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Loved your blog about what men are supposed to be. About Silent Hill, I got the avarage good ending, where Harry while leaving tells cheryl that his problem with her mother had nothing to do with her and he would always be with her. In a way im a lot like you, I hate going out, have few friends and all. My probem is im really a closed person, its hard to be myself on the outside. in the game I answered every question like I was there, and got a great ending. but if it was real life, I doubt I would do the same, I automatically put the social mask and that makes me avarage, forgetable. It takes some time for ppl to really know me, if they ever do. And that is why I loved SH:SM too, it just open our eyes to ourselves, doesnt it?
This article truly struck a nerve in me, but in a good way :p
Considering that I've always been a huge fan of the Silent Hill series of videogames (and of videogames in general, but I don't really need to tell you that in order for anyone to infer it... I frequent vg blogs sites often enough to comment on them, hah) I'm very happy to see that those that play these games can gain a greater appreciation for the messages that they are trying to convey in the actions and imagery that they present. A deeper understanding of our own little hidden demons, insecurities and innate flaws as human beings, so to speak. While it is true that my absolute favorite game of the series is SH2 and that I haven't really experienced Shattered Memories as much as I should (sadly, I do not own a Wii), I can still get an idea of what these characters represent... of how Harry, as emotionally unstable and "fragile" as he is, offers the best and most "down to earth" perspective that one can possibly get in Silent Hill.
I also completely relate to you on getting to know people and the gender-based pressures that we all have in regards to what it is to be a man or a woman within society as a greater whole. I'm sure it varies from culture to culture, but there are innate pressures that we are all subjected to just for being either a man or a woman... and according to society, I apparently really really suck at being a man. It's always been a point of contention within me... diving my thoughts, emotions, desires and insecurities and in a way leaving me without a greater sense of personality.
I know who I am and what my greater desires are and what they represent and in a way, where I want to go... but I've never felt secure or confident enough to really strive for what I want to achieve. I try to be as considerate, gentle and good-natured as possible, but apparently according to the gender that I was born with and the society that I live in, these are all bad things... or weird things... or they simply do not belong and force me to be separate from the rest of the people that I wish to meet or that I want to become friends/lovers/acquaintances with. Just yesterday, for example, I was at a concert... which I went to alone, naturally, as I have no one to share any of the things that I enjoy with. So I was near the front of the crowd, where the barrier separates the crowd from the bands when a very nice looking girl comes up and tries to get up front as well because she can't see anything, being so short. I told her I'd gladly help her get to the front of the crowd somehow... once the music started and people just started going crazy (you know how those mosh pits can get) we eventually made our way to the front of the crowd though diligent pushing, shoving and just generally finding our way through. In the middle of all of this, I asked her what her name was and I thought that I was being as pleasant as a person can possibly be in that situation... but once the concert ended, she didn't even so much as glance at my direction and just left. No good-byes, no thanks, nothing. She just took her stuff and said her goodbyes to others that we had met on our way to the front and simply left, not even giving me decency to say thanks. It left me feeling quite hollow and insignificant in a way. But then again, this is something that I have come to expect from everyone that I meet.
Perhaps they perceive my lack of confidence, perhaps I'm just too nice to be a man, maybe I'm just the portrait of creepiness and insecurity, I don't know. All I know is that by being who I am and who I want to be, I apparently reject all the notions of being the person I'm supposed to be and am left to my own vices. I can't meet anyone as a friend, or don't have the best of luck in relationships and my love life is laughable, at best. Still, I don't feel that I will fall in line with the rest of the people and fall into the cookie cutter mold of what societal pressures force a lot of people to do. It's just my hope to experience things as best as I can. I really wish I could meet new and better people, I really wish I could. I guess this is just the type of thing that takes a lot of time and effort with no discernible remuneration at first.
Anyway, I've gone on long enough. I just really wanted to say that you hit the nail right on the head with this blog, ViF. Amazing write up :)
Considering that I've always been a huge fan of the Silent Hill series of videogames (and of videogames in general, but I don't really need to tell you that in order for anyone to infer it... I frequent vg blogs sites often enough to comment on them, hah) I'm very happy to see that those that play these games can gain a greater appreciation for the messages that they are trying to convey in the actions and imagery that they present. A deeper understanding of our own little hidden demons, insecurities and innate flaws as human beings, so to speak. While it is true that my absolute favorite game of the series is SH2 and that I haven't really experienced Shattered Memories as much as I should (sadly, I do not own a Wii), I can still get an idea of what these characters represent... of how Harry, as emotionally unstable and "fragile" as he is, offers the best and most "down to earth" perspective that one can possibly get in Silent Hill.
