Silent Hill

Silent Hill is the title of a well-known survival horror video game franchise, produced by Konami and developed by Team Silent.

As of 2006, there are five Silent Hill games available (one title, Silent Hill: Play Novel, was released only in Japan), all of which were released to strong sales and critical acclaim. Gameplay includes action, puzzles, detailed and disturbing environments (which many feel contribute significantly to the series' success), and complex storylines revealed through numerous cinematic cut scenes. Each game unfolds like a movie with several possible endings; the player's choices during the game determine which ending is shown. In 2006, Sony Pictures released a full-length Silent Hill film to mixed reception.

Setting

File:Silenthillmap.jpg

One of the maps players obtain in the first Silent Hill game.

The titular town of 'Silent Hill' is a gloomy one-time resort town that is currently inhabited by mysterious forces. Demonic and disfigured creatures roam the streets and buildings, and the town continually shifts between everyday reality and a decaying and blood-soaked "Otherworld" (where the grotesque monsters appear). Although in the first game (particularly in its early trailers), it was heavily implied that a once-normal town was being pulled into this Otherworld by the actions of one Alessa Gillespie, there have been hints in later games that the town was always home to a supernatural presence, perhaps even a benign one originally (see Mary Shepherd-Sunderland's assertion in Silent Hill 2 that the town "used to be a sacred place"). Perhaps this indicates that the bloody history of Silent Hill has converted these energies into something darker.

Commentary published by Konami has stated that the power of Silent Hill has "intensified greatly" after the events of the first game, a statement supported by the fact that the first two games featured protagonists drawn into the town, while in the third and fourth games the town's unusual nature actually reached out to people who were situated outside it.[1]

Considering that it is meant to be a small town, Silent Hill is remarkably self-sufficient. It has its own elementary school (although no form of higher education has been seen so far), a church, a police station, a shopping mall, two separate hospitals (Alchemilla Hospital in Paleville and Brookhaven Hospital in South Vale), as well as bars, restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations, and even a bowling alley. Silent Hill also features plenty of housing, both apartments and homes, as well as three different motels to meet the needs of those "just passing through" and, at one point, the grand Lakeview Hotel. Adding to its credence as a former resort town, Paleville also plays host to the infamous Lakeside Amusement Park.

Although completely fictional, the location of Silent Hill has been hinted at several times throughout the series -- most of which are contradictory. For example, the manual for the original game claimed that it was somewhere in New England, but the body of water it surrounds on three sides is later revealed in the second game to be Toluca Lake, and the only real Toluca Lake is in California. License plates in the first game would seem to indicate Michigan, but the liner notes of the Japanese version of the Silent Hill 4: The Room soundtrack CD gave an address for Heaven's Night, a nightclub visited by the player in Silent Hill 2, that would put it in Maine. Then, too, there is the film adaptation Silent Hill, released in spring of 2006, which places the little town in "Toluca County", West Virginia.

In researching the different elements of Silent Hill, screenwriter Roger Avary (Killing Zoe, The Rules of Attraction) came across the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania. In the List of Silent Hill locations, there is a place called Ashfield which is half a day's drive from Silent Hill. Looking at a map of Centralia, one cannot help but notice the similarly-named Ashland about a mile south of Centralia. Also mentioned in the history of Centralia was a fire in a landfill that spread to the coal mine underneath the town. In Silent Hill, Alessa Gillespie was severely burned and the coals used to burn her set fire to the rest of the town. It is fair to say that Centralia planted the seed for what developed into the cinematic version of the town of Silent Hill. [2]

Atmosphere

The games' visual design has earned strong praise with (and is highly renowned and known for) its dark, fog-shrouded, dilapidated environments enhanced by chilling (and very sudden) sound effects, and its thoroughly unnatural and disturbing creature designs, some of which seem to have been included simply to frighten and alarm rather than cause actual physical harm in the game. Composer Akira Yamaoka has provided atmospheric and emotional music for the series, which ranges from the first game's post-industrial noise music to more traditional melancholy piano solos to heavy rock pieces.

