Silent Hill Player Gender

[Wren]

Female.
I helped someone play 2 forever ago, and the apartments hooked me for life.

[Crystopsy]

Male. I've been a gamer since about the age of 7, and I started getting into the more adult material earlier on as well. The Resident Evil games helped immensely to shape how I would play video games in the future, thus it was an easy transition into Silent Hill. Silent Hill was the first game that had a very complicated and complex story with in depth characters that left us in a state of disbelief as the credits rolled. It was dark, depressing, direful and all around revolutionary. As far as gender being the main focus of conversation, I don't really think about it. If you have a passion for Silent Hill, then I love you. Simple as that.

[TheWakingEye]

Male. I got into the Silent Hill series around 2001 when SH2 came out. My dad was a gamer and he would take me every few months to pick out a game for us to play, and it just so happened that we got SH2 on one particular occasion. Which is my favorite entry in the series so far.

I wanted a scary game and I saw Silent Hill 2 and thought it looked scary, we looked for Silent Hill 1 but couldn't find it (hilariously enough we thought it was a PS2 game as well). he talked to the clerk about the game, the clerk convinced him that it was scary, he got the game and the strategy guide (which I still have) and we would play the game together when I would visit him (my dad would play, I would read the guide for him), I was around 10 years old at the time and was too scared to play myself (but I could play Resident Evil 2 and 3 haha).

The story was really lost on me (I was 10 give me a break! ), I didn't really understand the different characters but when my dad got the In Water ending it impacted me so much, and I really identified with James at that point, which made SH2 one of my favorite games period (definitely in the top 3) I have been hooked ever since...

EDIT: Added a few details, and fixed a few errors, tried to make the big block of text an easier read haha

[WhiteClaudia]

Male. I got into the Silent Hill series around 2001 when SH2 came out. My dad was a gamer and he would take me every few months to pick out a game for us to play, and it just so happened that we got SH2 on one particular occasion. Which is my favorite entry in the series so far.

I wanted a scary game and I saw Silent Hill 2 and thought it looked scary, we looked for Silent Hill 1 but couldn't find it (hilariously enough we thought it was a PS2 game as well). he talked to the clerk about the game, the clerk convinced him that it was scary, he got the game and the strategy guide (which I still have) and we would play the game together when I would visit him (my dad would play, I would read the guide for him), I was around 10 years old at the time and was too scared to play myself (but I could play Resident Evil 2 and 3 haha).

The story was really lost on me (I was 10 give me a break! ), I didn't really understand the different characters but when my dad got the In Water ending it impacted me so much, and I really identified with James at that point, which made SH2 one of my favorite games period (definitely in the top 3) I have been hooked ever since...

EDIT: Added a few details, and fixed a few errors, tried to make the big block of text an easier read haha

Sounds a lot like me when I watched my dad play SH2 and 3 when I was little When I was around... 8 or 9. I didn't understand half the story either! I remember when I watched him play 3 for the first time, and Claudia was talking about the God and Vincent was mentioning "God", and then we made it to the ending God battle and I remember asking, "is that the God of all monsters?" I was so lost back then, all I knew was it was scary as hell! Until I got older, I started playing them for myself and finally understood everything.

[TheWakingEye]

Yup that's how it was for me haha, I didn't understand that the monsters were from James' mind or any of that, they were just monsters that needed killing haha. The fight with Pyramid Head at the end was pretty "moving" for me, I remember really wondering why they

REVEAL SPOILER

killed themselves

and when I played it was such a profound experience when I realized what it all really meant.

That's why I love Silent Hill 2 so much, it was a mystery that I could never understand and being young made it that much more of a question I needed to find the answer to, and when I finally did, it was very meaningful and felt like such an accomplishment, I loved how complex James was, I wanted to be that complex haha... obviously not exactly like him, no thanks... Sorry to go off topic I've already said what was asked of me haha

[asdf]

Male

I started playing silent hill at the age of 9 or 10 it was like 2000 when i rented the first game it scared me at first but because i like how much better it was and scarier than resident evil i contined playing it was like one of my first games i beatin and every since then stuck with silent hill series ever also get me more into horror

[MoonBlade]

Quick aside from a gender-based psych student there are more genders than M/F. I'd like to put in a vote, but my gender is not listed. However if you wanted to change the topic title to "Silent Hill Players' Sex" then I would be able to vote as the poll stands. Rule of thumb: Gender is in the mind, sex is between the legs.

I'm very glad you pointed that out! I was thinking about making a post similar to this one but decided against it. I wish more people didn't see gender as such a black and white thing.

Unfortunately, people like to simplify things to make it easier on themselves. It is harder to understand that gender (and sexuality) are non-binary. People would rather break things down into THIS or THAT. Nothing between, nothing outside.

[WhiteClaudia]

I wouldn't take it as an insult. It's a mistake a lot of people make, and we understood what they were trying to get across.

Though, "Silent Hill Player Sex" would look very funny.

[EsoArt]

I actually was going to say something in the initial post about it interesting enough.

Here's the thing with your argument MoonBlade: people simplify just about everything. Chocolate tends to have a lot of insects parts in it, peanut butter tends to have rat hair in it and pizza sauce is allowed 30 fly eggs per 100 grams. I don't ask for "pizza sauce with fly eggs", even if that is the truth. Quite honestly, in terms of gender I have no idea what I would need to list in the poll to make it PC. An 'Other' option? Seems slightly offensive in itself.

Check it: http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplia ... .htm#intro

[WhiteClaudia]

I actually was going to say something in the initial post about it interesting enough.

