Silent Hill Totally Explained

Everything about Silent Hill totally explained

is a survival horror video game franchise developed and published by Konami. As of 2008, most installments have been created by Team Silent with the exception of two titles, by Climax Studios and by The Collective.
There are currently five main Silent Hill games (with a sixth under production), all of which were released to strong sales and critical acclaim. The success of these games has generated a series of comic books, film adaptations (with a second under development), and novelizations.
Common features in the Silent Hill games include horror and action-adventure elements, detailed and disturbing environments, a chilling soundtrack provided by series composer Akira Yamaoka, and a complex storyline revealed through numerous cinematic cut scenes, in-game documents and in-game notes. Each game unfolds like a movie with several possible endings; the player's choices during the game determine which ending is shown.

Setting

The town of Silent Hill is a resort area that exists in at least three parallel layers or dimensions: a normal, populated town, a silent, seemingly abandoned town veiled by supernaturally thick fog, and a dark and decaying town (called the "Otherworld") filled with disturbing imagery. Only the latter two layers are explored by the games' protagonists, where demonic and disfigured creatures roam the streets and buildings (appearing in greater numbers in the Otherworld). Occasionally, characters will transition between dimensions, and in some cases the dimensions may collapse into each other, creating an incoherent space called "Nowhere."
   The different appearances of both the town and its inhabitants are manifested from characters' personal fears, though not necessarily those of the protagonists. These manifestations may be shared between characters, or otherwise appear exclusively to only one of them. It is implied that Silent Hill always held a supernatural presence (Mary Shepherd-Sunderland's assertion in Silent Hill 2 was that it "used to be a sacred place."), but the town's violent and deadly history had perverted these energies into something darker.
   Commentary published by Konami has stated that the power of Silent Hill has "intensified greatly" since the events of the first game. While the first two games featured protagonists who were drawn into Silent Hill, in the third and games, the Otherworld has reached out to people in nearby towns.
   The geography of Silent Hill is situated around the edge of Toluca Lake, with the older sections of town located to the north and along the banks of the adjacent river. Due in part to heavy commercial development, the town is fairly self-sufficient; it has an elementary school, a shopping mall, a church, two separate hospitals (Alchemilla Hospital in Paleville and Brookhaven Hospital in South Vale), a sanitarium, and other stores and attractions. "Old Silent Hill" and "Paleville" hold large residential areas with both apartments and homes, as well as several motels and the grand Lakeview Hotel. The beachfront area of Paleville also has a lighthouse and hosts the Lakeside Amusement Park.

Location

The location of Silent Hill is ambiguous, with hints of it being in New England (although California and other locations have also been suggested). There are a number of clues regarding town's location throughout the series:

The manual for the original game stated that the town was somewhere in New England.
The body of water that surrounds the town on three sides is revealed in the second game to be called Toluca Lake. The only real-life Toluca Lake is in California.
In the first game, there are license plates from Michigan, and the license plate on Douglas' car in the third game is from California. Both of these license plates may be from out of state, however.
The liner notes in the Japanese version of the Silent Hill 4: The Room soundtrack CD give an address for Heaven's Night, a strip club visited by the protagonists of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3, that would put it in Maine.
On the official Konami web site, the "map" section is imprinted with a fleur-de-lis, a traditional French symbol, implying that the town may be in either northern New England or Louisiana, two areas in the United States with heavy French influence.
Heather, the main character in Silent Hill 3, is stated as being from "Portland", which may refer to Portland, Oregon or Portland, Maine. Silent Hill may be near one of those cities.
The film adaptation places the town in the fictitious Toluca County, West Virginia. However, the film isn't canonically connected to the game series.
- The film's screenwriter, Roger Avary, used the real town of Centralia, Pennsylvania as an inspiration for the town of Silent Hill. In 1962, a fire in a landfill spread to the coal mines underneath Centralia and has burned since then, which forced most inhabitants to leave forever.

Gameplay

The first Silent Hill title, which served as the model for all but the fourth game, utilized a third-person perspective with multiple, sometimes fixed, camera angles in various locations in contrast to a more conventional single camera behind the player. Silent Hill's streets are constantly filled with fog and in most indoor locations electricity and lighting are extremely limited or nonexistent. The character is equipped with a flash light and a pocket radio, which emits static in close proximity to monsters to help the player cope with this handicap.
Much of the series' gameplay revolves around solving puzzles, often to get a key or other item essential to the plot. Various monsters are also encountered in almost all parts of the game. The player has access to a variety of improvised melee weapons and firearms, although none of the characters except for protagonist Travis Grady, Silent Hill: Homecoming's Alex Shepard and police officer from nearby town of Brahms in "Silent Hill", Cybil Bennett show any indication of experience with firearms.
All the games feature multiple endings. Silent Hill, for example, had a progression of endings from "bad" to "good +" depending on how many side objectives the player accomplished before the final boss fight. The endings of Silent Hill 2 were presented as being all equal with no clearly defined "bad" ending. There are also humorous "joke" endings in every game (except "Silent Hill 4") most commonly refered to as the "UFO Ending" because the main character comes in contact with aliens. Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill: Origins however, both force a "good" ending on first-time players, with "bad" and "joke" endings for players who use a continuing save.

Atmosphere

The games' visual design is centered around fog-shrouded, dilapidated environments. The dense fog/pitch black settings found in the majority of each game limits visibility to about a ten foot radius around the character. The atmosphere of uneasiness and dread while in the Otherworld is enhanced by pitch-black, claustrophobic interiors. Some sound effects 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.

