History VideoGame / SilentHills

* MeaningfulName: The "s" in the fictitious 7780s Studio supposedly stands for "Silent Hills." [[Franchise/SilentHill The series]]' namesake, the city of Shizuoka, Japan, has "7780" as its postal code; "Shizuoka" literally means "silent-hill." Add an "s," and there you go.

** A fake error message can appear, covering the entire screen. Said error message is in bright red, and rather than having any technical text, it simply says, [[MadnessMantra over and over again in several different languages,]] "I'm heading there now."

* GuideDangIt[=/=]MoonLogicPuzzle:

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
** Possibly a direct allusion to the internal turmoil that Kojima faced with the corporate bosses who wound up getting the game canned in the first place. In this case, [[FridgeBrilliance the murdered son is Kojima, the father who killed everyone is Konami, and the wife/fetus represents Silent Hills itself.]] This gets even crazier once you realize that Konami's official statement was that Silent Hills was in an "embryonic state" of development when it was canceled, which makes the fetus allusion [[MindScrew even more blatant.]]

As of January 4, 2019, a new remastered version from developer Radius Gordello named ''[[https://radiusgordello.itch.io/unreal-pt Unreal PT]]'' was made available for PC and VR. Rebuilt from the ground up through the Unreal engine, it faithfully restores ''P.T.'' from beginning to end. [[note]] There's a few minor tweaks to the game's ending as stated by the developer himself "to make beating it more consistent".[[/note]]

You can still watch the teasers for ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4kIbwlGxBg P.T.]]'' and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcLXh44ci6o Silent Hills]]'', as well as tons of in-game footage of ''P.T.'', on Website/YouTube. A [[https://v6p9d9t4.ssl.hwcdn.net/html/786764/index.html playable, fan-made version of the demo as if it were a 1998 PlayStation 1 game]] is also avaliable.

** There are a few references to [[Creator/JunjiIto Junji Ito's]] work, [[spoiler:including the spiralling eyeball paintings and the ''very'' subtle downward spiral made by the hallway loops]]. Ito is, unsurprisingly, a friend of Hideo Kojima. It was eventually revealed that Ito was to be one of the game's principal artists.

* SurrealHorror: The demo has you looping through a slowly-degrading suburban home over and over again, talking to a mutated paper bag, and other strange things. Some of the best scares in the demo come from the sheer oddness and weird, almost uncomfortable surroundings.

** The featureless and empty room the plaher starts in resembles the rooms of the labyrinth in ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves''.

** The featureless and empty room the plaher starts in resembles the rooms of the labyrinth in [[Literature/HouseOfLeaves]].

** The final dialogue in the demo almost seems to be the ''Silent Hill'' franchise itself talking, discussing "boredom of [[TakeThat doing the same thing over and over]]" and "coming back with new toys". Doubles as a TakeThat to the developers of the entries who have attempted to "re-capture" the magic of earlier entries, particularly ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''.
** Or it could be a direct allusion to the internal turmoil that Kojima faced with the corporate bosses who wound up getting the game canned in the first place. In this case, [[FridgeBrilliance the murdered son is Kojima, the father who killed everyone is Konami, and the wife/fetus represents Silent Hills itself.]] This gets even crazier once you realize that Konami's official statement was that Silent Hills was in an "embryonic state" of development when it was canceled, which makes the fetus allusion [[MindScrew even more blatant.]]

As of January 4, 2019, a new remastered version from developer Radius Gordello named ''[[https://radiusgordello.itch.io/unreal-pt Unreal PT]]'' was made available for PC and VR. Rebuilt from the ground up through the Unreal engine, it faithfully restores ''Silent Hills'' from beginning to end. [[note]] There's a few minor tweaks to the game's ending as stated by the developer himself "to make beating it more consistent".[[/note]]

** The news broadcast on the radio talks about multiple familicides perpetrated by fathers. The family that is the main subject of the broadcast (presumably Lisa's family) goes over the deaths of a pregnant wife, a son, a daughter, and the wife's unborn child. The broadcaster posits social issues such as unemployment and childcare as probable causes for the familicides.

** The news broadcast on the radio talks about a family being murdered.

* ThemeSongReveal: At the very end, "Hometown" -- the theme of the ''Silent Hill'' franchise -- starts playing.