Here's the thing with your argument MoonBlade: people simplify just about everything. Chocolate tends to have a lot of insects parts in it, peanut butter tends to have rat hair in it and pizza sauce is allowed 30 fly eggs per 100 grams. I don't ask for "pizza sauce with fly eggs", even if that is the truth. Quite honestly, in terms of gender I have no idea what I would need to list in the poll to make it PC. An 'Other' option? Seems slightly offensive in itself.

Check it: http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplia ... .htm#intro

'Ambiguous' could work.

[MoonBlade]

I actually was going to say something in the initial post about it interesting enough.

Here's the thing with your argument MoonBlade: people simplify just about everything. Chocolate tends to have a lot of insects parts in it, peanut butter tends to have rat hair in it and pizza sauce is allowed 30 fly eggs per 100 grams. I don't ask for "pizza sauce with fly eggs", even if that is the truth. Quite honestly, in terms of gender I have no idea what I would need to list in the poll to make it PC. An 'Other' option? Seems slightly offensive in itself.

Check it: http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplia ... .htm#intro

Except we are people, not flies in your pizza sauce. We've been ignored and minimized for the greater part of forever.

And, as I said, all you had to change was the word "gender" to "sex" there are only 3 sexes: Male, female, third sex/intersexed. There are countless genders. I learn new ones all the time and I've been part of this community since I hit puberty.

Ambiguous' could work.

Quiet well, it could. At least in my opinion, but even then, you may have people frustrated by being basically listed as "non specific". That is why I would have opted for "Silent Hill Player Sex".

[Floodclaw]

^While being politically correct is nice, I'm sure OP was more interested in simply knowing if they are strictly male, strictly female or something else.

[Lilacatz]

I played games even before I knew how to plug in the console. My first game was duck hunter...Why they let a toddler play with a gun?....I dunno.
Anyway female player here.
I like all SH, some WAY more than others. My favorite game was SH3 not because of the female protagonist but for the story and game lenght. Also the unlockables where awesome and I like to have a reason to replay a game. Also.....lots of monsters to kill.

[EsoArt]

You have the best avatar of all time Lilcatz.

[bushwacked]

Male. I played Silent Hill 2 for the first time when I was about 12, when my dad bought it for my birthday. I remember pretending to be in my room asleep late at night, but really staying up to play it with the sound down. Gave me a few nightmares, but it was worth it It got me into more subtle horror, as opposed to the jumpy - shock horror that's so popular now.

[Lilacatz]

You have the best avatar of all time Lilacatz.

Thank you, but it's not the best. I might do an animated one with the same concept....


____________
Also I really regret reading the past posts. Pizza has been ruined again for me..... Also it's so predictable people would get all worked up about the gender/sex thing.

[MoonBlade]

^While being politically correct is nice, I'm sure OP was more interested in simply knowing if they are strictly male, strictly female or something else.

It isn't politically correct or nice to not extend a question to all members of an open forum. I was not trying to stir the pot in my original post, although the response to my quick aside, from someone within the community that is being willfully ignored for sheer ease of conversation, has quiet upset me. Terms like "other" and "something else" are brutal to someone who has been called a "thing" their entire life just because they do not fit the typical archetype that a society around them has constructed for them.

My original intention was to point out that we, myself and others on this forum, do not fit in the "fe/male gender only" category, and then move on to my answer to the specific question at hand. The only reason I continue to post in this thread is because of the continuous ignorance and laziness. People don't want to talk about it because it is an effort to integrate simple terminology into their everyday life. Do you think I grew up knowing what genderfluid or genderqueer or even tans* was? No. I was taught by everyone that there was girls, tomboys, boys and sissy girls. I had to dig to find the correct terminology to use when having a civilized conversation with other adults, and I receive complaints of this caliber?

It is throughly ridiculous and, again, I don't mean to point it out in a rude or hostile, I only aim to spread knowledge and abolish the old traditions of generations long gone. It shouldn't come down to one person taking on all the blatantly crushing blows of others while trying to stand up for what everyone knows is right.

TL:DR
Don't be so old school, bro. Recognize there are different strokes for different folks.

[Wren]

Transgendered people have a societal stigma attached to them, and they have my sympathy for that painful burden. It is a predicament that I will never be able to understand, and therefore, I cannot speak about such a subject with any total certainty.

But seriously:
The OP just wanted to make a poll on an internet forum about gender and it's relation to the main subject matter of that forum. EscoArt is under no obligation to change his thread title, or his way of thinking, just because a few people are uncomfortable with perceived restrictive definitions.

Sexuality in general and transgendered individuals are a reasonably hot topic. I'm pretty sure everyone has enough exposure to this to have their minds already made up. We don't need people on a Silent Hill forum "schooling" us about this. I'm sorry, that's just my two cents.

[MoonBlade]

So let's all just ignore the elephant in the room because it is too touchy! YOU ARE TOTALLY CORRECT! What is my problem? Sorry. I'll just go back to my corner and redact my opinion since it is part of that elephant and it is just too touchy of a topic. My apologies for trying to inform some people because I figured they were decent human beings that want to broaden their horizons and not just fucking ignore everything that isn't WHAT and WHO THEY ARE.
I'll go away now and come back when I have forced myself into an easier-for-the-masses-to-digest mold so it will be easier for you.

No wait, it isn't about you. I'll just leave the strict CIS convo as I am clearly not welcomed.

[keeps]

I wanna read The Elephant Vanishes.

Societal gender roles are effed up.