Task 1 - Storytelling essentials
Storytelling
Storytelling is almost as old as humanity itself. Folklore, myths, legends, fables and cave paintings are some of the oldest forms of storytelling, each having their own devices to distinguish them from other stories; fables have a moral to them, cave paintings show the accomplishments of man against beasts and folklore deals with cultural traditions concerning religion or mythical creatures.
Over the centuries more forms of storytelling emerged. Dance, theatre, photography, film, TV, radio, books, music and comics have all appeared in recent centuries and one that has appeared in the last 40 years is videogames. What makes videogames different from other mediums is that they are interactive. The audience or player must physically participate in the unfolding story.
Some of the first videogames like Pong, Tetris and Pac-Man didn’t feature a storyline as such but more of an objective that had to be completed. There was no act structure or character driven narrative that immersed players in an alternate reality. One of the early games to feature a linear narrative was Super Mario, which had the player play as Mario, an Italian plumber, who must save Princess Peaches from her kidnapper. The ‘Damsel in Distress’ plot device is one of the oldest plots and used across many storytelling mediums so in some ways it is fitting that one of the first narrative games would use this device.
Shortly the release of Super Mario we were introduced to another Nintendo giant, The Legend of Zelda. This fantasy action game had you control Link, an everyday teenage boy who is drafted into an epic quest across Hyrule to collect the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to save the princess, Zelda. Again using the damsel in distress plot device in some ways, this was one of the first games to use the hero's journey plot device. This plot device sees a normal everyday person who, by the powers that be, becomes the hero of the land. Travelling through periless lands, fighting monsters, supernatural foes, the unknown and ultimately saving someone special and going through a self discovery by the end of the game. A very common plot device used in almost every game, although altered to fit a fantasy, horror and action or adventure game.
By adding characters and storylines in videogames, the medium has become the modern era's most diverse and interactive form of storytelling. Multiple genres offer up different plot lines and character types that add new dimension to the stories being told. As technology for videogames grew so did the size of the stories being told. Genres merged together to form original and exciting worlds and gameplay, while others took inspiration from previous texts like books - Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack the Ripper, film - The Amazing Spiderman 2, TV shows - Greys Anatomy' and comic books - Batman Arkham series.
The way in which the story unfolds has also moved from simple linear narrative to fully interactive sandbox style. Linear story featured in most video games during the early days because the technology to create a bigger world wasn't available at the time, meaning that adding choice influence to the game was unachievable at the time. Once videogames moved onto the next-generation, more memory and space was available. This introduced non-linear narrative which gave the player the ability to choose how the story unfolds and in what order. Other forms of story structure includes sandbox style - Grand Theft Auto and episodic - Alan Wake. Sandbox games are open world free roam games, which allow players to walk around in an entire world freely. Storylines and character interaction are included however it is up to the player how long it takes for them to complete the story. They can literally walk around the entire map, rank up to the highest level; unlock multiple weapons and costumes without even touching a single level within the story. Episodic videogames are quite unique in gaming because they play out like TV shows. The entire game is divided up into several episodes in which the character plays through in a mostly linear narrative.
The combination and hybrid in genre and storytelling formats has allowed for essentially the same stories to be told over and over but in different ways, always adding something new to the previous version. What keeps the games fresh and different from one and other however -besides the change of genre, characters and settings - is the modern inclusion of role-playing. An RPG (role-playing game) puts the player in control of the hero. Their look, style, race, gender, age, background, fighting style, clothing, powers and class (different rpg's will have other categories too or different ones from the ones listed) are all in the players control, making the game truly unique to another player across the world.
Mass Effect is a TPS (3rd person shooter) Science Fiction Role-Playing Action Game released in 2007 by BioWare. Already we can see a huge hybrid of different genres, letting audiences know what sort of story they are in for. The character you play is Commander Shepard or his female counter-part of the same name; choosing a male or female gender does not affect the story or gameplay itself but only the romance sub-plot. After deciding to play either the male or female character, you can then decide on the physiology of the character. The only feature that you can't change is that you are a human because the entire story is based around being human. Then you decide on the characters backstory. The backstory selection gives player’s unique abilities and bonus missions depending on what they choose. The 'Pre-Service' selection concerns what the character did before they joined the Alliance. Players either choose:
Spacer - Born in space to military parents, you were moved around ships and space stations frequently and when you turned 18 you enlisted as an Alliance Officer.
Colonist - Born on a small colony called Mindoir on the edge of the Attican Traverse. At the age of 16 your family and friends were slaughtered by raiders but you were saved by a passing Alliance patrol unit. This led you to sign up on when you turned 18.
Earthborn - As an orphan, you were raised on the streets of earths metropolises and signed onto the Alliance to escape a life of petty-crime and gangs.
Depending on which you choose, either Paragon or Renegade (peaceful/political - violent/aggressive respectively) points you collect throughout the game are boosted. After determining the pre-service you then choose a psychological profile which again effects the paragon/renegade point system and offers different dialogue options at certain points.
Sole Survivor - After a mission went wrong, resulting in the death of your squad, you overcame psychological traumas that would have broken most.
War Hero - On a mission with your unit described as impossible, you pushed and faught on resulting in an unsuspecting win against a deadly enemy. Your bravery and heroism was rewarded and you are now recognized as hero of the Alliance.
Ruthless - Throughout your career you have been described as callious and brutal but non-the less driven to get the job done no matter what.
These character traits will affect the way in which your character responds and speaks to others. Both of these elements add more depth and meaning to your character and offer up a reason as to why you might respond in the ways you can throughout the trilogy. Possibly the most unique aspect of this trilogy however is that it is the first ever game to give you the ability to carry over your current hero and decisions into the next game, having them being resolved and effect different points throughout the sequels. This storyline is an epic and thought-provoking adventure because it forces you to make decisions that could have horrible effects in a later game, which could help you win or lose the war.
Mass Effect is just one example of an expansive storyline. Many game series will follow one or several heroes as they journey towards whatever goal it is they set out to complete, interacting and conversing with others along the way but the genre it goes with often dictates what elements might be involved. For example, a deeply emotional storyline won't be featured in a puzzle game like Candy Crush but might be involved in fantasy games like Final Fantasy VII or survival horror games like Silent Hill 2.