Main series

Silent Hill (1999)

Conceived by the game designer Keiichiro Toyama, the first Silent Hill was released in 1999 for the Sony PlayStation. The plot of the game 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 disturbing past as the details of her genesis are revealed.
This game was followed by the release of the side story for Game Boy Advance called Silent Hill: Play Novel which is detailed below.

Silent Hill 2 (2001)

The sequel, Silent Hill 2, was released in 2001 for the Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and PC. The extended versions for Microsoft Xbox and PC are sometimes referred to by the name Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams and feature an extra subplot scenario, as do the "Greatest Hits"/"Platinum" re-releases for the Sony PlayStation 2. The plot centered around James Sunderland, who had received a letter from his deceased wife informing him that she's waiting for him in their "special place", which leads him to Silent Hill.

Silent Hill 3 (2003)

The second full sequel, Silent Hill 3, was released in 2003 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 Morris as she uncovers the mysteries that surround her past - including her own link to the haunted town.

Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004)

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 in 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.
The game wasn't originally meant to be a part of the Silent Hill series, but the decision to transform it into a Silent Hill game was taken early in the development of the game, so it was heavily reworked.

Silent Hill: Origins (2007)

The prequel Silent Hill: Origins, developed by Climax Group, was released in 2007 for the Sony PlayStation Portable, and in March 2008 for the PlayStation 2. The plot features Travis Grady, a trucker with a disturbing past who becomes trapped in Silent Hill after rescuing a girl from a burning house. During his quest to find the fate of the burned girl, he encounters characters from the first game and some new ones from his own subconscious.

Silent Hill: Homecoming (2008)

The fifth installment was officially confirmed on July 11th, 2007, during E3 2007 for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360. The game tells the story of Alex Shepherd, a soldier who has returned from a war overseas. Shepherd discovers upon his arrival that his father has gone missing and his mother has become catatonic. Joshua, his brother, is the only one who can provide solace, but he soon vanishes. The game will chronicle Shepherd's search to find his missing brother. Much like Silent Hill: Origins, Team Silent won't be developing the project, but instead by The Collective from Foundation 9 Entertainment. The game deals with two characters, Eric Lake and Tina Townshend, who have entered the town of Silent Hill after the mysterious return of the "Little Baroness" after it vanished 89 years earlier in 1918, and must battle enemies which include Nurses and Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2. It is said that the two-player arcade will play much like The House of the Dead.

Silent Hill: Double Under Dusk (2007)

This is the second Silent Hill manga to appear exclusively to Konami's cellphone network. Many details, such as the synopsis and the involvement of Owaku and Ito are currently unknown.

Silent Hill: Orphan (2007)

Orphan is a cell phone game focusing on solving riddles, released on Japanese market. The multilanguage version (Including English and German) was also released the same year. The story revolves around three main characters, Ben, Moon and Karen, who had been drawn to a mysterious orphanage in Silent Hill where they spent their childhood. It is a first-person point and click adventure which retains most of the psychological thrills, riddles and puzzles of the Silent Hill series. There is only one type of monster in the game, a four-legged type which resembles a water strider. Combat involves aiming the crosshair at the correct position of its body and shooting it.

Silent Hill: The Escape (2008)

The Escape is the first mobile Silent Hill game for mobile phones presented in 3D format. The game is played in a first person perspective in a maze-like environment, and uses the phone's built-in camera to monitor a user's movements allowing for aiming and reloading of the character's gun. The player will meet various familiar monsters in the game, most prominently, The Nurse.

Film adaptation (2006)

In 2003 a motion picture based on Silent Hill was officially announced, with French director Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf) attached. The film was released in April 2006.
   While incorporating elements from the first four games, as well as original material, the film adaptation generally follows the plot of the first game in the series. However, there were significant changes such as a role reversal for the prime antagonist, and a religious cult resembling Christian fundamentalists rather than devil worshippers. Harry Mason was replaced with Rose Da Silva (played by Radha Mitchell), a married mother. Rose's adoptive daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) wanders and cries out "Silent Hill" in her sleep. Against the wishes of her husband Chris Da Silva (Sean Bean), Rose takes Sharon to find the elusive town of Silent Hill, in hope of finding the source of Sharon's nightmares. On the way Rose encounters a police officer, Cybil Bennett (Laurie Holden), who is suspicious of the distraught mother and her actions. Cybil follows Rose into Silent Hill where they're caught in a living nightmare, and encounter a religious cult connected to Sharon's past.
   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 through Tristar in the United States, and Pathé in Europe. Although panned by most professional critics, general audiences reacted more favorably, and the film was considered a financial success, opening at #1 in the US with $20.1 million dollars on its way to a total of $47 million domestically. A sequel has been commissioned with the IMDB predicting a 2010 release, but presently little is known about it.

Books

All books are officially available only in Japan.

Lost Memories (2003)

Guidebook detailing various aspects of the first three games like symbolism and ideas behind games or development process. Originally released with the original version of Silent Hill 3, the book has been the subject of unofficial translations outside Japan.

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)

� Not to be confused with novelization of the film released the same year and under the same title

Novelization of the first game of the series by Sadamu Yamashita. It is divided into three chapters: Fog, Darkness and Nightmare.

Silent Hill comic books

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. An earlier standalone graphic novel from defunct British publisher Com.X was completed in 2000 but never released.

Influences

The games' developers have acknowledged that they're fans of the film Jacob's Ladder and its technique of inducing fear through a more psychological level of perception. The films of David Lynch are also acknowledged to be an influence on Silent Hill. The series also borrows elements from Stephen King's novella The Mist and Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. The movie "Session 9" was also an influence and Silent Hill 3 features a homage to the movie

Further Information

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