Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Come here to chat about Kojima's now sadly defunct Silent Hills.

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Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by alone in the town »

This thread is for expressing your positive opinions, appreciation, and hopes and dreams regarding the Silent Hills playable teaser.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Huknar »

Darkness, music and graphics.

The teaser got wonderfully dark at a few points and nothing starts your heart racing than staring into a pitch black corridor knowing anything, ANYTHING can come rushing out of it.

The music was superb. It is very obviously inspired by the first two game's soundtrack while adding a few new elements, but nothing unwelcome. I actually thought Akira might have done it, it was that good, and THAT Silent Hill-y".

The graphics. Oh where do I start? The Silent Hill games, at least, the first four have always been known to be ahead of their time with their graphical quality. Wonderfully rendered scenes and detailed, grungy textures, and better yet, the super creepy hyper-realistic pre-rendered images for inventory items, memo backgrounds, cutscenes (1/2) and puzzles. And the P.T teaser was just like playing these pre-renders. If you stop and look at some screenshots the house just looks like a photograph. Heck, it's almost impossible to tell. As I was just discovering the Silent Hills announcement, the first images I saw, I thought the teaser was a live action movie, Resident Evil style.

And then Kojima goes and tells us they had to scale the graphics DOWN just to give it a more indie sheen? Speechless. Absolutely speechless. I always knew the design of Silent Hill games (enclosed, small spaces with lots of occludibility) made it possible to achieve pristine performance and sparkling graphics, but I never thought we'd get to this.

I just cannot wait to see what the actual game is going to look like. If they are keeping close to the series then I can only imagine those water-grunged walls, as the flashlight shines across the most amazing specular map ever seen in gaming.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by noni_moon »

Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere! :shock:

The perennial sense of dread that grips you throughout the entire teaser was done in a phenomenal way. It's what I found most lacking in the new Silent Hill games.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Drainage64 »

I'll second atmosphere! A lot of horror universes feel like they exist within a vaccum, and this teaser had a lot of subtle things that added up to a really strong whole atmospherically in a very realistic way. I mean you know how many horror games are super dark? A lot of the time these hallways were lit up and yet you're still feeling that intense feeling of dread and when the lights go out? It's terrifying!

In short, what impressed me was how much this teaser recreated my own personal feelings of anxiety within big houses at night. Not that a ghost lady ever came after me or anything!

I've been struggling with the idea that the graphics had been downgraded though...they look really prestine actually, and like what's been already said in this thread, still screenshots look incredibly alike to photographs at times!
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Below »

I'll agree with what's been said and add that I think the teaser did something particularly interesting: It played upon the Silent Hill trope of building up familiarity in an area only to subvert it in sequential visits in a way that's somewhat disorienting.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by HeartlessBastard »

Aside from what's already been said, I specially like the random events. Every time someone plays the game, something different happens. You can never expect what's next. You don't even know when you're going to die (┳◇┳)

Anyway, if those random events continue on like this, it would be awesome.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Cactusgod »

HeartlessBastard wrote:Aside from what's already been said, I specially like the random events. Every time someone plays the game, something different happens. You can never expect what's next. You don't even know when you're going to die (┳◇┳)

Anyway, if those random events continue on like this, it would be awesome.

Are there actually random events in the sense that sometimes they happen and sometimes they dont at all? The reason I'm asking is because if this is a common staple to this game then it's going to add a ton of replayability. I havent actually played the demo yet because I promised my sister I'd wait until she had some free time before I went through it.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by redrum »

The lighting was amazing. I also liked how grounded it felt, with the past few SH games, it feels like they've been themeatic with how the world looks, rather than just creating a lifelike world.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by NanayaShiki »

Well, for one, it was certainly scary. If Kojima wants this one to go right for the horror, then it's effective. PT scared a LOT of people and regardless of what I say in the Cons thread, it scared me too. At least for the first 10 minutes or so I felt legitimate apprehension about walking down that hallway and that's not something I can say about any Silent Hill game that's come before. And, yes, I jumped and I did a little "Jesus!" yell once. It's effective.