Several top critics including the prolific Roger Ebert have shunned the gaming medium as an art form. However videogames like The Last of Us, Portal, Heavy Rain, Ico, Spec Ops: The Line and Bioshock Infinite have all be praised for having purely immersive, emotional and complex stories that involve players in a way that forces them to become embroiled in the world the are playing. It would seem that, by the list of video games that are cited as art forms, the game must involve emotional story elements that challenge morals and ethics. Flawed characters that exhibited human qualities like guilt, remorse and empathy, allow for complex writing and a character driven story, as seen in Silent Hill 2 and The Last of Us. In someway games are more immersive than films and TV because you are physically controlling the characters, giving you a connection that is different to one you can get with film. Some games have been described as a pure cinematic experience like Gears of War and Uncharted. If videogames were not a form of art because the story isn't as moving as film, then how could they be described as a cinematic experience? You cannot change the ending of a film at the end or change the book while reading it but it is possible with gaming because of the ability of choice throughout. This separates and proves that videogames are the most unique way of offering a story.
Still not seen as a legitimate art form by some, video games though have proven over again that they can be as emotional, thrilling and exciting as the most popular films, TV shows and books around. Videogames have a prestigious award system that honors the best games that show how videogames have excellent stories. Games can now be nominated for BAFTA awards, games like The Last of Us winning 5 out of the 10 it was nominated for. Videogames haven't only contributed advancements in graphic technology but also cultural icons like Lara Croft who has added to the progression on female representation in the media.
Combining all these elements- the genres, characters, interactive medium - what videogames gives players, in its basic form is a story. Just like a book or film that takes a group of characters and sets them up on a quest that is ultimately solved. However unlike these, videogames allows you to physically play out the way in which you choose. The player’s journey through a vast and fantastical world is as rewarding as the ending of the journey itself. The power to replay the game afterwards but with a different path gives the player different rewarding experience; something that differs in other mediums because it has already been determined. Although the ending of a videogame has been scripted, there are often multiple endings with different paths getting their, adding to the replay factor of that game and giving the players a new experience each time it is played.
Storytelling is almost as old as humanity itself. Folklore, myths, legends, fables and cave paintings are some of the oldest forms of storytelling, each having their own devices to distinguish them from other stories; fables have a moral to them, cave paintings show the accomplishments of man against beasts and folklore deals with cultural traditions concerning religion or mythical creatures.
Over the centuries more forms of storytelling emerged. Dance, theatre, photography, film, TV, radio, books, music and comics have all appeared in recent centuries and one that has appeared in the last 40 years is videogames. What makes videogames different from other mediums is that they are interactive. The audience or player must physically participate in the unfolding story.
Some of the first videogames like Pong, Tetris and Pac-Man didn’t feature a storyline as such but more of an objective that had to be completed. There was no act structure or character driven narrative that immersed players in an alternate reality. One of the early games to feature a linear narrative was Super Mario, which had the player play as Mario, an Italian plumber, who must save Princess Peaches from her kidnapper. The ‘Damsel in Distress’ plot device is one of the oldest plots and used across many storytelling mediums so in some ways it is fitting that one of the first narrative games would use this device.
Shortly the release of Super Mario we were introduced to another Nintendo giant, The Legend of Zelda. This fantasy action game had you control Link, an everyday teenage boy who is drafted into an epic quest across Hyrule to collect the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to save the princess, Zelda. Again using the damsel in distress plot device in some ways, this was one of the first games to use the hero's journey plot device. This plot device sees a normal everyday person who, by the powers that be, becomes the hero of the land. Travelling through periless lands, fighting monsters, supernatural foes, the unknown and ultimately saving someone special and going through a self discovery by the end of the game. A very common plot device used in almost every game, although altered to fit a fantasy, horror and action or adventure game.
By adding characters and storylines in videogames, the medium has become the modern era's most diverse and interactive form of storytelling. Multiple genres offer up different plot lines and character types that add new dimension to the stories being told. As technology for videogames grew so did the size of the stories being told. Genres merged together to form original and exciting worlds and gameplay, while others took inspiration from previous texts like books - Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack the Ripper, film - The Amazing Spiderman 2, TV shows - Greys Anatomy' and comic books - Batman Arkham series.
The way in which the story unfolds has also moved from simple linear narrative to fully interactive sandbox style. Linear story featured in most video games during the early days because the technology to create a bigger world wasn't available at the time, meaning that adding choice influence to the game was unachievable at the time. Once videogames moved onto the next-generation, more memory and space was available. This introduced non-linear narrative which gave the player the ability to choose how the story unfolds and in what order. Other forms of story structure includes sandbox style - Grand Theft Auto and episodic - Alan Wake. Sandbox games are open world free roam games, which allow players to walk around in an entire world freely. Storylines and character interaction are included however it is up to the player how long it takes for them to complete the story. They can literally walk around the entire map, rank up to the highest level; unlock multiple weapons and costumes without even touching a single level within the story. Episodic videogames are quite unique in gaming because they play out like TV shows. The entire game is divided up into several episodes in which the character plays through in a mostly linear narrative.
The combination and hybrid in genre and storytelling formats has allowed for essentially the same stories to be told over and over but in different ways, always adding something new to the previous version. What keeps the games fresh and different from one and other however -besides the change of genre, characters and settings - is the modern inclusion of role-playing. An RPG (role-playing game) puts the player in control of the hero. Their look, style, race, gender, age, background, fighting style, clothing, powers and class (different rpg's will have other categories too or different ones from the ones listed) are all in the players control, making the game truly unique to another player across the world.
Mass Effect is a TPS (3rd person shooter) Science Fiction Role-Playing Action Game released in 2007 by BioWare. Already we can see a huge hybrid of different genres, letting audiences know what sort of story they are in for. The character you play is Commander Shepard or his female counter-part of the same name; choosing a male or female gender does not affect the story or gameplay itself but only the romance sub-plot. After deciding to play either the male or female character, you can then decide on the physiology of the character. The only feature that you can't change is that you are a human because the entire story is based around being human. Then you decide on the characters backstory. The backstory selection gives player’s unique abilities and bonus missions depending on what they choose. The 'Pre-Service' selection concerns what the character did before they joined the Alliance. Players either choose:
Spacer - Born in space to military parents, you were moved around ships and space stations frequently and when you turned 18 you enlisted as an Alliance Officer.
