{"id":54605,"date":"2025-12-05T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T15:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=54605"},"modified":"2025-12-04T18:51:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T09:51:17","slug":"silent-hill-f-was-initially-supposed-to-take-on-a-more-classic-religious-cult-narrative-but-the-devs-trusted-global-players-to-grasp-a-fully-japanese-mythological-worldview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/silent-hill-f-was-initially-supposed-to-take-on-a-more-classic-religious-cult-narrative-but-the-devs-trusted-global-players-to-grasp-a-fully-japanese-mythological-worldview\/","title":{"rendered":"Silent Hill f was initially supposed to take on a more classic religious cult narrative, but the devs trusted global players to grasp a fully Japanese mythological worldview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a recent interview with Dengeki Online<\/a>, Silent Hill f writer Ryukishi07 and producer Motoi Okamoto shed some light on the religious background of the latest series entry, and talked about a scrapped initial idea for the game\u2019s lore. As Ryukishi07 explained, the development team\u2019s initial plans for the story were to make it more like past Silent Hill entries, complete with a mysterious doomsday cult pulling the strings behind the scenes. However, with the latest title being set in Japan, the devs decided to scrap the idea in favor of a more \u201cauthentically Japanese\u201d approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of our earliest ideas was to make a literal Silent Hill set in Japan, with a religious cult operating behind the curtains, just like in previous series entries. However, when I was working out the initial idea with Mr. Okamoto, we came to the conclusion that, rather than just setting the game in Japan, we should write a story that can only be written in Japan. So, I decided to go all in with the Inari mythos and all other legends unique to Japan,\u201d said Ryukishi07.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Silent<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Silent<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But despite packing the story with numerous motifs that would only make sense to Japanese people or those who are well-versed in Japanese tradition and mythology, the devs didn\u2019t fear this would impact how the game performed in the West. In fact, Ryukishi07 says the team didn\u2019t have any doubts that overseas fans would appreciate the switch of focus towards a Shinto-oriented worldview. \u201cOf course, we were certain that overseas fans of the Silent Hill series would be able to digest the mythology behind it \u2013 we expected and trusted them to understand it,\u201d he commented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe understanding of religion differs in Japan and overseas. Previous Silent Hill titles are based on the Christian world, a religious outlook which states that there is a so-called one true God<\/em>,\u201d Okamoto added. With the story taking place in Japan, the developers wanted to fully leverage the Japanese polytheistic mythology and religious motifs. \u201cThere\u2019s probably a portion of people who have a solidified image of what kind of god is the God of Silent Hill, but remember, the Western and Eastern gods are different. Being created with the Eastern understanding of God(s) in mind, that might be one of the most distinct characteristics of f,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silent Hill f\u2019s success was helped greatly by memes, fanart and theories it inspired, devs say. A new approach to writing characters unlocked potential for virality<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAI could never come up with a sequel like Silent Hill f.\u201d Series producer joins discussion on AI-generated remakes and sequels<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apparently, Silent Hill f devs decided to scrap the initial “cult” idea in favor of a more \u201cauthentically Japanese\u201d approach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":54607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-54605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nSilent Hill f was initially supposed to take on a more classic religious cult narrative, but the devs trusted global players to grasp a fully Japanese mythological worldview - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Apparently, Silent Hill f devs decided to scrap the initial "cult" idea in favor of a more \u201cauthentically Japanese\u201d approach.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/silent-hill-f-was-initially-supposed-to-take-on-a-more-classic-religious-cult-narrative-but-the-devs-trusted-global-players-to-grasp-a-fully-japanese-mythological-worldview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Silent Hill f was initially supposed to take on a more classic religious cult narrative, but the devs trusted global players to grasp a fully Japanese mythological worldview - 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