Seymour_Gibbs on 21/7/2004 at 23:58

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Hey null, how come you got the job of building the Cradle anyway?

During the design period did they say

Rest of designers: "We need a scary mission in a haunted orphange/asylum. Hey, you aren't doing anything - get to work!"

(of course not quite like that, him being on the design team, but you get the idea)

Or was it more like

Rest of designers: "We need a bunch of kickass missions that we'll try to tie into the plot as best as possible"
null: "Ok, I have this great idea..."

?

Bad Breath Dude on 22/7/2004 at 01:24

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I can´t continue playing! It´s to scary!

Jashin on 22/7/2004 at 06:31

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I'm a little late I guess q;P

This is amazing stuff. You know how to toy with ppl's expectation, especially in the outer cradle. I was wowed by the faceless staffs. That was one very thought-out detail you could've done otherwise, I thought. I was a little disappointed by one negligible detail (the fault of my expectation qxP), but thanks to you, the cradle exists apart from the rest of the game.

This lvl and one other game has given me the idea for an entirely new type of game.

Ravenger on 27/7/2004 at 16:56

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Great work on the Cradle, Null.

I've worked in games for nearly 20 years, and I know a work of art when I see one. The Cradle is one of the best game levels I've ever played.

I loved the whole Cradle's memory part - a very very original feature.

A very spooky level, but there was one moment of pure abject terror in the level for me, and that was in the morgue. I thought there was a patient in the freezer annexe, but I couldn't see him through the entrance. I snuck in ever so quietly. Couldn't see anything, then turned around to see it right in front of my face squealing its head off.

I jumped. very high. :wot: :thumb:

Blue Sky on 28/7/2004 at 02:38

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Well, I put off playing Deadly Shadows for a week after getting half way through the Cradle. Then I finally plucked up the courage to get back in there.

So I just escaped from the Shalesbridge Cradle this evening (well, morning, actually, I finished it at about 2am and then spent the last hour and a half digesting this thread!)

And now I think I have the courage to actually install Silent Hill 2 and 3, which I have had sitting on my shelf for months now, unplayed.

Amazing work, null, absolutely amazing.

I do have some questions, though, if you've still the energy to answer them!

Firstly, whose was the original idea to have a "haunted house" level, and how did you get assigned to design it?

Secondly, at what point did Eric Brosius first start doing sound work for the level, and how much was him using his initiative and how much was him following strict instructions from you?

And thirdly, does your level scare you? And if not, did it ever scare you at any point in its development (eg, perhaps the first time Mr Brosius' sound was implemented), and was it just the constant work on it which made you hardened to it?

Blue Sky (resisting fanboy gushes) ;)

PS The scariest part of the game for me was in the first section, where I was in a room, hearing the banging coming from somewhere (though at that point I thought it was extremely heavy footsteps!) and reading a note. When I exited the note, suddenly a bang and a rustle right next to me made me yelp and rush over to hide in some shadows, quaking. Turns out it was an apple I'd picked up and then put down again which had rolled off the table. Was the rolling off the table if you picked it up scripted, or was it just a brilliant coincidence by the physics?

PPS Never been more relieved to see human guards back on the streets...ahhh... :)

PPPS Oh, just another thought, besides the Silent Hill games, Jacob's Ladder, and the Ring films, do you have any other favourite horrors, either in games or in movies? I believe I've seen most of the really famous stuff, so the more obscure the better!