Symbolic is a word that has haunted the development of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Silent Hill 2. Bloober Team worked directly with the original developers of the 2001 horror masterpiece, and at every turn it was met with two decisions: remain fa༺ithful, or go out on their own. A hard choice to make.
“We knew it was going to 💙be a challenge,” creative director Mateusz Lenart tells me. “There were lots of moments where we weren’t sure of ourও approach or direction. But when we created virtual slices and got a very good response from Konami, and now those people who are playing the game, we got confident.”
The general vibe of the hands-on preview event is surprise. After months of bad pres�💙�s and a healthy dose of skepticism from fans, there was a worry that Bloober Team was going to end up botching one of the best survival horror tiles ever made. I was a part of that group, but all it took was three hours to change my mind.
Lead producer Maciej Głomb echoes this sentimen♈t, noting that the development team is far more locked into the discourse than the gaming world gives them credit for. “Most of Bloober are actually huge fans. In a hypothetical worl꧒d where we aren’t creating this game and some other studio is, lots of us would be checking Reddit and socials to find out news and leaks on the game. So it was super important, from the very beginning, to do our best. It’s the biggest game we’ve ever worked on, and the most important.”
Both Glomb and Lenart were surprisingly honest about the reputation Bloober Team earned over its attachment to Silent Hill 2, and how the heavy-handedness of games like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Medium and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Layers of Fear plaꦿces it in a⛄ position where it needs to prove so many people wrong.
“[It’s difficult] presenting the game, especially in the midst of production, when not everything is finished, but you still need to show things as they are, even as a developer you know they aren’🍷t in the best shape possible,” Lenart admits. “You want to improve on those things, and sometimes it can be very uncomfortable. O🍰n the other hand, we also see that as an opportunity because, the feedback from fans and the community, even harsh, we can develop and shape to our advantage.”
Lenart also brings up that many of the issues raised ✱by fans 🌟were already fixed or addressed by the time trailers or gameplay reveals were released. In some cases, Bloober even ignored that feedback and kept on trucking, which in itself is admirable.
Glomb adds: “We need to remember that games are interacti𒁃ve media, so before somebody gets a chance to play, I think it’s hard to judge a game without experiencing it for yourself. I feel like a lot ofඣ the feedback we got was definitely warranted for the amount of information that players and fans had, but you can be the judge of that when you play.”
Silent Hill 2 is a time capsule in many ways. When it was first released in 2001, it was still making use of many of the control methods seen in the original 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Resident Evil titles while also making use of fixed camera angles, tank-based movement, and a number of features which haven’t aged especiall🔜y well. Bloober Team needed to refine these rough edges and stay close to everything the original did so well. A pretty tall order, but one it embraced.
“The camera being set up like this in the original game had its advantages,” Lenart says, noting how in many cases enemies were out of view, or lower resolution♉ and far weaker hardware specs meant Team Silent had to make compromises, many of which actually helped emphasise the atmosphere. “When choosing the third-person view we knew it was the best decision because of our experience with𒁃 The Medium, but we also needed to kind of reshape the gameplay, reshape the visuals, every aspect of the game.”
Ev🙈en the iconic fog was🍬 born of hardware limitations.
One thing I was keen to mention was the changes made to Maria, 💧who’s new outfit was a point of controversy the second it was revealed. Something wasn’t quite right about it, and in the hands-on build I played, it had even changed a little bit since the reveal. Lenart was aware of this concern among fans, and expanded on how it felt bringing this cast to life with new voices, looks, and even moti🗹vations.
“We were fortunate enough to work with the original creators, mostly [Pyramid Head designer] Masahiro Ito, and we had a lot ཧof ta💝lks about those characters and what they represent. What’s the nature of the characters? What is the backstory of the characters that we didn’t even need to read on the internet, but from the first-hand memory of the creator. We talked a lot about these characters.”
Some of the updated character designs were drawn from original concept art, or feature an up🧜dated design that is more true to what Team Silent initially intended. As for Maria, who is depicted in Silent Hill 2 as a more attractive and seductive version o🦋f her true self, getting her design right is an essential part of her narrative arc, which Bloober seems abundantly aware of.
The lﷺast thing I mention is fog, and the second the word is spoken, both Le✃nart and Glomb erupt into a chorus of nervous laughter. It is clear this part of Silent Hill 2 and what it must represent has been drilled into them over the past four years of development.
“It’s symbolic!” Glomb tells me. “We’re laughing because the quote ‘it’s symbolic’ was mentioned many, many, times during development... It’s a great tool to create this shattered memory for the main character. We also talk a lot about fog with Masahiro Ito and what its backstory is and why it's there. It’s not only the fog, it’s also about the fog, about the other world, about the white sheets being in the environment. All of those things are symbolic.”
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Silent Hill 2
- Top Critic Avg: 87/100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- October 8, 2024
- ESRB
- M For🙈 Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Bloober Team
- Publisher(s)
- Konami
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
Investigating a letter from his late wife, James returns to where they made so many memories - Silent Hill. What he finds is a ghost town, prowled by disturbing monsters and cloaked in deep fog. Confront the monsters, solve puzzles, and search for traces of your wife in this remake of SILENT HILL 2.
High-end Graphics and Sound
With ray tracing and other cutting-edge technical enhancements, the world of SILENT HILL and its unsettling ambiance is even realer than before.And with the inclusion of new, immersive soundscapes, you'll feel like you're standing in the thick of it.
Larger Environments
Explore locations and buildings that were once inaccessible, or are newly added in the remake. Enjoy the same acclaimed story, even while you experience the town of Silent Hill with fresh eyes across an expanded map.
Over-the-shoulder Camera
The remake moves from the original's fixed-camera viewpoints to an over-the-shoulder perspective, putting you closer to what James sees, for a more thrilling, more immersive experience as you explore the town and come face-to-face with monsters.
Evolved Combat Gameplay
Familiar weapons like the steel pipe and handgun make their return, but now with an updated combat system. Avoid attacks with carefully timed dodges, aim down sights, and more, mak🧔ing monster encounters more engaging and nerve-wracking than ever.
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