Transcript of Silent Hill 4: The Room or (Horror ≠ Fun) ➣ RagnarRox
RagnarRox
0:01Henry Townson is a bit of a pervert0:04isn't he he also happens to be the0:07protagonist of Silent Hill for the room0:09and that comes with a problem because0:12the player doesn't share these0:16voyerism to having them right off the0:18bat so how do we make them adopt the0:21habits of a socially anxious0:23self-isolating0:24scopophiliac we could simply make it0:26mandatory to spy on the neighbors once0:28in a while in order for the story to0:30progress or we could reward0:35voyerism stuff like that but that would0:37only make the player do it out of an0:39extrinsic motivation instead of their0:40own curiosity like Henry to achieve this0:44in Silent Hill 4 The Game's designers0:46went for a very unconventional and0:48Daredevil approach because they often0:50times not only didn't mind if the game0:52play would be engaging or not they even0:54deliberately made parts of the game not0:57fun and that sound at first like a0:59really terrible idea because well video1:02games first and foremost have to be fun1:05engaging and make us have a great time1:07in order to be considered good right1:09let's think out of the box a little bit1:12some of the greatest masterpieces of1:14film history for example are actually1:16the polar opposite of what you describe1:18as having a good time you probably won't1:21come out of a screening of movies like1:23Schindler's List the girl next door or1:25the Last House on the Left cheering and1:27laughing because you just had the time1:29of your life I mean if you did you might1:31consider talking to an expert just1:34saying no you'll probably feel horrible1:36and Disturbed and in the same way the1:39developers of Silent Hill 4 made some1:41daring decisions during the development1:42of the room they deliberately committed1:45what can only be described as textbook1:47game design atrocities in order to1:49substantiate the game's narrative1:51essence you may have come across the1:54term Ludo narrative dissonance it became1:57pretty popular in game design debates a1:58few years ago and and a famous example2:01would be the Tomb Raider reboot2:02especially the part where an2:04inexperienced young Lara Croft is forced2:06to go through extreme hardships in the2:08beginning of the game has to learn to2:10adapt and survive in a harsh and hostile2:12environment and eventually suffers a2:14mental breakdown when she's forced to2:16kill a man in self-defense and just one2:18minute later she turns into a merciless2:20killing machine and murders an entire2:22company of battle hardened mercenaries2:23in a matter of minutes without blinking2:25an eye just imagine if Daniel and karate2:28kid would have instantly stood up again2:30after getting his initial beating by2:31Johnny and his Cobra Kai miraculously2:33transformed into a karate master and2:35whooped his ass happy ending we'd have2:38missed out on all the complex character2:40development and one of the best training2:41montages ever2:43made wax on right hand wax off left hand2:48it feels extremely implausible and2:50breaks the narrative flow but in this2:52case the designers at Crystal Dynamics2:55decided to accept a degree of Ludo2:57narrative dissonance the mechanics not2:59being an in alignment with the story for3:01a more compelling video game experience3:03with Silent Hill 4 team silent decided3:05to do the exact opposite their main3:08focus was not making the best video game3:10possible but achieving the highest level3:13of Bluto narrative resonance let me show3:16you what I mean you take the role of an3:18introverted and socially awkward3:20protagonist and at first glance it even3:22seems as if the story actually revolves3:24way more around the main antagonist the3:26serial killer Walter Sullivan but team3:29Sal wouldn't be team Sal if they didn't3:31try to make a point with the choice of3:33Henry as main character in this case3:35it's a point about isolation social3:37anxiety and voyerism Henry keeps waking3:41up from a recurring dream and finds3:43himself unable to leave his apartment at3:45room 302 it's chained from the inside3:48windows are sealed and soundproof as no3:50one can hear his cries for help after 53:52days of imprisonment he discovers a hole3:55that has appeared in the wall of his3:56bathroom through which as he learns he3:59invades the dreams of other people and4:01almost like in a Freddy Krueger story4:03these people end up being brutally4:05murdered in the Dreams by the infamous4:06serial killer Walter Sullivan and as4:09Henry finds out they also die in real4:12life and every time he returns through4:14the tunnel he discovers subtle4:16alterations in his apartment like4:18letters under his door or new handm4:20marks appearing in the hallway after a4:22while he finds that a piece of furniture4:24has been moved in his absence revealing4:26a peephole into his neighbor Eileen's4:28bedroom the name doesn't directly say it4:31but strongly hints at the fact that4:32Henry