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Silent Hill: Downpour 'not missing out' without Yamaoka, says Vatra dev
Vatra Games design director Brian Gomez doesn't feel that his studio's upcoming survival-horror title, Silent Hill: Downpour, is being too adversely affected by the absence of longtime series composer Akira Yamaoka. "I was worried when we lost him, we lost him really early on in Downpour. But I was a big fan of Dexter already, so I'm happy we got Daniel Licht," Gomez told me this morning after a GDC Europe panel on the SH franchise. "It was the closest to Akira but also brought something new to it," he added. Back in 2009, Downpour producer (at Konami) Tomm Hulett told us, "If Akira's music isn't there, it just doesn't sound quite right. And I'm sure that there are people out there who could emulate the sound and try to get it close, but there would be something missing." But time heals all wounds, and Gomez thinks the game will still fall in line with the franchise's established standard of audio. "As much as I would've loved the honor of working with Akira, I don't feel that we're missing out by not having him." That said, it's clear that Gomez wants Yamaoka back at Konami, and back on the Silent Hill franchise. Speaking to the ongoing friction between Yamaoka and his formeremployer, Gomez added, "I think this whole feud between he and Konami is just fucking stupid. Everyone needs to calm down, and bring him back in, and do something." Gomez had yet to play Yamaoka's latest work, the critically acclaimed (but commercially ignored) Shadows of the Damned from Grasshopper Manufacture and EA. "I've just been too busy with Downpour, unfortunately."
A sprinkling of music from Silent Hill: Downpour
Konami gave us our first look at Silent Hill: Downpour yesterday -- now here's our first listen. A minute and a half of Dexter composer Dan Licht's score is available for your listening pleasure terror, after the break.
Silent Hill 8 (working title) coming in 2011 from Vatra Games
Konami has just shared details on the brand new, Vatra Games-developed Silent Hill game for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 coming next year in 2011. Apparently it will have an escaped prisoner finding the town of Silent Hill, which is a little surprising. Haven't they closed the doors and locked the locks on that place yet? Every other year, it's somebody wandering in there to be chased down by evil nurses or pyramid heads, or whatever else they've come up with. The game will have a brand new composer, Dan Licht, known for his work on the television show Dexter. He's replacing Akira Yamaoka, longtime composer and sound designer, who recently left for Grasshopper Manufacture. We'll look for the game in 2011, and in the meantime, please, everybody. If the sign says Silent Hill, just turn around and head back to the interstate. Update: Press release get! The release from Konami says the game is called Silent Hill 8, but that's just a working title so far. The escaped prisoner's name is Murphy Pendleton, and he'll be part of "an all-new storyline and unique evolutions in gameplay." Sounds fun!
