Almighty Game Designer

Many players inevitably compare Silent Hill to Escape, which is also a horror game.

Yes, both games are masterpieces in horror games that can scare countless players back or pee and can create some psychological shadow.

However, the experiences of these two games are quite different.

Many players who have cleared Silent Hill have said that this is a completely unprecedented experience of horror games.

Silent Hills is horrible, or even one of the most horrible games, but its horrors come not from powerful monsters or shocking route designs, but more from a feeling.

Clearly it's a less scary environment, and with a little bit of rendering, it seems as if there's a magic that goes deep into the bone marrow and keeps everyone cold.

It is a spiritual horror and a strong psychological implication.

Each element in Silent Hills inspires deep feelings within the player, not by the external factors in the game, but by stimulating and inducing the game environment to inspire fear in the player's mind.

And the end of Silent Hills was also the topic of clearance for players.

“In the end James killed himself? God, this ending is so abusive, I knew Chen Yu's horror games must be all this urine, not dying uncomfortable ski! ”

“Yeah, Mary let James live, and James died, so... tears again! ”

“Hmm? What do you mean? Wasn't it James and Maria who ended up together? ”

“With Maria? Are we playing the same Silent Hill? ”

“... why am I playing with James leaving Silent Hill with little girl Laura??? ”

Once the players discussed it, they realized that the game didn't just have one ending, it had three!

James committed suicide, James left with Maria, James left with little girl Laura.

At first, many players thought it was someone else's prank, but when they saw the screenshots and the video, they realized that Silent Hill did have three ends!

But here comes the problem.

How did this end up?

Because everyone who has played Silent Hill knows that there is absolutely no branch play to choose from throughout the game.

Like other games, if you want to make multiple endings, you will definitely get a lot of branch drama in the course of the game, player and NPC conversation choices, behavior choices, etc. all affect the final endings.

But... Silent Hill doesn't.

There is a line from beginning to end, no branch plot, and no opportunity for players to choose.

Even if there are any missing elements, they are essentially collectible ammunition, materials, etc., and do not affect the progress of the plot.

Even worse, most players still feel like they're getting a good ending.

Whether it's a suicide ending, a Maria ending, or a Laura ending, players who score these ends prefer their ending to the other two.

A lot of players wonder, so evil?

Can Chen Jiao guess what the player is thinking?

……

A day after Old P clearance, Chen Jiao, in his official capacity, published a list of persons who had been rewarded for clearing Silent Hill, but did not publish an explanation of the outcome.

Originally, the players who had bitten their teeth through Silent Hill were all there to reward them, but after the real clearance, their interest in Silent Hill far exceeded the rewards for those games.

A lot of players are curious, how exactly did it end?

But Chen chose not to reveal the truth, but to let the players study and mock themselves slowly.

……

In fact, the Silent Hills outcome triggers very special conditions.

[James commits suicide] The trigger condition for the outcome is:

Check Angela's knife often.

Read the diary of “suicide” on the top floor of the attic.

James was often injured without healing him.

Listen to the full conversation in the last hotel corridor.

Obviously, these behaviors are allusions: Angela tried to kill herself with this knife, and taking it over and over again shows that James has a suicidal tendency.

The diary on the roof of the hospital contains paragraphs on encouraging suicide.

James was often injured but not cured, indicating that he was no longer interested in his life and that injuries did not matter.

Listen to the dialogue in the hallway and deepen his guilt.

It all accumulated, and James couldn't escape the fate of suicide.

[Maria] The trigger condition for the outcome is:

Stay as close as you can to Maria.

Maria visited her many times when she was resting in the ward.

After Maria died, try to return to the place where she died.

Don't let Maria get hurt.

Don't end up listening to the conversation in the hallway and leave quickly.

The connotation of this ending is all the more obvious because James cares more about Maria than Maria or even herself, so it's no surprise that he finally chose to be with Maria.

[and Laura leaving] The trigger condition for the end is:

Listen to the dialogue in the hallway.

Check Mary's photos and letters often.

Keep James healthy.

Don't get too close to Maria.

Choosing this ending means James still misses Mary, but still loves his life. So in the end, he chose to walk out of Silent Hill and continue to live.

That is, the three ends are not determined by the players' conscious choices in the plot leg, but by the players' subconscious behavior.

For example, does the player walk close to Maria, reflecting subconsciously whether the player wants or rejects Maria?

Without offense, players will not pay attention to the end of these branches, nor will they know that these details are exactly the key determinants of the outcome.

That is, the player himself does not seem to make a choice, but the game guides the player's subconscious and makes a choice in the dark.

This mystery, let the players guess slowly.

……

Although the entire reward campaign has ended, the players' discussion of Silent Hill has not stopped.

Domestic and international players are analyzing the truth about Silent Hills from every angle and every detail in the story.

There is no longer much to discuss in the story of Silent Hill itself, which is a place where the dark side of people's hearts can be revealed, that is, the disgusting monsters in the scene are all manifestations of the dark side of James's heart.

The culprit the players have been looking for is actually James himself.

But what is the meaning behind these monsters?