Trailers vs The Game

[Augophthalmoses]

o·rig·i·nal: adj: Not derived from something else; fresh and unusual, Being the source from which a copy, reproduction, or translation is made.


Definitely doesn't apply to SM.

That depends. They used character names, the names of some locations, and the most basic premise, but everything else about the game is completely unlike the first Silent Hill.

Climax performed a brilliant deconstruction of the first game, and in doing so actually made a better story than the original had, but sadly, they did this for a fanbase who has a large number of people who lack an understanding of such storytelling methods and write it off as a remake or copy.

Yet they based their story off the original, regardless of the changes. SM is the complete opposite of original.

That was kinda the point of the game and a possible double meaning for the subtitle "Shattered Memories". It took the very basic setup of the first game and wove a completely new story and game around it. Sure, they share names and there are dozens of references to the first game and the rest of the series, but it's not exactly a carbon copy of SH1.

Whether it succeeded in what it tried to do, however, is another story.

[Mothersdecent]

Shattered Memories based its story off the same premise as the first game, and the premise of "scared parent tries to save endangered child" hasn't been original since, oh, about five minutes after literature was invented.

Past that shared premise the two stories are not alike at all.

Never said the two stories were alike, but one WAS based off the other. PERIOD.

[devil hunter]

Well yeah, that was the point of SM. It still has original elements.

[Augophthalmoses]

And SH3 used SH1 as a basis for its story in order to show what happened after the events of that game. The storyline isn't exactly original either, but it's still enjoyable.

[Mothersdecent]

Back on topic:



I was actually trying to change the settings on my TV to see if i could recreate the look of the trailers, i failed miserably.

I guess it depends on the tv too.

[MurphyPendleton]

I agree that the trailer was creepy, but it does not meet typical trailer requirements. Say a person has never played any of the other Silent Hill games,and they see the trailer for Silent Hill 4, yea they will think its creepy, but they have NO IDEA what it is about, they see a guy running around punching ghosts that does not tell you that it is a good game. I LOVE Silent Hill 4 don't get me wrong

[schlaufuchsMIKE]

I dunno, running around punching ghosts was pretty much the SH4 experience

[MurphyPendleton]

I dunno, running around punching ghosts was pretty much the SH4 experience

So your saying there is no story in Silent Hill 4?

[schlaufuchsMIKE]

There was some story, but it could have been better. The trailer did it's job, it psyched us all up for the game.

[MurphyPendleton]

There was some story, but it could have been better. The trailer did it's job, it psyched us all up for the game.

Thats because we are already fans of the previous games. I like the trailer, it was creepy and made me want to play the game, but it showed NOTHING about the game, the only thing that trailer told me was "There is ghosts in this game"

[Aherd]

but it showed NOTHING about the game, the only thing that trailer told me was "There is ghosts in this game"

Sorry, don't know what you mean by showing NOTHING about the game.
Do you mean story? Gameplay? Characters?

To me, it actually did show something about the game, to the extent that made me want to play anyway.
(1) The title clearly states it is about a room.
(2) In the trailer we see Henry facing a locked door from inside a room(apartment).
(3) Ghosts appearing, though not in the room itself, gives an impression of something being haunted.
So there you go, summing up, it's about a haunted room.LOL

The trailer would probably had left people wondering how come there are other places when you're supposed to be locked up in a room, which would have made people interested in what the story is about. So the trailer did it job imo.
Sadly, the 9mins version trailer is another story.ˊOˋ

[MurphyPendleton]

but it showed NOTHING about the game, the only thing that trailer told me was "There is ghosts in this game"

Sorry, don't know what you mean by showing NOTHING about the game.
Do you mean story? Gameplay? Characters?

To me, it actually did show something about the game, to the extent that made me want to play anyway.
(1) The title clearly states it is about a room.
(2) In the trailer we see Henry facing a locked door from inside a room(apartment).
(3) Ghosts appearing, though not in the room itself, gives an impression of something being haunted.
So there you go, summing up, it's about a haunted room.LOL

The trailer would probably had left people wondering how come there are other places when you're supposed to be locked up in a room, which would have made people interested in what the story is about. So the trailer did it job imo.
Sadly, the 9mins version trailer is another story.ˊOˋ

1) The title makes sense
2) It shows a guy standing infront of locked door that does not mean it is the door of thee apartment (until the person sees the cover of the game box)
3) The story is about a guy waking up locked in his apartment and can only escape by using the mysterious hole in his bathroom.

