How would you guys feel about co-op?

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Post by SilentEyesSilentWords »

aj4x94 wrote:Can you please change the size of your avatar? It's against regulations, and taking up half of the screen!
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Post by Chrysaor »

^Is there really any reason to be so condescending?

Anyway, I took a look at the trailer, and based on my first impressions (even though I know it's not a good idea to base anything on your first impressions), I retract my previous statement to say that I really couldn't care less if the game included co-op, as it looks to be the worst Silent Hill yet in my eyes.

If they're going to turn it into an abysmal amalgamation of Twin Peaks and Siren (With the soundtrack from The X-Files/Diablo II, and a graphical presentation that still manages to be worse than Silent Hill 3), they might as well make it entertaining. All I would ask is that they drop 'Silent Hill' from the title, no matter how many references are found throughout.
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Post by Yuki »

All I would ask is that they drop 'Silent Hill' from the title, no matter how many references are found throughout.
I've seen so many people say this, and it still baffles me: why do people insist that a game called Silent Hill, presumably with psychological horror aspects (read: supposed to be scary, mindfuck plot dealing with peoples psyches) isn't "Silent Hill" enough? Without being annoyed at peoples' judging of the game from an early prerelease trailer, I'm honestly curious at what your idea of Silent Hill is.
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Post by White Claudia »

Nope, this is a game i feel about being alone under horrific circumstance just wouldn't feel right and would take away that sense of Isolation.
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Post by Chrysaor »

Yuki wrote:I've seen so many people say this, and it still baffles me: why do people insist that a game called Silent Hill, presumably with psychological horror aspects (read: supposed to be scary, mindfuck plot dealing with peoples psyches) isn't "Silent Hill" enough? Without being annoyed at peoples' judging of the game from an early prerelease trailer, I'm honestly curious at what your idea of Silent Hill is.
I would only request that they drop the name 'Silent Hill' if they made it into a co-op game, to clear up any confusion. As I've stated previously, introducing co-op to the series would completely kill any sense of 'Psychological Horror', as well as any chance at creating any meaningful metaphors, which would remove all aspects of being Silent Hill in my mind.

I don't really mind the next game being part of the franchise, I just have a very strong feeling that I will not enjoy it nearly as much as any other game in the series. Only time will tell.
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Post by Number 7 »

I've felt that in Silent Hill games, anytime your character is accompanied by another person, it breaks the creepy tension created by your isolation. This includes when James is being followed around by Maria. The exception was Shattered Memories because you're usually following someone else to who knows where instead of the other way around.
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Post by simeonalo »

Chrysaor wrote:
I would only request that they drop the name 'Silent Hill' if they made it into a co-op game, to clear up any confusion.
Confusion? What? It's still going to be a Silent Hill game no matter what.
As I've stated previously, introducing co-op to the series would completely kill any sense of 'Psychological Horror', as well as any chance at creating any meaningful metaphors, which would remove all aspects of being Silent Hill in my mind.
Excuse me, but how do you even know this?

There are tons of scary multi player games out there. Introducing co-op into the series doesn't automatically mean "Okay, this isn't a Silent Hill title anymore. Rename it, please. There isn't going to be any meaningful metaphors or psychological scares, so it might as well not be a Silent Hill title."

There were a vast amount of scares when a character was following you around. Most of Silent Hill 2 took place with Maria.
Yuki wrote:I've seen so many people say this, and it still baffles me: why do people insist that a game called Silent Hill, presumably with psychological horror aspects (read: supposed to be scary, mindfuck plot dealing with peoples psyches) isn't "Silent Hill" enough? Without being annoyed at peoples' judging of the game from an early prerelease trailer, I'm honestly curious at what your idea of Silent Hill is.
Most of the time it's "Oh, it's not made by Team Silent," or "Origins/Homecoming traumatized me enough, I think the newer ones should be exactly like the first 3 so my heart isn't broken again."
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Post by Herr Shaun »

AuraTwilight wrote:NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

That is all.
I had an actual rebuttal in mind, but, this.
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Post by Chrysaor »

simeonalo wrote:Confusion? What? It's still going to be a Silent Hill game no matter what.
I may have worded that the wrong way. Yuki believed that I didn't think that Silent Hill 8 was worthy of the title 'Silent Hill' whatsoever, yet I'm only of the opinion that no game should include 'Silent Hill' in it's title if it includes any form of cooperative play. So, I was simply trying to clear up the confusion.
Excuse me, but how do you even know this?

