I just watched one if my favorite animes after a long day of reading. I've read about two hundred pages in the book Nefertiti today, and now have less than fifty pages until it's done. I must say, it turned out a better page turner than I've expected, but I could see the core audience of the book was female readers, but I still admire how well it's going so-far. The anime is called Summer Wars, which is pretty decent, and a storyline that is universal: the importance of family, but done in a rich Japanese style.
One of the things I took away from this 2009 anime is a game called "koi-koi" that seemed not as intriguing as I would have first expected it to be. Later on, I looked into the card game, discovering it's significance, and that the hanafudas (translation literally: "flower cards") I became much more interested. Nintendo first developed these cards around the 1890s, and their inspiration goes back to the 17th century, when western style playing cards were first introduced into the eastern culture. These cards really symbolize the first culturally diffused success story of game and gamble between two very different cultures.
I became obsessed, as I normally do when I'm interested in something, and I began to play the game on an application I've downloaded. I played nearly two hundred rounds within the first few days, and with little understanding of the rules, the cards, and their meaning, I began to learn as I played, and researched.
The game became more and more of a challenge, and i saw a reason to get excited over this game, and others like it. Koi-Koi, or keep going, is like a reverse Go-Fish style game, where you create yakus or matches, and instead of stopping, you continue to create as many matches as possible to obtain the most points. This game is usually linked with Japanese yakuza, which I've found out later on after playing, but still it is played in many parts of the world: Japan, Korea, even Hawaii has it's own unique style of hanafuda play.
Personally, I just happened to find it interesting after watching Summer Wars, but once I've discovered Nintendo had a major part in these cards, and that they still make them today, even making a special version with officially licensed Mario hanafuda cards, I figured a gamer such as myself would definitely give the game a try. Not one to leave any stone unturned, especially in a learning experience, I began to play people online, and it's been a challenge, on that makes me reminiscent of my first game of chess. This game is like chess, but instead of patiently timed moves that require days of thought, it's fast-paced, and sure both luck and skill to win.
Koi-Koi has become something of an obsession, but now I want to go on and become very good at it, maybe even master it, then I'll probably move on to the next thing, like Hachi-Hachi (translation: literally: eighty-eight) or Senet, because I've always wanted to learn it, because it is consider the earliest board game on the planet. Still, I have to say, and as corny as it sounds, Summer Wars has given me my first taste of hanafuda, and for that, I'm forever grateful.
Now, moving on to the meat of this lovely sandwich blogpost, for those who are uninformed, the new Silent Hill teaser trailer was released some time in late August. It was probably later than that, because I've recently just seen it, and it feels like it was released, so, October at the latest. Either way, I was watching someone play the teaser trailer, and I was intrigued by the absolutely terrifying gameplay I was watching. Rarely does a game go through such ambient terror, normally it's all blood and guts, being chased by a madman wielding some implement of pain and bloodshed. However, just days after stating I was officially sick of Silent Hill being ruined by those who simply can't make a Silent Hill game, I was then given a nice big slice of humble pie, because the game does look great, even if what I'm seeing is not in any way a part of what will be the game.
Silent Hill is the game I love more than any I've ever played in my life, because it combines so many great elements, and drama. It wasn't a typical survival horror, which can be traced back even further than that horribly classic title: Zombies Ate My Neighbors, which I think is due for a revamp with Cliffy B. at the hem, and a bunch of really bad 90's lines, and big-ass explosions! Yeah, or not, and we see a contemporary Silent Hill that pays homage to what the series used to be.
Right now, I think the experience of Silent Hill is summed up by most fans to be the best before Konami let Americans clutter it up with shitty voice-overs, and asinine western decision-making that took away all the intelligence and creepiness, and made a slasher film that was as hokey as Resident Evil 6. Silent Hill 2 and 3 respectively were the best in the series, most fans will agree, and some will simply state that the best was the original. I am a fan of all the game, except Homecoming, and Downpour. Yes, I'll admit that even Silent Hill Origins was okay, but the one I love the most is still Silent Hill 2.
