As I write this update, I’m home and it’s kind of late at night. I was at work late finalizing the script after taking screenshots all day. But, tomorrow should be exciting. After a few days’ delay, I get to start my Alpha Review for Shattered Memories. I probably shouldn’t be up blogging, considering I’m likely to be at work late again tomorrow, but one has to blog when inspiration strikes. You get this one for free, Konami!

An “Alpha” build is the first time the entire game is playable from start to finish. Before now, it’s been a lot of different little parts that I select from a menu. Some of them connect, but others don’t because they’re not fit into memory properly yet, or various other reasons. But in the Alpha, I can select “New Game” and keep playing until the end—in theory, as there are still bugs that can interfere with that. Some parts are a bit shaky still (earlier today I noticed that ____’s car didn’t have texturing on it yet) but everything is THERE, at least.

So, since everything is there, the Alpha Review is my last chance to point out things that aren’t working or that I’d like changed or tweaked. This is very exciting! Finally, the game starts to exist as a singular entity. But it’s also very intimidating because in a way it feels like my last chance to voice any opinions or concerns before it’s just simply “too late.” I don’t think I will find anything new or surprising that needs to be changed – my style is to notice or predict things early on and keep bringing them up until they’re addressed. It’s probably a little annoying, but hopefully it means my vision is consistent throughout development. Some Producers act like everything is fine, and then ask for big changes at the end—I have to imagine that is ultimately more frustrating for developers.

Anyway, about a month ago, Mark Simmons (Director, Climax) and I went through the game and created a huge master list of all the elements that needed to be polished, touched-up, improved, etc. There were about a thousand or so things on the list. That sounds like a lot, but it’s actually on the small side, as the game had already been coming together very well. With a game like Silent Hill, we just want to make sure every detail is perfect. So my Alpha Review will probably be a lot of those same issues that the team hasn’t had time to get around to just yet. Again—probably a little bit annoying. I apologize in advance, Climax.

To give a little bit of perspective, at this stage in Silent Hill Origins, I determined that The Butcher did not have a large enough role. So several things went on Mark’s “big list of stuff,” including the notes in the Theater, the maimed nurse outside the Butcher Shop, the knife sounds in the scrapyard, and The Butcher staring at you in the Motel. The “Carrion” enemy also didn’t exist yet, until I noted there needed to be more enemies in the city than just Straightjackets. Since such big changes can still be made, a game can’t really be judged until after the “Beta” period, which is generally the line where nothing new can be added. Until then, it just feels like a bunch of pieces on the floor, waiting to be assembled.

Earlier tonight, I watched 5 centimeters per second, which is a Makoto Shinkai film. His films really capture the essence of Japan, and it made me miss Japan a lot. Usually when I think of Japan I really miss the food, but that wasn’t the case tonight. Despite the film’s subject matter, I didn’t miss the cherry blossoms, either. No, instead I was very nostalgic for riding the train, and walking back from Iidabashi Station at night. I actually wonder if one of the buildings in chapter 3 of the film was from right along that route… it certainly felt familiar.

For some reason I enjoy riding the train in Japan. In central Tokyo, the Yamanote line runs in a big circle, and this route includes such famous spots as Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Akihabara. One night I decided it would be fun to ride the train around the entire circle. This is probably something a Japanese native would never do, because it would be like me driving through LA traffic for a few hours for fun here at home. But, I got to see a lot of interesting places looking out the windows, and a handful of interesting people inside the train. Then, thanks to a merely partial understanding of the ticket system, I ended up returning to my home station unable to exit, and had to negotiate my escape with an attendant. Oops.

But, it means I got away with a subway ticket (normally they are eaten when you leave the station)–nice souvenir!

Silent Hill is a mysterious place; maybe all of this will make sense one day!

-Tomm

source: SHSM Blog – Alpha Time | 06/23/2009