Silent Hill (franchise)

Silent Hill (サイレントヒル, Sairento Hiru ^?) is a horror video game franchise created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami and its subsidiary, Konami Digital Entertainment. The first four titles in the series, Silent Hill, 2, 3 and 4: The Room, were developed by Team Silent, an internal group belonging to KCET. Subsequent works were created and/or developed by groups unrelated to the original team. These works include comics, films and video games.

Silent Hill takes place in the fictional city of the same name, located in the United States. The series is heavily influenced by psychological horror and features protagonists with no unusual physical qualities or abilities; in contrast to other horror and survival titles. Gameplay revolves around solving puzzles, exploring the map for interesting items, and fighting monsters. 20 years after its creation, a modder found unpublished monsters that Konami had kept dormant in the game files.

Video games

Original series

The original Silent Hill game was released for the PlayStation in January 1999 in North America, followed by Japan and Europe in March and August 1999, respectively. carried out by Team Silent (an internal group belonging to KCET) under the direction of Keiichiro Toyama. According to the Swedish magazine Level, the new owners of the parent company Konami were looking for a game that had success in the United States. Despite the fact that the parent company had a profit-oriented approach, the development team decided to ignore the limits imposed by Konami, to make Silent Hill a game that appealed to the emotions of the players. Takayoshi Sato, creator of the computer-generated scenes (CGI), stated that the budget for the game was between 3 and 5 million dollars. The plot of Silent Hill shows Harry Mason looking for his daughter Cheryl in the city of the same name; as the plot progresses, Harry will discover the truth about the city and a cult rooted in it. Silent Hill received positive reviews and was a commercial success. It is considered a defining title for the survival horror, moving away from B-movie elements in favor of an atmosphere of psychological horror. The game has sold over two million copies to date.

After the game's release, Keiichiro Toyama left the team for SCE Japan Studio.

The next title in the series, Silent Hill 2, was released in September 2001. The PlayStation 2 was chosen as the initial platform, as the game's producer, Akihiro Imamura, stated that it was in then "the focus of the market". Xbox and Microsoft Windows versions were released later. With Toyama's departure, the direction of the second installment was left to Masashi Tsuboyama. The story was conceived by Sato (in addition to continuing to work on the CGI scenes), and written by him and Hiroyuki Owaku. Sato estimated that the budget for Silent Hill 2 was between 7 and 10 million dollars. Still set in the same city as the previous title, Silent Hill 2 is not a direct sequel to the first installment; focuses on the state of the town and the repercussions left by the cult in it, after the events of the first game, as well as providing history to the town itself. The protagonist of the plot is James Sunderland, who enters the town after receive a letter written by his late wife, telling him that she is waiting for him at her "special place" in Silent Hill. There, James must search for her while he uncovers the truth about her death.Silent Hill 2 was well received upon its release, though higher praise followed in retrospect. Thanks to its story, the use of metaphors, psychological horror and taboo themes, SH2 is considered one of the best horror games and recognized as one of the best video games of all time. According to VGChartz, Silent Hill 2 has sold over one and a half million copies to date.

Silent Hill 3 and 4: The Room were developed almost simultaneously; Team Silent split into two groups, each running their own game. Silent Hill 4, initially known as Room 302, was intended to explore another direction for the franchise, but was not to be part of the main series. The direction of Silent Hill 3 fell into the hands of Kazuhide Nakazawa, while the script continued under the work of Owaku. Masahiro Ito, art director and monster designer in previous installments, continued as such in SH3. Ito and Owaku left Team Silent after SH3, so like Sato, who did it after SH2. Silent Hill 4: The Room was directed and written by Suguru Murakoshi, with art by Tsuboyama. Despite the fact that both projects were divided in terms of personnel, Akira Yamaoka continued to be involved as director. sound and composer in both installments.

