Interview with Sam Barlow (Revogamers)

Date published: 2010.02.27
Source: Revogamers

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories' writer and lead designer Sam Barlow answers to Revogamers users' 'test'.

1. It seems a lot of people worked on this project,more considering the amount of images and sounds we've found on it. How many people worked on Shattered Memories and how did you organise them? Which part did require the biggest effort? Speaking about the music and sound library, would you tell us any curiosity? How was working with Yamaoka-san like?

A ton of people worked on the project. The core team fluctuated with the different stages of development, peaked at around 50 people in the studio here. Outside, working on cutscenes, other art assets, etc. there were about a hundred more dedicated people working hard to make the game a reality. The sheer amount of environments, and the level of detail we required, as well as the many ways in which these environments can change based on the user's personality created a HUGE amount of work.

A big part of the music in the game was that this is the first Silent Hill title to have a dynamic music system -- the game alters the tracks to reflect the user's actions and links to suspense and other gameplay elements. So this required a whole new way of thinking for Akira -- and we were really happy that he took on this challenge and embraced these ideas. Having someone of Akira's experience and stature is a great win for any development project, so continuing to work with him on this title was a real boon.

Of course we must mention the cover track that Akira provided for us. We asked him to choose from a short list of classic 'torch songs' which he would like to produce his own version of -- and this song features prominently in the game and touches on many of its themes. He choose Brenda Lee's "Always on my Mind" . So now Akira has joined the list of classic artists who have performed this track, alongside Elvis, Willy Nelson and the Pet Shop Boys.

2. Many readers asked about this. We've heard you would love to keep on with the series, and after finishing the game, we would kill for another SH entry with this new system. After US results, is it more possible? Would you share any Konami thoughts on it you've been told? Many readers also ask about a SH2 or 3 re-imagining, is that the way to go or do you prefer your own sub-series?

Anything is possible -- especially in Silent Hill! It's probably true to say that this kind of radical "re-imagining" is a trick that would lose its edge if we repeated it. So remaking , say, Silent Hill 2 with a similar attitude wouldn't be ideal. Also the whole re-imagining plays into the specific themes of Shattered Memories, too, and we'd rather tread new ground thematically, rather than repeat ourselves. So a new story, new scenario would make the most sense.

3. When you first knew about this project, how did you feel? Did you embrace the re-imagining concept, or did you prefer to start from scratch at first? What could be positive and negative about it at that time? Are you worried about people not knowing this is a completely new game yet?

Various aspects of the project came on board separately, but simultaneously. So the idea of returning to Silent Hill 1 came a ways into the initial discussions and that was when we pushed the idea of a re-imagining, rather than a remake. We really built the game and its ideas from that point on, incorporating a lot of ideas about horror games and focusing on those that fitted with the idea that was forming of this idea of a 're-imagining'. The re-imagining itself was something we were in love with from Day 1 -- I can't think of a game that has done something so "post-modern", in this way, before. Taking a previous title and reacting to it, producing a unique take on it -- in the way that in movies and TV you have, say, Cronenberg's The Fly or the recent Battlestar Galactica. It seemed like such a fresh idea, when Konami gave it the green light we were very excited.

4. For the surprising psychologist aspect, did you asked to psychologists? How did the idea and implementation on the game evolved from the concept? Does difficulty also depend on users' decisions? For other ideas like the "ice hell", where did you look for inspiration?

Myself and the Game Director both had therapy sessions as research for the game, and we also spoke to academics who were performing research in psychometrics and tracking people's gaze. Their thoughts confirmed that what we had imagined would be possible, and within our grasp. The therapy sessions uncovered many hidden "issues" within us that we are still having to deal with...

The game does have dynamic difficulty, but it's not all necessarily directly tied to the psychology -- we tried very hard to make the game as seamless as possible for users, and this was always a priority. The "Icy Hell", as you put it, took a lot of inspiration from various sources -- not least the fact that our studio is on the south coast of England and it gets very cold from time to time...

5. We feel this game has its own personality, different from first entries but solid and tempting. How was the challenge oft aking a Japanese horror plot and game system and transforming it with your own style? How has been Konami of Japan members' response to the final result and during your periodical versions?

Absolutely. It was very important to the team that this game moved beyond playing homage to the "Japanese style". As an English team, it is not completely "honest" to be replicating someone else's style. For this project we wanted to make something authentic and genuine -- a game from the heart. I think the impact the final game has on people plays testament to that -- it is a game that has its own personality, its own cohesive identity. This is the only way to make something that really moves its audience, that leaves a lasting impression.

