Unofficial Official Silent Hill Thread

[Skeleton]

So most of you probably already know about it, but in case anyone out there is living under a rock bigger than mine there's been some big news on the Silent Hill front. The worst kept secret out there, that Hideo Kojima is going to make the next Silent Hill game, has been confirmed. And Guillermo del Toro is teaming up with him to make it. (Obligatory Kotaku article.)

Personally, I have mixed emotions about this. There's no doubt Kojima can make a great game. But the question is will it be a Silent Hill game? If the teaser we've seen so far is in line with the direction it's going in then it's not going to be a Silent Hill game at all. It looks like they're more than capable of making a game that's scary as hell. It just won't be a Silent Hill game. That'd be a shame.

Also the fact that the game is going to be called Silent Hills bothers me a bit. That's getting dangerously close to the multiple dimension theory. If they're trying to make a game that's in line with the Team Silent games and they're buying into the multiple dimension theory then I'm worried they don't understand the original games. And this one will suffer because of it.

The teaser heavily suggests there are multiple dimensions in this game. But they sound more like dimensions where the dead go rather than the multiple dimensions theory. That's good because, hey, at least it's not another shitty game that buys into the multiple dimensions theory, but that also means it's not a Silent Hill game. It's a catch-22.

Anyway, enough rambling.

What do you guys think about this news? Do you think Kojima and del Toro will make a great game? What do you think of Norman Reedus being in it? And what's the over-under on the number of flaming unicorns that'll make it into the game?

Edited for corrections.

 

[Walter]

I think it's been over a decade since I last enjoyed anything about this franchise. And I don't think Kojima is the man to turn it around.

Konami is looking pretty desperate, to me.

 

[Skeleton]

I agree completely. Team Silent intended the series to be finished after Silent Hill 3. I think most fans of the original games would agree that they should have shelved the series after 3. (Something it and MGS have in common? )

But there's two glimmers of hope for me:

1. Tomm fucking Hulett and his team aren't involved. So it should be better than the past few games. At the very least it can't be any worse.

2. A while back Masahiro Ito, the Team Silent artist who designed the monsters from the first three games, was asked if he'd be interested in working on another Silent Hill game if it was true that Kojima was making it. He said he would be. I don't know if he's going to be working on this game or not, but if he is I think at the very least the monsters will look how Silent Hill monsters are supposed to look.

I also get the feeling from him that he's pretty protective of the Team Silent games. (As he should be.) When they made the "HD collection" out of SH2 and SH3 Ito was openly very critical of it. So I think if they come up with an idea that strays too far from the look and feel of the original games he would speak up.

I'm not saying he'd save the game and bring it up to par with the Team Silent games, but he might blunt the edges a bit so it's not quite as bad as it would be otherwise.

I know those are pretty flimsy, but I'm trying to be optimistic that the game won't suck before it's confirmed that it's going to suck.

 

[Jaze1618]

You post implies multiple teasers, and not just the singular p.t. "teaser". What are the others that you speak of?

As for P.T., when you beat it, a message clearly states that it was just a teaser and does not reflect the actual game. To me that means the teaser might have as little in common with the actual game as some other teaser in the form of an interactive website & countdown timer would.

 

[Skeleton]

You post implies multiple teasers, and not just the singular p.t. "teaser". What are the others that you speak of?

I put the "s" in parentheses originally because I wasn't sure how many were out there. I didn't mean to imply there were multiple out there. It was more a covering the bases thing in case there were more than one. Please don't take me as an expert on the subject. At best I was casually looking for information on it. :)

I'll go back and remove the plurals to avoid further confusion. Thanks for the heads up!

As for P.T., when you beat it, a message clearly states that it was just a teaser and does not reflect the actual game. To me that means the teaser might have as little in common with the actual game as some other teaser in the form of an interactive website & countdown timer would.

I didn't know that. I haven't seen it in full. I've just watched the meat of it (usually drowned out by whoever was playing it talking). That's great to hear!

 

[NightCrawler]

Del Toro blows ass, there i said it. Overrated hack (until he makes At the Mountains of Madness and proves me wrong).

 

[Aazealh]

What do you guys think about this news?

I have no idea what this multiple dimensions theory is supposed to be about and honestly I couldn't care less. I haven't touched the Silent Hill series since SH and SH2 and I have no regrets. Like Walter said, I think this reeks of desperation on Konami's part.

Del Toro blows ass, there i said it. Overrated hack (until he makes At the Mountains of Madness and proves me wrong).

