Extra Content Yay/Nay/What?

[Droo]

What evidence do you have f takes place any time other than the 60s? We've seen literally nothing to suggest it takes place any other time unless you're counting The Short Message, which doesn't seem to be a thing anymore.

[Jonipoon]

f could take place in modern time if the 60s setting is part of someone's dream/Otherworld, but that's pure speculation. I do find it quite odd though that they've already confirmed it takes place in the 60s - to me it reeks suspicion. It's almost as if they're saying "Nothing to see here, move along".

[Droo]

Hopefully it's not something stupid like The Village where they're like IT TOOK PLACE IN MODERN DAYS ALL ALONG!!!!11111

[The Adversary]

What evidence do you have f takes place any time other than the 60s? We've seen literally nothing

As Jonipoon said, it seems suspect when the only entry in the series that has a definitive date is SILENT HILL: PAST LIFE (1867) and that was written by a guy who religiously used my timeline. I think in the context of Silent Hill games, it's a bold move to say it's explicitly set in 1960s Japan. The creators never said it's only set in the '60s, only that it is. That could mean only some of it is. That's my reasoning and I'll happily be proven otherwise in the future.

[Burning Man]

Well, there's looking at f as a new entry to the Silent Hill series, and then there's looking at it as Ryukishi07's new project. His work Higurashi no Naku Koro ni pretty much starts off with when the visual novel takes place: early summer of 1983.

This isn't the first time a Silent Hill game was set in a particular era, according to the developers, either. Silent Hill 2 is set in the 70-80s. Owaku mentioned this in a Silent Hill 2 official guidebook released in Nov. 2001. Ito later reiterated as well. I do think Ito was surprised to learn that there was anachronism in the game, but that would be an oversight.

[Jonipoon]

>I do think Ito was surprised to learn that there was anachronism in the game, but that would be an oversight.

Yeah, the fact that James used a VHS camcorder to film Mary at the hotel during their trip means that Silent Hill 2 cannot possibly take place in the 70's. The first commercially available camcorder for the public was the JVC GR-C1 which was released in March 1984.

[Burning Man]

It would be interesting to see if the Remake adjusts the timeline. The original was heavily influenced by its source materials like Jacob's Ladder and The Shining film, which both take place in the 70s.

James' attire, for example. His original attire was based on Jacob Singer's attire making it possible for James to have been a Vietnam War vet. In the Remake trailer, however, his attire appears to be more generic. All the patches from the original attire have been removed. Although the trailer may not be reflective of the final product, it's a notable change nevertheless.

I believe the creators already said they are making James older than his classic counterpart... While this seems like a rather mundane change, it would invite alterations to the established chronology.

[The Adversary]

Regardless of what Ito and co. intended, it's clear later developers—whether you like them or not—have changed that timeline. James was not using a VHS recorder in the late '70s or early '80s, either.

And I'm going into this game considering it simply an alternate timeline and not to be used as a replacement for the original SILENT HILL 2, unless, of course, literally everything is identical.

[Burning Man]

> James was not using a VHS recorder in the late '70s or early '80s, either.

It's easy to be fixated on the non-existence of a VHS camcorder in that time frame. However, pushing the timeline 10 or so years forward also introduces other anachronism problems that weren't there before. For example, Silent Hill 3 has rotary dial phones in the KMN Auto Parts office, Heather's home and Brookhaven. If the reference being used is Alex's diary in the now defunct Homecoming website, Silent Hill 3 takes place in either 2000 or 2005. Phones, both house-hold and business, would have been replaced by at least touch tone by then.

[The Adversary]

I'd still rather go with multiple official sources as opposed to single official sources.

And while rotary phones may not have been widely used, they at least existed in 2000, unlike VHS camcorders in the late '70s/early '80s.

Maybe this sleepy tourist town that's slowly been in decline is just a little behind in the technology department.

[Burning Man]

So, VHS camcorder was not a thing then, but there might not actually be an anachronism here either. Curiosity got the better part of me so I looked into this a bit.

In the late 70s and early 80s, a video camera and a separate portable VHS recorder combination was possible. The VHS camcorder that folks are familiar with is the all-in-one model. It wouldn't be possible for James to have a VHS camcorder because this all-in-one model was introduced in the mid 80s. However, the video camera + portable VHS recorder was a possible combination in the late 70s/early 80s.

https://www.rewindmuseum.com/vhs.htm

Unfortunately, it seems lost in time what the original price of these video cameras and portable VHS recorders were. It's unclear if James would have been able to afford them with his "office clerk" salary. He would have to be a videophile for sure.

I'm happy to be proven wrong if it's stated anywhere that James had a VHS camcorder. In hindsight, though, I think it may have been an assumption on our part.

> Maybe this sleepy tourist town that's slowly been in decline is just a little behind in the technology department.

Well, maybe. But KMN Auto Parts and Heather's home in Daisy Villa are not in Silent Hill. Along with rotary dial phones, you can also see IBM PC with 5.25 floppy disk drives. Those were definitely obsolete by 2000.

[The Adversary]

Regardless, what their initial intentions were are obsolete, because later developers in the established canon rolled with something different.

If we're going by anachronisms like this, then let's look at the cars in SILENT HILL 2. Some are from the early-to-mid '90s. At what point do we stop picking-and-choosing what to follow?

[Burning Man]

>At what point do we stop picking-and-choosing what to follow?

Items or objects that are associated with passage of time.

The developers can bring in whatever random piece of polygon or texture they want to the game. But we know they made an effort with some items when there's a clear sense of passage of time.

As an example, Silent Hill 2 had typewriters in Brookhaven. Silent Hill 3 had what looks like IBM-compatible PCs of the 80s. We know the developers put some thought into this change because there's a contrast. No-one would argue that 2 and 3 took place at the same time or that 3 took place before 2.

Another example: Silent Hill 3 had rotary dial phones in Heather's home where as Silent Hill 4 -The Room- had a touch tone phone in Henry's apartment. Heather's home owned what looks like a Zenith Solid State TV released in the 70s where as Henry's TV is more modern. Here again, the developers wanted to deliberately show a passage of time. Even though both games share the Concord magazine, Silent Hill 4 would have definitely happened after 3.

>later developers in the established canon rolled with something different.

I'm willing to wait and see how this pans out. My impression is that Silent Hill f and Silent Hill 2 Remake may share a timeline. Fans may be able to say that the Remake happens in a separate timeline on its own, but it's going to be strange to say the same for f when it's supposed to be a mainline game but also connected to the Remake's timeline.

[The Adversary]

That's fine and all, but SILENT HILL 2 and SILENT HILL 3 share many of the same cars, many of which, as I mentioned above, are from the '90s. And I know that you'll argue, Oh well most people don't buy cars frequently. But that's still an example of if they wanted to show a passage of time, they'd change cars, too.

This is also irrelevant to my point.

[jdnation]

I know many elderly people who hung on to rotary phones for as long as possible. So long as they worked there was no reason to change. I think you can even get novelty ones that support modern tone dialing.

It's possible that the 60's timeline for F could be Kojima-level shenanigans due to Otherworld perception or projection or enclosed space Walter-worlds, but I guess we'll have to wait to learn more.