Intervew with Tomm Hulett re: SHSM

[PrescitedEntity]

Personally, I think it's a bit misguided to be disappointed at the developers for bringing in a PH-like monster. I've always felt that this decision was up to people at Konami. So even if any of the developers feel like including such a monster was a bad idea, they might not have a choice, really.

A very good point. Konami, the mandator, is still in charge of games development. We have no clue how much of a free space they are giving to the contractors though. One way or the other someones got to take the blame and Konami's fault in it was somehow overlooked but I also think there is much more in it. Its not wise speak against your employer

Why, then, did we not see the RPT or a facsimile in SH3 or SH4? I suppose it could have been for a number of reasons or an amalgam of a few, but...

[alone in the town]

Because they came out before the Silent Hill movie.

And I remember the movie's premiere well, because this forum was inundated with hundreds of new members that just realized Silent Hill was actually a videogame. Pyramid Head became really vogue around that point.

[Krysta]

Why, then, did we not see the RPT or a facsimile in SH3 or SH4? I suppose it could have been for a number of reasons or an amalgam of a few, but...

as a matter of fact we did have a small detail concerning this deity in both SH3 and SH4. However, RPT legend grew with time to reach it's peak after SH Movie release. Then rpt have really become a RPT y'know, hence so much bitchin these dayzz. I'm sorry to say this again but can't help it, because of new wave of fans, Homecoming turned out be a movie based fanfiction. Of course some people are having hard time accepting this and I don't blame them really

[Burning Man]

Pyramid Head was never in Silent Hill 4 -The Room-, but the one in SH3 (mural) was there because Ito wanted to put it in there. I mean, he is the art director for that game.

The Drawing Block booklet that came with Silent Hill 3 Special Edition explains that even Valtiel was originally not part of the scenario. Ito convinced Owaku to incorporate him into the scenario.

[Nyarlathotep]

Homecoming turned out be a movie based fanfiction. Of course some people are having hard time accepting this and I don't blame them really

Well, in all fairness the people that do not accept that are usually the people that actually pay attention to the story.

[lain of the wired]

Well, I'm optimistic. I might actually be able to play this one alone. Hide and seek I'm good at. It seems like they'll respect the story of the series: rather than forcing their own into it, it's like they're admitting upfront it'll be it's own game. I'll be interested to see what they do with the story.

Pyramid Head became really vogue around that point.

It helps that they had him cut in the movie, rather than running about in a blood-stained mumu. He wore a skirt, yeah, but that's ok- metrosexuals are highly attractive these days.

[Krysta]

Pyramid Head was never in Silent Hill 4 -The Room-

Not in person, but many fans including me, take a copy of his big knife in secret room behind the wall as a reference.

[Doo-glas]

holy shit, maybe there's hope for this series after all

[Arsonist]

I'm doing like Arsonist and chucking this game out if he makes an appearance.

Just to be clear I never actually said I'd chuck out Shattered Memories because of PH or any Pyramid-like monster... I don't know where you got that from.

I merely pointed out that, just because they say there won't be a Pyramid Head, doesn't mean that there won't be a Pyramid Head rip-off.

[ww_andi]

Why does everyone seem so against seeing ph again anyway

[Phantom Allure]

^Well... not exactly everyone... But for some reason, PH seems to get whored out a lot recently. He's been respectable for his mystery and obscurity before but one too many appearances where he doesn't really serve any unique purpose kinda kills the novelty.

[lain of the wired]

^Besides that, the whole idea of the monsters, especially in PH's origin game, was that their appearence was meant to be specific to whoever's psyche they were manifest from. If PH is showing up everywhere, it's almost like the designers are cheating us out of new characters as well as new bosses, since the protagonists all seem to share the same psyche.

[Loveless_Dogg]

Pyramid Head was never in Silent Hill 4 -The Room-

Not in person, but many fans including me, take a copy of his big knife in secret room behind the wall as a reference.

