If each player started in completely separate locations, and had no way to tell themselves out at a distance would add a powerful factor.
[UPDATE] Rumor: Multiplayer Creeping Into Silent Hill
- Thread starter Tom Goldman
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Between this and the QTE bosses the Silent Hill series has offically lost ALL of it's dignity, just kill it, you have no clue what you're doing!
Multi-player = 6-8 hour campaign/story and then an assumption that players will be happy making their own entertainment, even though they paid full price.
No. Just no. The whole point of SH is that you are alone, out numbered, frightened, and cannot protect your own back.
Fuck multi player.
No. Just no. The whole point of SH is that you are alone, out numbered, frightened, and cannot protect your own back.
Fuck multi player.
The survival [em]horror[/em] genre is not improved with the addition of multiplayer. I'm glad that multiplayer has been denied in the interview (even if it was not ruled out in future installments). "But what about Resident Evil 5," I hear you say. That was Survival Action, despite what tag it may have fallen under. RE5 is only vaguely horror because of the monsters you face, but it is more closely Action than anything else. So multiplayer works there.
I often dislike it when multiplayer us the go-to place for a game to try to cheaply instill more enjoyment. We all enjoy the company of friends, and some experiences are really enhanced by this. But I feel like it's the game designers cheap way of injecting fun into a game; why build a platform for experience when your players can connect and do that themselves with minimal effort? Cheapness, and I do not enjoy it.
(I don't want to imply that I dislike multiplayer; I really enjoy it. Just not used as a cheap trick in game design.)
Silent Hill hasn't been the same since the original creators left the project behind after SH4: The Room. They told their story, and it was done ever since. Now it's just another game property. Like another installment of Mega Man, or Final Fantasy. What's Wiley doing now? 8 Robot Masters? What a game changer. To me, the story of Silent Hill has been told, and Alessa/Heather slayed God. The end. (With no multiplayer, too!)
I often dislike it when multiplayer us the go-to place for a game to try to cheaply instill more enjoyment. We all enjoy the company of friends, and some experiences are really enhanced by this. But I feel like it's the game designers cheap way of injecting fun into a game; why build a platform for experience when your players can connect and do that themselves with minimal effort? Cheapness, and I do not enjoy it.
(I don't want to imply that I dislike multiplayer; I really enjoy it. Just not used as a cheap trick in game design.)
Silent Hill hasn't been the same since the original creators left the project behind after SH4: The Room. They told their story, and it was done ever since. Now it's just another game property. Like another installment of Mega Man, or Final Fantasy. What's Wiley doing now? 8 Robot Masters? What a game changer. To me, the story of Silent Hill has been told, and Alessa/Heather slayed God. The end. (With no multiplayer, too!)
One thing that could make this work is if you go back to the roots of Silent Hill. Remember, in many of the games you were never sure if you were actually seeing monsters, or if your mind was turning against you and the things you've been bludgeoning to death are actually people. If Konami makes a multiplayer game, one way to keep it scary is to show other people as monsters, or not at all. You could be running around in the dark with a bunch of other people, but all you see is random stuff moving as the other players interact with it, or you see some monsters running around with you. In order for this to work, there would have to also be actual monsters, but in a multiplayer game, that's a given.
Also, they could show random flickers of the characters, like how in cutscenes you see other people, but they're actually memories? Maybe every once in a while the game records a players death and plays it back. Now it's starting to sound like Demons Souls, but if it was implemented properly it could be extremely effective.
My point it, don't just start bashing Konami for deciding to try something new. If you just say "Silent Hill is about being alone, therefore multiplayer will suck balls", then if you do try it out you'll have the preconceived notion that it sucks and won't ever like it. Also, please try this at home: play a scary game with a friend. I assure you, their reactions will scare the shit out of you more than the game will.
Also, they could show random flickers of the characters, like how in cutscenes you see other people, but they're actually memories? Maybe every once in a while the game records a players death and plays it back. Now it's starting to sound like Demons Souls, but if it was implemented properly it could be extremely effective.
My point it, don't just start bashing Konami for deciding to try something new. If you just say "Silent Hill is about being alone, therefore multiplayer will suck balls", then if you do try it out you'll have the preconceived notion that it sucks and won't ever like it. Also, please try this at home: play a scary game with a friend. I assure you, their reactions will scare the shit out of you more than the game will.
If they force multiplayer into Silent Hill, i'll be furious. Please don't fuck this up like Capcom did with Resident Evil.
"Hey guys, how do we innovate when our fans don't want us to?"
