PT Thoughts, and My Opinion on Hideo Kojima Leaving Konami

P.T.

This little game has set the gaming world a ablaze with wonder and passion for Silent Hills which is grown too big for its own britches. The game has den so overhyped by the immense response, and I couldn't be happier for it to be honest. I love that people are psyched beyond recognition for Silent Hill, because it beats people saying: Silent What Now? Good thing too, because I said this game series would not survive without a revival, and seeing this game hasn't had a legitimate game that was worth playing in so long, I see many horror story elements being plotted into the game, whereas the avant-garde is being given an overhaul, so the game is actually going to be the best of what we all expect it to be. 

      P.T. Is a great example of what Silent Hills could be, what do t should be, and what it must be to survive. The question is do we want to play a game that is exclusively first person, or should we go with traditional third person perspective? 

With the recent news of Hideo Kojima's release from Konami, I must say, I was a tad disappointed  to see such a great talent, and despite many naysayers, a great storyteller go by the wayside to the a Silent a hills project. Most of you may recall that Hideo Kojima was a big part of the new game, but some others lead to speculation over what his role was actually supposed to be in the game. 

  In-truth, I'm not precisely sure what his role was supposed to be, but I'm quite sure that a Silent a hills is going to suffer without him on point for it's development. Konami has treated the Silent a Hill franchise like a mad dog that has fleas, and can on,y scrounge up pennies for the company. They treat Silent a hill fans like they're nonexistent, almost ashamed to have them, and yes, they once had a commercial title that rivaled Resident Evil of Capcom, but now Resident Evil has gone so far to remove itself from the likes of Silent a Hill, because of the survival horror concept going downhill.

     Konami should listen to the public, who love to be scared, and love games thwt in-turn scare them, as games like a Dead a Space, Amnesia, and even the infamous Five Nights at Freddy's trilogy, even (dare-I-say) Minecraft, has shown an importance towards the survival horror concept? Even major titles like Fallout have had horror influences that people often get utterly creeped out to play, and yes, I love a game that makes me think twice of going down a scary black pit to oblivion. 

     Kojima was a savior for this title, and with his recent release, this will be good for gamers, but bad for Silent Hill fans. Silent Hills was destined to reinvent the franchise, and still has the ability to do-so, but will it have the finesse, the panache that Hideo Kojima was going to bring, which made PT so damn interesting?  Perhaps it will be fine, as Kojima is just one man, but I feel that he really was the last saving grave to make this game go mainstream, thus bringing on several thousand more fans to the community that was hardcore and minor, but loyal to the brand to the end. 

     As a fan of the series, I think the game will eventually morph into something else, kind of like what Silent Hill: The Room, was meant to be. Sure, s lot of people hated Silent Hill 4, but I liked it because it was daring to be different, and the story was so creepy, and was perfect for the time it was released. Ju-On, or the Grudge had released, and underrated games like Fatal Frame, and my personal favorite, Siren were advancing Japanese horror to the western mainstream.  Silent Hill 4 wasn't the best, but being hooked from the first three titles,mi gave it a chance,mind it sadly went downhill from there, until PT made us all believe again. 

    Now with Kojima out of the picture, we are left wondering just what is the future for Silent Hills, and if the Fox Engine is going to make or break try quality of the game. Personally, I just finished Alien: Isolation, and found the game amazing to play, and terrible in most other aspects. Yet it reminded me why I am a gamer, because story is crucial, but not everything has to be told like it's a play on a stage. 

     If Silent Hills could be more about context, and not-so-much content, then I'm certain it will not fail, even if I were to direct it. The game is a crapshoot, it was even with Kojima at the speculated helm. The point is that Konami goes and makes one of the biggest, most intelligent marketing strategies in the history of gaming, then goes and releases it's brightest star. 

    My hopes is a company like Sega picks up Hideo Kojima, because I would love to see him work on the Alien series, or even do something completely, altruistically original, and Sega being a place that has sunk to the depths,now pulling themselves up slowly, cascading towards newer heights, it would be nice to see Kojima developing titles that are original, while no-holds-barred innovation flies from out his intense creativity, and unrealistic work ethic. 