Awww, you just say that because you're angry that Pacific Rim 2's taking so long to come out.

 

[Griffith]

Del Toro blows ass, there i said it. Overrated hack (until he makes At the Mountains of Madness and proves me wrong).

*looks around, nods*

Awww, you just say that because you're angry that Pacific Rim 2's taking so long to come out.

This got a legitimate snarky laugh.

 

[Skeleton]

honestly I couldn't care less.

Then you better duck and cover because I'm about to drone right at you! :)

The multiple dimension theory is a name for the misconception that the majority of the Silent Hill games take place in a parallel dimension, spirit realm, or whatever and not in the "real world." (I know that's obvious, but bear with me here.) People who buy into it tend to think that the fogginess of the town (and later on the darkness) is evidence that when you enter the town you're no longer in the real world.

Unfortunately misconceptions spread like wildfire and are a bitch to stop, as you're aware, so the majority of fans of the series believe it. What's worse is that the people who have made the post-Team Silent games are essentially the Silent Hill equivalent of the people who made the Berserk movies. They didn't understand nor care enough to try to understand the source material and embraced the parallel dimensions idea. It has gotten so bad that in this last game the town was essentially a limbo where people go to do... something*... for eternity.

That's why I reacted so strongly when they brushed up against the idea of multiple dimensions. If they buy into that theory then there's no hope for the game before it even leaves the gate. It will just be Konami tarnishing the legacy and greatness of the Team Silent games a little bit more. The same song and dance since 2004.

*What you do can range from being a DJ to delivering mail. Seriously...

 

[Kompozinaut]

Konami is looking pretty desperate, to me.

That's not too surprising after the absolute disaster Lords of Shadow 2 was.

 

[Aazealh]

The multiple dimension theory is a name for the misconception that the majority of the Silent Hill games take place in a parallel dimension, spirit realm, or whatever and not in the "real world." (I know that's obvious, but bear with me here.) People who buy into it tend to think that the fogginess of the town (and later on the darkness) is evidence that when you enter the town you're no longer in the real world.

Yeah that much is easy to guess from the name itself but wasn't the Silent Hill story always intended to be ambiguous in that regard? I remember that the first games deliberately gave you multiple possible leads for what was happening, so outright dismissing the supernatural elements seems odd to me.

That's not too surprising after the absolute disaster Lords of Shadow 2 was.

Getting Kojima involved sure helped the Castlevania series! Meanwhile, they've abandoned the handheld 2D games that had been profitable for them for over 10 years.

 

[NightCrawler]

I haven't touched the Silent Hill series since SH and SH2 and I have no regrets.

Same here.
The problem with these survival horror games is that they don't know when to let go. You can tell one or two good stories based on the premise, but after that its just repetition. These are small stories at heart. Horror stops working when you expand upon its original concept. By making it grander it loses its mysterious, intimate and oppressive atmosphere, which is why people played these games in the first place.
I say just make something original. Well some of the SH guys went on to make the Siren games, which i think were pretty good, but no one played them.

Awww, you just say that because you're angry that Pacific Rim 2's taking so long to come out.

 

[Skeleton]

Yeah that much is easy to guess from the name itself but wasn't the Silent Hill story always intended to be ambiguous in that regard? I remember that the first games deliberately gave you multiple possible leads for what was happening, so outright dismissing the supernatural elements seems odd to me.

You're right, my friend. It seems fairly ambiguous in the first game. (The first time I ever played SH1 and for years afterwards I thought Harry was in another dimension too.) There are a couple of lines that hint what is happening is taking place in the physical world though.

It’s being invaded by the otherworld. By a world of someone’s nightmarish delusions come to life…

The town is being devoured by darkness.

While both could technically be speaking of an alternate dimension it seems unnecessarily complicated. The physical world being invaded by the otherworld is a lot simpler and likely than a second dimension (the fog world) being invaded by a third dimension (the dark world).

What puts the nail in the coffin for the multiple dimensions theory is SH2. SH2 puts aside the magic and psychic powers of SH1 and deals specifically with the town's spiritual power. It essentially says that the power of the town absorbs a person's mind and projects it onto reality, creating the "otherworld."

