Creating Silent Hill 2 | How 'Team Silent's Failure Became a Horror Classic | Game Documentary 

Hello folks! The original video was copyright claimed and all the income stolen to Paramount Pictures, and since I don't want to make some scumbag corporation money, I'm reuploading the video.

So happy the SH community is still active after all these years. Thank you all.

Silent Hill 2 was so ahead of its time. Gamers specifically Japanese gamers lacked the critical thinking to understand the abstract storytelling that made this game a masterpiece. Otherwise they wouldn’t have hated the game at the time. This is one of those cases where the artists were so far ahead of the curve people couldn’t even see the curve so they had to bash the game. This is a case of letting the artists cook and ignore the naysayers that have no idea what they’re taking about.

Lost Highway defienely was an influence on Silent Hill 2. The whole thing in Lost Highway where the main character commits a crime, then pretends to be somebody else out of guilt only to have a supernatural figure remind him of the crime over and over again is most defienely one of the themes in Silent Hill 2.

This is a unbelievable piece of journalism and documentary, thank you for immense work behind this

I remember my three girl friends and I the summer before our junior year of high school had a sleep over and we tried to play this, and I was the one who decided I would be brave and captain the controller. We didn't even make it to the graveyard to meet Angela LMAO. Another girl friend and I had a sleep over and rented sh3 for the weekend and we printed a massive stack for the walk through, I did the controller as my friend read the instructions and we'd switch when we'd get too scared. Best days of my life!

Pyramid head connection with Jacobs ladder is a line from the chiropractor... Once you see, you realize they are not demons, they are angels, freeing you of the pain of this world.

Another great documentary about a great game. The bits about the actors were very interesting! Also, until you spelled it out, I never realized the reason behind the overall dislike that Japan has for SH2 despite I myself having griped countless times about how anime and manga stories almost never care to actually flesh out a concrete good ending (especially if the journey itself was very good). I'd forgotten they care much more for the journey rather than the destination(s). It stood to reason that they'd like SH1 more but I never looked at the games as stories in and of themselves to make that connection. I'll admit though that SH1 hooked me in and enthralled me enough on my first playthrough that I really didn't notice the holes and unexplained stuff until I was done playing really, so there is a lot to appreciate from that approach even if I prefer cohesive, concrete storylines where every i is dotted and every t is crossed by the end. Now I'm wondering if SH3's reception was inverse to 2's as far as the markets are concerned. That's the one I never played because Harry dies rather anticlimactically and I felt at the timethat it'd been a disservice to the guy after the first game. I've since come to appreciate the situation for what it was, but I never got around to playing the game. Looking forward to watching your SH3 video to learn more about the game. Maybe I'll download it and finally give it a shot. Thanks for posting! Here's hoping you don't get more copyright grief over this awesome piece of work.

This is so weird learning about the game not meeting expectations so long after the fact. I bought SH2 the day it came out and fell absolutely in love with it. It was so different from anything I had ever played before in the best way. It blew the first game out of the water, along with everything else that followed it. To this day, it is in my opinion, the greatest horror game ever made, and the greatest credit to the argument that video games can be art.

It's wild how many things we misunderstood about the monster designs in this game. I would be interested in hearing Ito's thoughts on all of he monster designs as they were intended. It seems the man harbors some kind of resentment for Pyramid Head over the years, and it may be due to Konami mascot-ifying him and partially from fans misunderstanding him.

The "roll of fat" being 1 cm... Would have been epic if they made it visible. Excellent work as always. I am fascinated by and love these docus you do. Especially since even the original interviews and behind the scenes material available with English subtitles can be quite hard to decipher.

You should feel really proud. This was by far the best video I've ever seen on the game. The research and hours you must have put into this is incredible. The game means a lot to me and now so does this video. Thank you :)

This is outstanding - thank you. Re: monster design, Hans Bellmer I believe was a much bigger influence than those elongated arms. 1:03:08 Specifically “Hans Bellmer La Poupée (The Doll) for maquette for 'Les Jeux de la Poupée' (The Doll's Games)” is a striking influence.