...you mean the bone cutting saw to be used in an autopsy?....Yeah I don't see the connection sorry.

...but that is like an $80 saw....I wonder if Walter stole it from the Order, or if he got it while at the college campus? That would explain (even just a little bit) how he was capable of removing the hearts from the victims. :p

[ww_andi]

We may never know

[spunkytexan]

So far, I am looking forward to this one.

[ww_andi]

i am too but we will see

[Mis Krist.]

Eh, irony police are gonna get me on this, but it's kind of in poor taste to poo-poo a predecessor in a series you're hoping to reboot. Sorry, Hulett, but I don't think you paid much attention in SHH if you don't understand PH's purpose. Now the movie, yeah, that makes him cheap but I can't say the same for SH:H.

[ww_andi]

well put

[vivica_cherry]

"I subscribe to the idea that Pyramid Head was unique to James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2. He's not just some guy who walks around with a big knife. I think if anyone was going to use Pyramid Head again, they would need a really good reason, and they would have to let him serve some kind of purpose. He was a heavy thematic character in SH2, and less so in SHH or the movie. Without the emotional ties to James, he loses his impact and is just a cheap scare, and that's doing a disservice to such an iconic character."

Excellent. Just... excellent.

[The Hawk's Eye]

Sounds like a chode. Sorry, Hulett, but I don't think you paid much attention in SHH if you don't understand PH's purpose. Now the movie, yeah, that makes him cheap.

This. However, I don't really think the movie makes him cheap; it's an adaptation, a product based on the game. The culmination of factors from different entries in the series I think is okay for the what the movie (but not okay for how the movie completely butchered the story, no Origins pun intended). I think it's alright for a video game movie to get a bit more fan service-y.

I don't think Pyramid Head's presence in Homecoming was as well constructed as in Silent Hill 2. I don't think anyone will argue that. However, his appearance is not pointless, it's not a selling point and he's not whored out. He doesn't have the importance he does in Silent Hill 2 admittedly, as Homecoming could potentially unravel largely the same without him, but I thought Double Helix approached Pyramid Head in a fair manner. They didn't smother the player with him and they didn't include him in an arbitrary boss battle. Pyramid Head makes his presence known to the player and then does his thing at the end of the game. The worst done with him was the Bogeyman ending, which while a really crappy ending, is just an alternate conclusion I can easily write off as non-canon, so it doesn't bug me.

However, I just hope Shattered Memories isn't as gory as Homecoming. I mean, some of the finishing moves you can perform on the creatures in Homecoming were pretty brutal and satisfying, but the excess of filleted and ripped apart bodies seemed too unimaginative and blatant for a Silent Hill, which will typically associate its violence and gore with some style and beauty.

Ultimately, this still doesn't put much faith in me for Shattered Memories, so much as it seems to give Hulett an annoying amount of smugness. They seem to really stretch that they can deliver an authentic Silent Hill experience, and yet they rewrite the most fundamental aspects of the Silent Hill story and structure. I'm not saying these gameplay mechanics aren't good ideas, or that the game won't be good, but why wasn't all of this ingenuity and innovation applied to a brand new title? What's the point of even using the original Silent Hill since Shattered Memories does very little to honor it? It just seems like a waste to create what is essentially recreate an existing title and rewrite nearly everything about it to the point where it can't even co-exist with the original. That just really bugs me.

However, the deal breaker for me is Harry's stupid fucking touch-screen GPS digital camera phone thing, capable of text messaging and crap. I'll concede the series could use some fresh ideas but that is where I draw the line. Maybe I'm just being an impossible to please fanboy psychopath, but giving the player the ease and reliance on modern day technology at any given time in a Silent Hill game seems like a huge mistake. I'll avoid Harry's phone at every possible opportunity. Maybe the game's apparently amazing real-time restructuring will recognize how much I hate it and shape all of the puzzles and such so I never have to use it.