Colonist - Born on a small colony called Mindoir on the edge of the Attican Traverse. At the age of 16 your family and friends were slaughtered by raiders but you were saved by a passing Alliance patrol unit. This led you to sign up on when you turned 18.
Earthborn - As an orphan, you were raised on the streets of earths metropolises and signed onto the Alliance to escape a life of petty-crime and gangs.
Depending on which you choose, either Paragon or Renegade (peaceful/political - violent/aggressive respectively) points you collect throughout the game are boosted. After determining the pre-service you then choose a psychological profile which again effects the paragon/renegade point system and offers different dialogue options at certain points.
Sole Survivor - After a mission went wrong, resulting in the death of your squad, you overcame psychological traumas that would have broken most.
War Hero - On a mission with your unit described as impossible, you pushed and faught on resulting in an unsuspecting win against a deadly enemy. Your bravery and heroism was rewarded and you are now recognized as hero of the Alliance.
Ruthless - Throughout your career you have been described as callious and brutal but non-the less driven to get the job done no matter what.
These character traits will affect the way in which your character responds and speaks to others. Both of these elements add more depth and meaning to your character and offer up a reason as to why you might respond in the ways you can throughout the trilogy. Possibly the most unique aspect of this trilogy however is that it is the first ever game to give you the ability to carry over your current hero and decisions into the next game, having them being resolved and effect different points throughout the sequels. This storyline is an epic and thought-provoking adventure because it forces you to make decisions that could have horrible effects in a later game, which could help you win or lose the war.
Mass Effect is just one example of an expansive storyline. Many game series will follow one or several heroes as they journey towards whatever goal it is they set out to complete, interacting and conversing with others along the way but the genre it goes with often dictates what elements might be involved. For example, a deeply emotional storyline won't be featured in a puzzle game like Candy Crush but might be involved in fantasy games like Final Fantasy VII or survival horror games like Silent Hill 2.
Several top critics including the prolific Roger Ebert have shunned the gaming medium as an art form. However videogames like The Last of Us, Portal, Heavy Rain, Ico, Spec Ops: The Line and Bioshock Infinite have all be praised for having purely immersive, emotional and complex stories that involve players in a way that forces them to become embroiled in the world the are playing. It would seem that, by the list of video games that are cited as art forms, the game must involve emotional story elements that challenge morals and ethics. Flawed characters that exhibited human qualities like guilt, remorse and empathy, allow for complex writing and a character driven story, as seen in Silent Hill 2 and The Last of Us. In someway games are more immersive than films and TV because you are physically controlling the characters, giving you a connection that is different to one you can get with film. Some games have been described as a pure cinematic experience like Gears of War and Uncharted. If videogames were not a form of art because the story isn't as moving as film, then how could they be described as a cinematic experience? You cannot change the ending of a film at the end or change the book while reading it but it is possible with gaming because of the ability of choice throughout. This separates and proves that videogames are the most unique way of offering a story.
Still not seen as a legitimate art form by some, video games though have proven over again that they can be as emotional, thrilling and exciting as the most popular films, TV shows and books around. Videogames have a prestigious award system that honors the best games that show how videogames have excellent stories. Games can now be nominated for BAFTA awards, games like The Last of Us winning 5 out of the 10 it was nominated for. Videogames haven't only contributed advancements in graphic technology but also cultural icons like Lara Croft who has added to the progression on female representation in the media.
Combining all these elements- the genres, characters, interactive medium - what videogames gives players, in its basic form is a story. Just like a book or film that takes a group of characters and sets them up on a quest that is ultimately solved. However unlike these, videogames allows you to physically play out the way in which you choose. The player’s journey through a vast and fantastical world is as rewarding as the ending of the journey itself. The power to replay the game afterwards but with a different path gives the player different rewarding experience; something that differs in other mediums because it has already been determined. Although the ending of a videogame has been scripted, there are often multiple endings with different paths getting their, adding to the replay factor of that game and giving the players a new experience each time it is played.
storytelling_article_updated.docx | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
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task 2 - story x
Concept
For my video game, I am going create the next instalment in the Silent Hill franchise. Silent Hill is a series consisting of 9 main game installments, 6 spin-off games, 2 films and a comic book series. The game has a dense and complex background combining themes of psychological horror and the supernatural. Because of this complexity, I have included a document giving an oversight of the main story in Silent Hill and the themes throughout that I will draw on for my game.
My game will be entitled ‘Silent Hill: Ascension ’ and be part of the main series; the spin-off series are not as detailed and expansive as the game I wish to write. Because each game follows an independent storyline and is set often at different points in time (the first game set in 1983 and the latest being set in the present day) I am going to set my story in 2015.
The central protagonist of the game will be Elaine Cavanaugh and this will be the first game since the 3rd instalment and the 2nd game overall to feature a playable female main character. I am making the protagonist a woman because it not only will it be different to the other games but it will add a fresh feel to the series, although it does feature strong and influential female characters throughout. The definitive storyline is not finalised until the very end but they all stem from an event that occurred when she was 14 years old. After her plane crashes on Toluca Lake, Elaine travels into the town to find help but instead discovers that she is in a hellish alternate reality and there might be no way out.
Beside the main story line, which will be an ‘objective’ based story i.e. Go to the Church, Find the Key for the Graveyard or Find a Flashlight, the world will feature other side stories and NPC (non-playable characters) which will give the player more insight into the game world but also allow the player to collect diary entries spanning 3 years which will give backstory on a character named ‘Lilly'. The side quests fill in the backstory of Elaine’s character, who was Lilly before she was adopted and had her name changed. The diary pages feature stories of her abuse and the decision to ‘save’ her siblings from what’s to come when they grow up.
Despite all the games being set in Silent Hill (SH: Homecoming being set in the neighbouring town Shepard’s Glenn for most of the game) some of the games add new locations, areas to the map, explore different regions of the town and expand in/around the small town. My game will feature location seen in some of the previous games like the lighthouse and the church and it will also feature newer locations like an underground sacrificial chamber and a deeper exploration of the woods surrounding Toluca Lake. This will be the first game allowing the player to travel around the entire town, whereas previous instalments will have you restricted to particular region of the town.