Silent Hill 3 was released in July 2003 for the PlayStation 2; a version for Windows was released some time later. Being the direct sequel to the first title, Silent Hill 3 takes place seventeen years after the events that occurred in the first installment. The story centers on Heather Mason, who is pulled into the bizarre reality of a nightmare after experiencing a terrifying event at a shopping mall. She ends up finding out that she is part of the Silent Hill cult's plan and finds herself caught up in a conflict within the city. Silent Hill 3 was met with mostly positive reviews, especially for its presentation., scenarios, graphics and audio, as well as all the elements of survival horror that were used to develop its plot. It has managed to sell more than 700,000 units worldwide. world.

Silent Hill 4: The Room was released in 2004 for PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox. Unlike previous titles, The Room is set in the city South Ashfield's fictional character. SH4 features altered gameplay compared to previous installments and borrows from previous games' plot elements. The story follows Henry Townshend, who finds himself locked up in his own apartment, until a hole appears in his bathroom wall. The hole leads him to several worlds where Henry reveals his apartment's connection to a serial killer linked to the town of Silent Hill. Upon its release, The Room received positive reviews, although not they were as much as those of their predecessors; Reviews criticized the emphasis on combat, which compromised the terror of the work. Nonetheless, reviews such as those from GameSpot praised the game's atmosphere. For its part, Konami's official statements have described the video game's sales in America as "favorable". VGChartz points out that Silent Hill 4: The Room has sold more than 600,000 units.

Following the release of Silent Hill 4, Team Silent disbanded in April 2005. KCET merged with parent company Konami that same month. According to a Silent Hill artist: Homecoming, Team Silent was disbanded by Konami itself, as Konami "wanted someone else to make the games". All titles after The Room were developed by unrelated groups. with the original team. Akira Yamaoka, however, continued his work as composer and sound director until 2009, when he would retire.

Later Games

Silent Hill Origins, known as Silent Hill Zero in Japan, was released for the PlayStation Portable in late 2007. It was developed by Climax Studios. A version for PlayStation 2 came out in early 2008. This installment is a prequel to the first video game in the series. Set in the city of the same name, the plot of Origins follows trucker Travis Grady as he searches for information. about a girl he rescued from a fire. Along the way, Travis unlocks his repressed childhood memories.The game's plot was written by Sam Barlow.The first trailers for Silent Hill Origins saw the light of day in mid-2006; by this time the game was expected to be released at the end of that year. However, the American Climax team working on Origins was fired, defining its development as "a disaster due to mismanagement". and unrealistic deadlines". Production of the game was subsequently transferred to the UK to ensure that the final product would be "a more solid game". Reviews of Silent Hill Origins were positive, despite negative reviews arguing the series' "strict adherence" to the formula, and that the game "relies on franchise standards without doing anything new". Origins has sold nearly 600,000 units.

The next installment, Silent Hill: Homecoming, was developed by Double Helix Games and released in September 2008 in North America for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. A version for Microsoft Windows was released in America on November 2008 via Steam. The Japanese version was cancelled. The play follows Alex Shepherd as he returns to his hometown of Shepherd's Glen. There, he realizes that his younger brother is missing and the town is in chaos. As he continues to search for his brother, he discovers more about the town's history and his own past. Despite having similar gameplay Unlike previous installments in terms of exploration and puzzle solving, Silent Hill: Homecoming emphasizes its combat system to offer more action. Critical reception of Homecoming was much less favorable compared to its predecessor. Some critics were positive about the series' developer change, while others saw Homecoming as an example of Japanese franchises being degraded by Westernization, particularly in the different approaches used to induce fear in the player. Likewise, Akira Yamaoka was disappointed with the direction that the series took with this work, saying that he believes that the element that gave originality to the titles was the vision of Japanese horror combined with western culture. Yamaoka said he thought Homecoming lacked that feeling. Regardless, Homecoming received the best commercial reception in the series since Silent Hill 2, with more than 800,000 copies sold, according to VGChartz.