I also completely relate to you on getting to know people and the gender-based pressures that we all have in regards to what it is to be a man or a woman within society as a greater whole. I'm sure it varies from culture to culture, but there are innate pressures that we are all subjected to just for being either a man or a woman... and according to society, I apparently really really suck at being a man. It's always been a point of contention within me... diving my thoughts, emotions, desires and insecurities and in a way leaving me without a greater sense of personality.
I know who I am and what my greater desires are and what they represent and in a way, where I want to go... but I've never felt secure or confident enough to really strive for what I want to achieve. I try to be as considerate, gentle and good-natured as possible, but apparently according to the gender that I was born with and the society that I live in, these are all bad things... or weird things... or they simply do not belong and force me to be separate from the rest of the people that I wish to meet or that I want to become friends/lovers/acquaintances with. Just yesterday, for example, I was at a concert... which I went to alone, naturally, as I have no one to share any of the things that I enjoy with. So I was near the front of the crowd, where the barrier separates the crowd from the bands when a very nice looking girl comes up and tries to get up front as well because she can't see anything, being so short. I told her I'd gladly help her get to the front of the crowd somehow... once the music started and people just started going crazy (you know how those mosh pits can get) we eventually made our way to the front of the crowd though diligent pushing, shoving and just generally finding our way through. In the middle of all of this, I asked her what her name was and I thought that I was being as pleasant as a person can possibly be in that situation... but once the concert ended, she didn't even so much as glance at my direction and just left. No good-byes, no thanks, nothing. She just took her stuff and said her goodbyes to others that we had met on our way to the front and simply left, not even giving me decency to say thanks. It left me feeling quite hollow and insignificant in a way. But then again, this is something that I have come to expect from everyone that I meet.
Perhaps they perceive my lack of confidence, perhaps I'm just too nice to be a man, maybe I'm just the portrait of creepiness and insecurity, I don't know. All I know is that by being who I am and who I want to be, I apparently reject all the notions of being the person I'm supposed to be and am left to my own vices. I can't meet anyone as a friend, or don't have the best of luck in relationships and my love life is laughable, at best. Still, I don't feel that I will fall in line with the rest of the people and fall into the cookie cutter mold of what societal pressures force a lot of people to do. It's just my hope to experience things as best as I can. I really wish I could meet new and better people, I really wish I could. I guess this is just the type of thing that takes a lot of time and effort with no discernible remuneration at first.
Anyway, I've gone on long enough. I just really wanted to say that you hit the nail right on the head with this blog, ViF. Amazing write up :)
Shattered Memories was the first game I cried to when it ended. Love it.
However, to defend the SH movie, Christophe Gans and Roger Acary are both big Silent Hill fans and it was not that they couldn't see a man scared but more that the way they thought of Harrys actions throughout the story fit better to a girl in their opinion, in fact, the character that is scared the most would be Sean Bean's character, who IS a man and is the person who suffers the most throughout the story since he doesn't know what's going on but is left scared and alone in the real world.
However, to defend the SH movie, Christophe Gans and Roger Acary are both big Silent Hill fans and it was not that they couldn't see a man scared but more that the way they thought of Harrys actions throughout the story fit better to a girl in their opinion, in fact, the character that is scared the most would be Sean Bean's character, who IS a man and is the person who suffers the most throughout the story since he doesn't know what's going on but is left scared and alone in the real world.
You made me think, incredible piece of writing!
(note to self : start reading more of these amazing community blogs and don't ever comment on Youtube)
(note to self : start reading more of these amazing community blogs and don't ever comment on Youtube)
I am VERY happy to see this promoted to the front page. I urged everyone to read it in when I topsauced it in the Cblog recaps.
Excellent piece of work you've done here. Still, I feel there's no reason to avoid glorifying positive traits such as bravery and confidence. They're good aspects of the human psyche that most people should strive for. But at the same time, it's important to recognize that not everyone has those traits and that there's no reason to humiliate or mock them.
From a gaming standpoint, I ended up not being a big fan of this game. But you opened my eyes to what the underlying message really is.