I just spent my entire work day at a very busy office listening to your SH1 video and this and... wow I am blown away. I am a HUGE silent hill fan and you have informed me with detail I never knew was even known. I've watched other silent hill dev videos and none had this amount of detail. Absolutely none. your videos are very well edited and are truly well researched, you've got a great voice for narration! it's an absolute crime this video doesn't have 100k+ views because this is truly a fantastic overview of one of my favourite games. I really mean it when I say absolutely fantastic work. Subbed!

I'm here, watching again, because your work is amazing! The footages, the timing, all the info about the games = A+ SH2 is one of my favorite horror games and I always cherised it with all my gamer heart. Thanks for making those videos and keeping the fandom alive

The ammount of research you did for this it's incredible. I've watched the first upload of this video about 3 or 4 times i think and am now watching it all over again. Has such a great atmosphere too. :)

Muse I gotta say since I've started watching way back when you were doing Angela redux you have always kept my interest in silent hill alive! Thanks

I am astonished at how much you've dug up around the development and lore around these games that was so very easily missed, misinterpreted or willingly ignored in favor of headcanon theories, especially by other more.. infamous creators like TwinPerfect. Its nice to see engagement with Silent Hill again that isn't about being Right or Wrong.

The reason why Silent Hill 2 it became a classic is because eventually people began to see how unique, eerie, melancholic and authentic the game's atmosphere it really is, and took the time to enjoy its deeply thoughtful narrative and symbolism. To this day it’s by far one of, if not the most mature examination of grief, sexual trauma, suicide, and morality all combined. It’s an intelligent game that does not hold anyone’s hand and comes at the player with utmost confidence in itself. It’s fantastic stuff. The rest of the original 4 are great in their own right and have their own well written stories, but they don’t hold the same emotional weight to them. I think SH2’s maturity by comparison is something that a lot of people are drawn to. ☯️

Holy crap, if they had pyramid head randomly appearing throughout Silent Hill 2, that would have been absolutely TERRIFYING! It's scary enough when you encounter him in the labyrinth.

This is so nice and mega interesting to watch, being part of the industry myself is crazy to understand some processes and tasks, creating an engine from scratch!? Only him!!!? Thanks a lot for doing it! YOU ROCK! Please keep them coming! :D

What an amazingly meticulous documentary. From one SH2 fanatic to another, thank you.

A movie is being made called Return to Silent Hill. It's directed by the same director of 2006's Silent Hill. Jeremy Irvine will be playing James Sunderland, Hannah Emily Anderson will be Mary, and Evie Templeton will be Laura. It will likely release early 2025!

Awesome!!! Thank you for making this, you did a wonderful job!!! I love learning everything I can about this series and I greatly appreciate all the information you've gathered and shared in such a beautiful way.

Watching this reupload to appreciate your EXCELLENT work all over again. Thank you for everything that went into making this✨✨✨

I appreciate your work so much! Watching this new upload and therefore the content of the video again 🙂

Wow just wow. Ive been a huge fan of the series since a kid. From the story to the amazing soundtrack, surreal visuals and acting. I love everything about this game. I have not played a game since SH2 that could truly evoke the sense of dread without an over reliance on cheap scares or divulging into a nonsensical shooter. It hit all the right notes and is a true work of art through and through. Nothing will compare, nothing will come close. It was a game of its time and it cannot be recreated. Let this series die once and for all and lets celebrate the legacy and impact this game made on the industry. Which is exactly what this video did. Thank you for taking the time and effort into making this. In our restless dreams we will see that town and thats how it should stay.

This is truly an incredible documentary, it was a pleasure to watch from beginning to end. The amount of research that went into this video is truly amazing!

Absolutely loved this video, thank you. Really informative video about one of my favourite games. One of the best videos I’ve seen on RU-vid, no joke. Really did your research, thank you

This is the perfect video to have on in the background as I work on assignments! Thank you again, Muse! 😅

Hope you get all the views of this one back and the next ones do even better, man, this is a ton of excellent work

Such a long video! Almost like the length of the game itself! Thanks for your dedication to this genre!