      Still, this leaves Silent Hill fans the biggest losers of this whole debacle. We know how Konami treats us, and honestly I feel like they should just sell the damn IP to a company that would do something of value to it, rather than let it lie in a destitute state of misery, and treat us all with such malcontent. On the podcast, Voices in the Static, I heard mention of perhaps a company like  Rocksteady to give the title some tender loving care. 

  I would personally enjoy seeing a production studio like Telltale Games take the series over as well, because they have killed it with The Walking Dead, and the Jurassic Park series. Still, that's comparing apples and oranges, but as a fan, any sort of reinvigoration to the series that wasn't dysfunctional would be met with optimistic anticipation, rather than some rushed excuse for a treacherous game that isn't jovial to play, and frankly, frustrates the gamer who truly sees more potential in the series than the developers who claim to respect their franchise. 

    If I could start a kickstarter to buy the rights to the Silent Hill franchise, so I could develop the next title with a team of people as obsessed with the title as myself,mi would, and I would make it AAA, but seeing as I still have to see what becomes of a Silent Hills before truly passing judgment, and extreme like that isn't as necessary now as it would be perhaps four years in the future. 

    Not-to-say I'd do any better or worst than anyone else working on a Silent a Hill, but my point being is at my focus, and my desire would be there from day one, all the way up to the release of the game. Maybe that's because I love the idea of what this series could become, and personally, I don't think that even a Konami has thwt fire in it's belly for this series. 

Anyway, let's all hope that Silent Hills is going to be as awesome in it's own way, that PT was, which I've played now in the high double digits. 

Thank you for reading the Malacast Editorial. 

E-mail: mcasteditorial@yahoo.com

Twitter: twitter.com/mcasteditorial 

Voices in the Static Podcast is a Constant Update on all Things Silent Hill

     I was listening to a podcast I've recently downloaded called "Voices in the Static", which comes from the Silent Hill Historical Society website, which is hosted by a lovely lady named Whitney. I will not post her last name out of respect, but she is found at silenthillhistoricalsociety.com. Personally, I love the name of this podcast, and being a Silent Hill fan, I'm glad to find someone more obsessed with this series than I am. I also respect the podcast, because they get honest interviews, the participants don't pull any punches, especially their unbiased perspective. 

    I also respect that they say let's give the game a chance, or the film a chance before we tear it to shit, because that's how reviews and critiques should be done. This is why I've always hated doing previews, because speculation on vapor ware is not as satisfying as actually commenting on a finished,published product. 

      "Voices in the Static" has been going strong for over three years now, and being a bi-weekly, or once-monthly podcast, it is a very definitive Silent Hill podcast, and is up-to-date to such a degree, Konami should thank them for caring where, and supporting the franchise more than Konami has done for the last seven years! This podcast is for the fan of the series, no matter where they come from, and although I'm an old-school fan, I love how this podcast tells it straight, and has a real perspective that this is simply a game, and if you don't like certain titles in the series, just don't buy it! Vote with your wallet, and quit being assholes to those who disagree. Sure, I can't stand Homecoming, I see it as a continuation of a series that wanted to end after game four, but let's put this into perspective: if games like Homecoming, and Downpour weren't made, then the "outrage" from fans would not have pressured the upcoming Silent Hills game, which looks to either make or break this series, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, I'm not going to crow and caw about how terrible the game is, I simply won't buy it! 

     Truthfully, all the games have pluses, and minuses to them: yes, even Homecoming got some things right, and even the holy relic of Silent Hill 2 had it's share of embarrassing issues, that even I blushed. Also, the translations in the third game made me laugh so hard, I forgot that this was a survival horror. Look, I don't agree completely with Ms. Whitney, and her constituency, especially when it comes to the last five games, I've found them so terrible, but I didn't harp on anyone who loved the games. In-truth, and this is hard for some people to understand: liking something is objective, I like things you don't, and it's okay! The only time anyone is ever allowed, and again, this is my opinion, that someone has my respect for disagreeing so vehemently with someone is when it comes to politics, because that is when opinion is subjective, as the views of other people do affect you directly.          

     This is a game series, be thankful it's still around for a consecutive fourth generation, because it could've died out with The Dino Crisis, Crash Bandicoot, and Parasite Eve titles of yesterday consoles. I'm a Silent Hill fan, and I don't have an agenda, and even if I did, I won't shit on someone else's parade because I dislike a title. Maybe I'm an old-school kind of guy, but I look at things objectively, even as a critic, and give my raw opinion after actually experiencing the medium im reviewing! That's why I hate when someone says: "Oh man! This is going to suck!" Two years before it releases to the public! 

