We’ve confirmed that Akira Yamaoka is gone, and while we’re all still wondering what will become of the Silent Hill series in his absence, Konami has generously sent us extra copies of the Silent Hill: Shattered Memories soundtrack to give away to you guys. As this will be the final Silent Hill soundtrack he writes as an employee of Konami, we thought it’d be a good time to reflect upon the Silent Hill franchise and what’s next in terms of the series in general and, more specifically, the direction of the game’s audio in the future.
We’re going to make this one easy and simply require that you comment on this post with your thoughts and predictions to enter. Just make it something thoughtful and more substantial than a few sentences. We’ll continue taking entries until December 21, 2009 at 11:59 PM PST, at which point we’ll pick two winners to receive a copy of the snazzy pre-order bonus. We’re looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Tags: Akira Yamaoka, Contests, Konami, Silent Hill, Silent Hill Shattered Memories
One question first, is this open to contestants outside of the U.S.?
Hello!
So, Akira has done a lot of wonderful things to Silent Hill franchise. He created a deep world, thoughtful atmosphere with his music and sound effects. Of course, I can’t imagine somebody new on his place as sound director! Akira’s music to Silent Hill it is like a sunshine for people. But from another point of view – let’s try to imagine the following situation:
somebody try to do one work for a very long time, – i think it is not very easy and it takes your opportunity to be successful in different ways (it’s very important to creative person). The situation with Silent Hill music is more harder, than I described above. Every time, when new game of franchise should be released Akira must try TO DO SOMETHING NEW AND FRESH WITH MUSIC, BUT MUST KEEP THE ATMOSPHERE DEEP, DON’T ALLOW THE WORLD OF SILENT HILL TO BE BROKEN. IT IS HARD. But I don’t think it is the reason of Akira’s “exit ticket”… I just try to explain that Akira’s decision is absolutely normal.
If somebody new change Akira the music will be different, everybody understand it. It also can be new styles of music, because Akira showed us his sight at Silent Hill music. Akira is founder of Silent Hill music and every founder has his follower. So I think with somebody new we will keep feeling the influence of Akira’s works. It may be also a perfectly new experience of Silent Hill music. Good or not… we will see.
I don’t think the Silent Hill music needs to be improved, possible the music should be re-imagened by anoter peson.
Thanks!
Yeah, open to everyone, although we don’t claim responsibility for packages that don’t make it to their destination for whatever reason. We’ve had good luck so far!
Ah, Silent Hill. To be honest, my sister is the big Silent Hill fan. Kind of strange, isn’t it? Usually, I’m the one playing video games while she eagerly watches from the sidelines. I have many good memories of us enjoying classic RPGs together. With Silent Hill though, it’s the opposite. She’s the one playing and I’m eagerly watching. Regardless, the good times are still the same.
That’s how I got hooked on the Silent Hill music. I remember being impressed by how much the music added to the experience. Sure, music plays an important role in RPGs as well, but there was something different about Silent Hill. Instead of strong, memorable melodies that touched my emotions, the music consisted of layers of ambiance that shaped the world Silent Hill and brought it to life. It was like a fourth dimension that allowed the game itself to reach out and touch my senses.
Without a doubt, this was all Akira Yamaoka’s doing. His music was a perfect fit for the games and I couldn’t imagine changing anything about it. I’m very sad to see him go, but I realize that he might not truly be leaving the series. Perhaps he’ll still score the games as a freelance composer. Or maybe he’ll take the Uematsu approach and simply contribute a couple pieces here and there on future soundtracks. Maybe he just needs a rest; a chance to take a break from Silent Hill and try some new things.
It’s hard to say what the future holds, but I’m looking forward to Yamaoka’s future projects and I hope he’ll get the opportunity to return to Silent Hill someday. After all, it just won’t be the same without him.
Good luck to all contestants!