Sweet. How many endings does the game have anyways? I'm pretty sure I just got the "good" ending, being totally honest with the game... which is funny because your ending seems like something I would get.
When a woman cries, everyone rushes over to comfort her. When a man cries, everyone turns their backs in embarrassment.
As small children, we all get comfort, but there is usually some point in a young boy's life when that comfort is withheld, or even replaced with derision or anger. I'm sure every boy has felt the sting and confusion of being called a "sissy" or a "crybaby" while a girl who experiences the same event gets a hug instead. It's really incredibly cruel, if you think about it, but pretty much everyone believes that this is the way it should be. I've never actually heard a reason beyond "because boys are supposed to be tough". More than simply inspiring toughness, however, I think society ends up producing a lot of men who are intrinsically alone, perhaps in a way that most women will never understand.
As small children, we all get comfort, but there is usually some point in a young boy's life when that comfort is withheld, or even replaced with derision or anger. I'm sure every boy has felt the sting and confusion of being called a "sissy" or a "crybaby" while a girl who experiences the same event gets a hug instead. It's really incredibly cruel, if you think about it, but pretty much everyone believes that this is the way it should be. I've never actually heard a reason beyond "because boys are supposed to be tough". More than simply inspiring toughness, however, I think society ends up producing a lot of men who are intrinsically alone, perhaps in a way that most women will never understand.
Life has gotten easier in the past 40 years- there's no more compulsory military draft, and dangerous industrial work has largely been replaced by office jobs and the service industry. Unfortunately, our culture hasn't quite adjusted the definition of masculinity to catch up to a world where there's no mechanism to embolden the capable and quickly slaughter the rest. Thus, we have our generation- we're physically stronger and healthier as a whole, but, robbed of any natural way to prove our supposed worth, only the most tremendously talented of us can call themselves "men" with a straight face. The rest of us? We're just fucking guys, milling about with no greater purpose to serve, no reason to toughen up, no way to overcome the derision of having a status that no longer serves a need.
That's what makes "Wicked and Weak" so goddamn chilling. He can't answer because there is no answer. He has returned from no war. He has no scars to bear. His wallet isn't flooded, and he possesses no terrific amount of charm. No words he can concoct will succeed, and if he fights back physically, he goes to jail for the rest of his life. He is merely a kind, unassuming guy- and that makes him utterly destitute when it comes to social currency.
(I paid for this college education, I gotta use it somewhere.)
Fucking awesome blog, man.
That's what makes "Wicked and Weak" so goddamn chilling. He can't answer because there is no answer. He has returned from no war. He has no scars to bear. His wallet isn't flooded, and he possesses no terrific amount of charm. No words he can concoct will succeed, and if he fights back physically, he goes to jail for the rest of his life. He is merely a kind, unassuming guy- and that makes him utterly destitute when it comes to social currency.
(I paid for this college education, I gotta use it somewhere.)
Fucking awesome blog, man.
i read in an interview with the film's director that he listed the protagonist's traits and to him, the character was so feminine that he decided to turn him into a woman. so yeah, you're right about that.
Fantastic article by the way. As a SH fan from the very beginning, and as a guy, i totally understand where you're coming from.
Fantastic article by the way. As a SH fan from the very beginning, and as a guy, i totally understand where you're coming from.
..I've never commented before but this article changed my mind. Awesome article, I'm not overreacting by saying that you just sold me this game. ( And i live in the Dominican Republic, Land of the 120 dollar game )
Great blog, and I'm glad to see so much love for a game that hasn't got the (positive) attention it deserves... most people I know just plain hate it, mainly because "there is ice instead of rust and blood" or "you cannot fight", even when we all know that the fighting is the weakest part in every SH game, and the rusty fence floors everywhere are starting to get boring.
To those who haven't played this game yet: please try to be sincere and roleplay yourselves when you play it, both in the tests and during the game proper... the ending will be worth it.
I got the "good parent" ending (love lost) on my first try, and I got teary-eyed and was deeply moved and totally terrified because of it... and all that without any of the "scares" and gore of previous Silent Hills.