Each game has a tragic event that occurs some time before their respective game begins. This is what causes the darkness inside them, for which the town calls out for them. These events feature strong emotional aspects which often tackle dark and controversial issues such as pedophilia (Downpour), disease and murder (Silent Hill 2) and ritualistic sacrifices (Silent Hill, 1+3 Origins and Homecoming) For my game, I am going to focus on childhood abuse, trauma and split personality disorder. Although child abuse is touched on in Silent Hill 4: The Room when reading memos on the town’s orphanage, it is never a central plot point or driving force behind the characters motivations.
The game itself will be a fully 3D, over-the-shoulder perspective and part open world survival horror. The player will be able to move Elaine throughout all the regions of Silent Hill including Toluca Lake and the surrounding woods. Unlike the previous games where the roads would abruptly end whenever the player went the ‘wrong way’ (the towns way of controlling the narrative), this game will be a fully open map, allowing the player to travel across all the districts of Silent Hill. Most places will be low-lit and dark, forcing players to use a flashlight to navigate safely and find batteries along the way but the flashlight can attract unwanted attention from monsters.
The player can decide to either complete the story in a linear manor or bypass all the side-stories completely. Or they can weave in and out of the two. By doing side-missions along side the main story, the player can pick up supplies like weapons, ammo, batteries, documents or health items. However, like all previous Silent Hill games, the player cannot level up. The idea of keeping the characters both weak and inexperienced it adds to the scare-factor because they cannot fight back with the knowledge they will win. In this case, the enemies will remain the same level of toughness (varying levels depending on the enemy) and the character will rely on having enough ammo or strong enough weapon to defeat them. The ammo in the game will be very limited and the melee weapons will break after a certain amount of uses.
Like most survival horror games, the game will feature a puzzle element to it. Like all entries in the Silent Hill franchise, the puzzles are not for show or for the sake of challenging the player but in fact advance the plot by opening up the next section of game play for the player. The puzzles involved will not be as 'obvious' a puzzle as they have appeared in previous installments but are more integrated into the games surroundings and environment.
The enemies featured throughout the game will feature entirely new monsters, which are all born out of Elaine’s psyche. For example, the weakest and most common enemies are ‘Criers’. Small but fast and strong creatures that resemble children, they constantly cry and usually hideaway and jump out when Elaine walks past them. These monsters are representative of her as a child, afraid, angry and often lashing out at other people.
One of the biggest and newer game-play and story devices that this game will include will be a 'psychology-complex'. This mechanic will examine certain decisions the character makes: number of kills and if they choose evasive or non-evasive combat actions during bogeyman confrontations. Throughout the game the decisions made will effect the ending and which storyline the game will follow (a possible of 3 distinctive storylines are available and a 4th secret ending).
The main 'bogeyman' in this game is a physical manifestation of her twin siblings. Because the twins were so young when they were killed, they did not understand what was happening to them. So when they are reincarnated in Silent Hill, they still do not know and so they believe that Elaine murdered them out of selfishness. They take on the form of a two headed, grey coloured humanoid monster that when it screams, it is muffled by the sound of water, giving the illusion of drowning.
The Otherworld in this game will resemble Elaine’s time in an abusive household. There will be a lot of darkness, which symbolises her darker days, encouraging the character to use their flashlight often. The walls and floors will be dark purples and blues, featuring flesh like slash-marks and which represent the physical abuse she suffered. Finally, the sound of crying children will be faintly heard in the background.
The Fog world will be like the first Silent Hill game, just a dense fog that falls over the town. There won’t be many monsters in the Fog world as the idea of the fog is to symbolise the confusion surrounding the character but there will occasionally be sequences where the player must confront or evade the bogeyman.
At the end of the game, depending on how the psychology-complex examines the character and then it will determine which storyline the game will follow. Throughout the game diary entries will be collected telling the story of a little girl who is suffering abuse from her parents (Lilly's diary) and depending on which ending is chosen, these diary entries will either be real or faked by her psychopathic side.
Ending 1 - Providing the player kills no enemies and approaches the game with a passive attitude (choosing a evasive options 90% of the time) the complex will show the bogeyman twins that she didn't make up the abuse story and was in fact killing them to save them from her parents. This ending will determine that this character does not have a personality disorder and it was a result of her childhood abuse. They will forgive her and she is able to leave the town. It is revealed the Cavanaugh family adopted her at 14 and that she lived a good life, getting a good education and becoming a photographic journalist.
Ending 2 - If the player kills more than 100 enemies and plays with an aggressive attitude (choosing non-evasive options 90% of the time) the complex will show the bogeyman twins that her evil persona has taken over her and that she made up the 'abuse' story as part of her psychopathy. The twins then kill her and it is revealed that the Cavanaugh family adopted her at 14 and 6 years latter murdered them and fled, traveling around for a number of years often killing random people to get money.
Ending 3 - If the player kills between 50-100 enemies but chooses evasive options 90% of the time, the complex will determine that Elaine is suffering a split personality disorder which was brought on at a young age by her parents abuse. The murder of the twins was enjoyed by one part of her identity and the other did it to save them. This ending combines the two above in a way that allows the player to confront her parents as an added final boss. By killing this boss, she eventually gains closure over her parents past and gains the forgiveness of the twins. She is able to leave but must battle her newly found identity disorder.
Ending 4 - This secret ending is achieved only after obtaining all three of the other endings. In this ending, it does not matter how many enemies you kill or if you confront or evade the bogeyman during encounter because at the end, instead of confronting the twins you find out that you were involved in an Alien experiment (referencing the UFO endings from previous instalments).
For my video game, I am going create the next instalment in the Silent Hill franchise. Silent Hill is a series consisting of 9 main game installments, 6 spin-off games, 2 films and a comic book series. The game has a dense and complex background combining themes of psychological horror and the supernatural. Because of this complexity, I have included a document giving an oversight of the main story in Silent Hill and the themes throughout that I will draw on for my game.
My game will be entitled ‘Silent Hill: Ascension ’ and be part of the main series; the spin-off series are not as detailed and expansive as the game I wish to write. Because each game follows an independent storyline and is set often at different points in time (the first game set in 1983 and the latest being set in the present day) I am going to set my story in 2015.