The seventh title in the franchise, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, was newly developed by Climax Studios and released in December 2009 for the Wii. Versions for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable were released in February 2010. Shattered Memories serves as both a reboot to the franchise and a reimagining of the first game in the franchise: the work maintains the premise of the original Silent Hill —Harry Mason goes in search of his lost daughter in the town of Silent Hill—, but is located in a different fictional universe, has a different plot and modified characters compared to the first installment. The game does not have any combat system. In addition, there are therapy sessions in which the player is put under psychological tests; the answers given there affect various gameplay elements during Harry's journey. Shattered Memories was written by Sam Barlow and the music was composed by Akira Yamaoka, who left Konami after finishing the game.

The eighth and most recent installment in the series, Silent Hill: Downpour, was developed by Vatra Games and released in March 2012 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Despite being set in the homonymous fictional city, the work presents a new scene of the town. The story revolves around Murphy Pendelton, a prisoner who enters Silent Hill, where his past will be revealed. Silent Hill: Downpour received mixed reviews and has sold nearly 800,000 copies.

In October 2022, Konami announces three new games for the Playstation 5 and PC platforms. One of them is the remake of Silent Hill 2 and two other games called Silent Hill Townfall and Silent Hill F. All three games are developed by independent studios outside of Konami.

Derivatives

Silent Hill: Play Novel is an altered version of the original Silent Hill, released for the Game Boy Advance in the form of a visual novel. It was published only for Japan in 2001. Despite this, Western critics did not hesitate to give their opinion, who criticized the lack of soundtrack and incentives to create an atmosphere of terror.

Silent Hill: The Arcade is an arcade video game released in Japan in July 2007 and in Europe the following year. The plot involves two characters, Eric and Tina, who enter the town of Silent Hill, where they must fight monsters while uncovering the mystery of Eric's nightmares about a girl and a steamboat. Being an Martian Killer on rails, The Arcade presents a big departure from the series in both genre and gameplay.

Another title that also moves away from its mechanics, in this case towards first-person shooters, is Silent Hill: The Escape. It was published in 2007 for iPhone, iPod touch and mobile devices that operate with Symbian.

Common Elements

Plot Features and Symbolism

The fog is one of the main symbols of Silent Hill. In the image, a lake completely covered with a dense fog.

All the works in the Silent Hill series, with the exception of Shattered Memories, share the same setting: Silent Hill, a misty town located in the northeast of the United States. Although the town's location is ambiguous, the original games place the town in the state of Maine. However, in the film adaptation, the city is located in West Virginia; the production of the film in question used the city of Centralia, Pennsylvania, as inspiration. Finally, it should be noted that, although the setting for the town is the United States, the reference material to create the map are places in Japan such as Lakes Towada and Tazawa.

The plot of the games indicates that Silent Hill was a sacred place for the Native Americans who resided in the area, due to a power that the city contained. After the arrival of the colonists in America, power was completely distorted in the course of history. This power shapes people's deepest thoughts, projecting tangible elements of their unconscious minds, nightmares, and mental states. Most of these manifestations occur during a warping of reality, referred to as "another world." The characters in the series frequently experience this altered reality, in which the laws of physics and time often do not apply. Also, after the events of the first Silent Hill, the town becomes a catalyst for the manifestation of the unconscious minds of those who hold darkness in their hearts: as shown in Silent Hill 2, reality alterations are neither hostile nor visible to innocent people. Only those with darkness in their hearts can see and be attacked by the projections of another.

Among the recurring creatures and monsters of the series are included the "nurses", since in most of the plots the emphasis is placed on the hospitalizations of some characters; these creatures have appeared in almost all the Silent Hill games. Another of the monsters is Pyramid Head, a character who represents the desire for punishment projected by the subconscious of James Sunderland, and who has become the series mascot. Among others, it also includes "Robbie the Rabbit", the mascot of an amusement park, and a dog that has been included in some of the games' joke endings. Also, the series includes the appearance of various religious items with magical properties, taken from the real world.