***** SPOILERS AHEAD ******
In the "good" ending you get if you act like a caring father, Cheryl sees Harry's ghost entering the therapist's office and she is finally able to stop blaming herself for his death and just lets him go, as he says "i will always be with you" and then freezes and turns into dust. In the video, Harry is seen leaving the house because he's divorcing Dahlia (no cheating, no alcohol, no weakness) but he conforts Cheryl by telling her that even if mom and dad don't love each other anymore, they will always love her. Sadly, as indicated by the shirt he is wearing, he died on a car accident later that same day.
******* END SPOILERS *****
I consider myself to be a good dad. I've been with my wife for 10 years (and looking forward to many more) and we have a 4 year-old girl... like all girls her age, I'm her hero and I'm constantly reminded that she loves me a lot. My parents are still happily married after 40 years, and they're been a great support during a couple of tough times, they're also the best grandparents ever (as told by mittle miss Earendil).
The thing that TERRIFIES me the most in this world is the prospect of not being there for my daughter, specially if she ever loses me at an early age. I have friends that lost one or both parents when we were at high school, or they lived through a divorce. Some of them came all right, but some turned pretty f***ed up, and it was never easy for any of them... hell, my best friend's parents just divorced last year, and he's 31... If it was so hard for a mature, independent guy like him, I don't want to think how it can mess up a 7 year old. I've had such a positive example with my parents and have always had a "complete" family, so it saddens me to know that so many people miss on that experience due to sickness, violence, bad choices or just bad luck because life can be a real b**ch sometimes.
The nicest possible ending to this game left me unable to say anything for a good ten minutes, while tears rolled down my face as I started remembering all the litle details inside the game and connecting all the dots. It struck something very strong inside of me, and I went running and hugged my daughter for a while because I was starting to feel a little panicky (I don't suffer panic attacks, but I know the symptoms very well). Not even Valkyria Chronicles managed to do that to me and that game is pretty evil (I only got a little teary eyed when I read Rosie's epilogue), and im both amazed and happy that a game can trigger such a powerful emotional response.
God, that was a long comment...
To those who haven't played this game yet: please try to be sincere and roleplay yourselves when you play it, both in the tests and during the game proper... the ending will be worth it.
I got the "good parent" ending (love lost) on my first try, and I got teary-eyed and was deeply moved and totally terrified because of it... and all that without any of the "scares" and gore of previous Silent Hills.
***** SPOILERS AHEAD ******
In the "good" ending you get if you act like a caring father, Cheryl sees Harry's ghost entering the therapist's office and she is finally able to stop blaming herself for his death and just lets him go, as he says "i will always be with you" and then freezes and turns into dust. In the video, Harry is seen leaving the house because he's divorcing Dahlia (no cheating, no alcohol, no weakness) but he conforts Cheryl by telling her that even if mom and dad don't love each other anymore, they will always love her. Sadly, as indicated by the shirt he is wearing, he died on a car accident later that same day.
******* END SPOILERS *****
I consider myself to be a good dad. I've been with my wife for 10 years (and looking forward to many more) and we have a 4 year-old girl... like all girls her age, I'm her hero and I'm constantly reminded that she loves me a lot. My parents are still happily married after 40 years, and they're been a great support during a couple of tough times, they're also the best grandparents ever (as told by mittle miss Earendil).
The thing that TERRIFIES me the most in this world is the prospect of not being there for my daughter, specially if she ever loses me at an early age. I have friends that lost one or both parents when we were at high school, or they lived through a divorce. Some of them came all right, but some turned pretty f***ed up, and it was never easy for any of them... hell, my best friend's parents just divorced last year, and he's 31... If it was so hard for a mature, independent guy like him, I don't want to think how it can mess up a 7 year old. I've had such a positive example with my parents and have always had a "complete" family, so it saddens me to know that so many people miss on that experience due to sickness, violence, bad choices or just bad luck because life can be a real b**ch sometimes.
The nicest possible ending to this game left me unable to say anything for a good ten minutes, while tears rolled down my face as I started remembering all the litle details inside the game and connecting all the dots. It struck something very strong inside of me, and I went running and hugged my daughter for a while because I was starting to feel a little panicky (I don't suffer panic attacks, but I know the symptoms very well). Not even Valkyria Chronicles managed to do that to me and that game is pretty evil (I only got a little teary eyed when I read Rosie's epilogue), and im both amazed and happy that a game can trigger such a powerful emotional response.
God, that was a long comment...
