Image courtesy of SheAttack.com
During GamesCom this past August, a mysterious horror game called P.T. was teased during Sony's press conference. A short trailer for the game was shown, featuring your run-of-the-mill reaction footage of players screaming in terror of what was transpiring onscreen. The trailer also revealed that a free downloadable demo of the title was immediately available on PlayStation 4, allowing gamers to get a small, early peek at the game.
Upon first glance, the "playable teaser" of P.T. is an incredibly atmospheric and terrifying gaming experience, developed by a small and completely unknown developer called 7780s Studios. But it was not until gamer SoapyWarpig, streaming P.T. on her Twitch.tv channel, discovered the true secret behind the game.
In reality, P.T. was just an elaborate ruse. The game was not being developed by 7780s Studios; in fact, 7780s Studios does not even exist. It was not even called P.T., as that title was simply just an acronym for "playable teaser". There was something much bigger at play here.
Upon completing the demo, gamers were treated to a cinematic that reveals the game's true identity: a new entry in the long-running and incredibly revered horror game franchise Silent Hill, created in tandem by Hideo Kojima (of Metal Gear Solid fame) and Guillermo del Toro (director of Hellboy and Pacific Rim), and starring Norman Reedus (Daryl on The Walking Dead) in the title role.
A new entry in the Silent Hill franchise is a major cause for celebration on its own, but to have it be developed by two of the brightest minds in entertainment brings an extra boost of excitement and anticipation. If the demo is any indication (though it does stress that the final product is not a representation of what the final game will look or play like), this new game - simply titled Silent Hills - will be a truly terrifying experience. Having played the "playable teaser" myself, I can safely say that I have never had a more horrifying or intense gaming experience in my entire life. If the final game can match the demo's level of dread and intensity, gamers everywhere will be in for a truly fantastic (and scary) experience.
As exciting as the reveal of a new Silent Hill game is, I was more fascinated with the way it was introduced. This sort of thing has happened before, again coming from the brain of Hideo Kojima. During the Spike Video Game Awards in 2012, a mysterious new game called The Phantom Pain was revealed, coming from an unknown development studio. Rumor and speculation ran rampant, and after many months of guesswork and conspiracy theories, the game was finally revealed to be a new entry in Kojima's Metal Gear Solid franchise.
Kojima could have just gone on stage at GamesCom and told the world straight out that he was working on a new Silent Hill game, and the gaming world would have gone nuts. But to reveal it in such a unique and fascinating way adds so much more excitement (and mystery) to the game.
We live in an age when secrets are no longer safe and surprises no longer exist. To have a game this big be revealed in this way and kept hidden that well is a marvel. The gaming world used to thrive on surprise announcements and reveals; now with the Internet, games are leaked days, months, or even years before they were intended.
The entire P.T./Silent Hills reveal was a massive breath of fresh air. On its own, the P.T. demo works as an incredibly well-focused and tight gaming experience; as a stealth reveal of a new Silent Hill game, it works even better. The demo unraveled the mystery and true identity of Silent Hills so brilliantly, and I wish more game announcements would follow suit. What an exciting concept: a game reveal within a game reveal. If that is not brilliant marketing, I do not know what is.
Just think about it: gamers everywhere were playing a new Silent Hill, and they did not even know it.
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