Crows

[The Adversary]

· Vatra Games is a Czech video game development company

· Franz Kafka was a German-language author who was also fluent in Czech and interested in Czech literature

· Kafka means crow in Czech

Any ideas? Looks like I've gotta read "In the Penal Colony" again soon.

[Nowh3re]

Brian Gomez mentioned Kafka in this video at 9:10.

"So yeah, I think you're gonna definitely see that 'Kafka bent¹' coming into Silent Hill with Downpour."

I think you have a point.

¹ Not sure about "bent".

[Monster]

Crows are pretty much everywhere in the world, I can see them outside my window now. So I doubt there was that much thought behind it. In fact I think it was a lack of thought, I don't like the idea of crows in silent hill, it's a bit too cliche and in fact the lack of natural fauna in the town in past games added a much eerier feel of 'deadness' to it. Seeing crows in Silent Hill would actually be comforting to me, because I'm familiar with seeing them everywhere on normal days.

[Missionary]

Crows are supposed to be a bad omen and are harbingers of incoming bad weather. Both tie into the story at least thematically.

[Harrys_Girl]

I think crows get a bad wrap--did you know that adult male crows are the one of the only animals in the wild to play together by taking turns rolling around in snow? And they appear to laugh both while taking their turns and watching the others roll.

Plus the saying is "If a butterfly lands on the mast, peaceful seas ahead. If a bird lands on the mast, rough seas ahead." It comes from sea tradition in that butterflies never fly far from land in bad weather, but birds will fly for miles for any shelter when a storm is gathering. It is more that birds in general are bad omens, not really crows specifically.

[DeSilva]

Crows are pretty much everywhere in the world, I can see them outside my window now. So I doubt there was that much thought behind it. In fact I think it was a lack of thought, I don't like the idea of crows in silent hill, it's a bit too cliche and in fact the lack of natural fauna in the town in past games added a much eerier feel of 'deadness' to it. Seeing crows in Silent Hill would actually be comforting to me, because I'm familiar with seeing them everywhere on normal days.

If you look at the trailer and some of the pictures, it almost seems there's an emphasis on the crows. From what the producer said in the most recent enterview at E3, they're all about symbolism and that stuff. If the crows are omens... then who knows what their place in the game is. I hope it's nill.

That or they watched the movie one too many times and liked seeing those birds around.

[Monster]

But I mean crows are common in creepy movies and video games. Sure, there could be meaning behind them but it seems pointless because anybody could put crows in a creepy environment for whatever reason. To me, the absence of crows would be saying more, it would mean that this place is so dangerous and otherworldly that no natural life would even hang around.

[DeSilva]

Yeah, it's probably another sign that Vatra could be trying to hard.

[makie]

Depending on the culture crows can be a good or a bad omen. Until we know in which context the crows appear in the game it's almost impossible to tell what meaning they have in the game. And I don't think it's a bad idea to have some "normal" animals in the game.

But they instantly reminded me of Resident Evil O_o

[Aerith Gainsborough]

They probably are going to use crows to indicate some kind of negative feeling. I mean, crows are big, black birds, known for destroying harvests, and they make a very horrid call. People hate the buggers. I can see why someone would think of them as a bad omen. My dad sure hates them. With all that said, I still agree with what Chelsea said, but the developers may not have done their crow research.

[Sigma]

Maybe crows are the new Silent Hill siren? When ever the shift to the other world starts you se crows flying over or hear them cawing?

[Yuki]

Maybe crows are the new Silent Hill siren? When ever the shift to the other world starts you se crows flying over or hear them cawing?

It's possible, but the siren's also being used in the game.

[Harrys_Girl]

Crows AND sirens. Whoa, whoa-- that may be taking it too far.

That said, I just realized there has never been any birds in any of the other SH games. How did it take me until just now to really realize that?

[Aerith Gainsborough]

Hopefully the crows don't bring along more suck factor. :\

[Biccard]

I love how the crows look in the game! I don't mind them being in Silent Hill, in fact they're quite scary. I think it's a great move by Vatra

[Aerith Gainsborough]

Another reason crows, and other big, black birds, get a bad rep. may be due to movies that address them as an antagonist. Look at the movie, The Birds. Also, I don't know if this ever really scared anyone, but in the second Omen movie (I believe it was the second), when the woman...

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

got her eyeballs pecked out by this crow, and then she got ran over

...yeah, that still bothers me.

[The Adversary]

Finally, out comes a Crow, coming quickly to a stop, yawning and then napping.

[Biccard]

Yeah the crows and the light/shadow effects looks really awesome in this photo!

[Aerith Gainsborough]

The photo actually looks...beautiful. Perhaps the crows' symbolism in Downpour is not that of bad fortune or any other negative feelings, but rather positive feelings. In that photo, I think with the crows being in flight, and a bright sun over top Murphy's head, maybe indicating that crows represent Murphy being able to be free from his guilt, or what ever else he is suffering during his time in Silent Hill, or that on his journey, he will be reaching his light, or main goal, and be free of negative feelings.

[Silent Fantasy]

^ Id say thats stretching it. Id say its an atmospheric move by Vatra with no real meaning. or just a meaning good enough to throw crows in. I honestly dont care either way bc im not nitpicky atall. lol I love crows anyway.