Silent Hill: Downpour Doesn’t Need Pyramid Heads to be Scary

They said they wanted to make a game that felt like classic Silent Hill, but felt they could do it without filling the game with Pyramid Head, creepy nurses or other series hallmarks.

[Run_bare]

True, but I like to go against Pyramid Head.

[Bloodraid]

I've only played 1-4... Anyone care to explain why Pyramid Head exists outside of James's consciousness?

[rustyspoon80]

Exactly Pyramid Head should only be in SH 2. We need new fresh enemies. But they should be weird manifestations of the protagonists psyche.

[TheLastGuardian2010]

It seems that the people at Vatra know what there doing. I have a feeling it won't be quite on par with Silent Hill 1-4, but it'll defintly be a little brother that everyone will admire to...hopefully.

[LastDance]

My favorite part in what ive seen so far is when they get to town and an old man sitting on his rocking chair on the porch says, "Fresh Meat".Or when the lights flickering and window seals flap about..

Or Korn doing the theme song instead of that hack who use to do the music.

Yeah, these guys totally know how NOT to do generic hollywood "horror".

[TheLastGuardian2010]

You do realize that the theme song your talking about is skippable, and not even IN THE GAME. Tom Hullet talked about Korn, and knew Silent Hill fans would be upset. They said Konami pushed them to get a big name group to do the music, from the list of shitty bands they picked the least shittiest.

So stop hatin bro.

[LastDance]

Just shows you dont grasp what Silent Hill is about...OF COURSE the intro theme would be skippable..thats not a plus of any kind.

Silent hill is about atmosphere...Which will be killed in the first 3 seconds of the game.

These devs cant seem to make a right move and all they are doing is copying crappy generic hollwood movie ideas.

This game should have stayed in japan.

[CrawFail]

It shows YOU don't get what Silent Hill is about, calling Akira Yamaoka, the producer and composer and the whole reason Silent Hill 1-4 were brilliant games, a hack and embracing a dross band like Korn doing the theme song.
Silent Hill isn't about contemporary rock, it's about about atmosphere.

[LastDance]

i was being sarcastic crawfail.

[Mr Tretton]

I REALLY hope PH isn't in Downpour. He belongs in SH2 as James' experience only.

What SH needs back is the old music composer. And a Japanese team.

[newn4gguy]

Akira Yamaoka both directed and created the music for Silent Hill. :)

THAT is why we're all concerned. The man was a genius.

[CrawFail]

Very true. Akira's work is awe-inspiring.
My biggest worry is that they've got Korn doing the main theme for the game :/
Why can't they get a Silent Hill right for the first time in 7 years. Stop with the ducking about!

[newn4gguy]

Yeah. I'm not sure what goes through the minds of these individuals. The same goes for SEGA. We want a GOOD Sonic game!

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

Konami had been rugely reformed in 2005. In order for it to become the Konami Corporation various big centralized sectors as Konami Traumer, Konami Media Entertainment, Konami Sports and Konami Digital Entertainment (the gaming developers and publisher) had to be put under the major corporation control.

The problem was that before all the merging there were no Konami Digital Entertainment in Japan, only the studios in Europe, America and other Asia regions were unified.

Japanese studios were organized in KCEN (Konami Computer Entertainment Nagoya), KCEK (Kobe), KCEO (Osaka), KCET (Tokyo), KCEJ ("Japan", two Tokyo offices which were labeled East and West), KCES ("Studios", another Tokyo office).

Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka studios were dismissed and the personal were either fired or moved to one of the Tokyo Studios. But later the Tokyo Studios were all merged too and renamed Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (japanese Kanami gaming publisher and developers).

Later on Kojima, which was vice-president of KCEJ, formed his own studio Kojima Productions with former KCEJ, KCET and KCES staff.

The point is, all this merging not always respected the small teams structuring, and many were dismantled in the process. Team Silent was supposedly formed from people who failed at other studios in Konami and was about to leave or be fired before Silent Hill... End up Team Silent got disbanded anyway after SH4.

Most of the guys who once worked on Team Silent end up leaving the Konami Tokyo offices after the merging. I know some of it went to form Sony's Team Siren, Kojima himself selected others to join Kojima Productions and Yamaoka is now in the independent Grasshopper Manufacture.

So, even if they give SH to a Japanese team there's no guarantee it will be like SH1-4, since it won't be made by Team Silent. The best chance would be getting either Kojima Productions or Grasshopper to make the next SH.

But even KP having most of the former Team Silent key members, they never made a survival horror under this studio, so they may lack the staff beyond those who already worked on SH... Grasshopper Manufacture had made a survival horror game a long time ago, before Akira Yamaoka joining, but it was mediocre at best.

Unfortunetely, Team Siren is the only of those developers still making Survival Horror games, which even has some similarities to Silent Hill, but they are Sony's first party, so that's out of question.

PS: I know this is kind of long post even for me... Sorry about that.

[Rocket Sauce]

Daniel Licht (Dexter) is composing this game, and I think that cancels out Korn.

I can easily see something like this working for Silent Hill.

[CrawFail]

Pyramid head shouldnt be in downpour. Just like it shouldn't have been in Homecoming or the movie.
It was James' projection.

[Valvatorez]

There was a swimming game on gbcolour where you could pick Pyramid Head.I wish I was joking.

[tigertron]

James' projection or not, PH was awesome and I hope he stays.