Gameplay elements that create the unique atmosphere in the game are the dense fog/pitch black settings, limiting visibility to about a ten foot radius about the character, coupled with the use of a radio that emits loud static and strange noises whenever a monster comes close to the main character. This creates a general feeling of anxiety, paranoia and apprehension in the player. At least one reviewer has noted that the radio tends to serve the opposite of its intended purpose, frightening the player even more rather than helping them prepare to face a monster. Being unable to see them, often until it is too late, the player is forced to either run or hope they are facing in the correct direction for attack. This element is what distinguishes the series from other horror video games, which usually resort to simple surprise tactics, as opposed to suspense. The fact that this signal is solely a sound, rather than a visual indication of the monster's presence denies the player the choice of muting the game, forcing them to hear the deliberately disturbing soundtrack.

Themes and motifs of Silent Hill

Also see Silent Hill influences and trivia

Anyone who plays through at least one of the games will see that there are recurring themes that appear throughout. Below are just some of the many recurring themes in the series as a whole.

• Hospitalization - One of the most common motifs of the games. This theme is stressed through the inclusion of levels set in hospitals and institutes and iconic enemies such as the fearsome Nurses. Players also notice that hospital objects, such as beds with bloodied sheets, drips and wheelchairs, are often situated in places where they would not normally be, such as the streets and many buildings.

• Sexual energy - Sexual metaphors appear in all the games, strongest in Silent Hill 2, as it deals with the relationship between a man and his wife and his crushing sexual frustration which manifests itself into various repugnantly perverse forms. Silent Hill 2 features what might be interpreted as a rape scene, as Pyramid Head assaults one of the town's more feminine creatures.

• Institutionalization - Players will notice that many of the Silent Hill environments are places of authority (Midwich Elementary School, the Hospitals, Toluca Prison, the water prison), representing an institutionalized and oppressive environment.

• Children - Like much of Japanese horror, the story often revolves around or includes child characters. Children in Silent Hill usually represent innocence while the adults generally represent loss of innocence and loss of the uncomplicated life of a child. A good example of this is the role of child and adult versions of Walter Sullivan in Silent Hill 4. Another is Laura from Silent Hill 2 who, although she appears terribly spoiled and rude at first, is not tortured by the fiends that attempt to punish the other adults, to the point where she doesn't even seem to perceive them.

• Bathrooms - Bathrooms, both public and private, have a large significance in the Silent Hill world. For example, Silent Hill 2 begins inside a public restroom. The first game portrays one of the more gory moments of the game in a bathroom, similar to the film. In the third and fourth game, the protagonist reaches the "otherworld" by going through a bathroom. On the "Making of Silent Hill 3", the creators explain that Japanese children grow up to know a lot of ghost stories and urban legends that surround bathrooms and toilets. When Japan still used the squatting toilet, there were tales of children falling down and vanishing forever. In Silent Hill 3 there is even some self-referential humour based around this. Also, in Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4, if you knock on the bathroom doors, you hear a knock on the other side as if someone is in the stall.

• Questionable reality - All of the Silent Hill games deal, to some extent, with reality of some form or another. In every single game the player will often wonder if what the characters are seeing is real or completely imagined (sometimes the characters will wonder that themselves). Many of the games contain possible hints that what is happening to the protagonists is not even real, like police tape appearing around the area where James encounters and bludgeons his first monster if you return later in the game. Laura from Silent Hill 2 and Vincent from Silent Hill 3 both seem confused when the respective protagonists question them about the monsters everywhere. Vincent even goes so far as to ask "They look like monsters to you?". The movie's logic is that the fog realm and hellish realm of the town are completely separate from the town's true form, which regular people can see.

