Confusing Stroytelling?

Have you seen Harry's daughter anywhere? Short, dark hair?

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
AnthonySH
Just Passing Through
Posts: 11
Joined: 26 Jun 2012
Gender: Male

Confusing Stroytelling?

Post by AnthonySH »

So i recently just beat SH1 again on PSN. Loved it. One thing that stand out tho is that the story is not told or explAined as well as i remember. There was a room where there were a few notes that looked like i could read them but i wasnt able to? Also i know i mussed some stuff as i accidently missed the Kaufman sidequest. But also i think the movie does a better job of telling the story. Another criticism is why are some of the important parts only in the intro and not. In the game itself? Heres some confusing things?

-it was never explained how Alyssa was split into two or how Cheryl knew she needed to go to SH

- they never said anything about Lisa saving Cheryl. Only insinuated it by in te diary lisa says "i did the right thing"

-they dont even go into much detail about the ritual and why it didnt work.

-Kaufmans involvement is never really explained. Although in his sidequest i may have gotten more info.

-why is Cybil there?

Y do i remember there being more Drawings at the school and more notes throughout the game? I went in everyroom. Playtime was just under 5hrs.


I mean i know the story becuz ive been a fan for yrs. but does anyone else get the feeling that if someone was to play this game without any previous knoweldge they would be confused?

I feel things are kind of insinuated but never fully explained
User avatar
Kenji
Historical Society Historian
Posts: 5077
Joined: 19 Jul 2007

Re: Confusing Stroytelling?

Post by Kenji »

I don't think it's deniable that Silent Hill was more focused on building a world with texture. What story we've uncovered probably existed mostly for that, and not for the purpose of itself (that is, the story wasn't really meant to be "told," but "felt"). They didn't mean to impress you with their storytelling, per se, but to add to the atmosphere of the game. It gave the sense that there was some terrible logic behind it all, even if it wasn't decipherable or understandable. You felt that something bigger than you was going on, and that it wasn't just random.

Hell, you could make a serious argument that much of the first game's story is actually retconning from the second and third games. For example,
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
before SH3, a serious argument could be made that SH1 was a big ol' time loop. While SH3 doesn't follow, Siren (which has a similar plot and the same director) does. It's reasonable to wonder whether Toyama planned something similar for SH1's Next Fear feature.
Before anyone criticizes the devs for making the story so difficult to decipher, this question should be asked: Did that actually hurt the game? Did the lack of an upfront story make the game less scary? Or, perhaps, did it actually make it more scary, since you can decipher some purpose but are otherwise confused about what it might be?

It's like how Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, contrary to flippant write-offs, actually do have stories. They're just hidden in the background and largely exist to give their worlds texture and a sense of history, even if you don't really know what that history is.

In fact, I daresay that the Souls games are better off without an explicit account of events and people, since it lets the player's imagination go to work and construct a sequence of events that feels most satisfying to the individual (kinda like how pretty people are prettier with their clothes on). When those individual reckonings collide, it spurs discussion and keeps a fandom alive.

Hell, I'll even go so far to say that Silent Hill has been progressively suffering from its history getting too specific, its rules too defined, its plot-based instead of atmosphere-based focus. Now we know what to expect (contributing to games not being scary) and we can directly criticize events that we feel are stupid. There's also less to discuss, this forum being an excellent example of this.
Image
User avatar
RivenZero
Cafe5to2 Waitress
Posts: 152
Joined: 01 Jun 2012
Gender: Male
Location: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
Contact:

Re: Confusing Stroytelling?

Post by RivenZero »

The great thing about Silent Hill 1 and 2 is that Team Silent never felt it necessary to spoon feed the plot to us. The games leave it up to you to figure things out as you progress through the many memos and subtle hints through out.

It's not like watching a movie where everything is laid out on the table. The subtlety is apart of the games' charm. It makes you work that brain of yours.

You can find the answers to a couple of your questions by playing SH Origins.

It's up to you as a player to solve the mysteries of Silent Hill. Some answers may not be obvious but they are there. As for the questions that can't be answered well.....Is it really so bad? I personally find it adds to the games' creepy factor. Uncertainty adds to fear.
Image
Thanks again JuriDawn for the amazing avatar & sig!
User avatar
JuriDawn
SHH Cult Subscriber
SHH Cult Subscriber
Posts: 4060
Joined: 08 Jan 2006
Gender: Female
Location: Carrollton, TX

Re: Confusing Stroytelling?