The first Silent Hill I ever played was SH3. I’d never played a survival horror game and was drawn in by there being a female protagonist. What caused me to replay the game again and again was the thick atmosphere – a result of sound effects, lighting, and music. I was thrilled that the game came with the soundtrack, something I wish more games did, but there you go. When it was released, I also played SH4. I enjoyed it, but SH3 still stood higher in atmospheric tension. A friend of mine let me borrow SH2 and that’s when I truly fell in love with the series. Many SH fans consider SH2 the best of the best, never to be topped. It’s music held a haunting sadness that no other game has matched. Through music alone Akira Yamaoka told the story of James Sunderland. I remember crying while hearing Magdelene play softly in the background as James left the hospital alone. Every time I hear it, I think of the shock I felt the first time I played the game. That’s what great music does – it lingers like perfume in the listener’s mind to recall those memories, those strong emotions. Even now, hearing the mechanical shrieks and gasps of the Sepulcher or Asphyxia tracks make me think of Alex from SH5 and his fear, anger. I look forward to playing Silent Hill: Shattered Memories while listening to the music, making my own memories and lasting impressions with the sounds.
My first SH was also the third part. After I saw an article about it somewhere in 2003 I was attracted by it’s unusual atmosphere and style. Before that the only horror games I have played were Resident Evil and Parasite Eve.
The only thing I regret was that playing 3 before 1 has spoiled some parts of the story for me, but it was great experience nonetheless.
I’m saddened to see Akira leave, but I hope that he could still be involved in the series on a commission basis. Of course, it’s possible for another composer to take over his position, but it’ll be too much of a challenge.
Before the launch of the first game, I was hesitant to be excited about it.. even when all the praise started trickling in through magazine previews and features. In screenshots and concept the game did seem to win my interest ever so slowly, but I still passed it off as Konami trying to cash in on Capcom’s Resident Evil series.
Until one of the OPM magazines had a demo on its cover CD, this demo contained a trailer and the first portion of the first level, where you chase after your daughter after the car crash.
This is of course a very memorable gameplay section, as everyone will remember how that scene slowly dragged the player into its own twisted reality.. using subtle hints, and even with the way the camera was positioned. It was immediately apparent that the developers were set on creating their own world and telling their own story, not looking at the competition or seeing what was popular at the time.
The music featured in the trailer included with this demo ended up leaving the biggest impression, it was composed of very simple guitar riffs, similar to the Tristan theme song from Diablo. But it was oh so stylish and atmospheric! I think I ended up watching this trailer numerous times.
The graphic capabilities at the time were rather crude compared to what is possible now, which resulted in the fog effect being used so much in the game. This limited awareness of your surrounding was of course very fitting to the claustrophobic and panicked feelings that the development team wanted to inspire in the player, but I believe it also made a lot of room and need for Akira Yamaoka to fill this static white space in with another dimension, his haunting sound and music.
His sound direction often gave me more information about my surroundings than the on-screen graphics did.
I ended up importing the American version of the game. (Back then the Belgian/European releases tended to be quite late, and back then we had to deal with 50/60hz issues which gave all PAL games black borders top and bottom.)
Fortunately after experiencing the full game, I found out that they were very conservative and intelligent in the way they paced the game, and the best graphical and atmospherical tricks were only released until near the end of the game, where the whole city transforms into a hideous rusted and twisted hell. It really invented a new way of scaring players.
I ended up buying the soundtrack to Silent Hill 1, despite being terrified of most of the songs featured. Now that I think about it, the first Silent Hill was the game that started my soundtrack collection! (On a rather sad note, as I later found out that EverAnime was bad news, and that I should be careful about where and what I buy.)
Many years later, I find myself having less time to play games, which made me miss out on playing Silent Hill 3 and 4, but by having listened to the soundtracks to both of these games, I at least have been able to experience a big part of them!
With all that said, I forgot to mention where I believe the series and its sound is headed without Yamaoka onboard!
I think that Konami has noticed that the SIlent Hill brand is due for a complete re-imagining, even after Shattered Memories’ great critical reception.
And with that there will be the chance for a new composer to step in and give his own twist on the aural experience. Hopefully he will use some of Akira Yamaoka’s old instruments! Such as the famed rusted metal pipe organ and decaying piano.
Maybe Yamaoka himself will contribute to the next Siren project? But he himself is probably seeking to re-imagine himself too, and will try for something more unexpected.
