haha. I have to say, 2 is definitely close to what 3 offers on this plane, but it's just not the same.

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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Dr-G0nz0 »

Doctor Eggnog wrote:I enjoyed being able to look at things and hear more thoughts from the protagonist, but it didn't matter to me much after a couple of playthroughs.

In the first two games, Harry and James still did that but not as much, but I don't mind as it let the enviroment speak for itself, and I like the enviroments in 1 and 2 better than 3, and that outlasts the thoughts on the protagonists' mind to me.
Have to disagree with you there. James, Harry and even Henry all describe things in that boring drone manner that all other horror games do. Yes they do go "did that just happen?" or whatever, whenever a key part of the story kicks in, but they don't go into great detail on describing or giving an opinion on things in the enviroment. Heather is the only horror protagonist (and Obsure, apparently) that has done it to that degree.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by SilentWren »

I know it would make the programming (and voice acting) a little....harder(?) but I always thought a lot of stuff that Heather said should've been....SAID.

Only repeated once or twice at best, though.

Like I said in the thread about the "Dad and me at Christmas" picture, seeing and hearing the character do something on the screen has more of an emotional impact imo.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by NeoAquarius12 »

How many lines of dialogue do you think Heather has for specific objects? haha. I am not saying it's a bad idea, but now I am just entirely too curious about it. There are hundreds of things she responds to in the games. Imagine she said all of that stuff. It would be brilliant. lol. I hope future characters respond to items and situations in a similar way. maybe not with such teenage girl responses though. haha
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by AuraTwilight »

I'm just imagining the prisoner guy in SH8 responding like a teenage girl now. "Ick, this is so grody." "Teehee, I bet I'd look cute in this."
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Akheon »

It's a nice feature if a game has the characters' field commentary personalized in the least. As a negative example... Siren 1 gives you a lot of comments for examining stuff on the field, more than in any Silent Hill, and it has multiple interesting playable characters too. Unfortunately the texts are mostly a monotone, alien, drab second-person narrative, with only hints of the characters' own thoughts let in.

From all Silent Hills, Harry has the least interesting commentary, but all of the characters have a more or less personalized commentary.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by impocalypse »

I find this thread fascinating. As much as I love 3, it's not so much for Heather that I love it. After all, she's an interesting character and a nice addition to the Cult story, but she's not always that believable. As people touched on above, her sneering disdain for pretty much everything is hilarious, but not what most people would be saying when surrounded by death and things built out of such.

Flavor text for objects like this is definitely a wonderful idea for games however. It's one of the only decent ways to provide a player character with any depth without loading up on the cutscenes, and it reminds me of text adventures and interactive fiction, where this idea is common and integral to the gameplay most of the time.
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by NeoAquarius12 »

Unusually enough, I get the impression that Heather is somewhat okay with the things that happen around her (aside from her Dad's demise and the elevator scene). I think a lot of it has to do with her past life connections to SH. She subconsciously knows all about what is happening in the town, so her actual self only reacts the way she would if it were any other place doing anything else. After all, SH is SH kind of because of her. haha
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Zeraylph »

I can't really credit Cheryl/Heather. Since her personality is borrowed from the Great wonderful Alessa Gillespie!

I also like how she gets creeped out at Stanley Coleman and her reactions to Douglas in the beginning, and her bond with him later on, like her own family member probably. Plus she likes Happy Burgers = win!
She's ok with bloody clothes, good with guns. Awesome T-Shirts, Plus Her dad is Harry Mason, what could be better than that?

Amusement park was really fun to explore, heck Everything about the game was cool.
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