One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror games.

Heather finds out why it's true that you shouldn't talk to strangers. Or look in mirrors, quite honestly.

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DJ Tomoe
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by DJ Tomoe »

My favorite Heather moment is when she's at the apartments, IIRC in the 2nd save point, when there's a painting of a flower.
"Cute painting, but.... whatever."
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Dr-G0nz0
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Dr-G0nz0 »

Nomad wrote:
stopped_clock wrote:Unfortunately this kinda falls flat because all the characters in Obscure are annoying highschool dickbags.
Quoted for truth.
I'm personally not a fan of characters which you best described as teenage dickbags.

I think many horror games have unique settings of their own, which makes it difficult to compare creativity. Silent Hill included.
The uniqueness of the SH series is that instead of taking place in the dreaded real world, the setting is different for every person who experiences it.

Silent Hill's Otherworld is a different place for every character it is projected from. It reminds me of Inception.
It's the exploration of someone's subconscious come alive; with elements of the world reflecting/corresponding to elements of the character's history, fears, etc.


I'm not actually sure if that's true, but that's how I see it.

Also, how this differs from survival horror in the style of Resident Evil is that it scares the player in ways beyond lobbing freaky shit and shockingly loud sounds at their faces. Silend Hill series slowly tortures the mind, introducing and welcoming the player into the unpredictable world of fear they are about to experience. The fear factor's mostly in the horror environment, and the feeling of being alone in it.

Also, the enemies/monsters that inhabit the Otherworld have this unique soul-less, formless creepiness beyond my words. Even zombies feel more human.
And these reason you give are why this franchise is probably my most loved games franchise of all-time. Nothing else like it. haha
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally. You merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, moulded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but BLINDING! " -Bane
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Glenn
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Glenn »

I like how Heather gives her opinions, and how text pops up for many items. For games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, you need to search everything and it can get boring if text hardly ever pops up. The quantity and quality of the descriptions helps this game a lot.
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punchdrunk
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by punchdrunk »

this is one of the main reasons heather has always been my favorite protagonist of the series.
The One who will lead us to Paradise.... with bloodstained hands....
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Below
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Below »

Bump: One of my personal favorites, Resident Evil Outbreak, actually did something like this fairly well. For those that aren't familiar it was conceived as an online game, and an ad-lib function was implemented to communicate with other players. Throughout the events of the game, dependent upon your character choice there are several entirely optional, context-specific monologues which provide character background as well as their own thoughts on what's happening around them. Say what you will about it, but I hold it as a great example of game design (or the beginnings of).
...nothing really unusual down there.
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snipermike12
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by snipermike12 »

Now that you mention it I haven't seen a whole lot of horror games do this. I've seen plenty of other games do this but I think it really adds to the whole effect when in a horror game. It helps flesh out the character and convey to the player why something is scary to the character and in turn scary to you. Interesting topic.
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Its Gone Now
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by Its Gone Now »

I see your point but I don't think its unique to SH3, Harry talks to himself a couple of times and I remember James making a couple of comments, mostly about things looking gross and such. But they clearly expanded on this in 3.

On a related note: Downpour might not be as good as the oldies but Murphy actually reacts to things visually and audibly quite a lot. (not sure if this has already been mentioned).

e.g. he screams quite horribly when the admittedly overused and ripped from SH3 Red Light is getting close.

Also Dead space does PC Reactions quite well.
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HeartlessBastard
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Re: One thing SH3 does that separates from other horror game

Post by HeartlessBastard »

I remember that Haunted Ground does something similar. I remember the initial comment about Fiona's clothes. She puts out her opinions quite a lot throughout the game, I think.
"Good people should love their enemies" - Seu Madruga
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