Known for original IPs such asLayers of Fear,The MediumandObserver, any studio handling a project such as remakingSilent Hill 2, not only carries a burden of exceedingly high expectations from fans but is also an exciting opportunity for Bloober Team. Recently, I spoke with Maciej Głomb (lead producer) and Mateusz Lenart (creative director) about the honour and challenges of remaking such a belovedKonamiclassic.
Check out theSilent Hill 2story trailer below!
“I think the biggest challenge withSilent Hill 2is that it’s a game that people have loved for over 20 years and it’s very symbolic to an individual. Everyone has opinions and theories of what the story and characters represent,” Maciej explains. “We’re not just creating a fresh vision from our minds, but we’re also managing preconceived perceptions and we also need to make sure that it’s a great game to play.”
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“It’s about finding the right balance, which is why we decided early on to divide the story away fromgameplay. We want to keep the story true to the original but update the gameplay to be modern and meet current expectations.” Maciej made it clear that the story is not being altered. However, the gameplay needed a fresh approach.
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“Compensating for the new third-person camera introduced a lot of changes that need to be addressed for level design,” which meant that the developers needed to find creative ways to hide enemies in the environment using light, darkness, objects and fog to keep players on edge and retain the feeling of dread, fearing what’s around the next corner, something that was a natural concept for the fixed camera of the original game and the likes of classicResident Evil.
Maciej also explains that with the free camera adding to James Sunderland being more capable in combat, if enemy movement and attacks remained the same as the originalSilent Hill2, killing enemies in the remake would be too easy. As such, new enemy animations, attacks and AI were created. Yet to compensate for the improved enemy AI, Bloober Team felt it was fair to introduce a new dodge mechanic for James Sunderland.
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“One of the most tense feelings of fear is the unknown, what you can’t see,” Lenart explains. “Being afraid of your imagination and developing scenarios in your head. So with the remake having a free camera, we were very careful to create the feeling of dread but also wanted the player to explore and investigate despite the dangers that may await.”
Konami
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Konami
Lenart teases that these moments are a regular occurrence in the remake and exist to be somewhat of a love letter to the originalSilent Hill 2, something that returning fans will appreciate. “We wanted returning players to understand, to remember what is happening in these moments. Those moments were very exciting to create because they provide a feeling of James being stuck in his nightmare for more than 20 years,” with beaming smiles on their faces, it was at this moment when I truly realised how much Maciej Głomb and Mateusz Lenart loveSilent Hill 2, and how excited they are for fans to get their hands on the remake.
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Silent Hill 2will be released on 8 October 2024 for PC and PlayStation 5.
Topics:Features,Interview,Konami,PC,PlayStation,PlayStation 5,Silent Hill,Sony
