When P.T was released in August 2014,
the gaming world imploded. Let’s Players tripped over each other in a rush to
be the first to shudder at its creepiness, people forced their friends to play
it in a weird game of chicken, and we all generally wondered what it was all
about, hooked in by its compellingly terrifying L-shaped corridor (and the thing in the sink). Until the end, and
that trailer. Del Toro. Kojima. Silent Hills. The second impact.
And then, that was it. With over a
million downloads, countless awards usually given to actual games and its
status as an urban legend solidified, the news dried up. Our Playable Teaser
was all we had. Good things would come to those who wait, or so we thought. In
March this year, reports started to circulate that a disagreement with Konami
had prompted Kojima to leave the company after the production of Metal Gear
Solid 5, another much-anticipated property. Although these rumours were met
with unease by some, most weren’t surprised at all; Kojima is after all known
for his maverick, exciting persona within the fandom. “Let the genius work!
He’s too good for Konami!” came the cry. Evidently, his higher-ups thought the
opposite; announcing a re-structuring, they removed all evidence of Kojima and
his production company from every single piece of MGSV promotional material.
This was their first mistake. Ask any fan of the Metal Gear franchise what
makes it stand out from the Splinter Cells among the crowd, and there’ll be one
answer: its creator. I can’t imagine the beach date scene from Peace Walker
being included in any of today’s square-jawed, hyper-serious action franchises,
for one thing. But fanservice aside, the creativity displayed in almost every
instalment is what gamers came back for over the years. To deny that is to deny
innovation across video games themselves. And this is without mentioning the
involvement of Guillermo del Toro. Even if you don’t know of him, you will’ve
seen Pan’s Labyrinth. I hope so, at least. His acclaimed brand of gothic
eeriness would
have been great to give the residents of
Silent Hill a makeover.
So, what exactly caused the cancellation
of one of the most hotly-anticipated games in recent years? The simple answer
is, we don’t know. In April, del Toro told guests at an event that the game had
been cancelled, and the following day Norman Reedus (the protagonist’s “actor”,
both in appearance and voice) tweeted the same statement. The fans, to put it
politely, weren’t pleased. The first and to this day most common belief is that
Kojima’s fallout with Konami led to the publisher cutting ties to any and all
projects with him involved; however, the development of MGSV’s Online Mode has
still been continued, and by the time you read this it’ll be up and running,
with frankly ridiculous microtransactions such as insurance for your base. It’s
probably handy if you’re constantly plagued with missiles or spammers, but
still a bit of a stretch. The spirit of Metal Gear is being echoed through
games and mods made by fans, so there is as
least some sort of remaining fanbase for those higher-up to sadly exploit.
Which brings me to my final point; will Silent Hills live again, whether in
name-only or as a project funded with something like Kickstarter? The fans’ hunger
for even news of what-ifs is proof enough Silent Hill is an in-demand
destination for gaming tourists. But are we viewing it with fond old holiday
memories? And if we do get to go back, will we recognise it at all?
Sophie
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