News
Masahiro Ito: ‘Silent Hill 3’ Was Originally Planned as a Rail Shooter
If you haven’t already done so, it’d be wise to follow Masahiro Ito on Twitter. The man responsible for the creation of many of the glorious monsters and environments for the first three Silent Hill games not only has a book coming out with his art, but also on occasion offers up a few tidbits regarding the development of those first games.
Such as the revelation that Silent Hill 3 (which turned 15 last year) was supposed to be an “arcade spin off/a rail shooter”, and not a direct sequel to the original game.
Silent Hill 3 was supposed to be an arcade spin off/a rail shooter, not a direct sequel to SH1. Was a terrible plan. The sales of SH2 was really not good start. So I guess it was one of the causes of that. Also that plan wasted much time & some budgets of SH3. It wasn't SH:Arcade
— 伊藤暢達_Masahiro Ito (@adsk4) February 21, 2019
Needless to say, Ito wasn’t happy with this route, since according to him, Silent Hill “didn’t have [sic] universe to suit rail shooter”.
But lucky for Ito (and us!), that plan was eventually scrapped. We still got Silent Hill: The Arcade in 2007, but by then, Ito and Team Silent were on their way out of the series.
Since he’s still technically bound by NDA, Ito couldn’t get into too many details about this cancelled version of SH3. However, his tweets do shed some light on the goings on with the series, such as the beloved Silent Hill 2 initially selling poorly in Japan, with fans ridiculing it on the internet because it wasn’t a direct sequel to the original.
Also, in case you’re wondering, Ito doesn’t want people to ask him about remaking Silent Hill.
Please don't tell me
"Please remake Silent Hill". [:-(— 伊藤暢達_Masahiro Ito (@adsk4) February 2, 2019
News
One of Clive Barker’s Final Convention Appearances Will Be at New Jersey’s Monster Mania in August
We told you earlier this month that horror legend Clive Barker is leaving the convention scene behind to focus entirely on his writing, with various upcoming projects in the works.
A series of final appearances from Barker will begin at Days of the Dead Chicago this month, and we’ve learned Barker will also be coming to Monster Mania in New Jersey.
Clive Barker will be signing at Monster Mania 59 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which runs from August 2 – August 4, 2024. Stay tuned for more info from the convention.
Barker’s official statement earlier this month explained, “… it’s time to focus entirely on writing. I’m not stopping public events because I’ve lost delight in meeting you all over the years. I’m as passionate as ever about sharing my imagination with readers and moviegoers around the world. In the very room where I’m writing these words, I have the manuscripts for a very large number of projects (Thirty-one of them), some very close to completion, others still telling themselves. There are some wild projects in this collection of works, whether close to finished or done. There are also stories that you all knew I would be finishing.”
“Abarat IV and V are amongst the books at my feet,” he continued. “So is the Third and final book of The Art and the sequel to The Thief of Always. There are also return visits to characters and mythologies you may have thought I would never return to.
“I hope I am still able to surprise you in the decades ahead.”