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Downpour Producer: “Shoddy Gameplay Can’t Be A Feature Forever”

Ben-Dutka 13 Comments

The survival/horror genre is kinda teetering on the brink of oblivion, especially with the upcoming Resident Evil 6 looking all sorts of action-y.

The recently released Silent Hill: Downpour was definitely survival/horror, but it wasn't quite up to snuff. Now, Downpour associate producer Tom Hulett says the days are gone when the genre really "clicked," and now the future is a little hazy. In speaking to Strategy Informer , Hulett made it clear that clunky gameplay really can't continue to be a "staple" of the series. After all, that's a flaw, not a trademark.

"Survival Horror is in an interesting spot these days. I think the genre was lucky, to an extent, when it started out. A lot of horror elements “clicked” such as clunky combat, confusing cameras, and so on.

However, shoddy gameplay can’t be a feature forever, and so everyone fixed the combat—resulting in action games with creepier monsters. If Horror games are going to be 'scary' in the future, it’s going to take careful game design to do it. It can be hard to convince people to spend money/time on 'scare design' since it doesn’t show very much progress until it’s final and working perfectly… but it’s vital."

Hulett added that if you have "tense, frightening gameplay happening naturally," you could have a "very memorable horror game." But don't worry about the Silent Hill series embracing full-on action elements; the franchise should remain very distinct.

"I think Silent Hill has established it’s own unique subcategory of “Psychological Horror” within the Horror genre. Silent Hill was a pioneer in 1999, and still remains true to it’s roots with Silent Hill Downpour."

He says other franchises can go the action route if they wish, but he doesn't want to see that happen with Silent Hill . Well, if they could just fix the gameplay and technical issues that are definitely outdated, we have no doubt we'd be interested in a new entry. For now, I Am Alive just hit the PSN – and that seems very promising – and let's face it: The Last Of Us may have very significant ties to the unique survival/horror genre.

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Silent Hill Could Explore Other Genres

Ben-Dutka 9 Comments

Well, Resident Evil is breaking genre boundaries with Operation Raccoon City , so why can't Silent Hill ?

Although the horror series has always remained true to its roots, in that all titles utilize a third-person action format and a ton of suspenseful atmosphere, Konami is willing to change.

Silent Hill: Downpour senior associate producer Tom Hulett told Beefjack that they can always explore new concepts. As an example, he referred to Silent Hill: Book of Memories for the PlayStation Vita, which changes the player's point of view and tosses in RPG elements. Said Hulett:

"I definitely think Silent Hill has room to expand into different spinoff genres – as Resident Evil has as well – as long as they keep the fundamental themes of the series intact."

Well, that's the key, isn't it? At first, there were a few rumors that Downpour , in development at Vatra Games, would be a FPS. But Hulett said the game "was never going to be an FPS." Therefore, we'd like to think our beloved freaky franchise won't change too much; we can deal with stuff like role-playing mechanics, but changing how we experience Silent Hill ? The fans won't like that one bit.

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Silent Hill: Book Of Memories Early Footage, Story Details

Ben-Dutka 16 Comments

Okay, so some of the horror fans don't like this new "multiplayer-oriented, top-down" direction found in Silent Hill: Book of Memories .

But give it a chance. It could really become one of the best titles for the new PlayStation Vita, and besides, we never really got the opportunity to see any footage. That early footage is now here, courtesy of Konami producer Tomm Hulett and this GamesCom 2011 presentation. Hulett first talks about the basic plot: you receive a weird book that shows you the story of your life, and then you rewrite your memories to alter reality.