“In the town of Silent Hill, a power exists that gives discernible form to peoples’ innermost thoughts. As for the otherworld that appears in the series, the town is not merely showing the characters their nightmares, but actually manifesting elements of their unconscious minds.” (Book of Lost Memories)

The otherworld in the first game is a world manifested from the depths of Alessa’s consciousness. The reason why many items and solutions to riddles that originate from works like Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz appear is that these are Alessa’s favorite books from her childhood. In other words, they indicate that the otherworld itself is produced by Alessa. Similarly, an illustration from The Lost World, which is one of her favorite books, is used as a motif for one of the creatures that appears in the first game. (Hiroyuki Owaku)

So rather than the characters being transported to another place the physical world itself is transformed by the spiritual power.

The problem with these survival horror games is that they don't know when to let go. You can tell one or two good stories based on the premise, but after that its just repetition. These are small stories at heart. Horror stops working when you expand upon its original concept. By making it grander it loses its mysterious, intimate and oppressive atmosphere, which is why people played these games in the first place.

I couldn't agree more.

I say just make something original. Well some of the SH guys went on to make the Siren games, which i think were pretty good, but no one played them.

Y'know, for years now I've been on the fence about whether or not to get the Siren games. But if they get the NightCrawler seal of approval they must be good.

 

[Ratty]

Konami is looking pretty desperate, to me.

That's not too surprising after the absolute disaster Lords of Shadow 2 was.

Getting Kojima involved sure helped the Castlevania series! Meanwhile, they've abandoned the handheld 2D games that had been profitable for them for over 10 years.

I'm not sure I'd say Konami is desperate so much as gobsmackingly incompetent/careless about a lot of things. Not just in the normal Capcom/EA stuff like letting potentially lucrative series rot *cough*BloodyRoar*cough* but in so much more. To the point that the reviews editor at gaming website the escapist is now blacklisted by them for a video in which he pointed out some of their more absurd practices.

With Castlevania they forced Koji "IGA" Igarashi and his team to push out handheld Metroidvanias very quickly for a number of years. So quickly that not only could they no longer get the iconic art of Ayami Kojima on the deadline, but had to cut corners with tons of re-used sprites from Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. All this contributed to an arguable decline in quality in the handheld games and dwindling interest from people who weren't already fans. The lack of promotion from Konami didn't help things.

Then just before Castlevania's 25th Anniversary (which they did not commemorate at all) Konami took one of their most prestigious IPs and handed it over to the makers of Clive Barker's Jericho. Who proceeded to make a game with almost none of the iconic music or enemies of the original series but plenty of new characters named after older ones.

With that, longtime Castlevania series producer IGA was unceremoniously put on shovelwear duty until he left the company earlier this year. And now interestingly Dave "I don't want to be 'Mr. Castlevania' " Cox, who had been in charge of the reboot series, left Konami just a few days ago. Perhaps because his ambition to reboot Contra was shot down following the failure of LoS2.

Hideo Kojima is basically a god at Konami. As I've said elsewhere before if he suggested they make Silent Hill into a 2D platformer they probably would. I'm not sure how much he was personally involved with Lords of Shadow though, aside from rubber stamping it to increase sales, and providing the Japanese voicework for Chupacabras.

 

[Aazealh]

To the point that the reviews editor at gaming website the escapist is now blacklisted by them for a video in which he pointed out some of their more absurd practices.

Unfortunately blacklisting isn't uncommon in the industry. Pretty much every editor does it.

With Castlevania they forced Koji "IGA" Igarashi and his team to push out handheld Metroidvanias very quickly for a number of years. So quickly that not only could they no longer get the iconic art of Ayami Kojima on the deadline, but had to cut corners with tons of re-used sprites from Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. All this contributed to an arguable decline in quality in the handheld games and dwindling interest from people who weren't already fans.

I'm not sure all of this is completely true. For one thing, SotN itself reused quite a few sprites, that was part of its charm at the time. IGA never came across as a super original creator to me, or as someone who was trying to further the series beyond what he had originally achieved with it. I'm not convinced he was forced to lean heavily on past titles so much as he used them for nostalgia and convenience's sake. Similarly, the way he handled the storyline left a lot to be desired.

Beyond that, Ayami Kojima did the art for Harmony of Dissonance and for Aria of Sorrow, which were only separated by a year, so I don't see how the fast release rate would have been the reason she wasn't involved in later titles. If I were to guess, I'd say they were probably trying to appeal to a wider public with a less gothic, more cartoonish artwork.