Great Read. I must agree that Shattered Memories was a great game. It may have lacked the scare factor people were looking for but it was a very entertaining story and it had great atmosphere. I was really impressed they pulled it off on the Wii. It's a shame so many people wrote of the game and the Wii in general. Hater gonna hate.
Thanks for the incredible read. I can totally relate to you, since I was the kid who got bullied a lot, laughed at for the simple reason of being mature. Boy, kids are assholes.
My sexuality and manliness has been put into doubt many times both in school and real life. I live in a counrty that the perception of sexes and their role are still deeply traditional, no matter how progressive it looks on the surface. I lived my father being at the very place of Harry. My mother is a strong woman and my father due to his inability to fully work (he used to fix televisions and electric stuff but now those things are almost unfixable, he has diabetes and arthritis)became emasculated by any mean possible.
And that makes not only him but my brother and I still get that feeling from our dominant parent.
So, I feel you and I feel Harry and I kind of got depressed when that game was talking about almost all the males in my family. After reading your post I felt less alone. I salute you for your courage and don't get closed to your own self. Go meet new people, you WILL find those who can understand you.
After all, friends can be chosen, right?
My sexuality and manliness has been put into doubt many times both in school and real life. I live in a counrty that the perception of sexes and their role are still deeply traditional, no matter how progressive it looks on the surface. I lived my father being at the very place of Harry. My mother is a strong woman and my father due to his inability to fully work (he used to fix televisions and electric stuff but now those things are almost unfixable, he has diabetes and arthritis)became emasculated by any mean possible.
And that makes not only him but my brother and I still get that feeling from our dominant parent.
So, I feel you and I feel Harry and I kind of got depressed when that game was talking about almost all the males in my family. After reading your post I felt less alone. I salute you for your courage and don't get closed to your own self. Go meet new people, you WILL find those who can understand you.
After all, friends can be chosen, right?
Huh, never thought about how I always viewed my father as the far weaker person in my parents relationship affecting my views either. He's very timid lifelong office worker that is a bit physically uncoordinated, where my mother is very outgoing person that was always involved in everything and handled most physical projects around the house...
I'd love to go back and play the game again, if I just didn't have to put up with those awful disorienting chase sequences...
I'd love to go back and play the game again, if I just didn't have to put up with those awful disorienting chase sequences...
Great article. I never really thought about it, but you're right. I mean it goes along with the whole thing that Harry can only run and not fight back against the demons that are chasing him. I loved Shattered Memories - such an underappreciated game.
Wow, what an excellent piece! Really, really interesting. I do think you're right about the depiction of men in videogames - most male main characters are pretty homogenous with one another these days; and are usually relentlessly stoic in the face of alien invasions or zombie outbreaks or whatever, and it's usually left to the female or secondary characters to bring any sort of emotional depth to the narrative.
Then again I think that's probably a common theme through most human folklore/culture - with men being idealised into 'supermen' in order to emphasise the things people believe most express 'masculinity'. I mean look at games like Half-life or Doom or Fear, all those games focus on main male characters who say little or nothing yet somehow are able to defeat endless hordes of bad guys that supposedly average men were killed by - stoic superheroes who seemingly fear nothing nor doubt themselves ever. Or in film, what about Die Hard? or Rambo? or any schwarzenegger film? All feature superhuman men who defeat dozens of 'average' male goons to get the girl and save the day ...ok, so maybe kindergarten cop doesn't exactly fit that bill but you get my point. I think you definitely have a point about the over-depiction of men as emotionless sex machines, and games companies should make more realistic character portrayals in future.
I'd also like to say that I think what that guy said to you was out of line, but you get a lot of people like that online - especially on youtube, lol. Some guys are just dicks for no reason other than cause they are! But I don't see how looking forward to that Catherine game makes you either of the things that guy said.
Anyway, once again really good blog!
Then again I think that's probably a common theme through most human folklore/culture - with men being idealised into 'supermen' in order to emphasise the things people believe most express 'masculinity'. I mean look at games like Half-life or Doom or Fear, all those games focus on main male characters who say little or nothing yet somehow are able to defeat endless hordes of bad guys that supposedly average men were killed by - stoic superheroes who seemingly fear nothing nor doubt themselves ever. Or in film, what about Die Hard? or Rambo? or any schwarzenegger film? All feature superhuman men who defeat dozens of 'average' male goons to get the girl and save the day ...ok, so maybe kindergarten cop doesn't exactly fit that bill but you get my point. I think you definitely have a point about the over-depiction of men as emotionless sex machines, and games companies should make more realistic character portrayals in future.