The central protagonist of the game will be Elaine Cavanaugh and this will be the first game since the 3rd instalment and the 2nd game overall to feature a playable female main character. I am making the protagonist a woman because it not only will it be different to the other games but it will add a fresh feel to the series, although it does feature strong and influential female characters throughout. The definitive storyline is not finalised until the very end but they all stem from an event that occurred when she was 14 years old. After her plane crashes on Toluca Lake, Elaine travels into the town to find help but instead discovers that she is in a hellish alternate reality and there might be no way out.
Beside the main story line, which will be an ‘objective’ based story i.e. Go to the Church, Find the Key for the Graveyard or Find a Flashlight, the world will feature other side stories and NPC (non-playable characters) which will give the player more insight into the game world but also allow the player to collect diary entries spanning 3 years which will give backstory on a character named ‘Lilly'. The side quests fill in the backstory of Elaine’s character, who was Lilly before she was adopted and had her name changed. The diary pages feature stories of her abuse and the decision to ‘save’ her siblings from what’s to come when they grow up.
Despite all the games being set in Silent Hill (SH: Homecoming being set in the neighbouring town Shepard’s Glenn for most of the game) some of the games add new locations, areas to the map, explore different regions of the town and expand in/around the small town. My game will feature location seen in some of the previous games like the lighthouse and the church and it will also feature newer locations like an underground sacrificial chamber and a deeper exploration of the woods surrounding Toluca Lake. This will be the first game allowing the player to travel around the entire town, whereas previous instalments will have you restricted to particular region of the town.
Each game has a tragic event that occurs some time before their respective game begins. This is what causes the darkness inside them, for which the town calls out for them. These events feature strong emotional aspects which often tackle dark and controversial issues such as pedophilia (Downpour), disease and murder (Silent Hill 2) and ritualistic sacrifices (Silent Hill, 1+3 Origins and Homecoming) For my game, I am going to focus on childhood abuse, trauma and split personality disorder. Although child abuse is touched on in Silent Hill 4: The Room when reading memos on the town’s orphanage, it is never a central plot point or driving force behind the characters motivations.
The game itself will be a fully 3D, over-the-shoulder perspective and part open world survival horror. The player will be able to move Elaine throughout all the regions of Silent Hill including Toluca Lake and the surrounding woods. Unlike the previous games where the roads would abruptly end whenever the player went the ‘wrong way’ (the towns way of controlling the narrative), this game will be a fully open map, allowing the player to travel across all the districts of Silent Hill. Most places will be low-lit and dark, forcing players to use a flashlight to navigate safely and find batteries along the way but the flashlight can attract unwanted attention from monsters.
The player can decide to either complete the story in a linear manor or bypass all the side-stories completely. Or they can weave in and out of the two. By doing side-missions along side the main story, the player can pick up supplies like weapons, ammo, batteries, documents or health items. However, like all previous Silent Hill games, the player cannot level up. The idea of keeping the characters both weak and inexperienced it adds to the scare-factor because they cannot fight back with the knowledge they will win. In this case, the enemies will remain the same level of toughness (varying levels depending on the enemy) and the character will rely on having enough ammo or strong enough weapon to defeat them. The ammo in the game will be very limited and the melee weapons will break after a certain amount of uses.
Like most survival horror games, the game will feature a puzzle element to it. Like all entries in the Silent Hill franchise, the puzzles are not for show or for the sake of challenging the player but in fact advance the plot by opening up the next section of game play for the player. The puzzles involved will not be as 'obvious' a puzzle as they have appeared in previous installments but are more integrated into the games surroundings and environment.
The enemies featured throughout the game will feature entirely new monsters, which are all born out of Elaine’s psyche. For example, the weakest and most common enemies are ‘Criers’. Small but fast and strong creatures that resemble children, they constantly cry and usually hideaway and jump out when Elaine walks past them. These monsters are representative of her as a child, afraid, angry and often lashing out at other people.
One of the biggest and newer game-play and story devices that this game will include will be a 'psychology-complex'. This mechanic will examine certain decisions the character makes: number of kills and if they choose evasive or non-evasive combat actions during bogeyman confrontations. Throughout the game the decisions made will effect the ending and which storyline the game will follow (a possible of 3 distinctive storylines are available and a 4th secret ending).
The main 'bogeyman' in this game is a physical manifestation of her twin siblings. Because the twins were so young when they were killed, they did not understand what was happening to them. So when they are reincarnated in Silent Hill, they still do not know and so they believe that Elaine murdered them out of selfishness. They take on the form of a two headed, grey coloured humanoid monster that when it screams, it is muffled by the sound of water, giving the illusion of drowning.
The Otherworld in this game will resemble Elaine’s time in an abusive household. There will be a lot of darkness, which symbolises her darker days, encouraging the character to use their flashlight often. The walls and floors will be dark purples and blues, featuring flesh like slash-marks and which represent the physical abuse she suffered. Finally, the sound of crying children will be faintly heard in the background.
The Fog world will be like the first Silent Hill game, just a dense fog that falls over the town. There won’t be many monsters in the Fog world as the idea of the fog is to symbolise the confusion surrounding the character but there will occasionally be sequences where the player must confront or evade the bogeyman.
At the end of the game, depending on how the psychology-complex examines the character and then it will determine which storyline the game will follow. Throughout the game diary entries will be collected telling the story of a little girl who is suffering abuse from her parents (Lilly's diary) and depending on which ending is chosen, these diary entries will either be real or faked by her psychopathic side.
Ending 1 - Providing the player kills no enemies and approaches the game with a passive attitude (choosing a evasive options 90% of the time) the complex will show the bogeyman twins that she didn't make up the abuse story and was in fact killing them to save them from her parents. This ending will determine that this character does not have a personality disorder and it was a result of her childhood abuse. They will forgive her and she is able to leave the town. It is revealed the Cavanaugh family adopted her at 14 and that she lived a good life, getting a good education and becoming a photographic journalist.
Ending 2 - If the player kills more than 100 enemies and plays with an aggressive attitude (choosing non-evasive options 90% of the time) the complex will show the bogeyman twins that her evil persona has taken over her and that she made up the 'abuse' story as part of her psychopathy. The twins then kill her and it is revealed that the Cavanaugh family adopted her at 14 and 6 years latter murdered them and fled, traveling around for a number of years often killing random people to get money.