Main series

File:Coversilenthillcollection.jpg

The Silent Hill Collection

As of 2007, the Silent Hill series consists of four games and another rumored to be planned for release on a seventh generation console, though it has not been officially confirmed, and the statement from the chief designer Masashi Tsuboyama was only that it 'would not appear on any of the then current (sixth generation) consoles'. The series plays in chronological order, although Silent Hill 3 is a direct sequel to Silent Hill. Heather, the main character in Silent Hill 3, continues the story begun by her father, Harry Mason, in the first game. Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 4 are self-contained stories, connected to the others only by the town of Silent Hill itself (though the town actually plays only a peripheral role in the fourth game; the fourth installment's main connection to the other games is the character Walter Sullivan, mentioned briefly in Silent Hill 2) and through some references to the overall mythos of the series. These references are largely lost on James Sunderland and Henry Townsend, the heroes of Silent Hill 2 and 4, although one of Silent Hill 2's possible endings does involve James invoking the town's "old gods" to resurrect his late wife.

In April 2006, the "Silent Hill Collection" was released for PlayStation 2 to coincide with the release of the Silent Hill film adaptation. The set includes the games Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4: The Room. The "Silent Hill Collection" is only available in Europe and Australia.

Silent Hill (1999)

Main article: Silent Hill (video game)

The first Silent Hill was released in 1999 for the Sony PlayStation. The plot of the game was centered around Harry Mason arriving in Silent Hill and his subsequent attempts at finding his lost daughter, Cheryl.

During the progress of the game, the protagonist Harry finds that his adopted daughter Cheryl has a rather disturbing past as the details of her genesis are revealed.

This game was followed by the release of the side story for Gameboy Advance called Silent Hill: Play Novel which is detailed below.

Silent Hill 2 (2001)

Main article: Silent Hill 2

A fully new sequel, Silent Hill 2, was released in 2001 for the Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and PC. The extended versions for XBOX and PC are sometimes known as Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams and feature an extra subplot scenario, as do the "Greatest Hits"/"Platinum" budget re-releases for PS2. The plot centered around James Sunderland, who had received a letter from his deceased wife that led him to Silent Hill.

Silent Hill 3 (2003)

Main article: Silent Hill 3

2003 saw the release of a second full sequel to the Silent Hill series as Silent Hill 3, released for the Sony PlayStation 2 as well as for PC. Highly tethered to the events of the first game, the plot surrounds a teenager named Heather as she uncovers the mysteries that surround her past - including her own link to the haunted town.

Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004)

Main article: Silent Hill 4: The Room

Silent Hill 4: The Room was released in 2004 for the Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and PC. Partly related to Silent Hill 2 and briefly set near Silent Hill, the plot follows Henry Townshend who finds himself mysteriously locked in his own apartment until a hole appears in his bathroom wall. The game features characters that are mentioned in previous titles and possibly related to other personae therein.

As stated in the September 2006 issue of Game Informer magazine, the game was not originally meant to be a part of the Silent Hill series, but the decision to transform it into a Silent Hill game was already taken early in the development of the game, so that it was heavily reworked.

Silent Hill: 0rigins (2007)

Main article: Silent Hill: 0rigins

At E3 2006 it was announced that a Silent Hill title for the PSP will be named "Silent Hill: 0rigins" (with 'zero' in the place of 'O'), however the trailer points out that this is still a working title (an earlier teaser was titled "Silent Hill: NEXT"). The game itself will be a prequel, presenting events that took place before the first game in the series, instead of a remake or movie adaptation as it was rumored before. Still, little is known about the game itself as it is currently in the early stages of development. What is known is that the main character will be a truck driver named Travis O'Grady and the game will be presented in third-person perspective. Konami stated that characters such as Dahlia, Alessa and Kaufman will return. Music will be composed by Akira Yamaoka. So far, this is the only Silent Hill title that is not being created by Team Silent.

Silent Hill: The Arcade (2007)

Main article: Silent Hill: The Arcade

At the 2007 Japan Arcade Operator's Union trade show Konami revealed a forthcoming light gun arcade shooter game based on the Silent Hill series. The game deals with two characters, Eric and Tina, who have entered the town of Silent Hill and must battle enemies which include Nurses and Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2.