There are tons of scary multi player games out there. Introducing co-op into the series doesn't automatically mean "Okay, this isn't a Silent Hill title anymore. Rename it, please. There isn't going to be any meaningful metaphors or psychological scares, so it might as well not be a Silent Hill title."

There were a vast amount of scares when a character was following you around. Most of Silent Hill 2 took place with Maria.
Maria also didn't include 'Holy shit! What the fuck?!', or 'Dude, there's some ammo over there.' in her vocabulary. If I recall correctly, she also didn't spend any time teabagging the lying figures after you've just finished beating them to death. See, I've never played a co-op game with one of my friends (or even online) where I've been able to be completely serious. Most of the fun of cooperative play, in my opinion, is that you can make jokes at the game's expense at every available opportunity. If you both take the game seriously, you might as well be playing with an AI partner. This effectively kills any attempt at psychological terror (though jump scares are still good fun with a friend).

The thing about Maria that you also have to realize is that she is an intrinsic part of Silent Hill 2's symbolism. It is perfectly plausible that the entire time she is following you, you are contemplating her role in the story, or exactly how she came to be. You may be perfectly content to meticulously pick apart even the smallest detail of her character. Certain aspects of her purpose in the story are still widely debated, even today. She is also completely helpless, and this helps significantly in ramping up the tension. Ever tried to get her to the elevator with the action set to hard? Point proven.

Let's examine Wheeler, on the other hand. He doesn't have any significant effect on the plot. His character is not symbolic of anything. He is simply a person who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This may be characteristic of most horror in general, but for Silent Hill, it is very bad form. Also, notice how playing through any segment with Wheeler significantly lowers any anxiety or tension you might have been feeling beforehand. He is constantly cracking one-liners (not unlike most co-op players, though Wheeler is admittedly more cheesy), and he's just as good with his weapon as you are, if not better, which makes dispatching enemies exponentially easier. If you could imagine playing through the entirety of Homecoming with Wheeler at your side, this is a rough representation of what a co-op Silent Hill would feel like.

Having two players view the same thing simultaneously would also be a giant step backwards for the series. The concept of perception is lost. Silent Hill would become completely grounded in a certain sense of reality. Nothing could bend to either protagonist's psyche. The vast majority of symbolism would be lost entirely, as most of what you can sit and pick apart in a Silent Hill game exists because of one person's perception, past experiences, demeanor, and psychological state. This would no longer be possible with two people (unless they pulled a miracle and made the appearance and architecture of one player's world completely different from the other's. This would be so difficult to execute in any effective way that I don't think Konami would even consider it).
Most of the time it's "Oh, it's not made by Team Silent," or "Origins/Homecoming traumatized me enough, I think the newer ones should be exactly like the first 3 so my heart isn't broken again."
Thanks for the sweeping generalization. Perhaps you'll eventually realize that there are actually a few of us who have clearly defined reasons for disliking the direction of the newer games in the series, and not everyone who thinks this way is lazy enough to simply place all the blame on the developers without bothering to figure out why they dislike the newer games so much (aside from 'This doesn't feel like Silent Hill').

I actually loved the fourth game, by the way, and I prefer all of the newer games to the third entry in every aspect except for art direction and sound design.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Having two players view the same thing simultaneously would also be a giant step backwards for the series. The concept of perception is lost. Silent Hill would become completely grounded in a certain sense of reality. Nothing could bend to either protagonist's psyche. The vast majority of symbolism would be lost entirely, as most of what you can sit and pick apart in a Silent Hill game exists because of one person's perception, past experiences, demeanor, and psychological state. This would no longer be possible with two people (unless they pulled a miracle and made the appearance and architecture of one player's world completely different from the other's. This would be so difficult to execute in any effective way that I don't think Konami would even consider it).
SH1, SH3, SH4, and SHH are all games that have protagonists that share perceptions. Really, SH2 is the only game that really doesn't; it's not the standard.
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Post by Chrysaor »