¡Gracias! Just passing to leave some love here friend. We dont really know each other, but i really think you awesome and i want to see you shine. Rise and shine. 😘

I don’t usually rewatch videos this long, but it’s the least I can do to help get the video some attention (and it’s a great video anyway, so I don’t mind). Hope you feel better soon as well!

Thank you so much for this. I play SH2 once a year every spooky season. It still does to me what it did when I first played it back in 2003. Happy to see that so many people still love this entry as much as they do. It’s an odd, convoluted masterpiece and we wouldn’t have it any other way 🖤.

I love your videos! and I absolutely love when you mention or talk about Twin peaks haha

Its my first time watching this video, and i have to say it is unbelievable the amount of content you surveyed and showed to us through this video, i'm very grateful for it, thank u

Blue Velvet and lost highway are super underrated flicks.

Such a great video!! 👍

Great video as usual. This game was one of my moms first and to this day we still talk about it

Awesome always love new Silent Hill content especially Silent Hill 2

I loved your video! just one tiny tidbit… At 1:41:29 you refer to both the Netherlands and Holland as separate countries, while they are in fact the same.

Man, a paintball game in the woods at night with Takayoshi Sato and the other SH2 devs... That's the dream, right there.

Fantastic work

Yay! So glad I got here in time :)

This is by far the best doc on the subjedt of Silent Hill 2 out there. A shame it got slurped up by Paramount Pictures. I saw this when it was first released. Excellent work!

Awesome job

Great upload

Leaving a comment for the algorithm monster. Awesome video, keep it up~~~

What an amazing video! Thankyou for making this

Now that Silent Hill 2 Remake is coming out hopefully more fans enter the Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 fanbase. Maybe It inspires Konami to make a new Silent Hill game and hopefully It's amazing. Cool video. ^_^

Thanks for this contents. You did a great work of research. Awesome silent hill videos.

Your video is very detail....down to every member of crew in the game

Here's one for the algorithm, what since reuploads don't always perform as well

amazing coverage. just finished this masterpiece

This was really good and made appreciate, and understand why the remake is being created. Hope with the remake they able to push the boundaries not just both in graphics but content mainly implement if not all, some of the content that was scrapped at the time.

I like the games silent hills 1and silent hills 2, silent hills 3 and silent hills 4 is awesome games ,game is hard to make thanks for the video I Love it have a good day and Night

33:00 that's crazy, I grew up in san bruno

Love everything silent hill, especially content from the muse

All in for this 😎

Incredible!

Owaku is like a ghost now. No word from his since.

This video is brilliant.

Your voice sounds like a news documentary from the 90's. Its like I'm listening to pure truth.

SH2 "es un libro". Uno muy, muy profundo. Por extrañas circunstancias, primero salió el juego, luego la película. Pero una obra tan profunda pertenece al campo de la literatura.

For Jacob's Ladder, of all things. So stupid

Just wondering, didn't the whispering in room 209 turn out to be from a sound sample library?

Beautiful

Thank you so much

El gameplay es una excusa para contar una historia. Más que contar una historia, diría vivir una experiencia, hacer un viaje emocional. El gameplay es una buena herramienta para la inmersión. Y su increíble OST es una poderosa herramienta para crear atmósfera e inducir sentimientos.

Hey, I was wondering if you had a link or a set of links/references for Mychael Miller's work. I was trying to find the "facial features and morph targets" video but cant seem to find it anywhere.