Akira Yamaoka: A god of composers, a great addition to the team, a great person who has made the Silent Hill Series a grand success. We first heard his music in the 10yr old game “Silent Hill”. We didn’t know about him that much at all until the game became a success. He was praised a a good composer for the game . Years later “Silent Hill 2” came out in 2001. Another grand success for the gaming industry and for him too. Then anouther 2yrs more later “Silent Hill 3” the sequel to the original “Silent Hill” was released into the world. This was another grand success to everyone on the team, Konami, and Akira too. Then a year later a mysterious entry in the series was born “Silent Hill 4: The Room” this part of the series wasn’t meant to be, but deep into development it was then made into a Silent Hill game. The game was critisized for everything but the music got a great score on every review out there. 3yrs later the prequel to the series was made “Silent Hill: Origins (Zero as it is called in Japan) was praised for almost everything again. It was critisized for the story, gameplay, camera, and length. But the music was still praised for the grand music Akira had produced. He was the only one in the development of Origins because it was made by a different development team “Climax Studios UK”. Nobody knows why the Silent Hill team didn’t develop the game even to this day. Then a year had passed since it was released. The most critisized and low reviewed entry in the series “Silent Hill: Homecoming”. This game was the least scored compared to the rest of the other games in the series. but at least it was praised for the story, graphics, and music Akira had produced for it. This game was also developed by a different team “Double Helix Games” company. The another year later another game in the series is released into the public. “Silent Hill: Shattered Memories” a very interesting entry in the series because it is a “Reimagining” of the very fir “Silent Hill”. This game was again developed by “Climax Studios UK”. Now this game was very interesting to everyone even myself on how it would hold up to the public. The scores came in later. It was highly praised for almost everything in this entry in the series. The only downside of this game was the length of it.But the music was highly praised. Over all these years that we had stuck with the series up until today, the music is still legend to the people who knew about the series and the composer “Akira Yamaoka”. But once everyone heard of his leaving of the team the fans were heartbroken by what he said. This dosen’t mean it’s all over, someday when another person comes to produce the score of a Silent Hill game we will hope it is a grand successor to Akira. We will still remember the creepy and ominous score in the “Silent Hill” series that Akira has given us all these years. We will never forget him at all for what he has done to Konami, the gaming industry, and the fans of the series. We shall miss you forever Akira Yamaoka for all that you have given to us.
Akita Yamaoka:(1999-2009)-In memorium of how long he has been on the Silent Hill franchise.
I know this is a little off topic in regards to the actual contest, but I think every Silent Hill fan feels the same way. I first learned about Silent Hill when it came out in ’99. I was a young kid back then, and it scared me to death. I will never forget how I felt when I heard Devil’s Lyric while the light was off, watching Harry run. Ever since that moment I knew that I would be a huge fan of this game. I kept growing though and forgot about it for years – but never that moment when the Devil’s Lyric entered my ears. I found Silent Hill 2, and as soon as I could I threw it into my Xbox to see what it had to offer. I was immediately impressed with the visuals, mystery, and the overall ambiance. By the time I was halfway done with Restless Dreams I started to hunt for the 3rd game, and copies of the soundtracks. I proceeded to be amazed by every iteration’s music, even when the games were less than worthy of the Silent Hill name (ahem Homecoming ahem). I now have all of the game soundtracks, and I listen to them on a fairly regularly basis. My favorite time to listen to them is when I’m driving. They help me avoid hitting old ladies in the middle of the road.
That said, I know this will be the last Silent Hill game I HAVE to buy. Akira is too important to the franchise for it to continue on, in my eyes. Konami will undoubtedly disagree with my thoughts and try to make another western Silent Hill game. If and when they do it will probably be as lackluster as the last two games in regards to gameplay. As far as audio? I expect them to try and emulate Akira’s style as close as possible. If they don’t, I wont have a big problem and may buy the game. If they do…that would be an insult to longstanding fans of the amazing atmosphere the soundtracks add to the Silent Hill games.
Regardless of what Konami does, I merely hope it works out for them. If they completely transform the Silent Hill name, and make it work? Good for them. I wont be buying it though. To me, there are only four Silent Hills.
I also wish Akira the best of luck with his endeavors! I’ll support him any way I can from here in the States 🙂
When the first Silent Hill came out, I died. It was one of the scariest things ever. Then the second came out, even better. But if you think about it, if Akira wasn’t the composer, the S.H. franchise would not be nearly as amazing.