Ending 3 - If the player kills between 50-100 enemies but chooses evasive options 90% of the time, the complex will determine that Elaine is suffering a split personality disorder which was brought on at a young age by her parents abuse. The murder of the twins was enjoyed by one part of her identity and the other did it to save them. This ending combines the two above in a way that allows the player to confront her parents as an added final boss. By killing this boss, she eventually gains closure over her parents past and gains the forgiveness of the twins. She is able to leave but must battle her newly found identity disorder.
Ending 4 - This secret ending is achieved only after obtaining all three of the other endings. In this ending, it does not matter how many enemies you kill or if you confront or evade the bogeyman during encounter because at the end, instead of confronting the twins you find out that you were involved in an Alien experiment (referencing the UFO endings from previous instalments).
story_concept_updated_no_2.docx | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
File Type: | docx |
History and Lore of Silent Hill
The first and fifth games in the main series establish the key history of the town and universe of Silent Hill, as well as the lore and mythology. Other installments help explore the lore of the town and the consequences that occur because of the events in these three installments. I will not detail the events going back to the town’s discovery since that occurs shortly before 1600, however it is noted that the Native American's that settled their first stated that the town had a strong and spiritual power.
Chronologically, the 5th game Origins is the first -being set in 1976 - and gives a greater insight into what happened to Alessa Gillespie, the series' main antagonist and most influential character. Since birth she always had a connection to the supernatural and as the town of Silent Hill already had a strong 'power', her presence acted as a driving force for the town to grow stronger. It was because of her supernatural gifts that her mother, Dahlia Gillespie, chose her to be used in a ritual, orchestrated by The Order, at the age of 7. The ritual is to bring forth God, who would then bring the apocalypse and form the Paradise.
The ritual was a success and Alessa became pregnant with God however she was saved from the house by Travis Grady (Origins' protagonist). Despite being saved from the house she is taken again and held in secret by The Order. She uses her Astral Projection ability to help Travis piece together a mystical devise called the Fluros which she believes would trap the evil within her. After he does this, he fluros fires a beam of energy into Alessa and splits her soul in two, the evil half remaining inside of her and the good half being reincarnated as a small baby. After the baby is taken away from Silent Hill and left by the side of the road. Harry and Jodie Mason, who name the girl Cheryl, found the baby.
It is 7 years later in 1983, when Harry and Cheryl Mason (Jodie dies 3 years prior) travel to Silent Hill on a holiday (Cheryl's suggestion that is actually Alessa calling her back). As they arrive a projection of Alessa appears, causing Harry to crash the car. Alessa and Cheryl’s souls join together at this point and Alessa’s psychic abilities send the town into an altered reality in order to slow down Dahlia. During his search for Cheryl, Harry encounters many monsters in both the Fog World and Otherworld, both of which are altered realities created by Alessa, which are manifestations and delusions conjured by Alessa.
He soon finds Dahlia who manipulates him into using the Fluros to stop Alessa from putting the town in a permanent hellish Otherworld. Not knowing that the device was originally intended to amplify Alessa's powers instead of trap them, Harry does so and then soon discovers that Alessa is actually using another device called 'Seal of Metatron' in order to contain the Otherworld and kill herself.
Dahlia kept Alessa alive and in a constant state of pain, by using magical incantations, since Cheryl was first born 7 years ago. Because of The Order's spell, Alessa is unable to die conventionally so she plans to use the 'Seal' to annihilate herself, the Otherworld and everyone in Silent Hill. This is why Dahlia manipulates Harry by telling him that the 'Seal' is instead something that will bring forth a malevolent demon called 'Samael', so that he will stop her, which he does. After he stops her with the Fluros, Alessa is captured by Dahlia and births God (who began to grow again after Alessa and Cheryl's souls were combined).
Now, depending on the player’s decisions throughout the game, Alessa birth the Incubator or the Incubus. Either way, it kills Dahlia and fights Harry. An apparition of Alessa then opens a portal to the real world for Harry to escape. Alessa hands Harry a small baby girl who is a reincarnation of Alessa and Cheryl and once Harry leaves the town with the baby, the apparition of Alessa collapses and the portal closes. Alessa grows up again inside the new baby, later named Heather, in the life she always wanted.
This series of games features a deep and complex mythology combining the supernatural, religion, demonology and psychology. The fundamental and basic premise of the town and games are that the town calls to people who harbor darkness inside them. Once inside the town, they become trapped and are forced to confront their inner demons and emotions in order to come 'full circle' (a term that describes the ending in which the main character comes to term with what they did and are allowed to leave).
All the later sequels (beside the third game) follow separate characters and stories. Each story centers on a character that has done something in their past and are somehow find themselves in the town either by an accident (Downpour) or through a past ties with the town (Homecoming). Regardless of how they come to the town, they must battle with demonic creatures that are physical manifestations of the characters deepest fears, emotions and repressed desires.
Each protagonist 'Otherworld' is different because the town is personalized to that particular individual. This has led to the common theory that Silent Hill is set across multiple realities which only adds to the complexity of the backstory. The power within the city (amplified greatly by Alessa's power) allows itself to manifest in 3 separate planes of reality, the real world, the Fog World and the Otherworld.
The Fog world is the most visited and playable of the 3 worlds. The fog rolls in off of Toluca Lake but is still a part of the towns 'power'. In this world, many of the streets in the town appear to suddenly end and drop into oblivion. However, they could be completed at later points, leading to the belief that it is the down directing the character on the path they need to follow in order to come 'full circle'. The town will hint and influence the world around the character, transitioning them into either the Fog or Otherworld when it is necessary for them to continue on their quest and come to terms with their past. Despite the world being full of evil, death, demons, blood and torture, the reason the town does it is actually to help them, most likely an influence of Alessa's reasons and true intentions of only helping people, despite what it may seem.
The Otherworld is the darker and more twisted version of reality. The world itself transforms and resembles the psyche of the protagonist, creating physical manifestations of their inner feelings in the form of hideous and dangerous monsters and creatures. The setting and geography of the world also differs with each character; Murphy Pendleton in Downpour has a world built with a lot of metal and water, representing his time in prison and the events surrounding his sons death.