Another of the plot elements in the series is a fictional religious cult known as "The Order". This religious organization has members who have acted as antagonists in most titles, such as Dahlia Gillespie in the first and second. prequel, Claudia Wolf in Silent Hill 3, Walter Sullivan in The Room and Margaret Holloway in Homecoming. The cult also operates an orphanage that takes in poor homeless children and raises them in it, called "Wish House" ("Hope House" in Silent Hill 3), whose management is in charge of a the cult's front charity. On the other hand, the cult religion is based on the worship of a main deity who is called simply as “god”. His dogma derives from a myth: the deity set out to create a paradise, but ran out of energy in the process; she would return to Earth one day, thus being able to finally create paradise and save humanity. The cult of the town participates in illegal acts on multiple occasions: rituals of human sacrifices whose purpose is the resurrection of the deity, drug trafficking, and the kidnapping and confinement of children who are taught their dogma through mind control, using the facilities of his orphanage as a cover.

Atmosphere

Composer Akira Yamaoka has written the music for the games in the series, with the exception of Silent Hill Downpour, composed by Daniel Licht. The music ranges from post-industrial to trip-hop or alternative. In the other world, the music plays louder than in the fog world, making it difficult to hear enemies and trying to scare the player. Additionally, many ambient sound effects cause fright and alarm rather than trying to render the player helpless; for example, heavy breathing or weak struggling is heard in dark, empty corridors. As of the third installment, Yamaoka has incorporated singers Joe Romersa and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn for the main themes of the games.

Since Silent Hill 2 the series has used the noise effect, equivalent to white noise on television. This radio static effect acts like a movie filter, giving the game a sense of constant unknown presence in the face of any possible threat, especially in the dark. This effect can obstruct the player's view, as common objects such as pipes, walls, and billboards can appear to be monsters in the distance, and vice versa, with distant monsters resembling objects when not moving. This effect was expanded in Silent Hill 4: The Room where it is greatly increased when the protagonist approaches creatures or spirits. The effect can be disabled after completing the game for the first time.

Plot

Silent Hill is a small town situated around a residential park and a large forest. The oldest sections of the town lie to the north, along the banks of the river. Due to its commercial development, the town is self-sufficient: it has an elementary school, a brothel, a motel, two billiards, a psychiatric center and other shops and attractions. Most of the businesses in town are run by their own owners without any influence from franchises or chain stores, with the exception of a "Happy Burger" hamburger bar and a Shell gas station. Old Silent Hill and Paleville have large residential areas with apartments and houses, as well as several motels and the Lakeview Hotel. The Paleville waterfront area also has a lighthouse and an amusement park, Lakeside Amusement Park.

Before the 1600s the area where Silent Hill would finally settle was home to members of an Amerindian tribe who used the land for sacred rituals. At the end of the century the conquistadores arrived and founded the town. A short time later they began to die rapidly, and the deaths were attributed to an epidemic. Brookhaven Hospital was built to treat those affected. Eventually, the conquistadores fled the town, leaving it abandoned for about a century, until it was reinhabited as a penal colony in the early 1800s. Twenty years later another epidemic broke out, and Brookhaven Hospital was rebuilt and reopened. In 1840 the prison was closed and the town was once again abandoned. A decade later coal was discovered, and Silent Hill was repopulated.

During the American Civil War the town was used as a prisoner of war camp. After the end of the battles the prison was converted into a state penitentiary. A short time later Silent Hill was transformed into a tourist town. At that time a group of religious fanatics founded various doomsday cults based on the eschatology of the Native American tribe that had previously occupied the town. Collectively referring to themselves as "The Order", the cults worshiped different petty deities and practiced necromancy and human sacrifice for the purpose of reviving the "god", an ancient deity whom they believed would bring paradise by wiping out everyone. the humans. To finance their activities, the Order trafficked in a drug called White Claudia or, in Spanish, Claudia Blanca, produced from a plant indigenous to the town. Drug trafficking increased tourism, but was eventually blocked by the local police, sparking a conflict during which the Order killed several officers.