AuraTwilight wrote:SH1, SH3, SH4, and SHH are all games that have protagonists that share perceptions. Really, SH2 is the only game that really doesn't; it's not the standard.
I believe that the experience that each protagonist goes through, aside from 4, is unique, despite having outward influences. The town always manages to shift itself in such a way that it ends up 'leading' a character where they need to go, oftentimes revealing important plot points through significant areas or objects as if it was intentional. I hardly think that each character's path is obstructed in the exact same manner, that the exact same objects are present in everyone's perception, or that areas are distorted in the same way.

Thankfully, I realized that this whole post is basically one big spoiler from here on in.
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
Silent Hill 1 just so happens to lead you through a path that reveals Alessa's story in exceedingly subtle ways. I doubt that Alessa would've ushered Cybil or Dr. Kaufmann through the same path, as she knew that Dahlia was influencing Harry into culling Alessa's power, and she wanted him to know the truth. Since she essentially had full control of the town at this point, she was able to do so.

Silent Hill 3 is heavily influenced by Heather's latent psyche, and as far as I can tell, there is no proof at any point in the game that the characters are collectively viewing the same thing. The shifting nature of Silent Hill is especially apparent here, and I seriously doubt that anyone else experiences such a heavy distortion of reality.

Silent Hill 4 is the exception to the rule, but it's so unique in it's approach that trying to produce anything similar would be considered blatant plagiarism. The game makes an effort to show the player that all of the characters are drawn into the same consciousness. The only difference with Henry's journey is that, as the Receiver of Wisdom, he has to experience all of it. I'm sure more of Walter's life is revealed to Henry through objects and locations, but it seems as though all of the characters generally occupy the same space.

Homecoming's world is such a clusterfuck that I haven't really given much thought to deciphering it (at least in terms of how each character views the world), as any attempt seems to lead me in circles. The majority of the monsters encountered are based off of Alex's psyche. It could be due to the importance Alex's situation had on the state his hometown is in, or it is entirely possible that each character is viewing their own personal monstrosities, with the appearance of the sacrifices explained by an 'Angela Effect' (Where one person's feelings are so strong that they affect another person's perception). The town does hint towards the death of Josh quite a bit, though. I would think that these hints would be a product of Alex's mind alone. Or, Alex could just be completely delusional, though that's not very likely.

Origins is a confusing amalgamation of both Alessa's and Travis' psyches, yet Travis' mind has such an impact on the world around him that it would be hard to argue that anyone else views the world in the same way. Shattered Memories is entirely the product of someone's mind; the entire game doesn't even exist in any form of reality, aside from the psychological evaluations.
Hopefully this proves that having two characters go through the exact same experiences throughout an entire game would more than likely destroy an essential part of the series.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Silent Hill: The Arcade managed to pick up on it pretty well. It's entirely possible that perhaps we could have two characters that share perceptions even if other characters don't, or they're forced to split up because one character can't follow the other, or something of those lines.
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Post by Chrysaor »

AuraTwilight wrote:Silent Hill: The Arcade managed to pick up on it pretty well. It's entirely possible that perhaps we could have two characters that share perceptions even if other characters don't, or they're forced to split up because one character can't follow the other, or something of those lines.
Silent Hill: The Arcade is also one-off fan service that's considered just about as canonical as the graphic novels, with about the same level of quality put into the writing. I'm perfectly fine with a lightgun game breaking form, as by it's very nature, it already has.

Silent Hill 8 is a main series entry. If it ends up being as poorly conceived as SH:TA, it's probably a good idea to start working on Silent Hill's epitaph.

Besides, I thought you were against co-op in a Silent Hill game?
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Post by Yuki »

I may have worded that the wrong way. Yuki believed that I didn't think that Silent Hill 8 was worthy of the title 'Silent Hill' whatsoever, yet I'm only of the opinion that no game should include 'Silent Hill' in it's title if it includes any form of cooperative play. So, I was simply trying to clear up the confusion.
Okay, that makes more sense. I disagree somewhat (provided the co-op was done well), but thanks for clearing that up.
He is simply a person who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This may be characteristic of most horror in general, but for Silent Hill, it is very bad form.
I know you're saying this in the context of co-op, but I'd like to point out that this is exactly what happened with Harry and Henry.


