So from day one, we’ve been saying this word “re-imagining,” and we’ve stuck with our definition: taking an established premise, and changing where things go from there. We’ve compared it to Battlestar Galactica, or Tim Burton’s vs. Chris Nolan’s Batman films, etc. Naturally we followed all the forum posts and news stories calling us out, asking us to admit it’s just a fancy, gussied-up word for “remake” and that Shattered Memories would be the PSX classic with a new coat of paint and maybe a new sidequest or two.

…and here we are and I’m seeing a lot of confusion from people about why Shattered Memories is so different from the source material. Truth is, you should have believed us J I wouldn’t lie to you – Shattered Memories is NOT a remake – it’s not the original game with better graphics. It’s an entirely new experience, built from the ground up on top of “Harry Mason is searching for his missing daughter Cheryl.”

So now that we’re all on the same page about WHAT Shattered Memories is, let’s delve into the WHY.

I don’t think anyone wanted to play a remake of the original game again. At least not yet, after playing SH3, and Origins, and watching the movie. This was very familiar territory to Silent Hill fans. However, as I’ve said, with the game on the Wii there would be a lot of people who hadn’t played Harry Mason’s journey to death who didn’t know anything about Silent Hill. So how do we make a game for both groups of people? And what exactly would a “remake” of Silent Hill mean? These were questions we had to ask ourselves as the project got off the ground.

And we kept coming back to this idea that Silent Hill 1’s story was familiar territory. Fans knew it by heart. Some had played the game so much it became second nature. To them it was normal, a matter of course – their reality.

And that’s when it hit us… “Silent Hill” subverts reality. So a Silent Hill remake wouldn’t be the same as the original – it couldn’t, this was Silent Hill after all—it would be a “reimagining” designed specifically to twist and pervert the original’s storyline. So anyone who thought they knew what to expect would be surprised, betrayed, and messed with. So we set out to make Silent Hill 1 as seen through the eyes of Silent Hill.

As you’ve seen in our trailers, some characters look familiar. Others are…notably different. Dahlia specifically is much younger and most would say more attractive. None of these things are accidental. When you think “…yuck, am I attracted to Dahlia!?” that’s something we wanted you to wonder about yourself. This is Silent Hill at its finest – only this time you’re inside of it, having your own mental landscape played with. This is the most exciting part of Shattered Memories to me – that just as you get comfortable, just as you start to speculate about the plot because you’ve played Silent Hill 1 and oh here’s Nurse Lisa, I bet I know what’s going—“ BAM! Something strange occurs. And you’re reminded that you haven’t played this game before, you’re in Silent Hill now.

Now, that said, there’s a lot of this game that IS from the original. I’ve read my share of reactions claiming that this is just an all-new story with familiar names slapped in for fanservice… but is it? After all…

(okay these MIGHT be considered spoilers to some so look away if you’re sensitive!)

…Harry does visit a school at one point. And in that school there is a teacher named K. Gordon… and there is a piano bird puzzle…and a zodiac puzzle… there might even be one of those flying pterodactyl things if you know where to look…

(spoilers over)

There’s a lot of detail like this. I’m really excited waiting for fans to discover this stuff. So I guess what I’m saying is, if you’re expecting a retread of familiar territory with Shattered Memories – you’re in for a major surprise. And… if your memories have already been shattered by just how different everything is, look closer…

Like I’ve been saying the whole time, Silent Hill is a mysterious place.

-Tomm

source: SHSM Blog – Re-Imagine your Expectations | 12/11/2009