New Interview with Ito, Yamaoka, and Okamoto

[Numb Body01]

No new footage but some interesting little tidbits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwkd6umvP-Y

[Jonipoon]

Some new and interesting things were said:

- The fact that James' age has been intentionally raised seems to confirm that this remake will take place in an alternate timeline separate from the original series. I think this is great.

- Their urge to showcase the remake's highly detailed 4K environments seems to indicate that the range of visibility will be far greater compared to the original. So we will be able to see enemies further away than before, which will undoubtedly upset a lot of fans. This is honestly a tough pill to swallow and I have mixed feelings about it.

- Yamaoka is making all of the music, but he didn't say anything about the sound design. This could mean that someone else at Bloober Team is in charge of the sound design. We'll have to wait and see.

[Sabitsuki]

Let's hope that TSM is not among the cancelled projects they mentioned.

[Droo]

- The fact that James' age has been intentionally raised seems to confirm that this remake will take place in an alternate timeline separate from the original series. I think this is great.

Why would James' age being raised slightly put this in an alternate timeline? Him being a few years older than as depicted in the original doesn't really change anything in my opinion. His age in the original was somewhat nebulous anyway.

[Jonipoon]

>Why would James' age being raised slightly put this in an alternate timeline?

Perhaps this is somewhat of a false cause fallacy, but Ito specifically says "this is our way of emphasizing that this is a remake". The way they talk about his changed appearance and increased suffering, and how this is "a James" and not "the James". They are emphasizing that this is a new James and not the original James.

[Mike Enslin]

Let's hope that TSM is not among the cancelled projects they mentioned.

The Short Message was rated in Taiwan weeks ago, complete with artwork and a plot description. It's not cancelled. If anything it's likely releasing within the next month.

[Lifetolifeless]

- Their urge to showcase the remake's highly detailed 4K environments seems to indicate that the range of visibility will be far greater compared to the original. So we will be able to see enemies further away than before...

I haven't seen the video yet, so apologies if the answer's obvious. But why conflate higher resolution with draw distance when the two don't have any necessary relationship? Is this heavily implied by the interviewees, or are folks just speculating?

[Jonipoon]

^Because of these two quotes from Ito and Okamoto:

"“There is the issue of everything being a step brighter spoiling the fear of darkness, an issue that's come up often not just for this remake but since the time of the PS4 in general."

"“The fear players projected onto the dark screens of the original using their imagination have been replaced with fears they can actually walk through and experience on a large 4K screen."

What they're referring to is the fact that in the original, you could only see so far with your flashlight in certain places, and the only thing to help you notice monsters from afar was the radio. That was part of the scare factor, and now they're suggesting that it's been replaced with greater visibility in dark places (as a result of more detailed 4K environments) that will create a new type of horror experience. For me personally this isn't a very big deal, you were able to see monsters from afar in Silent Hill 4 as a direct result of brighter environments, and it still worked well by inducing fear. But for others, this might be an issue.

I don't know about the foggy outdoor parts though, they seem to have kept the fog pretty thick and dense so you'll probably not see monsters far away in the distance - just like in the original.

[Burning Man]

This was a pleasantly wholesome interview. I liked that they seemed very chill.

I took a bit of interest in Ito's comments about combat and how he was looking to change the behavior of some of the enemies. Looking back, Lying Figure, Mannequin and the Bubble Head Nurse were somewhat variations of the same template, sharing very similar behavior and stature. Once the players figured out how to deal with one of them, the game became much easier and a bit monotonic. These three represented most of the enemy encounters so the players spend the majority of time dealing with them.

I felt this issue was mostly resolved in Silent Hill 3. Although the player is given nearly identical combat mechanics as SH2, there was care given to ensure that one encounter didn't feel like the previous one. For example, they would group certain monsters with quite different characteristics: Closers could be paired with Double Heads, Numb Bodies could be paired with Pendulums or Nurses with Slurpers. Nurses would also have pipe-wielding ones and pistol-wielding ones. Some monsters also came in different sizes with different health. The smaller ones were more agile, where as the bigger ones dealt more damage. SH3 also had the Extreme modes that made the enemies more aggressive and dangerous.

I suppose Ito could have Lying Figure, Mannequin and Bubble Head Nurse behave very differently. The game would still be missing any regular aerial enemy. Mary, and to an extent Flesh Lips, could be considered aerial, but they're boss monsters.

[Droo]

What the original SH2 lacked was fast moving monsters. Unlike SH1 which had the air screamers, dogs, gorilla men etc, the Nurses, Mannequins, and Lying Figures (when ambulatory) were all very slow moving, which made them easier to deal with or avoid. I wonder if any of the monsters will have increased speed and mobility this time around.

[Burning Man]

I just realized that Nurses and Lying Figures have variations in other Silent Hill games. Straightjacket (Silent Hill Origins) and Smog (Silent Hill Homecoming) come to mind. I wonder if Ito will be referencing them. Must be a strange feeling.

[The Adversary]

I find it unlikely Ito would acknowledge iterations of his own designs that were later modified for games he wasn’t involved in.

I’m curious how that works, though. As a bartender who has crafted many original drinks, I get suuuuuper pissed when I got to a bar/restaurant and see my recipes slightly modified on the menu. Can’t imagine that on a grander scale like Ito has seen.