Then just before Castlevania's 25th Anniversary (which they did not commemorate at all) Konami took one of their most prestigious IPs and handed it over to the makers of Clive Barker's Jericho. Who proceeded to make a game with almost none of the iconic music or enemies of the original series but plenty of new characters named after older ones.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I've never bought their late excuse of "Lords of Shadow was a Castlevania game from the start!". Konami had been trying to get into the 3D business with Castlevania for years and just couldn't get it right. They saw what Mercury Steam was doing, saw the compatibility, and just decided to buy the thing and slap a Castlevania sticker on it. And that sticker is really all those games have in common with the series.

 

[Ratty]

Unfortunately blacklisting isn't uncommon in the industry. Pretty much every editor does it.

Yeah but it's a bit awkward that they won't send the reviews editor of the (rather large) website review copies etc. seems like they might just be shooting themselves in the foot. Though I suppose they probably just send them directly to the person doing the review.

I'm not sure all of this is completely true. For one thing, SotN itself reused quite a few sprites, that was part of its charm at the time. IGA never came across as a super original creator to me, or as someone who was trying to further the series beyond what he had originally achieved with it. I'm not convinced he was forced to lean heavily on past titles so much as he used them for nostalgia and convenience's sake. Similarly, the way he handled the storyline left a lot to be desired.

Eh, there's a lot of debate in the community about how well he did or didn't handle the overarching storyline. But before him no one had really tried much, so it was quite a task trying to pull all these different pieces into a coherent storyline. Adding to the confusion is the fact that a lot of games which were explicitly non-canon Gaidens in Japan were not marketed as such in the west.
Also it made sense for Symphony of the Night to reuse sprites and music from Rondo of Blood since it was a direct sequel to that game, but there was a lot of grumbling about too many sprites from Rondo/Symphony being in the DS titles.

Beyond that, Ayami Kojima did the art for Harmony of Dissonance and for Aria of Sorrow, which were only separated by a year, so I don't see how the fast release rate would have been the reason she wasn't involved in later titles. If I were to guess, I'd say they were probably trying to appeal to a wider public with a less gothic, more cartoonish artwork.

It was a bit of both. IGA said in at least one interview that the more anime style artwork was an attempt to appeal to a younger audience. But he also said that he would love to work with Ayami Kojima again but that it was difficult to get her work on schedule because "you can't rush genius". Something we can all understand as Berserk fans I'm sure.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I've never bought their late excuse of "Lords of Shadow was a Castlevania game from the start!". Konami had been trying to get into the 3D business with Castlevania for years and just couldn't get it right. They saw what Mercury Steam was doing, saw the compatibility, and just decided to buy the thing and slap a Castlevania sticker on it. And that sticker is really all those games have in common with the series.

You may be right. But IGA and his team did put together a trailer/concept for a 3D game starring Alucard before the switch over to MercurySteam. This was shown at a game industry convention and IGA looked extremely bewildered when they announced it as a surprise "preview" (saying something to the effect of "Really? Is it ready?") just before showing it. So I've tended to think Konami asked for competing proposals and MercurySteam won. Perhaps airing IGA's proof of concept video as a way to gouge interest before making their final decision.

Part of the reason Konami has failed to get it right with 3D is mismanagement. Castlevania 64 was obviously not ready for release but was rushed out the door to meet a deadline. Then when they released the special edition of Castlevania64 "Legacy of Darkness" (a more accurate title would be "Castlevania64: Finished Edition") they did little to promote it and didn't make that many copies. In my opinion Legacy of Darkness is still by far the best 3D Castlevania game. As for IGA's 3D efforts, a lot of the problems there seem to stem from a lack of manpower/budget/experience leading to too much copy/pasting in the environments, especially in Curse of Darkness. Though there were other missteps as well.

 

[Aazealh]

Yeah but it's a bit awkward that they won't send the reviews editor of the (rather large) website review copies etc. seems like they might just be shooting themselves in the foot.

Well that's what blacklisting is. Ignoring the outlets you don't like. And they also favor those towards which they have good dispositions, sending them early copies and so on. Again, it's unfortunately not uncommon at all, and there's no real disadvantage for the publishers unless their practices are put in the spotlight.

Eh, there's a lot of debate in the community about how well he did or didn't handle the overarching storyline.

I love those games but I don't think there's any debate on the fact all handheld titles have had laughable storylines.

there was a lot of grumbling about too many sprites from Rondo/Symphony being in the DS titles.

I know, but again, I'm not sure Igarashi's hand was forced in that matter.

It was a bit of both. IGA said in at least one interview that the more anime style artwork was an attempt to appeal to a younger audience. But he also said that he would love to work with Ayami Kojima again but that it was difficult to get her work on schedule because "you can't rush genius". Something we can all understand as Berserk fans I'm sure.

