My Idea for a Silent Hill plot

[Mikelland]

Okay. So i was walking along a street and I was thinking about Silent Hill and I got a loose idea for a plot. So i had a think and I would like to know what you people think of it.

The main idea behind Silent Hill is punishment and resolution right? The town forces you to deal with you're past and confront it. So from that came the idea of a vietnam veteran. Tall, but very thin. Hunched shoulders, not a military man by trade but forced into it by the draft.
During his service in vietnam he was ordered to attack and raze a village of vietcong, mostly women and children, that had nothing to do with the resistance. Along with his troop he carried out this order and many women and children were killed as a result of his actions.

I havn't quite figured out why he goes to Silent Hill though. Maybe he lived, and was brought up there before the draft and he comes back from Vietnam to the different "Otherworld" Silent Hill.

The could be some new areas, such as old execution ground, or expansions on old areas, like the civil war museum. Expanding on the civil war museum would also give us the chance to learn more about Silent Hill's bloody past.

The monsters could be based around war. Soldiers, colonial or modern. The nurses replaced with field medics. There could also be a monster, perhaps the final boss, that is simply a tangle of badly burnt bodies. Multiple limbs all scorched and bleeding dragging its painfully large carcass across the floor.

Multiple endings based on gameplays choices would be interesting to experiment with. Like with Silent Hill 2 if you played suicidally (eg. running around on low health, taking a lot of damage, reading certain things, maybe even using certain weapons) you would get an endiung where it would be impossible to win against the final boss. The final cutscene shows your character drop to his knees, close his eyes, and accept he deserves death for what he did.
Or he comes to believe that he can win. He can never forgive himself for what he did, ut he can live on and try and be a better person because of it.

So what do you think guys? I'm not a professional writer or anything I just thought it would be an interesting thing to play about with. Feel free to post your own ideas for Silent Hill plots, characters, settings or monsters. I would love to read them.

 

[new_age_reject]

I think the idea of a vet would work well with the whole punishment and resolution thing.

 

[AgentNein]

While I like the idea, there's a lot more to Silent Hill than regurgitating the idea of a characters 'demons' and past drawing him to the town (no offense). It was done really well with Silent Hill 2, it was done markedly less well with Homecoming, I think if they wish to continue the franchise they need to look into other avenues.

The Room gets a lot of crap, but it definetly took a different approach to dealing with the SH mythos (probably at least partially because it wasn't originally an SH game, but that's beside the point), it took on the qualities of both a classic ghost story, a murder mystery, and lots of other messed up stuff in between.

So again, I dig your idea. But it feels like a riff on an idea which runs a danger of becoming cliche in the SH world.

 

[royalwithcheese]

i think it would do well in vietnam

 

[AgentNein]

and with that i meant that there will be more and more action... and that is not what silent hill is about... and that is what people hate to happen in silent hill homecoming even got smacked against the head for it

I had a lot of issues with Homecoming, the actual battle system had nothing to do with that. It was definetly a step in the right direction.

I do agree though, some bits were abit too action oriented for me, particularly the police station (although I just ran like hell through most of that). My main issue with that game was the botched final chapter in Silent Hill. Who's bright idea was it to populate the final area of the game with lame cult members and a "Hostel" minigame?

 

[beddo]

The idea of punishment and redemption isn't new and isn't exclusive to Silent Hill. If you want to do this story then you should make it your own. There's nothing wrong with taking inspiration in making your own work.

 

[Bertruam]

Your story is good, but i think a soldier would be all to prepared for such a desperate situation ( He would be in better shape to fight etc.). Maybe if he was older (say twenty years if he was like eighteen or nineteen) so he wouldnt be in such great shape. The idea of dealing with your issues ind such a literal sense would realy work out for him. Since its a loose idea you can still tweak it, you just need to straighten out a few loose ends.