That's a compliment I give begrudgingly, given how I feel about said scares. The following compliments I give happily. It's brilliant. The whole idea of it is just brilliant. I have always been a fan of how Kojima does these types of things and this whole situation just oozes his style and I am eating it up. This is interesting. I don't just want to play this game, I want to know every little detail about every little thing that we can find. I'm not the only one, either. I've got friends that have never been interested in Silent Hill before completely captivated by this whole situation and doing research on the series. It's fantastic. Then we have the mystery over how to actually finish the game, and how all it's puzzle pieces fit together. This wasn't just something people figured out and then told everyone on the internet, this is something we all figured out together. This wasn't just a teaser. This was an event. We were all part of something, and that's a feeling that's going to stay with people and if the actual game can deliver on the unspoken promise this teaser provided with that, then I have never been more excited to be a Silent Hill fan. Not just a fan of Silent Hill, but a "Silent Hill fan".

I also love the little details hidden throughout PT that make us think. The cryptic messages, the foreign languages, the creepy messages on the radio. That stuff is gold.

The other side of this coin can be found in the Cons thread:
http://silenthillforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... 24#p680324
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Matt S »

Where do I start:

Concept was perfectly done, both in execution and actual promotion. Just awesome. That alone really made people ask themselves, 'What the....?'

Graphics: terrible. By that I mean, terribly excellent!!!! :mrgreen:

Atmosphere - perfectly done - for just a hallway area, I thought it did a great job of keeping me engaged with what was happening. There was always (usually) something happening that made me wonder what was around that corner!!!!

Sound work - subtle at times, more obvious at others....excellent.....especially with surround sound headphones.....

Surprise ending = awesome

1st person = excellent. I prefer 3rd person usually, but this has almost won me over to the idea of 1st for SH
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Yoshata »

For me, I think everything about this is one giant pro, pretty much. :D
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by arthurdepr »

Well, I didn't even play it since I don't own a PS4 (yet) but I watched some playthroughs on Youtube and I thought it was just downright disturbing — and that's awesome. The atmosphere was perfectly done and just so immersive! That world completely sucked me into that world and it was terrifying. Also, the jumpscares were masterfully done: all the antecipation and weirdness just to trigger them when we actually DON'T expect it to happen.

I really liked this teaser... and, as others said it, the whole idea and promotion of this game is just the punch this franchise needed. Everyone's talking about it and it's so great to see Silent Hill back on the radar in great style.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Reverend »

This teaser is a huge weight off my chest, as I have been sadly unable to enjoy any "Silent Hill" release since The Room (for the record, I really enjoyed the Room besides the more tedious parts). From the movie to Downpour, everything has been dumbed down, generic, stylized and completely missing the point; imitating and endlessly repeating the Silent Hill "trademarks" in only the most superficial and uninspired way. I think Silent Hill has suffered a fate worse than Star Wars when the prequels came out.

All that said, this teaser has me reeling with excitement and having almost nothing negative to say. The atmosphere, style and personality of the game are classic Silent Hill. The graphics impress just like SH2 once did, instead of regressing to cartoon. Everything is understated and restrained (less is more, let your brain fill in the rest). The building feeling of dread, the eerie, intangible disconnection from reality, the dissonance of a familiar place gone wrong. Even the writing has that dreamy "lost in translation" feel. This is the first time Silent Hill has looked like or felt like Silent Hill in eight years. For the first time in that long, I am excited for the future of this series I so loved but gave up on long ago.

The Silent Hills demo takes the series in a direction I've always thought it should go next. Yes, I do want a first person Silent Hill. And I believe the game will be.like the teaser. Why develop such a groundbreaking first person experience and show it to the world if you're going to go back to the old tank controls? The graphics are finally good enough that you can sell this kind of immersive experience. The disclaimer said it wasn't directly related to the main title, but we all saw Norman Reedus walk out of that house and into the streets. What he means is this is a standalone game, but he's showing us his vision for the game and an idea of what's to come. There is so much potential here I'm just going to strap in and enjoy the ride. It feels good to be out of the "dark times" and have Konami taking these games seriously again.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by sh#1fan »

I was just watching the walkthroughs ( no ps4 as well ) and it scared me. Not just jump scares, but actual dread and how unsettling It made me feel.
Its about time horror returned to survival horror.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Tillerman »