Still, 2 years to do maybe 6 portraits (at most) and one cover illustration? I don't think time was the problem.

You may be right. But IGA and his team did put together a trailer/concept for a 3D game starring Alucard before the switch over to MercurySteam.

I remember that trailer. It didn't show much (maybe 10 seconds of CGI and nothing more). I'm not sure it was much more than a pitch. Whereas when Lords of Shadow was first announced (before it carried the Castlevania title), it already had in-engine content to show. And that was a month (GC 2008) before the IGA trailer (TGS 2008).

 

[Ratty]

Well that's what blacklisting is. Ignoring the outlets you don't like. And they also favor those towards which they have good dispositions, sending them early copies and so on. Again, it's unfortunately not uncommon at all, and there's no real disadvantage for the publishers unless their practices are put in the spotlight.

Yeah. Highlights one of the problems unique to games journalism. They have to be nice to publishers or risk having no product to review to a degree which would horrify movie critics I think.

I love those games but I don't think there's any debate on the fact all handheld titles have had laughable storylines.

For the general public maybe, Castlevania has never been particularly focused on story. But as for the fandom you'd be surprised. I'm a moderator on a Castlevania forum and we've had lots of discussions about the plots of the games and how they tie into each other. I think most will agree that (not counting the Dracula X Chronicles port/remake) the highlight of the handhelds story-wise is Aria of Sorrow. Though Portrait of Ruin did some interesting things to expand the lore while helping to officially integrate Bloodlines, and thus the original Dracula novel, into the main storyline. Bloodlines having originally been conceived as a non-canon Gaiden game. And Order of Ecclesia told us a little bit about the "era of no Belmont" and how humanity coped. I'm not alone in feeling a little let down that we'll never get the 1999 game starring Julius Belmont in the Belmont clan's final battle with Dracula.

I know, but again, I'm not sure Igarashi's hand was forced in that matter.

Still, 2 years to do maybe 6 portraits (at most) and one cover illustration? I don't think time was the problem.

No way to know for certain without asking IGA or a higher up at Konami probably. Though I think it's fair to assume that tight deadlines did nothing to make sprite re-use less appealing. And I'm not sure if Ayami would have had to do more concept artwork as well, I'm sure publishers usually like to wring whatever they can from artists in such cases.

I remember that trailer. It didn't show much (maybe 10 seconds of CGI and nothing more). I'm not sure it was much more than a pitch. Whereas when Lords of Shadow was first announced (before it carried the Castlevania title), it already had in-engine content to show. And that was a month (GC 2008) before the IGA trailer (TGS 2008).

Good point.

PS- I'm wondering if we'll ever get a home release of the Castlevania arcade game (not Haunted Castle the more recent one) seems like the motion controlled whip gimmick would be perfect for the Wii U. One of the things that seems like it'd be easy money for Konami. Digital home versions of the wonderful Pachinko machines would be nice to, if only for the great music and cutscenes.

 

[Aazealh]

For the general public maybe, Castlevania has never been particularly focused on story. But as for the fandom you'd be surprised. I'm a moderator on a Castlevania forum and we've had lots of discussions about the plots of the games and how they tie into each other. I think most will agree that (not counting the Dracula X Chronicles port/remake) the highlight of the handhelds story-wise is Aria of Sorrow. Though Portrait of Ruin did some interesting things to expand the lore while helping to officially integrate Bloodlines, and thus the original Dracula novel, into the main storyline. Bloodlines having originally been conceived as a non-canon Gaiden game. And Order of Ecclesia told us a little bit about the "era of no Belmont" and how humanity coped. I'm not alone in feeling a little let down that we'll never get the 1999 game starring Julius Belmont in the Belmont clan's final battle with Dracula.

Well of course, fans being fans, they're interested and all. But objectively, I'd say it's pretty bad overall. And yeah, sure, who didn't want to see the 1999 battle! But I guess that's not to be. Not sure it's such a bad thing though, we might have been disappointed.

PS- I'm wondering if we'll ever get a home release of the Castlevania arcade game (not Haunted Castle the more recent one) seems like the motion controlled whip gimmick would be perfect for the Wii U. One of the things that seems like it'd be easy money for Konami. Digital home versions of the wonderful Pachinko machines would be nice to, if only for the great music and cutscenes.