despite never having brought up4:34the courage to approach her has a thing4:36for Eileen just by observing her and now4:40the player is given a conscious but4:42hidden Choice by the game I mean we all4:44know that invading a strangers privacy4:46like this is morally and even legally4:48wrong but we are trapped in this dull4:50and monotonous apartment Henry can't4:53leave into the nightmare world but it's4:55a hostile and dangerous place out there4:57it's stressful to deal with invincible4:59ghost enemies haunting you even through5:01walls with a deliberately limited5:03inventory that pretty much forces you to5:05always return home yeah home that's what5:08it really feels like after a long time5:10in The Uncanny Dreamscapes a safe haven5:13but Henry's apartment is dull and5:15unexciting and there's nothing even5:16remotely interesting happening except5:19for well let's see what the neighbors5:21are doing the game lets you directly5:24experience the apathy and isolation of5:26an introverted antisocial person like5:28Henry and the motives for his compulsive5:30Behavior observing Eileen while she's5:32sleeping cleaning watching TV is really5:35the only interesting thing to do you5:37don't get any in-game rewards for this5:40at this point you've already learned5:42that observing is completely optional5:44for the story's progression you could5:46just as well continue without spying on5:48Eileen and you subconsciously know that5:50it's wrong but still you do it you5:53quickly develop a habit every time you5:55come home you check the windows the5:58hallways and I I's bedroom Save The Best6:01For Last the game made you inherit6:03Henry's obsessive personality and6:06because of that link that shared Guild6:08between the player and Henry situations6:11like these in which he's being mocked6:13for his6:29e doing something more explicit when you6:31first found the peephole of course you6:34did and that's only natural the thrill6:36or excitement of watching someone we're6:38not supposed to is at least in part6:41rooted deep inside each and every one of6:43us and knowing this the game plays us6:46like a damn fiddle Silent Hill 4 holds6:48us a mirror in front of ourselves and6:50points a finger at us for that Henry's6:53journey is unsettling and disturbing and6:56the game lets us experience that6:58firsthand by making the the video game7:00in there an unsettling and disturbing7:02experience just like for example spec7:04Ops the Line underlines its mockery of7:07modern military power fantasies by7:09intentionally relying on outdated and7:12monotonous shooter mechanics it's a game7:14that we definitely need to dissect at7:16some point in the future Silent Hill 47:18pesters us with Invincible enemies a7:20level recycling backtracking a sheer7:23NeverEnding tedious escort Quest that is7:26about as convenient as taking out a cat7:28for a walk on a Lea7:30and a clumsy and severely limited7:32inventory to always Force us back into7:34the apartment and once we feel at home7:37halfway through the game this Refuge7:39suddenly becomes haunted turning it into7:41a hostile and dangerous place these7:44hauntings can only be prevented by7:46lighting holy candles of which only a7:48limited amount exists and you can only7:50carry so many because of the terrible7:52inventory system that forces you to7:54store them in your living room in the7:56first place playing it is the complete7:58opposite of fun it's daunting and8:01tedious and becomes more and more8:02frustrating and unfair the further you8:04get pretty much like an M Night shamalan8:07movie marathon it starts out promising8:09then gets gradually worse and worse and8:13by the time you reach avatar The Lost8:14air bender it's so unbearable that8:16you'll hear yourself screaming stop it8:18stop it please I beg you it's a sin it's8:24a it's a this deliberate step away from8:29that time largely standardized PS2 era8:32game design conventions is also what8:34makes it so exceptional in its own way8:36because Henry's nightmarish journey is8:39supposed to be an agonizing ordeal and8:41not a walk in the park with a handful of8:43childish jump scares and a few monster8:45faces mashed on top Silent Hill 4 the8:48room is the opposite of an easily8:50approachable piece of entertainment its8:52surrealistic qualities will never be8:53easily digestible for the average player8:56and that's fine they were never meant to8:57be I like to compare compare it to a8:59well-aged cheese like a very rare and9:02mature blue mole that's even if you like9:04cheese in general really difficult to9:06approach it could be intense bitter even9:09repulsive for many not something you'd9:11casually slap between two slices of9:12bread to make a grilled cheese sandwich9:14on a Sunday afternoon but a complex9:16culinary specialty that requires a9:18somewhat peculiar taste as well as a9:20certain degree of commitment in order to9:22fully appreciate its unique depth and9:28complexity9:32[Music]9:37sh
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