Silent Hill 5 (TBA)

Main article: Silent Hill 5

Not much is known about Konami's next Silent Hill title. While little has been officially confirmed, Chief Designer of Silent Hill 5 Masashi Tsuboyama stated in a 2004 interview that the game would not appear on any of the then-current consoles. He also clarified rumors during the same interview that it wouldn't be titled "Shadows of the Past" as reported previously from an online source. According to IGN, it has been speculated that the game is already in development and that it is likely to be released on Sony's PlayStation 3 video game console. It was also reported that Konami planned to release it in early November 2006, but this was never officially announced and as of April 2007 it has yet to be released. It was originally believed that the main plot would be set in a mental asylum (perhaps Brookhaven hospital) and would be told through a series of flashbacks depicting how the main protagonist got up to that point, though this has generally been associated with the Shadows of the Past rumor and remains unproven. While interviewed for an episode of Electric Playground, Tommy Tallarico asked a developer about Silent Hill 5. The developer responded that "It's a good time to be a Silent Hill fan", and the interview ended. There was a segment on the Silent Hill series after, and it was stated that the game would be released on next generation consoles, however it was not stated which specific consoles the projected game would be released on.

Spin-off titles and promotional discs

Silent Hill: Play Novel (2001)

In 2001, Silent Hill: Play Novel was released in Japan for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. The game consists of still images and text and is played in the style of a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Full Motion Video sequences from the first game are also included. It deals with Cybil's adventures through the town as well as the exploits of a boy named Andy. It is considered a gaiden story and it has not been released outside of Japan.

Art of Silent Hill (2002)

First multimedia DVD focusing mostly on material from Silent Hill 2 such as artworks and renders. It contains exclusive up to date music video 'Caramel Mix' as well as 'Ki-no-ko' and 'Fukuro' (both of which appeared on future media discs).

Lost Memories: The Art and Music of Silent Hill (2003)

Released only in Japan, it is a second and most popular multimedia DVD. Most of the content found on "The Art of Silent Hill" is included here in addition to new content cited below. Divided into seven sections, it contains full soundtracks, trailer collections, artworks, renders and creature galleries from all three games as well as additional music videos: Ki-no-ko, Fukuro, Usagimu and video with Heather performing the song 'You're Not Here' from SH3 OST.

Inescapable rain in Yoshiwara (2004)

Audio drama added to Japanese version of Silent Hill 4 OST. It was made by Akira Yamaoka & Teisui Ichiryusa and lasts for 57 minutes, however there was later released additional 16 minute chapter to the story. The story is not linked to the Silent Hill series in any way.

The Silent Hill Experience (2006)

Main article: Silent Hill Experience

This Video UMD was released April 6 for PSP by Sony Entertainment as a promotional item for the now released film. Up to date it is the third and final multimedia disc related to Silent Hill series.

Features:

• View over 2 hours of digital comics based on the Silent Hill' comic series presented with music.
• Includes the comic series "Silent Hill: Dying Inside" and a brand new story "The Hunger"
• 20 music tracks selected from series' producer and music composer Akira Yamaoka
• Exclusive video interview with the director of the Silent Hill movie Christophe Gans and series' music composer Akira Yamaoka
• Rare video content from previous Silent Hill games
• Trailers from all four games and the movie
• 3 videos from the DVDs "Art of Silent Hill" and "Lost Memories"

The Silent Hill: Cage of Cradle (2006)

Interactive manga comic book written by Hiroyuki Owaku and illustrated by Masahiro Ito. It is currently only available on cellphones in Japan. A paper-back release is being planned for 2007. Not much is known about the story and images of the comic have been mostly concealed. What is known, however, is that the story will focus on Lisa Garland before the events of the first game in the series. Promotional images reveal that Doctor Kauffman will appear, as well as the notorious Pyramid Head and Alessa Gillespie. These images show noticeable influence from the visuals of the Silent Hill Movie.

Film adaptation (2006)

File:Silent Hill poster.jpg

One of several posters for Silent Hill depicting The Janitor.