I wrote a blogpost called Silent Hill 2: The Game That Changed My Life a few months back (I believe it was in August) and I was being completely honest. The style of horror I was affiliated with before SH2 were gory slasher flicks that come to define Western culture. However, when I played Silent Hill 2, it was as if a whole new world of horror was opened up to me,the same way it was when I played Resident Evil for the first time.
Yet, other games followed in the wake of Silent Hill 2, and although it only held a score of about 7.2 rating as a game overall, it became a defining title on the PS2 and Xbox. Games like Clock Tower, Fatal Frame: Crimson Butterfly, and Siren did try to jump on the Eastern-style survival horror title, and were met with menial success, although I believe Siren was under appreciated I'm the states, it didn't have the steamrolling power of the Silent Hill series.
I was a fan of Silent Hill: The Room, because the story was pure psychological fear, and the story was easy to get behind. I admired the game, even though the huge steps were taken to get away from the original stories as much as possible, people forget that Silent Hill is about being a Psycho-fiction construct, where the mind is truly the most frightening place, and what is the supernatural,,versus what is the psychological come to mend into a truly horrifying, and truly personal experience. The main characters are all strong-willed,misuse they have to maintain this dilemma that is so intertwined within their own minds, that this game could not host a character like a Jill Valentine of Resident Evil fame, or an Isaac Clarke of Dead Space.
The Room was good, it brought a fresh new story, and didn't deal so-much with Silent Hill itself, but it showed a great detail of the town's history. I personally enjoyed it, and many fans will disagree with me,which is fine,mbut if you play it for what it truly is, and the utter creep factor it renders to the player, even you will see that the new title,min the teaser pays slight homages to the fourth installment in the series.
So let's get to this teaser, and what you will expect:
Firstly, Silent Hill is where those who have severe problems that they cannot emotionally handle, or dark secrets that must be laid to rest go for purgation,,it is a symbolic confession booth for the damned in many ways, and this game looks to be no different. Silent Hill is a state of being for main character, it is trial by fire, and it's residents are always seeking a form of salvation. Each game has very Catholic undertones, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the game has always been quite religious, and sets up the idea that one can in-fact go back home,,but the road there is Hell.
The playable trailer, which I've seen played, and have not been able to play personally looks to play off of many of the concepts derived in Silent Hill: The Room,,and Silent Hill 2, with a very original, and updated fear factor to the respected directors of the game. There is no secrets these days, and the two men who will be brining this game to us some time in the next year or so, are Hideo Kojima, who is probably a larger fan of the series than even I could be, and director Guilmero Del Toro, creator of one of my favorite shows on television: The Strain.
Kojima and Del Toro are a dream team for Silent Hill, which has been treated like a mad dog for nearly ten years now, and both will give the game a respect that American publishers, and Ukrainian developers have failed to do in the past. Kojima wanted to fix Silent Hill, and I stated early on that if he didn't, then Silent Hill should be shot down, and left to become archived into the classics, along with the rest of the great games of time. However, he now has the reins, and with Del Toro, I believe that they can do for Silent Hill what even Konami couldn't in the PS 2 era: make the game a serious contender for the mainstream. I believe with these two behind the franchise, they could get a much broader audience to respect this game. Akira Yokoyama has been a composer for the series for nearly every game, and I would be shocked it he wasn't on board for this revision title. His compositions were as memorable as the game itself, so much importance was emphasized on the music, that I've personally downloaded every soundtrack to every game.
I do hope some of the elements remain the same, while others we updated. For example, I love how the untuned radio goes all white noise when a "monster" is in the vicinity, and many hated that feature, while some say it's a small staple in the course that is Silent Hill. Personally, I think other elements from the trailer,which the guy playing obviously didn't get, and that's fine, he was unaware it was a Silent Hill trailer, but I saw many of the references, most people would overlook. Many of which even fans would miss.