   That's why I like what I'm hearing from "Voices in the Static" and it's great to see fans who are as obsessed, but as realistic and as critical of Silent Hill, and Konami as am, if not more! They use facts, and their opinions are backed up by facts, what was once called debate in this world, before asinine people could post without fact-checking. I hate nerd rage, I cannot stand people who act like babies when discussing games, but I suppose babies are always going to act as such with their toys, and that saddens me. 

     Again, I like this show, it has in-depth interviews, which is just incredible for a podcast, and Whitney and company have done more to keep this series relevant more than Konami has done for the past two, count them, two console cycles. Despite posting about writing, and writing critique, whilst having several typos and mulligans along the way, I am, at the core, a video game fan, and a mass media critic. Silent Hill is a franchise I house close to my heart, and the reason for that is because it is, in theory, an experience that is so dramatic, and so personal to the character, it is a truly psychological experience. Sure, if we want to get critical, we could say that this game steals from H.P. Lovecraft, Anton Szandor LaVey, Francis Bacon, of course, Dario Argento. Do we not realize that everything has some influence from another medium, and even if you create something from scratch, wholly original, someone will go out of their way to compare it, and give it more depth than even your original idea ever had! Critics put more thought into the medium than the developers, who in-the-end, want to make a profit! So if a game sells bad, guess what, their wallets get hurt, and they overhaul, or drop a franchise, if you truly want to change a model for your favorite game, don't buy the ones you hate, trust me, they know when you don't buy,mans that will make them remember the fans. 

     Also, stop with all the negative angst, it doesn't help your cause, and makes you look like an incompetent, immature imbecile (alliteration!) whose opinion hold. Of water, or is not backed by any actual fact. Hell, even a Wikipedia page on Homecoming  has more explanations than most fans on the reasons it sucked, but at least that page has the opinions backed with facts! 

    This all is found on "Voices in the Static" which is worth a download, especially if you're a fan of Silent Hill. At first I was iffy about this show, and once I actually sat down, and listened to the conversation, I think it would be a benefit for fans, rather than a disservice. You can download "Voices in the Static" on iTunes, and I assume  it can be downloaded on the Android store as well.   

     If you are a fan of the Silent Hill franchise, and you may want to hear a unique perspective on the franchise, I would say to download this podcast, and go to www.silenthillhistoricalsociety.com for more information. Whitney and her various guests make each and every episode a joy, and although they are all very adamant, I believe their honesty, and desire for a legitimate discussion, not a flame war on this  series is a breath of fresh air, for any perspective on the object of debate. I believe in debate, and being a podcaster who debates his best friend (Edgar Holves) on many topics without it turning into a name-calling fiasco, shows an unfamiliar class of podcaster, that is a shame of being the minority.  

    So do I agree with the opinions on "Voices in the Static"? Not necessarily, but I respect their said opinions,especially when most fans have jumped in at Silent Hill 2, then have the audacity to spit on fellow fans who jumped in at The Room, or Downpour, or even Homecoming, that is a hypocritical outrage in itself! I admire this podcast, and although I could be critical with some points of the show, nothing is perfect, and Whitney and her fellow contributors do get better with each episode. I would say that the older episodes are not that well recorded, but the sound is light years ahead of most people who record, and it does sound better, just a tad low for my taste, but Whitney is soft-spoken, and it is lovely to not have a nerd screaming at me with rage for a change. 

     So try it out, "Voices in the Static" which I absolutely love that name, and the image of Heather/Cheryl is great as well, and please swing by silenthillhistoricalsociety.com and leave a nice comment for Whitney, be decent human beings, please, I cannot be more sincere than that. 

Thank you for reading the Malacast Editorial, please feel free to follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/mcasteditorial or send me a message @mcasteditorial 

E-Mail: mcasteditorial@yahoo.com. 

This is not the last post for 2014, I should have one more beforehand, but if this is the last post, I'll have new posts up just after the New Year, so thank you for this wonderful year of posts, and as always, thank you for supporting this blog.