 

[Mikelland]

The idea of a military background was necessary for the vietnam idea to work. I havn't played homecoming but from what i've heard the combat is still dodgy and kind of broken. I too dislike the idea of a a Silent Hill in which you walk in, destroy the place and then walk casually out as it explodes behind you and you strike a cool pose. And then possibly make out with a hot girl.
But seriously no.
Hence why I decided to include the idea of the draft rather than a career military man. Limit ammunition for the gun enough, include a reliable way to effectively escape when things go bad, and a rudimentary melee combat system and I don't think it would suffer for it.

Maybe place the camera over the shoulder like in RE4 and make the player aim manually? But without a laser sight so it takes some adjustment to learn how to aim your shots Especially when the music reaches breaking point and your nerves are already hanging by threads. But would that be too frustrating? Such is the reason i'm not in game design i suspect.

To Beddo.
You are absolutely right. Thanks for reminding me that I could create this. If i decide to go into creating theatrical work i'm definately going to have a go at scripting this idea and crafting it into a performance.

 

[rosac]

Your story is good, but i think a soldier would be all to prepared for such a desperate situation ( He would be in better shape to fight etc.). Maybe if he was older (say twenty years if he was like eighteen or nineteen) so he wouldnt be in such great shape. The idea of dealing with your issues ind such a literal sense would realy work out for him. Since its a loose idea you can still tweak it, you just need to straighten out a few loose ends.

i copletely agree with this man/woman. Well done sir/madam.

rosac

 

[Bertruam]

Your story is good, but i think a soldier would be all to prepared for such a desperate situation ( He would be in better shape to fight etc.). Maybe if he was older (say twenty years if he was like eighteen or nineteen) so he wouldnt be in such great shape. The idea of dealing with your issues ind such a literal sense would realy work out for him. Since its a loose idea you can still tweak it, you just need to straighten out a few loose ends.

i copletely agree with this man/woman. Well done sir/madam.

rosac

I'm a dude. What disturbs me is that the name Bert didnt give it away.

 

[Kajuro]

The idea of a Viet-vet is overused these days.It's a very catchy,reliable,and flexible idea to go from,is why.Because of the brutality and insanity of the war,lots of soldiers have been affected,definetly mentally above all else.No disrepect to you,sir,you came up with your own original idea,that's more than some can say.

I,personally,have two ideas that me and my friend have built on.One is a younger brother looking for his older brother,and the other is an older man,most likely in his late 50s,looking for what's left of his family.

I like the old man idea the most,cuz it breaks from the younger,healthier adolescent fighting and running from enemies.The old man could be a vietnam vet,but that would be too easy.Maybe if he had a normal job,like an accountant,chef,or maybe he could be a manager of some kind.The monsters would be reflections of his greatest fears,regrets,and the bosses would be evil manefestations of his greatest joys(unintentionally destroying what he loves most).His family could be his son,who's disappeared with his young daughter,and the old man gets a tip that a man was hauling ass up the road towards Silent Hill(so it's the son who's called to Silent Hill and the old man ends up there too).Once in Silent Hill,to try and save his son and grand-daughter(or maybe just himself?)he has to face and own up to guilt,anger,self-destructive-ness,and uncaring praternal feeling towards his son.Of course there'll be multiple endings.Email me if you want them.

If anybody would like to know other ideas I have,share ideas,criticize,or just talk;feel free to email me.
[email protected]

 

[Meta Like That]

The idea of a military background was necessary for the vietnam idea to work. I havn't played homecoming but from what i've heard the combat is still dodgy and kind of broken. I too dislike the idea of a a Silent Hill in which you walk in, destroy the place and then walk casually out as it explodes behind you and you strike a cool pose. And then possibly make out with a hot girl.
But seriously no.
Hence why I decided to include the idea of the draft rather than a career military man. Limit ammunition for the gun enough, include a reliable way to effectively escape when things go bad, and a rudimentary melee combat system and I don't think it would suffer for it.

I like this idea, mainly because it's what Homecoming should have been. Or at least what I thought it was going to be like. The main guy's military bearing didn't even have anything prevalent to do with the story. It was just an excuse to implement the new combat system. He might as well had been a cop. But eh, whatever.