Post by JuriDawn »

^What they said. ;)

The great thing about playing this game for the first time was that I hadn't yet developed the almost compulsive need to analyze and understand every single detail. I feel that Silent Hill is enjoyable partly as a result of its unanswered questions, not in spite of them.

>it was never explained how Alyssa was split into two. . .
A-L-E-S-S-A. Alessa. With no Y. Sorry, but I see that misspelling a lot and it bugs me. Anyway, we're given all the information we really need to know: that this is a "stalling tactic" to prevent Dahlia and her group from "get[ting] power." In other words, it was an act of Alessa's will.

>. . . or how Cheryl knew she needed to go to SH. . .
Dahlia: We'll use a magical spell. Feeling this child's pain, it's [the other half of the soul] sure to come.

She was drawn by Alessa's suffering and Dahlia's magic. We have no way of knowing the exact mechanics of that spell or whether Cheryl herself knew why she wanted to go to Silent Hill, but we get the gist of it.

>they never said anything about Lisa saving Cheryl. Only insinuated it by in te diary lisa says "i did the right thing"
I don't recall reading this, and can't find it anywhere in the game's file transcripts. Could you elaborate where you found this line? I've never gotten any indication that Lisa was supposed to have interacted with Cheryl at all.

>they dont even go into much detail about the ritual and why it didnt work.
I feel like Dahlia's "stalling tactic" remark gives sufficient information about why the ritual didn't immediately succeed. As for the details of the ritual itself, Alessa was burned alive
and kept in an endless nightmare of pain and suffering. I don't need to know what words Dahlia chanted or whether or not she did the Cabbage Patch thrice widdershins about the Halo of the Sun before invoking her deity for the sacrifice.

>Kaufmans involvement is never really explained.
There are two N's in Kaufmann. He was involved with the cult's drug trade. He took White Claudia, a plant used in religious ceremonies for its hallucinogenic effect, and manufactured the drug PTV. Judging by his reaction in the endings in which he survives, he was obviously unaware that Dahlia was basically trying to bring about the apocalypse; he just enjoyed the wealth and power he gained from his association with the Order. Norman Young, the owner of the motel, suspected Kaufmann was involved in the mysterious deaths of the mayor (for his anti-drug policies) and others.

>why is Cybil there?
It's not tremendously important, so it only gets a brief mention in Lost Memories: Silent Hill Chronicle
profile: A police officer from Brahms, a town adjacent to Silent Hill.
Due to a sudden interruption of correspondence, she comes to Silent Hill to investigate.
Yeah, of course the game is going to be a bit confusing for someone who doesn't already know the plot, but that's far preferable than having everything spelled out. For me, anyway.
AnthonySH
Just Passing Through
Posts: 11
Joined: 26 Jun 2012
Gender: Male

Re: Confusing Stroytelling?

Post by AnthonySH »

Lol ya it makes more sense the more i think of it. I guess just since playing more story driven games i forgot how simple the ps1 was at times.

As for lisa i read in a plot analyss that she took cherly. But also doesnt Travis have involvement? And in te game either in her diary or the video she says"i did the rigjt thing"

I want to replay all the SH GAMES. But indont think 2 made me jump enough?
User avatar
AuraTwilight
Historical Society Historian
Posts: 11390
Joined: 01 Aug 2006
Location: I'm here, and waiting for you
Contact:

Re: Confusing Stroytelling?

Post by AuraTwilight »

As for lisa i read in a plot analyss that she took cherly.
The person who wrote the plot guide made that up.
But also doesnt Travis have involvement?
That's a retcon. Travis didn't exist until Origins, which was made by different people.
And in te game either in her diary or the video she says"i did the rigjt thing"
No, she doesn't.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
User avatar
mikefile
Gravedigger
Posts: 567
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Gender: Male
Location: Nathan Ave.

Re: Confusing Stroytelling?

Post by mikefile »

AnthonySH wrote:I feel things are kind of insinuated but never fully explained
That's the beauty of it. Things are not literally told. I don't have to comment much, as I believe that people already nicely depicted the facts. I'd just like to add that these insinuations made, for instance, this forum live intensively for so many years.
Image
Post Reply