Reverend wrote:Yes, I do want a first person Silent Hill. And I believe the game will be.like the teaser. Why develop such a groundbreaking first person experience and show it to the world if you're going to go back to the old tank controls?
In an interview, Kojima said that the game will either be playable in both 3rd and 1st person, or else it will be divided into 1st and 3rd person scenes. The former seems like a bad idea, so I'm betting on the latter. I'd prefer the entire game be in 3rd person but having it split could work out very well, just like Silent Hill 4.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Reverend »

That could be very cool. I just hope the 1st person is utilized more than in sh4. Cinematic camera angles have their place too, but it would be cool if you could switch to 1st whenever and in some places were forced to (like claustrophobic hallway sequences where there's not much room to stick a camera anyway
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Dutchman »

I played the teaser today and damn, what a freaky ride it was. I really felt submersed in the game and what happened around me (perhaps due to the first person perspective). Occassionally I got goosebumps and shivers all over, which is a very big plus in my book. This teaser really played with your subconcious and made a lot of effort to make you feel uncomfortable, confused and frustrated.

The graphics were amazing as well as the lighting. The ambience occassionally even made me almost too scared to continue or look around. I also really liked the gradual transition from a neglected household with a mysterious past to a hellish house filled with suffering and fear. Of course I also really liked the radio broadcasts and how it underwent a similar transformation with subliminal messages.

Despite the fact that there were a few jumpscares (that also startled my household as a consequence of my screaming), I felt that they were executed in a very clever manner and they were overall nicely spread throughout the teaser. So if this teaser is any indication of what the game will be, I have high hopes for this game.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Vestu »

Well, almost every aspect of it is a Pro.

Firstly, the atmosphere and feeling of mystery is there from the beginning until the nearly orgasmic revelation.

Some have complained about the looping gameplay, but I think it works in the small scale of the Playable Teaser pretty well. It keeps you playing and getting anxious while solving the mystery bit by bit. Sure, the ghost lady might lose its effect after the fourth time you face her, but I would guess that a similar setting is unlikely in the final release.

The graphics are perfect. Depth of field feels like it's optimized for making corridors and interior distances especially creepy. Reflections, lights and shadows seem to be more than suitable for creating some creepy surroundings.

Sounds are scary. The pacing of anticipation and scares works really well. You're kind of on the verge of sh***ing your pants as the plot unfolds.

EDIT: Edited con -> pro in the opening sentence (what was I thinking) :lol:
Last edited by Vestu on 17 Aug 2014, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Sith_Dreamer »

While I really can't hate on it at all, one thing that made me cheer was the teaser actually had a save feature. Not one I knew about, but last time I played, I got killed in the "Gouge X" hallway, and quit for the night, and when I started up the game again, I was already at that point. Good job teaser!

My very few complaints are in the other thread, but overall I have very little negativity towards this, and considering this has no actual bearing on the main title, I love it as a small, stand alone SH experience, that doesn't lay everything on the table, creates an amazing atmosphere, and was creative if a little too difficult with its puzzles. Which by the way, the fact they made these puzzles without the traditional fetch quest or combination or sliding puzzle that has plagued many horror games, yes including some of the early SH puzzles, gives it some bonus points in my book.
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Re: Pros! What the teaser has done right! ಥ⌣ಥ

Post by Reverend »

Sith_Dreamer wrote:While I really can't hate on it at all, one thing that made me cheer was the teaser actually had a save feature. Not one I knew about, but last time I played, I got killed in the "Gouge X" hallway, and quit for the night, and when I started up the game again, I was already at that point. Good job teaser!

My very few complaints are in the other thread, but overall I have very little negativity towards this, and considering this has no actual bearing on the main title, I love it as a small, stand alone SH experience, that doesn't lay everything on the table, creates an amazing atmosphere, and was creative if a little too difficult with its puzzles. Which by the way, the fact they made these puzzles without the traditional fetch quest or combination or sliding puzzle that has plagued many horror games, yes including some of the early SH puzzles, gives it some bonus points in my book.

It's very clean, how they implemented puzzles, isn't it? Collecting the pieces of the portrait could have had a clunky inventory menu where you pick up the pieces and select them.... No, zooming in on them for a second is enough, triggers a scary effect and the puzzle piece is where it belongs. Love it. Likewise, the "hell" letters change just from observing them. This game has neat ways of avoiding breaks in the immersion. And then it purposefully breaks the fourth wall. I'm glad Silent Hill is interesting again.
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