A key feature to the game is the endings. Each game has multiple endings, each of which can be attained through certain actions, decisions and events that the player choices and performs. The chances are that through the first play through of any game, the player will get a bad ending due to not knowing how certain choices effect the outcome. This means then that the player can play through again to get a better ending. This also adds to the theory of the 'full circle'; because Silent Hill only lets the protagonist go after they confront their pasts, if they get a bad ending, they haven't come 'full circle' meaning they will be sent back and forced to repeat the cycle until they face what sent them their, like a purgatory of some sort. It is known that some of the characters have gone missing or never seen again, often meaning that they have never come 'full circle'.
The first and fifth games in the main series establish the key history of the town and universe of Silent Hill, as well as the lore and mythology. Other installments help explore the lore of the town and the consequences that occur because of the events in these three installments. I will not detail the events going back to the town’s discovery since that occurs shortly before 1600, however it is noted that the Native American's that settled their first stated that the town had a strong and spiritual power.
Chronologically, the 5th game Origins is the first -being set in 1976 - and gives a greater insight into what happened to Alessa Gillespie, the series' main antagonist and most influential character. Since birth she always had a connection to the supernatural and as the town of Silent Hill already had a strong 'power', her presence acted as a driving force for the town to grow stronger. It was because of her supernatural gifts that her mother, Dahlia Gillespie, chose her to be used in a ritual, orchestrated by The Order, at the age of 7. The ritual is to bring forth God, who would then bring the apocalypse and form the Paradise.
The ritual was a success and Alessa became pregnant with God however she was saved from the house by Travis Grady (Origins' protagonist). Despite being saved from the house she is taken again and held in secret by The Order. She uses her Astral Projection ability to help Travis piece together a mystical devise called the Fluros which she believes would trap the evil within her. After he does this, he fluros fires a beam of energy into Alessa and splits her soul in two, the evil half remaining inside of her and the good half being reincarnated as a small baby. After the baby is taken away from Silent Hill and left by the side of the road. Harry and Jodie Mason, who name the girl Cheryl, found the baby.
It is 7 years later in 1983, when Harry and Cheryl Mason (Jodie dies 3 years prior) travel to Silent Hill on a holiday (Cheryl's suggestion that is actually Alessa calling her back). As they arrive a projection of Alessa appears, causing Harry to crash the car. Alessa and Cheryl’s souls join together at this point and Alessa’s psychic abilities send the town into an altered reality in order to slow down Dahlia. During his search for Cheryl, Harry encounters many monsters in both the Fog World and Otherworld, both of which are altered realities created by Alessa, which are manifestations and delusions conjured by Alessa.
He soon finds Dahlia who manipulates him into using the Fluros to stop Alessa from putting the town in a permanent hellish Otherworld. Not knowing that the device was originally intended to amplify Alessa's powers instead of trap them, Harry does so and then soon discovers that Alessa is actually using another device called 'Seal of Metatron' in order to contain the Otherworld and kill herself.
Dahlia kept Alessa alive and in a constant state of pain, by using magical incantations, since Cheryl was first born 7 years ago. Because of The Order's spell, Alessa is unable to die conventionally so she plans to use the 'Seal' to annihilate herself, the Otherworld and everyone in Silent Hill. This is why Dahlia manipulates Harry by telling him that the 'Seal' is instead something that will bring forth a malevolent demon called 'Samael', so that he will stop her, which he does. After he stops her with the Fluros, Alessa is captured by Dahlia and births God (who began to grow again after Alessa and Cheryl's souls were combined).
Now, depending on the player’s decisions throughout the game, Alessa birth the Incubator or the Incubus. Either way, it kills Dahlia and fights Harry. An apparition of Alessa then opens a portal to the real world for Harry to escape. Alessa hands Harry a small baby girl who is a reincarnation of Alessa and Cheryl and once Harry leaves the town with the baby, the apparition of Alessa collapses and the portal closes. Alessa grows up again inside the new baby, later named Heather, in the life she always wanted.
This series of games features a deep and complex mythology combining the supernatural, religion, demonology and psychology. The fundamental and basic premise of the town and games are that the town calls to people who harbor darkness inside them. Once inside the town, they become trapped and are forced to confront their inner demons and emotions in order to come 'full circle' (a term that describes the ending in which the main character comes to term with what they did and are allowed to leave).
All the later sequels (beside the third game) follow separate characters and stories. Each story centers on a character that has done something in their past and are somehow find themselves in the town either by an accident (Downpour) or through a past ties with the town (Homecoming). Regardless of how they come to the town, they must battle with demonic creatures that are physical manifestations of the characters deepest fears, emotions and repressed desires.
Each protagonist 'Otherworld' is different because the town is personalized to that particular individual. This has led to the common theory that Silent Hill is set across multiple realities which only adds to the complexity of the backstory. The power within the city (amplified greatly by Alessa's power) allows itself to manifest in 3 separate planes of reality, the real world, the Fog World and the Otherworld.
The Fog world is the most visited and playable of the 3 worlds. The fog rolls in off of Toluca Lake but is still a part of the towns 'power'. In this world, many of the streets in the town appear to suddenly end and drop into oblivion. However, they could be completed at later points, leading to the belief that it is the down directing the character on the path they need to follow in order to come 'full circle'. The town will hint and influence the world around the character, transitioning them into either the Fog or Otherworld when it is necessary for them to continue on their quest and come to terms with their past. Despite the world being full of evil, death, demons, blood and torture, the reason the town does it is actually to help them, most likely an influence of Alessa's reasons and true intentions of only helping people, despite what it may seem.
The Otherworld is the darker and more twisted version of reality. The world itself transforms and resembles the psyche of the protagonist, creating physical manifestations of their inner feelings in the form of hideous and dangerous monsters and creatures. The setting and geography of the world also differs with each character; Murphy Pendleton in Downpour has a world built with a lot of metal and water, representing his time in prison and the events surrounding his sons death.
