Interview with Tomm Hulett (Dead Pixels)Date published: 2009.09.17 Dead Pixels: How will Silent Hill play on the wii as compared to the PSP and PS2? Tomm Hulett: The Wii version has a special control scheme where the Wii Remote is constantly being used to increase immersion. At all times it reflects Harry's ingame flashlight, so by moving the Remote in any direction, the player shines the flashlight. They also control the ingame cell phone with the Control pad and A Button, so it feels like you're holding an actual phone. The PSP and PS2 versions will control more like traditional Silent Hill games. Dead Pixels: The pysch profile in the game is supposed to alter the game to how you play...is this just in the beginning of the game or is it throughout the game? Could you give some examples. Tomm Hulett: The Psych Profile is constantly evolving the game based on who you are. The game is constantly gathering data from your actions and learning more about you. This effect lasts the entire game. This isn't something you've seen in other games where you can take the good or evil path; the psych profile is based on actual psychological principles, so it can judge how outgoing you are, whether you're an introvert, etc etc. Dead Pixels: For fans of the series, will there be any nods or easter eggs in the game for loyal players? Tomm Hulett: Of course, though a lot of them are very subtle. Fans will have to be very observant. Dead Pixels: Are the rumors true? No combat? Tomm Hulett: If by "combat" you mean "physically attacking monsters until they die" then yes, there is no combat in Shattered Memories. However, there are plenty of action sequences where you have to frantically cope with hideous creatures dogging your every step through a Nightmare landscape. Dead Pixels: Will there be a completely new score for the games music? Or just the original? Tomm Hulett: Akira Yamaoka (who has created the music for every Silent Hill) has created an all new score for Shattered Memories. People who pre-order the game at participating retailers will receive a full Soundtrack CD, in fact. Dead Pixels: Was there any particular reason this game wasn't being made for the 360 or Playstation 3? Tomm Hulett: Making Silent Hill on the Wii made perfect sense. The two key features of the franchise: a flashlight and radio static, are right there in the Wii Remote. With such immersive controls, it's natural to create a horror game that takes advantage of that deep immersion (just look at the amount coming to Wii this fall!). PSP and PS2 are both systems that we know Silent Hill fans own, so we wanted to deliver for them as well. But the goal of this game was to make it as scary as possible, and HD graphics don't make things more scary necessarily. The original Silent Hill still ranks as a lot of people's scariest game of all time... and its graphics are fairly archaic nowadays. Dead Pixels: Silent Hill has mostly known for it's atmosphere, such as in Silent Hill 2 with the lead characters struggles with infidelity. With this re-imagining of the original what are the demons Harry has to go through, and through the game play does the players interactions alter that? Tomm Hulett: Well in the old games you'd see a lot of imagery based on the main character's psychology. So in SH2, James ran into a lot of sexually-charged monsters, and there were some creepy, very sexual rooms. And then at the end of the game you kind of find out why, and it all makes sense. In Shattered Memories we've turned this into a flexible game mechanic. So the town is actually changing to reflect your own psychology. The things you see should reinforce this - that the town is watching you, and that the things you're dealing with are somehow your fault. Dead Pixels: Will the Wii version be using Wii Motion Plus? Tomm Hulett: Nope. The only thing you need is a Wii Remote and a Nunchuk. Dead Pixels: Silent Hill Homecoming was a big change compared to the rest of the series with more emphasis on combat but it seems with shattered memories it seems more like flight than fight. Is this going to be more puzzle and mystery based than a beat-em up, will this go back to being more 'survival horror'? Tomm Hulett: Our aim was to create the ultimate "Survival Horror" game by going back to the drawing board and figuring out what that should mean. The genre has gotten bogged down with a lot of established "rules" over the years, and those rules don't necessarily serve scaring the player. Also, with such a focus on combat, modern games really empower the player and if you're feeling empowered you can't be scared. So by stripping all that away we're hoping to create the ultimate survival horror experience. Dead Pixels: Will the PSP version be available for download on the PSN, and PSP Go? Tomm Hulett: The PSP version will be available on UMD format, as well as download for PSP Go. Dead Pixels: What is your favorite aspect of the re-imaging than people really aren't talking about? Tomm Hulett: The Silent Hill games are all about this town that screws with a person's perception of reality - of what they think they know. They're full of moments like in Silent Hill 2, where James meets someone who looks exactly like his ex-wife. And you're supposed to understand what these characters are feeling, but you can't REALLY because, for example, you never knew James's wife. You're just told she existed and she was similar but different to this new person James is meeting. ...But, a lot of people have played Silent Hill 1. So by reimagining it, Silent Hill can screw with their perception of that reality - of what they thought they knew about Silent Hill. Dead Pixels: Are you looking into doing any other re-imaginings with the Silent Hill series? Tomm Hulett: Right now we're focusing on getting this one just right. |