Dear Reader:
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - should look like a 360/PS3 game in SD, no MotionPlus support, Mature-rated, dynamic music and so much more
A portion of an IGN interview with lead designer Sam Barlow, director Mark Simmons and Konami producer Tomm Hulett…
Sam Barlow: It’s a great engine. It’s been worked up in house and has a lot of great render features thanks to James Sharman, one of our elite programming brains. We have a ton of effects which I haven’t seen elsewhere, or done quite as well. The lighting is an obvious hook — full shadowing off everything, self shadowing on characters. Even the snowflakes cast shadows. Then there’s the suite of ice shaders that are better than anything else I’ve seen on Wii. This should look like a 360/PS3 game running in SD. That’s the idea.
IGN: Harry can interact with environments, pick locks, etc. This is done using the Wii remote. Are you using Wii MotionPlus for this?
Sam Barlow: No MotionPlus. All our interactions are driven with the cursor on screen, so we have no need — we’re just as accurate. The game has tons of grabbing, pulling, pushing, rotating, prodding and other stuff. Some of these are physics driven, some animation driven. It’s important to give the player plenty of opportunities to ‘touch’ the world, to keep that connection.
IGN: What rating are you aiming for with the title? Will there be profanity, sexual content, violence?
Tomm Hulett: It’s a Silent Hill title, so it will be rated Mature. This is not a watered-down version of the series.
IGN: Tell us about the audio side of Shattered Dreams. Who’s composing the music? There seems to be a lot of voice work, too.
Tomm Hulett: It’s a Silent Hill title — so of course Akira Yamaoka will be returning, and providing an all-new score.
Mark Simmons: We’re doing new things in the music department for this game to. Akira’s still composing for us, but this time the music is totally dynamic. As you play instruments are introduced or taken away dynamically based on your gradual progression of suddenly as things change. Each major area has a new dynamic piece that ebbs and flows as you play and based on what you do in the game. There is a broad range of pieces in development across the whole range of Akira’s style. From his melancholy undertones to his kick ass rock stuff.