The most obvious example was the finding of the flashlight, this has my hopes up that this is a revision, and not a reimagined game from scratch, like Homecoming was. Don't get me wrong,changes are always good,,and changes are usually for the best, especially in sequels, so long as it's not a major overhaul. With the flashlight, you see a serious degree of Silent Hill imagery throughout the trailer. The game plays the same sequences over and over, always changing in the most subtle ways, this is like a Stockholm syndrome for the player. Because they fear no change, then abrupt change, and then slightly subtle changes from then on out. The developers for the game see really looking into the psychology behind fear,,and from what I've gathered, they've read the books, thrice. It's very Pavlov in many ways, and the slight creepiness overtakes the big scares, which look like they need a bit of tuning, yet still gags. The radio gag was great as well.
Now the commentator was proving my point of conditioning, as he did not want to continue, and knew by going through the cellar door, it would be another cycle, but he presses on, takes his lumps, and ushers in through the door again, for another round of Hell. There is nothing more terrifying to the human psyche than slight changes, because the brain picks up on these things, and knows something isn't right, and this is a key-root of conditioning.
Just by watching the trailer, I know the game is in great hands, and it plays so well on the irritable reactions we get from gross things, but not necessarily gory things. When you see it gags seem to be in place as well. Like what's behind the curtain, or what's peeking in at me through the window. The game itself should have this playable trailer bundled with it I feel, because it is a genuine game all in itself, and I think that it puts to rest all my worries of what Silent Hill will become, and makes me excited for what Silent Hill can be.
Of course, there is a downside, which I am going to discuss on the Psycho-Mac podcast, which is having actors in games, and the likeness to those actors in the design of the characters. (Not to spoil it for you, but apparently Norman Reedus,,of the Walking Dead, and Boondocks Saints fame will be a part of the game, presumably the main character, but I'm wondering if this game will go the Heavy Rain route and allow for multiple characters to be played. I also will be pissed if they make this game multiplayer online.) as a side note, I think that Norman Reedus is a talented actor, however, I feel he's just a hot commodity right now,,and yes, I understand business, but how the game looks, I don't think you need a relatively known actor to help sell it! Sure, Walking Dead fans may latch on for him, but quite frankly, I don't think they are the same kind of fans that would enjoy this sort of horror.
I'm lucky: I enjoy the gory horror, along with the psychological horror of such fearful flicks like Ju-on, but to me, I begin to get a tad suspicious when Norman Reedus is added to Silent Hill, and think that this game could go in a whole other direction of failure, and that would crush me as a fan. However, I'm putting my money, literally, as a consumer on Hideo Kojima, in-hopes he makes this franchise into a shining star once again.
Finally, to add a nice, comforting second slice of bread to this ridiculously long post, I'd just want to wish you all good tidings, but to remind you that if you haven't read my State of Games post, it is up right now on this blog. Quite a few of you have read it so far, and I'm glad for that, because I was not sure if you would find it interesting enough, considering the sad State of console games this year.
I would also like to add that I'll be busy writing my little fingers to the bone coming January, so there may be a lack of Monday Blogs posts up, but know that I am always writing, because I cannot hinder my fingers, even if I tried, and I'm grateful for every audience I get, and know I appreciate every one of you, and your tireless commitment to the Malacast Editorial.
Okay, so the last thing I wanted to actually discuss before finishing up this post was I've written my last post with a bit of urgency, and although the grammar wasn't wretched, typos and a misspelling or two had snuck past, as I posted without haste, and thinking back on those poor choices, a quick scan would've merited a much more respectful design. So for that my dear readers, I'm truly sorry. Still, I appreciate your support for the Malacast Editorial.
Twitter: twitter.com/mcasteditorial or @mcasteditorial
Thank you again for reading the Malacast Editorial, and have a wonderful holiday.
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