6. We really "suffered" during the chasing scenes,but it was kind of an enjoyable frustration. Was this on purpose? What was people's reaction on these scenes during focus tests?

Yes. Very much what we wanted. We wanted to recreate the sense of a nightmare, of panic and disorientation. The "fun" is in escaping, in the great relief at having escaped.

We did a lot of focus testing, and implemented many dynamic difficulty elements to try and get the balance the gameplay here perfectly. To be honest, we maybe focused too much on the 'casual players' in these focus groups, as we were worried they would find them the most difficult. But perhaps it is the "hardcore gamers", who are used to having weapons, to more typical level designs and tactics, who found this the most difficult.

7. Who's in charge of the plot and that awesome "Grand Finale"? Please, no spoilers here, but is he nominated for an Oscar? Do you see getting to the end as a necessary step for people to really enjoy the experience and consider replaying the game again and again? We really liked the constantly-changing pace of the game. How and why did you define it?

I was the game's writer and designer, so from day 1 the game was designed around the story, and vice versa. In fact, there is no real distinction between "story" and "game" -- it's an 'experience', all working to the same end. As a team, as a company, we feel very strongly that core values of story telling apply to games, but that there are new and unique ways of telling these stories that are only possible with games. Shattered Memories is an exercise in following that vision. A story that only works as an interactive experience.

A major goal throughout was that "the player has to make it to the end", otherwise all of our efforts are in vain. Much of our "streamlining" was to try and ensure as many people as possible saw the whole experience. And yes, like any rich work, it supports and benefits from replay. We all like to watch our favourite movies again and again. This is partly why we didn't aim for a very long game -- too long and the story would be diluted and people would find replay a chore.

Though I am still waiting to hear about the Oscar... a golden statue from revogamers would suffice, in the meantime?

8. How do you feel about the game's success until now? Was it better received in the US than expected? We're pushing its innovative experience in Spain, and Konami recently said it's their most important SH entry... do you see it difficult for this to be a big hit in Europe? What's the key to success?

We were blown away by the response from players and fans -- they really enjoyed the game in the ways that we'd hoped. I've seen a lot of people who responded very emotionally to the game -- crying; people who finished playing the game and went out and made changes to their lives as a response to the game's exploration of its themes and the way it does so in such an involving, personal and emotional way. That's what you dream of when you embark on a project like this.

We've had some amazing reviews, people have really bought into our vision of what a horror game could be, how a game can tell a story. Our hopes for Europe are high -- this kind of game has a real place in the heart of European gamers -- gamers who traditionally have loved "adventure" style games and look for strong characters, situations and stories from their gaming experience. Don't let us down!

9. Did you have to discard any gameplay element? Are you keeping discarded ideas for future games? Do you have the rights for the variable environment system? Could we find it in future Climax games?

A lot of ideas were discussed, iterated on and sometimes discarded during development -- especially in the early exploratory stages. One interesting example is weapons -- originally, we had infrequent weapons that Harry could find in the Nightmares and use as a 'weapon of last resort' -- knives, etc. However, players were so hard-wired in to how to play a horror game that they invariably went "on the attack" as soon as they got one of these weapons. It muddied the waters of the nightmare gameplay -- distracted from the simple message of: "Run! Escape!" that we wanted to convey. So they were replaced with the flare -- a far more defensive item without any real direct attacking feature.

10. Now you're experts on the Wii. How do you compare this to Overlord Dark Legend? Which milestones do you think you've reached with the platform and your gameplay? Which graphical aspect of Wii's Shattered Memories are you proudest of? Which new Wii challenges would you take from now on (control methods, graphics improvement, gameplay ideas...)? Do you see the Wii Vitality Sensor as a future enhancement for the horror genre?

The team who worked on Overlord did a great job of taking a game that had already established its credentials on the HD systems and providing an experience that not only matched that graphically -- in SD -- but enhanced the controls with the use of the Wiimote. Because Shattered Memories didn't have such a direct comparison, we were a bit more 'out on a limb' -- we had not real benchmarks, so we just pushed for the best we could do. The lighting effects, the various complex shaders and the sheer quality of the characters and their animation were aspects that we didn't need to deliver on, but we felt compelled to push for the highest quality. Any future Wii projects will only continue to build further on the work we have done so far.

The Vitality sensor sounds like a fun item -- it sounds like Nintendo are going to push it as a relaxation aid, so it would be fun to flip that and us it to unsettle and disturb the users!