Yessss

I am actually surprised at how much content there is in total: sh sh2 sh3 sh4 origins homecoming shattered memories downpour book of memories the arcade pachinko pt ascension f townfall short message sh2 remake sh movie 1 sh movie 2 sh movie 3

Does anyone know the name of the piano track that starts at 0:55?

lovely lovely lovely video

I remember being disappointed in 2 after absolutely loving the first initially, like many people. It was different. The horrific imagery was toned down. The story had nothing to do with the first and was in a way, retcon to the way the town works. The combat wasn’t as fun especially in the outside, where the original had multiple, very fast enemies chase you every where, the second had no such enemies. But over the years I grew to really appreciate this game and began to see it as the masterpiece that it is. I always thought the story was amazing, but I just dug deeper and deeper into it and the psychological aspect of horror presented in the this game is different than the 1st and 3rd. The first three games are all amazing in their own way

Gaming Muse

Hell yeah

1:32:13 *click*

54:30 Reminds me of P.T. Silent Hills where the radio at with the pictures and cigarette on the counter before u go thru the door for the loop.

42:20 Something this video reminded me of is the fact that all Japanese game developers seem to have a respect for (and are just generally interested in) white people! I know you have to say “Westerners” and “Americans” but we all know what it means. Time and again we see blond hair, red hair, blue eyes, and green eyes in game characters. And this is true in games like jrpgs that don’t even target a “Western” audience! I love this trend. While we’re seeing our people driven out of movies and stories in our own part of the world, at least in Japan we have a place. And that’s so rare these days!

1:54:56 I understood it. But I was 15. I wasn’t a “journalist”.

1:48:47 The way you say "drawing" is adorable

I would hate working for large companies like konami and having to work on the random baseball games here and there.

Music at 1:52:36??????????????

I love the research here, but I find the analysis at the end a bit misguided. I don't think there is really any dissonance between the first and second game. There is a ton of occult material in the second game, it's just not front and center like the first game.

You say ito junji, great video though

Silent Hill games I want them to make a come back in new ways I'll keep right on asking because they Konami I'm knocking on the door I'll never stop .

wow

Interaction for the faceless algorithm

I'm confused 🤔 this video already has several weeks up here

For the algo!

Damn sorry u had to reul

They wanted to do something different and they did it. The game looks amazing for the time and it's definitely one of the if not the best horror game ever made. Funny how they mentioned they wanted the game to be a move like experience and here we are 21 years later when 90%+ of the games are like that. They were so far ahead of their time. I can only imagine what a bigger masterpiece SH2 would have been if the team had the tools we have today to enact all of their ideas.

what is Michael millers youtube account

16:20 I think you're confusing libraries and game engine. They're not the same thing. According to careerfoundry, a programming library is a collection of prewritten code that programmers can use to optimize tasks. This collection of reusable code is usually targeted for specific common problems. A library usually includes a few different pre-coded components. These are basically codes developers can integrate within their game to save time and cost which the PlayStation 1 provided but PlayStation 2 didn't or at least was very late hence why the complaints. As eXeC64 pointed out: Engine: You put your game into their technology Library: You put their (Sony) technology into your game Also, I don't think any console manufacturers are obligated to provide game engines in the first place. Most engines are sourced or are developed by the development studios themselves. Heck Sony didn't even provide game engine for the PS1.

Why did you upload the same video twice?

I understand why people would dislike SH2 if they were fans of SH1. It's a completely different game with no reference to the original title other than the name and the town. My guess is that they felt cheated out of a sequel and the series got hijacked by another director/team to make the game they want instead of continuing the story. If you tell me to rate SH2 as a game, I'll say it's a masterpiece but as a sequel, it's a failure. Lastly, my heart goes out to takayoshi sato. He's obviously a man with extreme talent but couldn't realize his full potential due to office politics and management. I dare say he would have be on the same level as hideo kojima if they allowed him the same level of freedom and budget.

It’s nuts how much it was and for the most part still is a boys club, barely any women in this video that aren’t voice actors. Hopefully the future is more diverse making games more interesting and nuanced.

As much as I love your videos and respect the ungodly effort you had to put into the research, I have but one grievance. The way you pronounce Japanese names, I'm sure you know they're supposed to be read flat, without this Americanized "ou" everywhere. Maybe I'm just a purist, but it bothers and irks me as much as Japanglish does.