Developer Explains Why Homecoming Is Hard
Remember when I complained about Silent Hill: Homecoming being too hard? Well, MTV Multiplayer went ahead and contacted Jason Allen, the lead designer at Double Helix to find out why the newest game in the franchise didn't have an "Easy" mode for combat.
"Balancing any game is always a difficult and somewhat onerous task," said Allen. "For 'Silent Hill,' in trying to maintain that atmosphere, it was difficult to set an easy mode up for the game that still kept the player in highly agitated state. Though we did spend sometime looking into how to go about it; in the end it came down to insufficient time to truly justify its inclusion. I'm a firm believer that if you put something in the game, it better be the same high standard as the rest of the game - or you should cut it."
Huh. Well, I know horror games are meant to keep players in a "highly agitated state," but this game's combat put me beyond "agitated" and precariously close to "controller-chucking." Something that has never actually happened with a game before. I can understand not wanting to include something in a game that you can't guarantee will be as high quality as the rest of it, but I strongly feel that an "Easy" mode should've been part of the game's development from the start.
I'm all for customizing your game experience. It helps games reach a wider audience. You know, like in Rock Band, where you can play on "Medium" while your friend can play on "Expert." So let the hardcore wackos battle their way through Silent Hill in "Hard" mode while I spend my time enjoying the eerie ambience and terrifying creature design. As it stands, Homecoming has now been set aside while I enjoy Fable II, to be resumed at a later date when I have more time. Or I'm feeling masochistic. Whichever comes first.
Silent Hill Homecoming Dev. Defends Removing Game's 'Easy' Setting [MTV Multiplayer]
Wootini
Posted to Video Games on 10 November 2008
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: difficult games, silent hill homecoming
If you play Dead Space first or during your course through Silent Hill...I can say from personal experience that you will not want to go back to Homecoming. I also don't think that bad combat controls are scary, except for the controller that you're dangerously close to smashing in frustration >_
Yeah...I think there's a huge difference between "agitated" and "disheartened and annoyed."