A key feature to the game is the endings. Each game has multiple endings, each of which can be attained through certain actions, decisions and events that the player choices and performs. The chances are that through the first play through of any game, the player will get a bad ending due to not knowing how certain choices effect the outcome. This means then that the player can play through again to get a better ending. This also adds to the theory of the 'full circle'; because Silent Hill only lets the protagonist go after they confront their pasts, if they get a bad ending, they haven't come 'full circle' meaning they will be sent back and forced to repeat the cycle until they face what sent them their, like a purgatory of some sort. It is known that some of the characters have gone missing or never seen again, often meaning that they have never come 'full circle'.
history_of_silent_hill_updated.docx | |
File Size: | 20 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Task 3 - narration and dialogue
PRE-RENDERED CUTSCENE.
int. plane bathroom. night
Close up
ELAINE CAVANOUGH washes her face in the small sink. She looks up and at herself in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, she unlocks the door and walks out. She bumps into an AIR STEWARD.
elaine
Oh sorry
air steward
Wow, hey! Are you OK?
ELAINE
I'm fine, just...feeling a little sick is all.
AIR STEWARD
First time flying?
ELAINE
That obvious?
AIR STEWARD
I've seen my fair share of first-timers.
They share a small laugh.
AIR STEWARD
What seat are you in?
ELAINE
14C
AIR STEWARD
Go back to your seat and I will bring you a bottle of water.
ELAINE
Oh thank you
They smile again and Elaine walks back to her seat. She sits down and takes out a magazine. She sits flipping through it when she hears a man approaching her.
AIR STEWARD
Here you go
Elaine turns around to take the bottle when she sees a deformed, grey hand holding a dirty bottle of blood. She looks up, gasping, and a large humanoid demonic looking creature is holding it out to her. Elaine gasps as the creature hits her head off the seat in front.
cut to black.
ext. silent hill forest. night
Elaine awakens dazed. She sits up slowly and rubs her head before looking around. Large sections of plane are scattered around on fire. Tree trunks lay crushed under them. She stands up.
transition into gameplay
OBJECTIVE: Follow the trail of debris to find the cabin.
The player must follow the trail of fire and broken trees in order to find the front of the plane. At this point there are no interactions between her and anything else until she reaches the cabin.
While she is walking towards the cabin, she speaks to herself with small intervals between.
ELAINE
Where am I? What the fuck happened?
How did we crash?
Where are the other passengers?
When Elaine arrives at the cabin her objective will change.
OBJECTIVE: Find help.
All the player has to do is climb inside of the broken cabin and approach the pilot seat, this will trigger a cut scene.
Int. cabin. night
Elaine walks through the doors into the cockpit and towards the pilot seat. There is no sign of anyone or any blood. It appears no one was sitting there. The cabin begins to rock slightly and creeks in the wind. They are atop a small cliff overlooking TOLUCA LAKE.
The planes radio begins emit a high pitched static noise. Elaine flinches and hits the radio off. She turns around to see the monster from earlier standing in the opening. It cries out and then jumps to attack. Elaine dodges him and he slams into the flight controls; the cabin rocks more. He grabs her hair as she runs away and then slams her against the windscreen which cracks.
The two wrestle for a short time and then the cabin begins to fall of the cliff. Elaine screams as they crash into the lake.
CUT TO
Ext. toluca lake. night
Elaine emerges from the lake coughing and spluttering water. She swims towards shore and climbs up some low tree branches and then rolls onto the road. She stands up and sees a large sign that reads 'WELCOME TO SILENT HILL'
Fade into opening credit sequence
int. plane bathroom. night
Close up
ELAINE CAVANOUGH washes her face in the small sink. She looks up and at herself in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, she unlocks the door and walks out. She bumps into an AIR STEWARD.
elaine
Oh sorry
air steward
Wow, hey! Are you OK?
ELAINE
I'm fine, just...feeling a little sick is all.
AIR STEWARD
First time flying?
ELAINE
That obvious?
AIR STEWARD
I've seen my fair share of first-timers.
They share a small laugh.
AIR STEWARD
What seat are you in?
ELAINE
14C
AIR STEWARD
Go back to your seat and I will bring you a bottle of water.
ELAINE
Oh thank you
They smile again and Elaine walks back to her seat. She sits down and takes out a magazine. She sits flipping through it when she hears a man approaching her.
AIR STEWARD
Here you go
Elaine turns around to take the bottle when she sees a deformed, grey hand holding a dirty bottle of blood. She looks up, gasping, and a large humanoid demonic looking creature is holding it out to her. Elaine gasps as the creature hits her head off the seat in front.
cut to black.
ext. silent hill forest. night
Elaine awakens dazed. She sits up slowly and rubs her head before looking around. Large sections of plane are scattered around on fire. Tree trunks lay crushed under them. She stands up.
transition into gameplay
OBJECTIVE: Follow the trail of debris to find the cabin.
The player must follow the trail of fire and broken trees in order to find the front of the plane. At this point there are no interactions between her and anything else until she reaches the cabin.
While she is walking towards the cabin, she speaks to herself with small intervals between.
ELAINE
Where am I? What the fuck happened?
How did we crash?
Where are the other passengers?
When Elaine arrives at the cabin her objective will change.
OBJECTIVE: Find help.
All the player has to do is climb inside of the broken cabin and approach the pilot seat, this will trigger a cut scene.
Int. cabin. night
Elaine walks through the doors into the cockpit and towards the pilot seat. There is no sign of anyone or any blood. It appears no one was sitting there. The cabin begins to rock slightly and creeks in the wind. They are atop a small cliff overlooking TOLUCA LAKE.
The planes radio begins emit a high pitched static noise. Elaine flinches and hits the radio off. She turns around to see the monster from earlier standing in the opening. It cries out and then jumps to attack. Elaine dodges him and he slams into the flight controls; the cabin rocks more. He grabs her hair as she runs away and then slams her against the windscreen which cracks.
The two wrestle for a short time and then the cabin begins to fall of the cliff. Elaine screams as they crash into the lake.
CUT TO
Ext. toluca lake. night
Elaine emerges from the lake coughing and spluttering water. She swims towards shore and climbs up some low tree branches and then rolls onto the road. She stands up and sees a large sign that reads 'WELCOME TO SILENT HILL'
Fade into opening credit sequence
silent_hill_opening_script.pdf | |
File Size: | 3 kb |
File Type: |
Below is a flowchart images, showing the objective, decisions and varying factors during a simple and small side quest objective within the game.