Exclusive SHSM Post-Mortem Interview with Tomm Hulett

Ten years after the original game and Harry's still searching for his daughter.

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Exclusive SHSM Post-Mortem Interview with Tomm Hulett

Post by Vixx »

Once again, Silent Hill Shattered Memories Producer Tomm Hulett invited your questions and comments about the game, and my GOD did you all come forward and tell him what you thought!

The full Post-Mortem interview - in its entire epic-length glory - can be read right here Just be warned - the interview is full of unmarked spoilers, so PLEASE make sure you've completed the game before you proceed! We don't wanna ruin those surprises for you.

A massive thank you again to Tomm (and Jay!) for their time and patience in trawling through our loooong list of queries, and, of course, thanks also to all of the forum members who took the time to submit such challenging, interesting questions. You all thoroughly rock.

Do Tomm’s answers just throw up more questions? Want to talk with other Silent Hill fans? Talk about it here!
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Post by AuraTwilight »

"Q: Will you be working with Vatra for the new Silent Hill game?

Tomm – I am definitely deeply involved in the upcoming Silent Hill we’re making with Vatra. However I’m not the Producer this time – that honor goes to Devin Shatsky. He’s a real horror-game guy and he also understands what makes Silent Hill work. We’ve been cooking up a lot of great surprises for you guys, so look forward to E3 when you’ll get a new glimpse into Silent Hill!"

I am now entirely relieved about SH6.

Also, both of my theories that I proposed got totally shot down. Buh-bawww. :(
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Post by simeonalo »

Holy shit am I excited. SH6 seems really big :)
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Post by Vixx »

I am SO BUMMED that I can't make it to E3. :(

Konami had better be at Gamescom or Eurogamer or I'm going to...to...CRY!
V xx

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Post by ashatteredmemory »

Thank you for answering my questions Tomm :D

Only one thing: Cybil a real police officer? She got frozen twice :(
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Post by cascade88 »

It was great of Tomm to answer so many of our questions. I really enjoyed reading the interview, and it's left me even more excited to find out more about the upcoming Silent Hill title. :)
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Post by spunkytexan »

AuraTwilight wrote: I am now entirely relieved about SH6.
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Post by Mephisto »

So. . . Some Climax guys are working with Vatra? That's interesting, and it's a good thing to know. It would be nice if they got Double Helix to work with them too.

Just imagine how the next game could be with a teamwork like this. Ah. . .
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Post by AuraTwilight »

ashatteredmemory wrote:Thank you for answering my questions Tomm :D

Only one thing: Cybil a real police officer? She got frozen twice :(
It's just his personal speculation. Tomm is, by his own word, no more "right" than anyone else.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Post by Nillin »

I really like the idea that SH:SM is what would have happened if the bad ending of SH1 was true.

Great interview!
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Post by Whitney »

Great interview :) I'm happy my questions got answered this time around and my site was mentioned :D Totally awesome!
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Post by Kenji »

If it hasn't already been clear that Tomm Hulett agrees with "Death of the Author" (that's right, no TV Tropes from me :P ), then this interview clarifies it beyond any shadow of doubt. Even so, his rejection of the "all endings represent facets of Harry," I think, is something that must be taken into account. That, honestly, is more clear answer than I was actually expecting out of him. :P

Also, I must admit I'm particularly happy that all six of my questions were answered. :wink:

Anyway, this was an excellent interview. Obviously, he wasn't going to answer "what really happened" questions, but I think we got more out of it than we could expect. Also, I'm particularly happy that this game confirmed for him the idea that going outside the strictest formula was a good decision: makes me feel like the upcoming title may be very interesting, after all.
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Post by Yuki »

I may be in the minority here, but it honestly really bugs me that there's not one explanation, in this case. "It's YOUR game" and such... that'll never put an end to any fan debates.

Personally, I like Cheryl having an Electra complex, as well as Harry physically interacting with a few real people (Cybil, people on the phone) as well as other constructs (Michelle, Lisa), and that he was a well-rounded person with faults (meaning the endings are all part of one narrative). It also bugs me that he insists it's not non-canon; it's canon if you follow the bad ending, in my opinion, but if you try to fit it in with all the other games, you just can't unless there's stuff about the town that we're not told at all in Shattered Memories. I agree that it's about the town and separate characters, but the way it seemed to be handled in SM seems like it had nothing to do with the town the way we knew it.
But I should be clear these rules are things like “the monsters should represent something about the character” – not “there have to be nurses”.
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I love this, especially the punk-goth bit and "It's a boat!"... probably because those are two of my favorite parts.
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Post by Drainage64 »

I liked how he thought that Harry might be a maria type character. That was my original idea too. Ofcourse that's just his opinion.

Also I second that thank you for the "not “there have to be nurses" statement :)
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Even so, his rejection of the "all endings represent facets of Harry," I think, is something that must be taken into account. That, honestly, is more clear answer than I was actually expecting out of him.
Yea, that really really made me sad. I was so proud of that idea too, but I can't fault the justifications he gave for it. ;_;
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Post by Yuki »

AuraTwilight wrote:
Even so, his rejection of the "all endings represent facets of Harry," I think, is something that must be taken into account. That, honestly, is more clear answer than I was actually expecting out of him.
Yea, that really really made me sad. I was so proud of that idea too, but I can't fault the justifications he gave for it. ;_;
I can't either, but... it makes Harry seem so one-sided, and even alcoholics aren't completely one-sided people.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Well, not entirely, it's just showing us one facet of Harry she refused to see. He was obviously two-sided at minimum, since he was also a loving father prone to spoiling his daughter.

Frankly, I still love my "all endings are simultaneously true" theory, dammit.
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Post by Kenji »

AuraTwilight wrote:Frankly, I still love my "all endings are simultaneously true" theory, dammit.
Well, there's one silver lining to this:

I got to imagine James leaving with Maria, without her, and then driving into the lake. :)
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Post by AuraTwilight »

That is a pretty awesome viewpoint. Someone make a fanfiction explanation for that right now.

"Better do something about that cough..."

"No, no, I'll be fine."

"Alright, fine, you stupid bitch. Hold on, lemme find Laura and you can leave with her, since you wanted her so damn much."

Later... "TIME 2 SUICIDEZ LAWL"

~

On that note, his analogy doesn't work too well, as the SH2 endings wouldn't require concurrency, as none of them retcon James' history in any way. The Shattered Memories endings are actually, well, the beginning(s) of everything that Cheryl went through, and with her reactions being so fundamentally similar regardless, it would make sense to create a concurrency.
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Post by Restoration01 »

Oh wow! :oops:
Tomm like one of my questions from the first interview. >.<

Thanks Vixx and Tomm! (if you are reading this.)

I'm really glad that Tomm is working on SH6 as well.
A huge relief. :mrgreen:
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