Thanks to the falling out between Creator/{{Konami}} and Hideo Kojima, distribution of ''P.T.'' ceased on April 29, 2015. Konami officially cancelled ''Silent Hills'' soon after, then rescinded all digital licenses worldwide for ''P.T.'', making the game impossible to re-download (and near-impossible to play) regardless of whether someone had previously downloaded it. Needless to say, fans got pissed -- and started [[https://www.change.org/p/kojima-productions-continue-working-on-silent-hills an online petition]] to convince Konami that it should [[DevelopmentHell put the game back into development]]. Kojima, Del Toro, and Reedus at least would re-partner for Kojima's first project after leaving Konami, ''VideoGame/DeathStranding''. So as things stand now, the "playable teaser" will remain a standalone game.

Thanks to the [[Trivia/MetalGear falling out]] between Creator/{{Konami}} and Hideo Kojima, distribution of ''P.T.'' ceased on April 29, 2015. Konami officially cancelled ''Silent Hills'' soon after, then rescinded all digital licenses worldwide for ''P.T.'', making the game impossible to re-download (and near-impossible to play) regardless of whether someone had previously downloaded it. Needless to say, fans got pissed -- and started [[https://www.change.org/p/kojima-productions-continue-working-on-silent-hills an online petition]] to convince Konami that it should [[DevelopmentHell put the game back into development]]. Kojima, Del Toro, and Reedus at least would re-partner for Kojima's first project after leaving Konami, ''VideoGame/DeathStranding''. So as things stand now, the "playable teaser" will remain a standalone game.

As of January 4, 2019, a [[https://radiusgordello.itch.io/unreal-pt new remastered version, Unreal PT]] from developer Radius Gordello was made available for PC and VR. Rebuilt from the ground up through the Unreal engine, it faithfully restores ''Silent Hills'' from beginning to end. [[note]] There's a few minor tweaks to the game's ending as stated by the developer himself "to make beating it more consistent".[[/note]]

As of January 4, 2019, a [[https://radiusgordello.itch.io/unreal-pt new remastered version, Unreal PT]] from developer Radius Gordello was made available for PC and VR. Rebuilt from the ground up through the Unreal engine, it faithfully restores Silent Hills from beginning to end. [[note]] There's a few minor tweaks to the game's ending as stated by the developer himself "to make beating it more consistent".[[/note]]

* PaterFamilicide: The subject of the first loop's radio broadcast. The closing words from the "Radio Voice" is are from a deceased victim of such a crime as well ("But one day, he goes and kills us all!")

* ArcNumber: Near the end of the teaser, a mysterious voice constantly repeats "204863," which is both Hideo Kojima's birthday (the 24th of August, 1963) with an extra zero and the [[https://embed.gyazo.com/dfe7aa661cae1456798c10639c18928f.png coordinates]] to TheBermudaTriangle.

-->'''Kojima:''' Originally, we were thinking of making a game that would make you pee your pants. Now we are aiming for a game that will make you s--- your pants.

* NothingIsScarier: Much of the ''P.T.'' demo is walking through an empty hallway, not knowing who or what might ambush you.

* TheReveal: Built into ''P.T''. After completing the "final loop", you find out that you've been playing a "'''P'''layable '''T'''easer" for Creator/HideoKojima and Creator/GuillermoDelToro's new ''Silent Hill'' game.

** There are a few references to [[Creator/JunjiIto Junji Ito's]] work, [[spoiler:including the spiralling eyeball paintings]]. Ito is, unsurprisingly, a friend of Hideo Kojima. It was eventually revealed that Ito was to be one of the game's principal artists.
** There's references to the historical ''War of The Worlds'' broadcast in a radio message, although everything you hear (sans [[ArcWords the number "204863"]]) [[GratuitousForeignLanguage is in Swedish]].

* StringyHairedGhostGirl: The teaser has you being hunted by Lisa, a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin stringy-haired female ghost]] that haunts various areas of a house.
* SurrealHorror: The demo has you looping through a slowly degrading suburban home over and over again, talking to a mutated paper bag, and other strange things. Some of the best scares in the demo come from the sheer oddness and weird, almost uncomfortable surroundings.

** One of the weirdest ever -- in a [[https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/499833281886420992 tweet]], Kojima explains that he intentionally capped the framerate for ''P.T.'' at 30fps to make it seem like an independent game.

** [[OverlyLongGag Surprise!]] It's a new ''Silent Hill'' game, rather than a new I.P.!

* VillainProtagonist: Strongly hinted at. The radio broadcast mentions two different men who both murder their families. If it is the case [[spoiler:Your wife, son, and unborn child]] [[AssholeVictim have a good reason to haunt you.]] Amazingly, [[spoiler:your daughter doesn't seem to hold a grudge.]] Unless of course, you ''aren't'' actually the father. In which case, everything above is a SubvertedTrope. We don't (and may never) know for sure.