I recently had an idea for the series too, that I think would work very well with the "punishment & resolution" theme, especially since I haven't seen anything done like it before. I haven't written it down or finalized anything, so the details may be flimsy:

Set in an industrialized Silent Hill rather than a resort town, drug abuse among the residents is no small secret, however it's relatively peaceful with a low crime rate. The place is suddenly overrun with thick fog and aggressive, unearthly creatures that hide within it. The town's population is massacred, survivors strewn throughout.

Enter "the narrator", a recovering yet brain-damaged drug addict that recently escaped the hospital's psych ward amidst the confusion and chaos. She retreats to her home, shared by her boyfriend and their child. However, her memory before admitting herself to the hospital is fragmented, and believes that something terrible happened to them before the fog invasion. Racked with guilt for reasons unknown, she is indifferent to the threat outside. The threat that may or may not be there, due to her impaired perception of reality (visual hallucinations and whatnot) because of drug induced brain damage.

Later, we switch to a lone pre-teen boy (we'll call him "Bob") searching for his mother. Bob is a child prodigy, yet something is not quite right with him. He regularly addresses an imaginary friend of his (an older, teenage boy who we see, but other characters don't) who acts as a moral conduit for him. Without an inherent sense of fear, Bob is utterly brave in the face of the lethal situation before him. Almost eerily so for someone his age... As a prodigy, Bob is very intuitive with mechanical workings, and can reverse engineer almost anything that can be built by hand, using a custom workshop in the garage of his home. However, when it comes to reading other people, he is nearly clueless. But with his skills and agile footwork, he is determined to find his mother and make sure that she's safe.

Integrates the idea from The Room, of having a home-base of sorts to return to and further the plot, after venturing out into the town. The two character's stories reflect their styles of gameplay: Bob's more action style - creating makeshift weapons/accessories and quick dodging, while the Narrator is more about stealth and (if the player so chooses) using substances to enhance her abilities. However, in using the drugs, you run the risk of altering her story, causing her to permanently relapse into addiction.

That's all I bothered with thinking up on short notice.

 

[Inverse Skies]

My idea for ressurecting the Silent Hill series would be to give the series a definite story arc which extends over several games and has a concluding finish, rather than each game being a self isolated story and only loosely connected to each other. It could go a long way to explaining the events behind Silent Hill as well as giving some closure on the series.

 

[Meta Like That]

It already had a definite arc (1&3, maybe Origins). Everything after has pretty much been filler, but I see nothing wrong with that. There's a lot to be said about a foggy town and the fucked up shit that happens therein. As long as each installment has good characters and involving stories, it wouldn't be a hindrance if they were all loosely connected. But while I don't think the series should end (even though it's dead to me right now), I think another major arc spanning a few games would be cool.

 

[Simriel]

nothing... I SAY NOTHING to do with the military should ever be in a silent hill game
it just ads more guns and fighting to it and that will always be overdoing it

just saying "aww hes a soldier but... hes a thin soldier"... wont work! ok! get it out of your heads you retarded monkeys

the only "sonic" the creators of silent hill could pull is start pumping in the military, and let marcus phoenix be the protagonist .


here 2 parts of a decent story for silent hill

http://deadxwriterxmaraveno.deviantart.com/art/Strangers-in-Silent-hill-1-109806964

http://deadxwriterxmaraveno.deviantart.com/art/Strangers-in-silent-hill-2-109869376

or

http://mikeyblighe.deviantart.com/art/Silent-Hill-Locked-In-Part-1-19269963
http://mikeyblighe.deviantart.com/art/Silent-Hill-Locked-In-Part-2-19553685
http://mikeyblighe.deviantart.com/art/Silent-Hill-Locked-In-Part-3-19822576

Epic ... has been served

Whoa... Your two part silent hill story, is to put it bluntly, Terrible. Its badly written, in a way that the writer THINKS its well written but is in fact, horrible. A game with dialogue like that i would NEVER buy.

 

[EzraPound]

NEEDS MORE ZOMBIES