"I know, stick multiplayer in there. Yeah, worked out for those chaps making Assassin's Creed and Dead Space didn't it?!"
"Great job team. Now we don't need to spend that fifty thousand on research and development to create new mechanics."
"Hey guys, how do we innovate when our fans don't want us to?"
"I know, stick multiplayer in there. Yeah, worked out for those chaps making Assassin's Creed and Dead Space didn't it?!"
"Great job team. Now we don't need to spend that fifty thousand on research and development to create new mechanics."
You know, Double Agent and Assassin's Creed managed to pull off a very good (if not broken) multiplayer adaptations to their series, I don't understand why Silent Hill can't.
Just saying.
One person starts off as a monster, and you always know where the human playing character is. The human is going around searching for clues, and the monster has a seperate objective and gets bonus points on when and where to attack the player.
Grow it off something like that.
Just saying.
One person starts off as a monster, and you always know where the human playing character is. The human is going around searching for clues, and the monster has a seperate objective and gets bonus points on when and where to attack the player.
Grow it off something like that.
Personally, the only really good 2 player survival horror game i played was ObsCure on the Xbox. Good times. Something like that could work.... maybe... :S
Going to copy what I posted on the Kotaku article I read this from originally.
If its just like Left 4 Dead's Survival mode, where you and three others just have to rally together to stay alive in Silent Hill for as long as possible, I think it could actually work pretty well. Doesn't have to be competitive, which would be stupid.
As long as it wouldn't hinder the single player game (which from the sounds of it, they won't even be connected), then I am fine with this possibility. Imagine you and three friends trying desperately to board up a window as you hear Pyramid Head shambling just outside, his giant knife scraping across the ground. Or if each character has some different neurosis that causes them to see different shit. Your friend could be dying, and you'd just be looking at him, not being able to see what was attacking him.
This could actually have a lot of potential. I doubt it would be as good as I'm hoping, but damn it, it could be.
If its just like Left 4 Dead's Survival mode, where you and three others just have to rally together to stay alive in Silent Hill for as long as possible, I think it could actually work pretty well. Doesn't have to be competitive, which would be stupid.
As long as it wouldn't hinder the single player game (which from the sounds of it, they won't even be connected), then I am fine with this possibility. Imagine you and three friends trying desperately to board up a window as you hear Pyramid Head shambling just outside, his giant knife scraping across the ground. Or if each character has some different neurosis that causes them to see different shit. Your friend could be dying, and you'd just be looking at him, not being able to see what was attacking him.
This could actually have a lot of potential. I doubt it would be as good as I'm hoping, but damn it, it could be.
The only Resident Evil game I've put more hours into than RE5 was RE4, and that's not by much. I think they did Co-Op damn well.9_6 said:
It'll be interesting to see how Silent Hill does multiplayer. It would be kinda cool if they have the kind of cult "safe heaven" like they did in the movie and Homecoming. Go out with a group of survivors, scavenge for equipment and haul ass back to the hideout when the air raid siren sounds, less you get maimed by pyramid head.
Glad they're not tacking this onto a main SH title too, means all resources will still be devoted to the single player experience.
Glad they're not tacking this onto a main SH title too, means all resources will still be devoted to the single player experience.
This is why I have no hope for the Silent Hill these days.
From the new monsters (that seem to be zombies right now) to the idea of multiplayer, it's removing the whole idea of being alone in an alien place.
The only way I could see this working out is if you were to do it in the style of an MMO or Demon's Souls.
For the first style, you'd need to have it so you can't tell who is out to get you and who isn't, having players either be disguised as monsters sometimes, or have monsters hiding among players.
The second one would be the safer idea, as it worked as a horror idea in the game it came from already. Have the player be mostly alone and have others appear rarely as hallucinations or as enemies.
Maybe you could also have a multiplayer only mode where your character is randomly assigned to a mystery that to unlock the good ending, you must get clues (in the forms of items or other such) from players on a different story path, but make it so that not only would certain stories contain items that would set you towards the bad ending, but you would also only be able to interact with players in hubs set in the "normal" Silent Hill.
Of course, a better option is for Konami to try a crossover that would help 2 of their series, namely one between Silent Hill and Castlvania. Think hard for a moment about the idea of being a normal person trapped in Dracula's Castle or about how the first part of Bram Stoker's tale showed off a villain more than capable of outdoing even the iconic town in terms of messing with his victims before you dismiss that.
From the new monsters (that seem to be zombies right now) to the idea of multiplayer, it's removing the whole idea of being alone in an alien place.