Main article: Silent Hill (film)

In 2003 a motion picture based on Silent Hill was officially announced, with French director Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf) attached. The main storyline for the film adaptation follows the original 1999 video game, but with a selection of features from the other games in the series as well as a selection of modern revisions.

One of the most obvious revisions is the replacement of Harry Mason with Rose Da Silva (Played by Radha Mitchell), a married mother whose life takes the unexpected turn toward Silent Hill in the hope to discover the source of her adoptive daughter Sharon's (Jodelle Ferland) nightmares culminating in a cry of "Silent Hill".

Against the wishes and knowledge of her husband, Chris Da Silva (Sean Bean), Rose takes off with Sharon on a mother and daughter journey to find the elusive town of Silent Hill, passing through the nearest settlement to their destination, Brahams. In doing so, Rose encounters Brahams Police Department officer Cybil Bennett (Laurie Holden) who is suspicious of the distraught mother and her actions. Cybil explains of a couple of years before, a deranged man abducted a child and threw him down a mine shaft in Silent Hill, which is why she is so wary around Rose.

File:Silenthillmovie.jpg

Rose Da Silva (Mitchell) and Dahlia Gillespie (Unger).

The film featured music from series composer Akira Yamaoka. The musical score featured several selections of original game music, such as the opening from the first game "Silent Hill", "Promise - Reprise" from Silent Hill 2, and "Theme Of Laura" and "Laura Plays the Piano", also from the second game.

The film was released 21 April, 2006 to a mixed response from fans of the game series. The overall plot layout and the town itself had remained intact within the film, however the changes to the story and characters were obvious and a bit disheartening to some fans.

The film did work towards grounding Silent Hill, which until 2006 had remained an 'everytown' that could exist anywhere. The film placed the fictional town in fictional Toluca County, West Virginia. The beloved fog and snow of the series was replaced with smoke and ash, which some could consider even more sensible than the fog and snow of the first game, considering it also included a backstory of a coal mine fire (look in the game instructions to the first Silent Hill to find this information). The town in Silent Hill (the movie) was modelled after the real life town of Centralia, Pennsylvania which also suffered from a devastating coal mine fire. The fires are still burning today and it is estimated that the fire has enough fuel for another 250 years.

Other changes to the story included a reversal of roles for one of the prime antagonists of the first game and a different religion following cult.

The film was released through Tristar in the United States, and Pathe in Europe. The film was considered a success opening at #1 in the US with $20.1 million dollars on its way to a total of $47 million domestically.

Sequel

Main article: Silent Hill 2 (film)

Not much is known about the production.

Books

All books are officially available only in Japan.

Lost Memories (2002)

Guidebook detailing various aspects of the first three games like symbolism and ideas behind games or development process. Although released only in Japan, an unofficial translation is available at http://www.translatedmemories.com/

Drawing Block: Silent Hill 3 Program (2003)

Artbook added to limited editions of Silent Hill 3 together with Lost Memories DVD and two posters.

Silent Hill (2006)

Novelization of the first game of the series by Sadamu Yamashita. It is divided into three chapters: Fog, Darkness and Nightmare. Not to be confused with novelization of the film released the same year and under the same title.

Silent Hill comic books

Main article: Silent Hill (comics)

File:Silenthillcomic.jpg

Dying Inside

A series of comic books written by Scott Ciencin with artwork by Ben Templesmith (Dying Inside #1 and 2), Aadi Salman (Dying Inside #3,4,5), Shaun Thomas (Paint It Black, Among The Damned) and Nick Stakal (Grinning Man, Dead/Alive #1 to 5) have been published by IDW Publishing.

Influences and trivia

See: Silent Hill influences and trivia

External links

• Official Silent Hill series site (Konami Europe)
• Official Silent Hill 2 site (Konami Europe)
• Official Silent Hill 3 site (Konami Europe)
• Official Silent Hill 4 site (Konami Europe)
• Official The Silent Hill Experience site (Konami America)
• Silent Hill series (Konami Japan)
• Welcome to Silent Hill The official site for the 2006 movie, contains teaser and information.
• Toluca County Home of the real Silent Hill.