Also, I would love to see a Wii port of Silent Hill: The Arcade, if only to have another fun game.
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Post by Light Alessa »

I thought co-op would wreck games. However I finally decided to play RE 5 on the 360 the other day with my friend Ed, who is usually terrified of horror games, and you know what? It was amazing. The experience was made better by having someone help you in impossible situations. With Silent Hill, it would have to be done properly. Some games (such as the final spyro game) did multiplayer wrong, they gave you the whole screen, it would HAVE to be split screen for it to work.

AC3 is including multiplayer... They're embracing the fact some people want to play games together. Multiplayer should only be included as an option in SH8, however I would find it awesome if there were certain features (such as doors etc) that were unlocked on a second playthrough using the two player mode etc etc)

Whatever any of you say, This is Silent Hill. Don't like it? Don't come to this section, don't play the game, and go back to your sad and lonely existence playing the same 4 'original' SH games in your basement and never play a new SH game. Give it a chance.
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Post by Chrysaor »

Yuki wrote:I know you're saying this in the context of co-op, but I'd like to point out that this is exactly what happened with Harry and Henry.
I was actually saying that in the context of the importance of peripheral characters. Maria is acceptable, because she adds an unbelievable amount of depth to the game. Wheeler is not acceptable, because his character does nothing to further the storyline or change the context of the game. Unlike nearly any other character in the series, Wheeler doesn't add any poetic weight to the game, and his personality serves no purpose. He is simply a generic horror character. The only real reference to co-op in there was how drastically different the game would be if he was your constant companion, and how similar that would be to playing with a friend.

Harry may be in the wrong place at the wrong time when the story begins, but his situation and his personality are both driving forces in the game that help to push you along. Also, despite being so early in the series, the original Silent Hill's supporting cast was still designed to serve a greater purpose than simply being present in the storyline. They are representative of the different states of faith, and how drastically perception of the same situation can change based simply on a person's beliefs. Wheeler offers nothing so profound.

Henry also begins the fourth game in the wrong place at the wrong time. In fact, you may play through the entire game not even realizing how much thought was put into Henry's design, as it's very subtle and hard to pick up on. His characterization doesn't really give you motivation to continue, as Harry's did. Instead, Henry was designed to support and compliment the feelings that the game was meant to instill in you. The entire aesthetic that Silent Hill 4 intended was to give you a sense of loss that mirrored Walter's feelings. Henry's fairly blank and empty personality allows you to project yourself onto him without having conflicting ideals or interests, making it that much easier for you to feel the loss of your 'mother' firsthand. Again, Wheeler is a character who offers absolutely nothing in his design.
Light Alessa wrote:I thought co-op would wreck games. However I finally decided to play RE 5 on the 360 the other day with my friend Ed, who is usually terrified of horror games, and you know what? It was amazing. The experience was made better by having someone help you in impossible situations. With Silent Hill, it would have to be done properly. Some games (such as the final spyro game) did multiplayer wrong, they gave you the whole screen, it would HAVE to be split screen for it to work.
Were you ever legitimately scared by Resident Evil 5? The only feeling that game really offers you is the same degree of tension that most action-oriented games do, slightly amplified because the manginas (yes, that was intentional) eventually have access to AK-47s and body armor, and you can't fucking move and shoot.

It may have been designed for co-op, but any legitimacy in Resident Evil still existing as a horror franchise is now completely lost. It's simply a big enough name that it can manage to pull that off.
AC3 is including multiplayer... They're embracing the fact some people want to play games together. Multiplayer should only be included as an option in SH8, however I would find it awesome if there were certain features (such as doors etc) that were unlocked on a second playthrough using the two player mode etc etc)
Assassin's Creed is also in a completely different ballpark, where multiplayer would not be a hindrance to anything that the game is trying to achieve. Instead, it serves to make Assassin's Creed potentially better than before.