The different appearances of both the town and its inhabitants are manifested by the unconscious fears of its residents, although not necessarily of the protagonists. These manifestations can be seen by several people or appear differently to each of them. In the video game series, symbolism and psychology are used, so that the town itself serves as a catalyst to materialize the subconscious of each individual, bringing with it their deepest fears, as well as their greatest regrets.

The story notes that Silent Hill has always had a supernatural presence, but the events of violence and death that the town has experienced since its founding have perverted those energies and transformed them into something darker. Books published by the creators and Konami have established that the power of Silent Hill "has been greatly intensified" since the events of the first game. While the first two games show protagonists being drawn to Silent Hill, subsequent games show that the Otherworld has overtaken protagonists in nearby cities and towns.

Game system

The Silent Hill games are in the Survival Horror genre, with the exception of the title Silent Hill: Book of Memories for PlayStation Vita, which contains elements belonging to a hack and slash and an action role-playing game. They also use a third-person camera; in certain areas the camera switches to predetermined angles. Since visibility is generally low due to the fog and darkness that pervade the settings, all playable characters in the series—with the exception of Henry Townshend from Silent Hill 4: The Room—carry a flashlight and a device that alerts the player to the presence of nearby creatures by emitting static. This device varies by game, being a transistor in Origins and the first three titles, a handheld communicator in Homecoming and Downpour, and a phone. mobile in Shattered Memories.

To explore any place, the player can take maps of certain areas (in the case of Silent Hill 4, Henry will draw it), on which the character will write and mark places of interest on them.. To deal with the hostile creatures and enemies that roam the scene, every player character in Silent Hill has access to a variety of weapons, both white and fire. In addition, Origins and Downpour include a rudimentary hit-and-run system. Shattered Memories is the only exception; It does not have a combat system, emphasizing the evasion of enemies. Another of the game mechanics consists of riddles and enigmas, the resolution of which is necessary to progress.

Influences

Members of the now separated Team Silent have stated that they are fans of the film Jacob's Ladder and its technique of inducing fear through a more psychological level of perception. For the first four games, notable influences were the books of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Kunio Yanagita and slightly by those of H. P. Lovecraft, the films of David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, the art of Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Brueghel the Elder and Francis Bacon, and industrial rock, new age and German techno music.

Multimedia

Art of Silent Hill

Art of Silent Hill was released in 2002 in Japan. It is the first multimedia DVD in the series and focuses mostly on material from Silent Hill 2, such as original art and renderings. Contains the exclusive "Caramel Mix" video, as well as the "Ki-no-ko" and "Fukuro", both of which would also appear on future multimedia discs. Also like they did the horror movie "Terror in Silent Hill" that movie was released on 2006 August 25, The video game was inspired by the movie, the creator of the video game is "Keiichiro Toyama" And the game was released on the 31st of January 1999.

Lost Memories: The Art and Music of Silent Hill

The second multimedia DVD, Lost Memories: The Art and Music of Silent Hill was released only in Japan in 2003. Most of the content on Art of Silent Hill is found on this disc, as well as new content that is divided into seven sections, which include complete soundtracks, collections of trailers, renderings and galleries of creatures from the first three games. He also owns music videos like "Ki-no-ko", "Fukuro", "Usagimu" and a video of Heather's character singing the song "You're Not Here" from the Silent Hill 3 soundtrack.

Inescapable Rain in Yoshiwara

Inescapable rain in Yoshiwara is an audio drama added as a second disc in the Japanese version of the Silent Hill 4 soundtrack. It was created by Akira Yamaoka and Tetsui Ichiryusa and lasts 57 minutes, however an extra chapter with an additional 16 minutes was also released. This story does not connect to the Silent Hill series in any way.

The Silent Hill Experience

A promotional title for the film Silent Hill, The Silent Hill Experience is a UMD disc released for the PlayStation Portable in 2006. It contains original art, soundtracks, and comics. based on the series, which is only a not very long movie with still drawings and some short texts.

