Making of Silent Hill 2 DVD

To start with my research for the presentation I thought it best to start with watching the dvd with interviews from the creators.

"Silence is also a sound." Akira Yamaoka

Environments-

Repulsion and attraction

Their aim was to keep an aura of mystery in the enviroments, by making the city appear larger than imagined it gives as sense of isolation, emphasised due to the severe lack of people.

When first starting out creating the game the starting point in the game; the public toilets was the yard stick for the whole image of the town. It was the first room created, giving birth to the style of the game.

One of following areas was also an interesting key focus was the forest path leading to cemetery which leads to the town. They made it so the path was so long to the cemetery that the player wouldn't want to turn back, the fog covering the way back almost immedietly after taking a step.

A noise filter was applied to the whole game also added to the overall gubby image.

Characters-

"The main character doesnt essentially have the main role."

For the characters the dvd mainly looked at Maria, the 'heroine', she was created to have some ambiguity to her.
"Heroines are perfect." The intention with Maria is that she isn't pefect, Human characters have bad points as well as good, it makes them more real.


Monsters-

The aim with the monsters design was that they'd have a deformed human shape; the player would think its human.
"...Undermine this human aspect by giving them weird movements"
One of the artists mentioned when looking at people. "...Mannerisms, walk of drunk people or young children tentatively walking."

Pyramid head, with his desgin the artists aim was to have something with a hidden face.
He originally had a distorted face, however it was essentially just a man with a mask. This brought them to a triangle shaped helmet, with the shape of the triangle showing that it would cause the wearer pain.

Music-

"...Conveingly melancholy."

"...challenge your imagination, as if the sounds are getting under your skin." The composer, Akira Yamaoka wanted to draw a physical reaction from the player with the sound, making the player feel uneasy and apprehensive of their next moves.


Psychological-

A key element to the game, the team brainstormed over the human mind and heart; uncovering humans core motivation, their reason for living; their answers being sex and death.
This ironcially brings back to Maria, "...Icy cold, like death, to suddenly sensual

Silent hill 2 revolves around the human psyche.

Prison Scene-

This scene is possibly one of the most effective moments in the game, the emotional ambiguity really plays with the players and James' emotions.

James finds Maria behind prison bars, as the conversation between the two of them progresses the player begins to question whether it’s Mary of Maria behind those bars. “...Maybe she is Mary.” However the rug is pulled from under the player as she suddenly switches back to Marias old self.

What is also interesting about this scene is that this room makes it look like both Maria and James are in prison.