* RiddleOfTheAges: It's unknown ''what'' really ''Silent Hills'' was going to be, considering the ending of ''P.T'' states that the teaser doesn't reflect the final result. Although one could argue that the TGS trailer did show what people were to expect. But again, it's unknown.

Thanks to the [[Trivia/MetalGear falling out]] between Creator/{{Konami}} and Hideo Kojima, distribution of ''P.T.'' ceased on April 29, 2015. Konami officially cancelled ''Silent Hills'' soon after, then rescinded all digital licenses worldwide for ''P.T.'', making the game impossible to re-download (and near-impossible to play) regardless of whether someone had previously downloaded it. Needless to say, [[InternetBackdraft fans got pissed]] -- and started [[https://www.change.org/p/kojima-productions-continue-working-on-silent-hills an online petition]] to convince Konami that it should [[DevelopmentHell put the game back into development]]. Kojima, Del Toro, and Reedus at least would re-partner for Kojima's first project after leaving Konami, ''VideoGame/DeathStranding''. So as things stand now, the "playable teaser" will remain a standalone game.

''Silent Hills'' was originally announced at Gamescom 2014 with a free, seemingly-unrelated demo called ''P.T.'' by upstart developer 7780s Studio, made available on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 directly after the announcement. Players who completed the demo got to watch a cinematic teaser for ''Silent Hills'', which revealed ''P.T.'' to be a "'''P'''layable '''T'''easer" for a long-rumored new game in the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series.

As of January 4, 2019, a [[https://radiusgordello.itch.io/unreal-pt new remastered version, Unreal PT]] from developer Radius Gordello was made available for PC and VR. Rebuilt from the ground up through the Unreal engine, it faithfully restores Silent Hills from beginning to end. [[note]] There's a few minor tweaks to the game's ending as stated by the developer himself "to make beating it more consistent".

* ArcNumber: Near the end of the teaser, a mysterious voice constantly repeats "204863." [[note]] ''Hideo Kojima's birthday (the 24th of August, 1963) with an extra zero and the [[https://embed.gyazo.com/dfe7aa661cae1456798c10639c18928f.png coordinates]] to TheBermudaTriangle.''[[/note]]

* BringMyBrownPants: [[http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/08/13/gamescom-2014-kojima-wants-silent-hills-to-make-you-st-your-pants During the Gamescom interview]], Kojima joked that he may have to include a pair of trousers in the Limited Edition.

-->''[[ThisIsAWorkOfFiction This game is purely fictitious.]] [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial It cannot harm you in any way, shape, or form.]]''
** The radio demands that the [[ShmuckBait player look behind them]].

** After you enter the room, wait until you hear bells chime, signaling midnight.
** Take ten steps in any direction and you'll hear something behind you. Stop moving, you will hear a baby laugh. (“Non mi mossi più nell’attesa inerte.” / “I stopped moving, waiting motionless.”)
** After the noise stops but the radio is still on, speak into your microphone. The baby will laugh again. (“Sussurrei seu nome, mas o vento da noite levou sua voz embora.” / “I whispered his name, but the wind of the night took his voice away.”).
** Your controller will start vibrating (“Poi il suo indice scivolò sulla mia mano.” / “Then his index finger slipped onto my hand.” — “つめたい手でした からだがふるえました” / “It was a cold hand. My body was trembling.”)
** Continue to remain still till the vibration stops and the baby laughs a third time. (“Never moving a step, his hand in mine, I waited for it to pass.”)
** The phone will ring. Examine it, then leave the hallway as usual. (“Und durch Nebel schwindenden Bewusstseins glaubte ich, ein Telefon zu hören.” / “And through mists of fading consciousness, I thought I heard a phone.”)

* HellIsThatNoise: More than jump scares or creepy imagery, the ''P.T.'' demo is built on this. The most constant is the whining groan of the swinging lamp, but there's gurgles, groans, the odd noises sometimes coming from the radio. Notable separate instances include the screaming from the fridge, the blood from it hitting the ground, the sink-fetus's breathing and the sounds from the vision in the shower.

** There are a few references to [[Creator/JunjiIto Junji Ito's]] work, [[spoiler:including the spiralling eyeball paintings]]. Ito is, unsurprisingly, a friend of Hideo Kojima. It was eventually revealed that Ito was to one of the game's principal artists.