Including Multiplayer as an option (unless it was limited to a completely inconsequential arcade-style mode that had absolutely nothing to do with anything in the game) would still necessitate that the game catered towards a co-op experience. The entire game would have to accomodate multiple characters, whether or not there are multiple people playing the game.
Light Alessa wrote:Whatever any of you say, This is Silent Hill. Don't like it? Don't come to this section, don't play the game, and go back to your sad and lonely existence playing the same 4 'original' SH games in your basement and never play a new SH game. Give it a chance.
I'll be perfectly content with my 'sad and lonely existance' when the series dies off completely because people who put no real effort into understanding what makes the games have the effect that they do wanted to try something that would throw everything completely off balance.

Silent Hill is in a very bad way. Origins, Homecoming, and Shattered Memories combined haven't even sold as many copies as either of the first two games. Adding co-op would be a fucking coffin nail at this point.
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Post by Varg6 »

I think that they should focus on a great single player campaign and after beating it, depending on your ending, you can unlock characters for online co-op. It could be a totally separate entity that focuses on side-missions and a main storyline for each convict.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Silent Hill: The Arcade is also one-off fan service that's considered just about as canonical as the graphic novels, with about the same level of quality put into the writing.
Note most people who say this have never played the games and don't know much about the game beyond character names. Excuse me for not giving a shit what most people thing.
Besides, I thought you were against co-op in a Silent Hill game?
I am, but I disagree with your reasons for your opinion. Your complaints rely on your specific, potentially erroneous interpretation of Silent Hill.
Silent Hill is in a very bad way. Origins, Homecoming, and Shattered Memories combined haven't even sold as many copies as either of the first two games.
In fairness, this can be attributed to external factors, such as the console wars bullshit, and the fact that the fanbase was split by SH4 long before those games showed up, so they never even faced the same chance of bringing in the same fans.
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Post by clips »

I'll be perfectly content with my 'sad and lonely existance' when the series dies off completely because people who put no real effort into understanding what makes the games have the effect that they do wanted to try something that would throw everything completely off balance.

Silent Hill is in a very bad way. Origins, Homecoming, and Shattered Memories combined haven't even sold as many copies as either of the first two games. Adding co-op would be a fucking coffin nail at this point.

I agree, but i think one of the reasons why the series might be lagging is because of the current gen of gamers.....this gen is into nothing but mindless FPS's...and if it is a horror game such as silent hill it'd better be survival action like RE5....it's not so much the games themselves, because even tho they're not as good as the earlier games, Shattered Memories, Homecoming & even Origins are solid games....blame this generation of gamers that want the next generic call of duty to be created...

I still respect that the silent hill series is still trying to hold on to it's roots...so far it hasn't gone the RE route and I hope it never does...
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Post by paladin181 »

AuraTwilight wrote:
Having two players view the same thing simultaneously would also be a giant step backwards for the series. The concept of perception is lost. Silent Hill would become completely grounded in a certain sense of reality. Nothing could bend to either protagonist's psyche. The vast majority of symbolism would be lost entirely, as most of what you can sit and pick apart in a Silent Hill game exists because of one person's perception, past experiences, demeanor, and psychological state. This would no longer be possible with two people (unless they pulled a miracle and made the appearance and architecture of one player's world completely different from the other's. This would be so difficult to execute in any effective way that I don't think Konami would even consider it).
SH1, SH3, SH4, and SHH are all games that have protagonists that share perceptions. Really, SH2 is the only game that really doesn't; it's not the standard.
SH1 was a world created by Alessa in an attempt to destroy the world rather than bring about the god that she believed she would birth (and therefore actually did). SH3 was created by a combination of Heather and Claudia. SH4 was Walter's Dream world. He was the king in control of his castle. Homecoming had more issues than you can shake a stick at, but it did establish a collective creation of the otherworld based on the belief that god would kill them all or worse. Of those 4 games, only Homecoming didn't have a 'puppet master' in charge of the otherworld, and therefore there was a good reason for people to experience the same otherworld: it was created from another person's mind.
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