I'd also like to say that I think what that guy said to you was out of line, but you get a lot of people like that online - especially on youtube, lol. Some guys are just dicks for no reason other than cause they are! But I don't see how looking forward to that Catherine game makes you either of the things that guy said.
Anyway, once again really good blog!
I agree with basicly everything your saying. It seems like more games are just offering the fantasies of masculinity and cliched variations of it instead of simply giving gamers something new and intresting. This for me ends uo just destroying any of the connection I might ever have to the characters. I thought Harry in Shattered Memories was one of the best protoganists that stepped into Silent Hill since players walked away from James Sunderland. Thats how long its beens since Ive actually cared about anyone I was controling. I admire how finely you articulated your argument about Harry, and now I feel like James is the other side of that coin. What I loved about his character was that almost every instance of action, or combat, was justified by the need for empowerment. There was never a doubt in my mind while playing Silent Hill 2 that I was ever really in control. Then again I think that was the initial point of that game. After reading your article I feel like Harry has becomea the antithesis to Nathan Drake, he's the everyman, but also heavily failable in the most beleivable way possible(By the end of the game I just wanted to put the controller down). I think that as Silent Hill moved away from the initial trilogy, so did the emphasis on understanding power within the limits of its characters. Im not looking forward to 'Downpour' in the least.
While I mostly agree with the points you are making in this blog, there is just one part that bugs me, and here it is : "I'm sorry, but most men are not brave, handsome, sexy, or confident." While this quote might be very true of our society, I strongly believe it shouldn't be the case. I know that being brave and confident is something that is extremely hard to accomplish. I think the modern man's lack of confidence is due to our lack of goals and motivation. As for Handsomeness and sexiness, well they don't really mean anything when you have confidence on your side.
Hrm. I didn't like SH: Shattered Memories all that much, myself. But hey, to each their own.
I think you've touched on something in this article. This idea of masculinity in our culture--it has some positive aspects to it, but it seems that it just as frequently leads to completely irresponsible behavior. Someone could get into a lot of fights and sleep with a lot of women, and instead of considering the cost of the senseless violence or the women he got pregnant and abandoned, we're supposed to hold him up as a great example of how to live your life. Even worse are extreme attitudes that even women that are raped count towards their attacker's "score."
Of all the virtues a person should be expected to live up to, I'd say masculinity should be way down the list, but all too often it takes priority over literally everything else.
I think you've touched on something in this article. This idea of masculinity in our culture--it has some positive aspects to it, but it seems that it just as frequently leads to completely irresponsible behavior. Someone could get into a lot of fights and sleep with a lot of women, and instead of considering the cost of the senseless violence or the women he got pregnant and abandoned, we're supposed to hold him up as a great example of how to live your life. Even worse are extreme attitudes that even women that are raped count towards their attacker's "score."
Of all the virtues a person should be expected to live up to, I'd say masculinity should be way down the list, but all too often it takes priority over literally everything else.
This is my first post to this site. I've been checking the site regularly for a few months now but this was the first time I really felt compelled to comment on an article. My girlfriend and I recently split up and it's really been a kick in the ass for me. The same issues that we've had for the last three years for whatever reason I was unable to make a change. I was stuck try harder at doing the same things that never worked in the first place. The definition of insanity. In my stumbling through the internet I found a couple resources that have been turning my life around in just a matter of days. One is theartofmanliness.com, definitely recommended for every man on the planet. Somewhere on the site there was a link for another site, nomoremrniceguy.com. Trust me when I say it's not what you think it is. Dr Robert Glover is the author and it's not material that attempts to turn you into a selfish douche, it's really all about everything that you mentioned in this article. It's about the fact that a majority of men have lost something that we had a few generations ago. Men today tend to avoid conflict and try to please everyone, resulting in pleasing nobody including themselves. The "Nice Guy syndrome" as he calls it is what a lot of us are suffering from. When we avoid conflict and don't deal with shit the way that we should, it results in us blowing up at some point, sometimes in very destructive ways.