The Silent Hill: Cage of Cradle

Cage of Cradle is an interactive manga book written by Hiroyuki Owaku and illustrated by Masahiro Ito, both members of Team Silent. It was released in 2006 as a mobile phone download in Japan. The story focuses on the character of Lisa Garland before the events of the first game in the series. Also featured are Dr. Kauffman, Alessa Gillespie, and the notorious Pyramid Head.

Silent Hill: Double Under Dusk

The second interactive manga released for mobile phones in Japan. Ever since the loss of his beloved son, Ronny, Brian has slipped day by day into emotional and spiritual apathy. One day, he meets Lindsay, who looks identical to a woman who appears in his nightmares. Together, they decide to visit Silent Hill.

Books

All books have only been published in Japan through Konami.

Lost Memories: Silent Hill Chronicle

Lost Memories is a guide detailing various aspects of the first three games, revealing titles. The book has been unofficially translated into English on the internet.<!R15>

Drawing Block: Silent Hill 3 Program

Drawing Block is an original art book that came with the limited editions of Silent Hill 3 along with two posters and the DVD Lost Memories: The Art and Music of Silent Hill.

Silent Hill: The Novel

This is a novelization of the first game written by Sadamu Yamashita and released on 08/11/2006. It is divided into three chapters: Fog (fog), Darkness (darkness) and Nightmare (nightmare). It is only available in Japanese. It contains 272 pages, plus 8 pages with illustrations by Masahiro Ito (4 in color, and 4 in black and white). ISBN 4-86155-815-8

Silent Hill 2: The Novel

Novelization of the second part of the game. Also written by Sadamu Yamashita and edited on 11/22/2006. Contains 304 pages, and 4 illustrations by Masahiro Ito. ISBN 4-86155-832-8

Silent Hill 3: The Novel

Novelization of the third part of the saga, written by Sadamu Yamashita. With 288 pages, and illustrations by Masahiro Ito. It was edited on 07/27/2007. ISBN 978-4-86155-842-9

Comics

A series of comic books were written by Scott Ciencin, with art by Ben Templesmith, Aadi Salman, Shaun Thoma and Nick Stackal, other comics were published starting in 2008 by Tom Waltz with art by cartoonist Menton3. The comics were published from 2004 to 2010 in the United States by IDW Publishing. Comics are considered as alternative stories because they present contradictions with the history established in video games. Additionally, a graphic novel titled Silent Hill, from the now-defunct British publisher Com.X, was completed in 2000 but never published. Published comics are:

• Silent Hill: Dying Inside
• Silent Hill: Among the Damned
• Silent Hill: Paint It Black
• Silent Hill: The Grinning Man
• Silent Hill: Dead/Alive
• Silent Hill: Hunger
• Silent Hill: Sinner's Reward
• Silent Hill: Past Life
• Silent Hill: Anne's Story

Film adaptation

• Silent Hill is the premiered adaptation on April 21, 2006, led by Christophe Gans and starring Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden, Sean Bean, Alice Krige and Jodelle Ferland. Based on the first video game with Rose Da Silva (Radha Mitchell) looking for her lost daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) after an accident in her car. Together with Officer Cybil Bennett (Laurie Holden) they try to save the girl from a world of supernatural creatures, strange sects and a ruined city, where they focus all the desires of revenge on the part of Alessa Gillespie, the innocent victim of Silent Hill's cult, who was burned to invoke her god.

• Silent Hill: Revelation 3D is the second premiered adaptation on October 26, 2012 and Terror sequel at Silent Hill. This time it focuses on the story after the events of the first tape, a Sharon Da Silva (Adelaide Clemens) besieged by the loss of her mother in the people and solitude of her Father Christopher Da Silva (Sean Bean), this time will face the order that seeks to unite her on her sinister side, Alessa Gillespie; and power to finally invoke the god of worship. The tape features much of the original casting and makes great reference to the third saga game as well as characters from other Silent Hill games.

• Return to Silent Hill is a future adaptation based on franchise, is scheduled to be premiered in 2023