Imagine violins, or generic “spooky” pianos and choirs. It would just be another survival horror game . But with his amazing, spine shattering, Haunting soundtrack, made up of strange, disturbing, and out of this world sounds, it’s the best survival horror game series. His music inflicts fear in you. My personal favorite track is Flower Crown Of Poppy. I’m listening to it as I write this =]
Also, songs like End of small sanctuary, Promise, and of course, Theme of Laura, give the game personality and character. Akira was the man for the job. It was his destiny. He is one of the main reasons that I, today, am striving to become a video game composer. His departure from Konami is historic in gaming music. I only hope he continues to compose for Silent Hill… and Beatmania! His songs on there are amazing! but’s that’s another story 🙂
I believe that this is a good opportunity for the Silent Hill series to get better. Let me explain. Although Akira Yamaoka pretty much created the ambience of Silent Hill through audio, which by the way really pushed audio forward in ‘serious gaming’, I believe too much has been put into that aspect of the game in the last games.
Every port and every Silent Hill after the third installment to me pretty much felt like preplayed and all I enjoyed was the music and the ambience.
I truly believe that it still can’t go on without Yamaoka, whom will most likely be contracted for the next installments. His work solely on the sound will most likely push it further and he will have much more liberties given to him. Also, the teams will have to prove themselves now, which seems not to be the case for the past few years.
Maybe Shattered Memories will debunk everything I’ve said though.
I think the series will still continue along without Yamaoka. His role in the series had already been diminished in Silent Hill 5 having farmed it out to a western developer.
I do think that his contribution to the eery soundtrack will greatly effect the players immersion into the world of Silent Hill. Hopefully they can come up with a good facsimile before the next game comes out.
I doubt the series will ever again reach the pinnacle of it’s golden years with Silent Hill 2 and 3 again.
I didn’t get into Silent Hill until after the third one had come out, but I was sensitive to its episodic nature. I got 1, 2, and 3, and played them in order after first becoming hooked on Akira Yamaoka’s scores. The scores by themselves were stunning pieces of work, especially to listen to while driving around at night…but the games? OH WOW.
Even though the first one could be frustrating at times, gameplay-wise, the story was so engrossing and fascinating that I couldn’t get through days at work fast enough. I needed to go home and play. I’m bad at playing things that are lengthy, mostly because I don’t end up having tons of time to go through and finish them all. I used to love to do that when I was younger, but…as some people have observed, it’s not a matter of having time, it’s a matter of making time. I made time for all the Silent Hills…except Homecoming, which just looked like it kind of took a big crap all over this world that I loved so much. Apart from the score, I’ve basically pretended that it doesn’t exist.
Silent Hill made me buy a PSP. Granted, Origins isn’t a great game…but I’ve played far worse. It’s also uniquely creepy just because by virtue of it being a PSP game, you’re much more isolated as a player than you would be hooked up to a console and TV setup with people potentially watching you as you play.
Yamaoka…I’m not even sure what to say. I’ve loved his work for Silent Hill, and I loved a lot of the bemani stuff he did, too. And iFuturelist. I was thrilled to attend Play! A Video Game Symphony here in Chicago not just because the opportunity to see an orchestra play some wonderful video game music was amazing…but because, at that time, it was the ONLY time Akira Yamaoka had played a concert live in the US. Sure, it was only one song (“Theme of Laura”), but I was SO HAPPY. SO SO HAPPY WORDS CAN’T DESCRIBE. He’s an amazing musician and composer, and I’m not sure what to predict that he’ll do. As long as it involves music, I’ll be happy. This might actually be somewhat poetic, coming full circle with the “reimagining” of SH1—something I kind of hoped they’d do on a next-gen system due to the controls being the only real downfall of the 1st game. I’m still confused as to why it ended up as a PS2 game, but I’ll leave that alone until I’ve had a chance to really get through it.
It’s best to go out while you’re on top. Too many times, franchises ruin themselves by going on far too long. This was definitely a world that couldn’t have existed without Yamaoka, and as long as whatever he does next is something I’ll be able to listen to and see, I’ll probably be pretty happy.
Any word on contest winners yet? You’re going to make someone’s holiday awfully merry…:)
With help from our random number generator, Jeff T and Janni have been selected as our winners. The two of you need to send an email to [email protected] with your mailing address, and hopefully we can get these out to you in a reasonable amount of time. Congratulations! And thanks to everyone else who entered. We have a really awesome contest coming up after the holidays, so be on the lookout!