I cannot recommend this material enough. I have never read anything that felt like it was written specifically for me. I read the entire book in three days on my Blackberry. I could not put it down. And I'm going to read it again and again. I promise every single one of you that there will be something in this book that changes how you view yourself and how you view the world. There's a lot of things in this book that I found to be uncomfortable truths. Which honestly is the one thing that I think we need to deal with the most. Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, it's the only thing that can result in change.
Cheers.
I cannot recommend this material enough. I have never read anything that felt like it was written specifically for me. I read the entire book in three days on my Blackberry. I could not put it down. And I'm going to read it again and again. I promise every single one of you that there will be something in this book that changes how you view yourself and how you view the world. There's a lot of things in this book that I found to be uncomfortable truths. Which honestly is the one thing that I think we need to deal with the most. Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, it's the only thing that can result in change.
Cheers.
This was an interesting read, but I really REALLY have to disagree with you when you say that only men can fully understand the experience of this rather amazing game.
This is, ultimately, about a father and his daughter and their relationship. The original game really revolves around that connection and says a lot about a father's love for his child and the lengths he'd be willing to go to find them.
I am really close to my father and the ending of SH:SM was heartbreaking and sob worthy to me based on my pre-existing connection to my father and I understood perfectly towards the end of the game, the devastation of loosing someone. (GDI tearing up just thinking about it...)
So the game's message isn't just an overview of a man fighting to survive, finding strength to face darkness, it's a comment upon our relationship to our father figures in our lives and how it effects us all.
I agree with a lot of your points, except the one I stated, obviously. You don't /have/ to be a man to fully understand this game -- you have to have a connection to a father to fully 'get it' and the emotional impact.
This is, ultimately, about a father and his daughter and their relationship. The original game really revolves around that connection and says a lot about a father's love for his child and the lengths he'd be willing to go to find them.
I am really close to my father and the ending of SH:SM was heartbreaking and sob worthy to me based on my pre-existing connection to my father and I understood perfectly towards the end of the game, the devastation of loosing someone. (GDI tearing up just thinking about it...)
So the game's message isn't just an overview of a man fighting to survive, finding strength to face darkness, it's a comment upon our relationship to our father figures in our lives and how it effects us all.
I agree with a lot of your points, except the one I stated, obviously. You don't /have/ to be a man to fully understand this game -- you have to have a connection to a father to fully 'get it' and the emotional impact.
A lot of the heroes in SH seem to be a bit more realistic. Honestly I've only completed SH:SM and played some of SH2. I wasn't sure if I was going to like SH:SM since I remembered the first SH game, but this game is well done. I don't usually play horror games and the lack of combat really helped me to play since my first gut reaction to do when a monster pops out of no where like it does in the game is to run as far far away as I can get Harry to move.
When I played I ended up with what I think the "Good" ending is. Maybe I got it because I'm nice in life. When I think of Harry, I don't really think of a weak man. I know the game is designed that way, but he does have to brave some crazy things to progress. Unless you want to just chuck it up to Cheryl's desire for him to be strong in the end. Maybe it just depends on how you play the game. Then again I can see that with James a little with how Maria yells at him.
When I played I ended up with what I think the "Good" ending is. Maybe I got it because I'm nice in life. When I think of Harry, I don't really think of a weak man. I know the game is designed that way, but he does have to brave some crazy things to progress. Unless you want to just chuck it up to Cheryl's desire for him to be strong in the end. Maybe it just depends on how you play the game. Then again I can see that with James a little with how Maria yells at him.
Wow. This was an awesome blog.
You literally just convinced me to go pick up Shattered Dimensions. I haven't even gotten around to any other Silent Hill games yet! I'm gonna have to pick up the first two also, since I have a PS2...
Agh. My gaming library is already full as it is...oh well, i'll be busy for a while!
You literally just convinced me to go pick up Shattered Dimensions. I haven't even gotten around to any other Silent Hill games yet! I'm gonna have to pick up the first two also, since I have a PS2...
Agh. My gaming library is already full as it is...oh well, i'll be busy for a while!
Great post! Thanks for being so open, I think we all put up a front and you've got a lot of balls for admitting it.
Shattered Memories is a truly fantastic game; probably one of my favourites in the series. Love this article, you managed to perfectly tie in a very real and very painful psychological trait with analysing the game. Great stuff.
I just paid $22.87 for an iPad2-64GB and my girlfriend loves her Panasonic Lumix GF 1 Camera that we got for $38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $675 which only cost me $62.81 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, BidsOut.com
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