@Archaotic: Considering the psychological and narrative implications that Pyramid Head represents, as a walking metaphor, I would say Sato has never been "kill kill kill".

LOL! You beat me to it.

LobselVith

@Payne_IV: ...oh, noes?

@GOLD5: Unfortunately, I do have to agree with you (except the cowbell part, not played Prey). I can see this sort of thing being limited to a small handful of independent developers in the end. Not enough people want that kind of SERIOUS BUSINESS in their games.

Oh, and...

@Archaotic: Word.

StormTec

@shoppinghero:
Considering the psychological and narrative implications that Pyramid Head represents, as a walking metaphor, I would say Sato has never been "kill kill kill".

Silent Hill's not like that. You can't just take it at face value and accept what you see on screen as being the explicit meaning of the game. It's not like Halo, where the story's as deep as a puddle after a 5-minute rain shower.

Archaotic

So... more of these games then please?

Kaizuden

I was just reading a topic about this shit on a forum I visit, and then I come here and see this.

Payne_IV

The term serious games is a non-sequitur. Serious gaming went down a long, dark Grue infested pathway in the 80s, never to resurface. People want to have fun I guess and adventure games are too long of a format to really expound on philosophy too much, Half-Life excepted. I think the cowbell scene in Prey was pretty much the best scene in a game so far.

GOLD5

"Hmmm, my daughter has nightmares about Silent Hill...
... Lets go there! Durrr"

I too am for games with more than a Kill Kill Kill experience :P

MetaKz

The creator of pyramid head ain't all about "kill kill kill," anymore?

shoppinghero

This is all you need to know about Silent Hill:

+ Watch video

OneLetter

@JustThisGuy: Any game that doesn't provide an over-the-top Hollywood blockbuster experience, and instead, chooses to delve more into the realm of interesting things.

Ashurahori

While I might be revealing my utter noobness to the entirety of Kotaku, could someone give me an example of what a "serious game" actually is? I understand that they're "training simulations and the like", but I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild.

JustThisGuy

I was wondering where Sato has disappeared, his website has been rather dead for years. Great to hear he's still striving for creativity.

@JustThisGuy: From what I've seen these titles are tailored for small audiences and never sold on shelves. Like boat navigation trainer, or social simulator where soldiers can train to understand culture and communicate with people of some developing nation they are about to "liberate" in order to avoid unnecessary hostilities.

ara

@Ashurahori: That can be simplified: Any game that makes you think. And not think things like "How can I kill this cyborg ninja" or "where the hell am I supposed to go next," but "Why is that thing raping that other thing?"

Thorax

@shoppinghero:The creator of Pyramid Head is Masahiro Ito.

Takayoshi Sato became one of my biggest heros in the art world and beyond since i first saw the making of Silent Hill2...He doesn't like to talk much,but when he does it's pure gold.
I wish him the best of luck in whatever he decides to pursuit in the future.
Thanks for the heads up Kotaku.

badmoogle

I really liked Silent Hill one and two for the way it was presented. I think it was because of the deeper meaning behind the lore in the games that doesn't just jump right out at you, and makes you think. Also, it was unsettling at times trying to play the game... Damn demon babies and those damn squeaking ghost kid things... I just want the radio to stop!

SpearXXI

@Archaotic: Didn't Angela get raped by her father? she killed him didn't she? must be since she had that blood-stained knife. Damn! I got to give silent hill 2 another run.

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques

Gaming is one of those few mediums where people expect to be entertained. Serious games goes beyond that entertainment factor and tries to make you think. I guess these people are "sophisticated" gamers.

I myself have played very few serious games. I commend these games in tying to show a deeper issue rather than being "shallow" Hollywood style bluster games. Still, the messages of the ones I've played just pissed me off. An example of this is when I played
Passage.

Yet, as an artist I have to support the arts no mater where it springs.

TheDollHouse

@bobtheduck:

I wouldn't call SH1 simple even today, and it certainly had more depth and sinister feel than SH3. It did create the series' indirect and mysterious storytelling. SH3 was as direct as the series got, and some fans didn't take a shine to it. However, it was the most fun to play and had the most replay value.

IIRC, Jacob's Ladder was mentioned by Toyama back in 99 as one his research materials. Konami management basically wanted to cash on the horror genre, and the rest is history. In an OPM interview, he was anxious to direct another game if the first was a success but that never happened. He was the first of the SH team to leave Konami in 2000.

SG79

Oh, and Silent Hill 1 is simple horror... Not much depth to it... 3 was better horror because it was better acting, but still not as much depth as 2... And 4... If the in-game bar they set in the very last act of 4 had been set in act 1 and they had kept it up, it could have matched SH2, but it didn't... The story didn't show up until the last act, and by that point, I had a difficult time caring.

bobtheduck

@shoppinghero: Even Pyramid head wasn't about "kill kill kill"

Pyramid head was james' punishment for what he did... Silent Hill 2, though it had terrible acting, had a story that surpasses the vast majority of movies out there, and it dealt with a topic deeply that most movies only scratch the surface on when they deal with it...

3 murderers, all had excuses, all were punished for murder... That game was deep and insightful... Silent Hill was inspired by Jacob's Ladder, and SH2's story is equal to Jacob's Ladder without being a pure clone(though it doesn't surpass it, and the acting in JL was much better)

bobtheduck

Even with the creator's departure (Siren's Toyama), the team managed to make a great sequel with SH2, and Sato's designs had a lot to do with it.

Naturally, his work with EA didn't have a chance of making an impact like SH. Especially annual 007 games that thankfully stopped.

SG79

@MetaKz:

IIRC, that only happened in the movie. In the game, Harry and Cheryl were going on a vacation.

xanxus

Someone should have begged him to work on Silent Hill V ...

hollowfreak

@SG79:
I think sato's work was specificaly the rendered videos, which he done pretty much by himself. He also say he co-wrote the characters backgrounds and stuff .. but I wouldn't just diss on everyone else at SH team. (not that you did so, just stating.)

And from what I heard, sato left in SH2 after being risen to the "direction/executive" chair and doing really .. reaaally badly at the executive part .. losing a huge load of money.

TheurerDiciple

I can see games being more serious .. but not sure about serious games as he proposed.

The closest I can think of are those "STV" cancer/pregnancy/drug awareness girl movies.

Sato-San is always fun to track around.. from sleeping under Konami's tables to making bond games.

TheurerDiciple

Oddly I always thought the FMV videos from sh1 didn't really fit with the look and feel of the rest of the game (the blooper reel was really strange as it was not an easter egg...) They weren't bad, and obviously they are part of my love of the game now. This was just my initial impression.
They were impressive for the time technically. 2 was much better. Just amazing.

Ehardergardens

@TheurerDiciple:

You're right. The awards and recognition he got because of solo work on the SH1 CGI.

If what you said is true, then Konami certainly isn't as tolerant as Capcom. Mikami made a lot of boneheaded moves before getting smacked down from his executive position. Some more obvious than others.

Anyway, Toyama's departure is the more puzzling part since he left after essentially creating a franchise.

SG79