I think the trailer was effective for the people that have played the previous Silent Hill games
Or for the people who don't give a shit about story lines in video games

[Aherd]

Ahh, I kind of see what you mean. : ) Assuming I do, SH2 trailer had achieved all that you noted,
and IMO, is also the best out of all titles.

But like I said, I guess the trailer(SH4) was aiming more to get people intrigued to what kind of story SH4 holds, rather than in-your-face tell what the story is about. If this is the case, which I believe to be true, the trailer is designed for people that DO want to know about the story.
Didn't know if it worked, but certainly did for me:D
And at that time, SH4 and SH2 were my first SH games(I played both at the same time.)

Besides, if you look at other trailers, say downpour and homecoming, do you think that those trailers did a good job at introducing their stories? Other than a main guy wandering in an empty town, dialogues that are chosen just for dramatic effect, etc... . Those trailers also only show the same, if not less, amount of 'something' as SH4 did, but less exciting^o^

[Q. Valintyne]

Besides, if you look at other trailers, say downpour and homecoming, do you think that those trailers did a good job at introducing their stories? Other than a main guy wandering in an empty town, dialogues that are chosen just for dramatic effect, etc... . Those trailers also only show the same, if not less, amount of 'something' as SH4 did, but less exciting^o^

You raise a very good point here. As much as the other trailers talked about the story and used dramatic/creepy lines, they weren't quite as exciting and moving as the trailer for Silent Hill 4. It was just creepy. Regardless of how the end product is, the trailer got people excited. That's what trailers are meant to do: garner interest. Although it is dangerous to show off a trailer that completely deters from what your game is, there were a lot of moments in Homecoming and Downpour that could've been used to create a better and creepier trailer.

I like Silent Hill 4 a lot more than I did initially now that I'm replaying it.

[devil hunter]

I prefer Homecoming and Downpour style trailers over 4's for one simple reason, you can't complain that the game wasn't as creepy as in the trailer in those.

[MurphyPendleton]

In the newer trailers it definitely SHOWED a lot more happening, the dialogue helps. Ever since I played Silent Hill for the first time, I never really give a shit about the trailers, If its Silent Hill, Im getting it haha. I Really did love what they did with sound and music and color effects in the Silent Hill 4 trailer

[Aherd]

To put it more clearly, the other trailers were more in keeping with the actual game.
SH4 trailer was too exciting and daring for its own good, while the game itself, to quote cyber cat, was too subtle for its own good. That and the fact, as Q. Valinty rightly points out, some things in the trailer wasn't delivered in the end product: (

Haha, me too. I don't really care about trailers either. But I DO hope that they continue to make trailers like SH2 and 4, these two were the only ones that really stands out, okay, perhaps SH1 also. The other SH trailers were informing and decent, but at the same time average and forgettable imo. : D

PS. Sorry if this is becoming SH trailer reviewLOL

[clips7]

The trailers for the newer games are more modern and commercial...if you look at the trailers especially for Homecoming and Downpour, they have a very modern and Hollywood feel...it was something that most folks could relate to, which isn't a bad thing.

SH4's trailer and the earlier trailers felt awkward and not right (in a good way) they were obscure and not tradtionally made...but i guess alot of games were made in that manner back then due to the tech...but SH4's trailer in particular gave a sense that the game was going to brutally horrific and terrifying.

The game itself wasn't on the level of that trailer, but it was still a terrifying and disturbing experience...and the story was one of the strongest that the series has seen and the concept itself was something that wasn't your average run of the mill storylines that are usually seen in games today or at that time.

[Q. Valintyne]

Shit... Silent Hill 4 is still the most terrifying for me. There are some generally unsettling things scattered throughout (and even though I knew the fate of Walter, it was still visually unsettling to see it).

There's just something creepy about a first-person horror experience. I dreaded going from door-to-door in my room because of the hauntings and miscellaneous creepiness.

I think some of the cutscenes (that are done like the trailer) are some of the most terrifying ever conceived it a game. The out-of-focus shaky cam, the extreme film grain, everything was just unsettling to me. Several times I just wanted to stop playing and not finish it like I did before, but I knew that I had to in order to really talk about it here.

Downpour was more akin to this game than any other one in the series (I seriously think I should write a long, convoluted post on why I think this, but I really don't have the patience to write it or be flamed for my opinion).

[Mothersdecent]

Downpour was more akin to this game than any other one in the series (I seriously think I should write a long, convoluted post on why I think this, but I really don't have the patience to write it or be flamed for my opinion).

I've always thought this. The otherworld in downpour is very walter-ish and very reminiscent of SH4, except the exploration was removed... and the dreaded "red light" took over... and the chasing... and the waves of enemies... and more "red lights".