I woke up early to watch Sony's Gamescom Press Conference. I liked what I saw. It reaffirms Sony's dedication to fresh, unique, and compelling content. I'll probably won't touch half the stuff though, unless it pops up on PS+ somehow. With my already extensive backlog, it's hard for me to look forward when I'm being dragged down by the past. I gotta increase my gameplaying production. On the other hand, I don't want to start up anything new until after my Vegas trip.
The most interesting thing to come out of the conference was an "interactive teaser" available for download that promised to redefine horror. The announcement came with cheesy reactions of random people hamming it up for the camera. Little did we know about the horrors that were about to be unleashed. The teaser turned out to be an obtuse, utterly baffling, and completely terrifying experience through an infinite corridor. The internet quickly jumped on it. Through multiple streams, people watched as players attempted to complete this demo.
As it turns out, the demo was a secret announcement of the next Silent Hill game, and not only that, it's a collaboration between Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro, starring none other than Norman Reedus of The Walking Dead fame as the main character. Almost immediately, I thought of Reedus in John Carpenter's episode of "Cigarette Burns" in Masters of Horror, which is probably the closest role he's done to a Silent Hill protagonist. He was serviceable, but I'm not sure how he'll pan out in a full fledged game.
My entire day was basically following everyone's thoughts on this surprise reveal and the implications of those involved. Will it be a return to glory or a spectacular failure in the making? Kojima is one of my favorite game designers of all time and Del Toro's strengths lay in elements that would contribute heavily in a video game, namely set and creature design.
Honestly, I think it's going to be amazing. I've never held the original series in high regard, but I can't say I wasn't engrossed by the mythos. I've pretty much done everything with the originals except play them. I've read about them, I've watched them, but I've never done the thing that matters most. Okay, that's a small lie. I did play Silent Hill 1, but I got stuck in a particularly distressing sequence and didn't have the heart to figure out what I missed. I never played 2, but I did play 3, 4, Origins, and Homecoming.
The most perplexing element of the teaser is the ending. There's no surefire way to trigger it. In today's age, when solutions are disseminated instantly, the complexity of unlocking the ending is refreshing. It shows that mystery can still exist, and in terms of game announcements, doing it in such a roundabout way is vintage Kojima and mad genius.
Since I was exhausted from waking up so early, I went to sleep early. This was around ten. I haven't slept this early in months. It feels good.
/eventlog