I wouldn't hold my breath. They need to reboot it now that LoS is done, but who will, and in what way? The end of the SotN-clones has left a huge gap in 2D action-adventure games, one that's been somewhat filled by indie titles over the years, but I still think they were dumb not to keep nurturing the genre. A "Dusk of Sorrow" game coming out on 3DS right now would probably sell quite a bit. Beyond that, for 3D titles, the God of War-like gameplay of LoS was alright, and could probably be reused for future titles. Just pretend the LoS storyline never happened.

 

[Ratty]

Well of course, fans being fans, they're interested and all. But objectively, I'd say it's pretty bad overall. And yeah, sure, who didn't want to see the 1999 battle! But I guess that's not to be. Not sure it's such a bad thing though, we might have been disappointed.

The storyline was, appropriately enough, a sort of Frankenstein's monster of different inspirations. Stitched together and reworked years after the fact in many cases. It may have been schlocky at points but that's true to the series history. Right back to the original game which was a love letter to cheesy monster movies. Some may dig it or not but I always just say "De gustibus non est disputandum".

I wouldn't hold my breath. They need to reboot it now that LoS is done, but who will, and in what way? The end of the SotN-clones has left a huge gap in 2D action-adventure games, one that's been somewhat filled by indie titles over the years, but I still think they were dumb not to keep nurturing the genre. A "Dusk of Sorrow" game coming out on 3DS right now would probably sell quite a bit. Beyond that, for 3D titles, the God of War-like gameplay of LoS was alright, and could probably be reused for future titles. Just pretend the LoS storyline never happened.

My guess is that they'll let it lie low for a few years at least. Knowing Konami they might even forget about it since it doesn't start with M and end with "Gear" or "Solid". As for the rise of indies well, this poster meant for PAX got posted recently and some are speculating that it may be IGA's first new project after leaving Konami.

Even if it's not, it looks interesting.

 

[Aazealh]

Even if it's not, it looks interesting.

Indeed it does.

 

[Kompozinaut]

I'm not sure how much he was personally involved with Lords of Shadow though, aside from rubber stamping it to increase sales, and providing the Japanese voicework for Chupacabras.

From what I understand, that was the extent of his involvement. After LoS2 came out a couple developers made blog posts condemning the director, Enric Alvarez. On top of that one of them said:

"[Kojima] came by, set a seal, visited the studio, signed some things and that was it. He had even less to do with Mirror of Fate and LoS2,"

http://www.vg247.com/2014/02/28/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-dev-discusses-troubled-development-blames-director-for-mediocre-game/

 

[Ratty]

From what I understand, that was the extent of his involvement. After LoS2 came out a couple developers made blog posts condemning the director, Enric Alvarez. On top of that one of them said:

http://www.vg247.com/2014/02/28/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-dev-discusses-troubled-development-blames-director-for-mediocre-game/

Yeah that all falls in line with what I've heard. Hideo Kojima was basically only there to attach his name. Alvarez was really running the show, Cox just let him do whatever he wanted (which resulted in a lot of crappy decisions) and just served as the "face" of the games. A face who became hated after many outright lies about the product to the fanbase on multiple occasions. I'm sorry to hear MercurySteam is/was such a terrible place to work, hopefully the people there will all be able to find a better employer soon.

 

[Skeleton]

Nude Maker, a Japanese developer led by Clock Tower series creator Hifumi Kouno, has begun development on a new horror-focused franchise. According to the studio's press release, Project Scissors is meant to be a spiritual successor to Clock Tower, and will involve Masahiro Ito, creature designer for the Silent Hill series, Takashi Shimizu, director of the Ju-on films, and other "well known talents in the Japanese game industry" that will be announced later on.

In Project Scissors, a luxurious cruise ship has a murder mystery problem. Once enough of the crew fall victim to the killer, the ship is essentially adrift at sea, leaving passengers to share an inescapable space with whatever is keen on knocking them into the afterlife. Solving the mystery is the player's focus, although the increasingly-difficult goal of not dying is of comparable importance.

Project Scissors will eventually welcome aboard iOS, Android and Vita owners, but a release date and a glimpse of the game itself are currently as elusive as Project Scissors' killer.

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess this means Ito more than likely won't be a part of Silent Hills.

 

[Walter]

Holy shit! Nude Maker are the guys that made Infinite Space on DS. One of my favorite games of the last gen. Definitely looking forward to this, even if horror games aren't really my thing. These guys excel in storytelling and world building above all else. So I'll check it out just for that.