The only way I could see this working out is if you were to do it in the style of an MMO or Demon's Souls.
For the first style, you'd need to have it so you can't tell who is out to get you and who isn't, having players either be disguised as monsters sometimes, or have monsters hiding among players.
The second one would be the safer idea, as it worked as a horror idea in the game it came from already. Have the player be mostly alone and have others appear rarely as hallucinations or as enemies.
Maybe you could also have a multiplayer only mode where your character is randomly assigned to a mystery that to unlock the good ending, you must get clues (in the forms of items or other such) from players on a different story path, but make it so that not only would certain stories contain items that would set you towards the bad ending, but you would also only be able to interact with players in hubs set in the "normal" Silent Hill.
Of course, a better option is for Konami to try a crossover that would help 2 of their series, namely one between Silent Hill and Castlvania. Think hard for a moment about the idea of being a normal person trapped in Dracula's Castle or about how the first part of Bram Stoker's tale showed off a villain more than capable of outdoing even the iconic town in terms of messing with his victims before you dismiss that.
I think this is a terrible idea, and will only further devalue an excellent series.
The Outbreak games were good and scary because they kept the tension up. You were in short missions, with monsters biting at you, and a virus counter constantly reminding you that you will soon be a walking corpse.
Silent Hill is scary for different reasons. It has typically been about being alone, in darkness, surrounded by weird creatures and environments that have been altered into something not quite right (and in some cases, complete abominations!)
Silent Hill messes with your head. And that isn't something that I think can be created with a multiplayer experience.
And an MMO would be even worse than an Outbreak style game. Monsters should be scary and threatening, and as such should be avoided. MMOs, through leveling up and searching for items, push you TOWARD the monsters. And where would puzzles, good characters, and a good story fit in?
It makes me really sad to see my favourite series being treated so lightly. It should have ended with four.
The Outbreak games were good and scary because they kept the tension up. You were in short missions, with monsters biting at you, and a virus counter constantly reminding you that you will soon be a walking corpse.
Silent Hill is scary for different reasons. It has typically been about being alone, in darkness, surrounded by weird creatures and environments that have been altered into something not quite right (and in some cases, complete abominations!)
Silent Hill messes with your head. And that isn't something that I think can be created with a multiplayer experience.
And an MMO would be even worse than an Outbreak style game. Monsters should be scary and threatening, and as such should be avoided. MMOs, through leveling up and searching for items, push you TOWARD the monsters. And where would puzzles, good characters, and a good story fit in?
It makes me really sad to see my favourite series being treated so lightly. It should have ended with four.
You're basically describing the design behind Left4Dead. And while that worked well as a way to make zombie apocalypse scary and intense again, that is the exact opposite of what Silent Hill multiplayer should be.Sniper Team 4 said:
We're very used to the idea of co-op now. Stick together, split up, got your back. The theme is camraderie. Silent Hill does not know what this is. In Silent Hill, you and your buddy enter the town, and ONE of you is immediately swallowed by the Otherworld and vomited out on the other side of the lake. You work together to solve Weird Puzzle Shit and to try to reunite and kick some ass, communicating by radio except for when your radio is only playing static. Sometimes you get messages from ten minutes ago. Sometimes you get the same messages twice. Sometimes Silent Hill makes them up.
Most of the game will probably be trying to figure out if you're talking to a human or to the town. When you meet up, one of you is probably the game.
This is a good idea.girl_in_background said:
The point is that the security of having allies must be eliminated either by making them unreliable (maybe), unavailable (maybe), or untrustworthy (maybe).
Oh, I like that idea. That could work for Silent Hill. And I know I described Left 4 Dead. The things I listed that they needed to avoid can be found in L4D. Still being able to talk, being able to come back to life after a brief time. That just feels like cheating to me. I want to feel alone if I lose one of my teammates, not have them going, "Watch out, there's a monster around that corner because I'm a ghost and can travel all over the place warning you now."Fleaman said:
I have played Silent Hill 1-4 with my best friend. Seeing his reactions to the hideous things in the game were definitely interesting, but his presence did not make the game scarier.Fleaman said:
It's not just the fear factor that would suffer. Multiplayer games are built around action and fast pacing. The earlier Silent Hill games had puzzles and were deeply story oriented. I feel that those would probably be pushed aside. As such, being forced to face monsters would also make them less scary, in my opinion, as they wouldn't be something to be feared and avoided, rather, something to be fought and defeated.
Maybe I would have more faith in the idea if the last three games had been scarier and more true to the series.