Introduction
Silent Hill if anything is well-known for it’s use of fog throughout
the series. Interestingly some people are unaware this was primarily due to
hardware constraints. Originally this was implemented to reduce draw distances
in-order to make the immediate surroundings that more detailed and to allow
better performance.
Fog is effectively used to hide what is known as pop ups.
This is when assets all of a sudden immediately render into view without any fading
aka “popping up”. It is more prevalent in faster paced games due to the hardware
not being powerful enough on older systems to render in time.
Cleverly though, the writers decided to include this
limitation into the plot of the game, even to go as far as creating lore for it[1].
Since then it has been used in every single media iteration from the games to
even the movie(s), becoming a staple for the franchise.
Therefore, a breakdown of this paramount mechanic is important.
It may seem like an insignificant aspect to focus on but it is a core if not THE
core mechanic of Silent Hill.
Silent Hill 1
It all began with the first game in the series (of course)
which released in 1999, and as mentioned previously; it was introduced as a
means to mitigate hardware limitations.
Our first look at the fog in the game is via the intro
sequences:
This initially sets the player’s expectations on how the fog
should be or at the very least the atmosphere the game is trying to achieve. However,
once in game the quality as severely reduced, which can be forgiven due to the
time of it’s release.
The first actual interaction with fog in the game looks like
this:
As you can see, compared to the intro videos the fog is much
different, it isn’t as think, there’s no rolling fog clouds, its just a gradient
semi-transparent wall. For the original game, this is pretty much the extent of
the fog capabilities.
Silent Hill 2
Skip forward 2 years to 2001 when Silent Hill 2 is released
on new hardware.
Again, during the intro cutscene the player can get a
glimpse of the fog and how its interpreted in this iteration.
While still pretty much the same, it does appear smoother.
In SH1 the fog effect in cutscenes are rather bright, with not much depth to
them. Where as here, you can see there is nice fore and background fading,
creating a much cleaner gradient.
In game too, the effect is much nicer:
There’s an nice even gradient between the two distances and
objects are faded out nicely. In SH1 a clear gradient can be seen between
distances of fog, presumably due to the limited colours available (See in-game SH1
screenshot above).
Another thing to note about SH2 is that it introduces a new
style of fog on top of the distance effect, which is a rolling fog. It is hard
to see from screenshots, but this effect much more closely mimics the fog seen
during the video sequences. And even though is subtle, it does tie it in more
with the story as it is stated the fog originates from a local lake.
Interestingly, here is a picture of SH without the fog:
Silent Hill 3
The next iteration SH3, again improves on the fog mechanic
further. It takes the new rolling fog introduced in the last game and makes it
much more apparent:
Whilst the still image isn’t a great indicator, you can
still see there is much more foreground fog going on. I think the balance
between distance fog however is out of scale in this game. Maybe it’s the
combination of the camera being further out and the fog draw distance being
much closer, but a lot of environment is lost.
Silent Hill 4: The Room
Next SH4, there isn’t much in the way of fog in this
iteration, theres a handful of areas which use it, but it’s not as advanced as
what’s seen in the last 2 games. Its somewhat similar to SH1 in that its just
distance fog, but better quality since its on more modern hardware.
Silent Hill 5: Homecoming
The next game in the franchise Homecoming, is one of the
more recently released (2008) and is considered “next-gen”. It was released on
the Xbox 360 and immediately is clear the tell the visuals are much improved.
Not only is the distance of the fog really nice, the general
rolling fog that was introduced later is starting to become more of a staple in
the series too. Comparing this to the last few entries, it more closely matches
that of SH2, where its slightly more than noticeable, where as not too noticeable
like it was in SH3.
Silent Hill 6: Downpour
Following suit is the most recent release: Downpour, released
4 years after the previous. This was near to the end of the “next-gen” state of
gaming, where new next generation consoles were nearly available.
Again, this entry to the series changes things slightly. The
distance fog is present (obviously), even rolling fog to a degree, but its
scaled way back to be almost non-existent.
Which is quite surprising. It was introduced many iterations
ago and seemed to becoming a staple as much as the distance fog itself.
One thing to actually note here is that the use of colour
grading has definitely become more prevalent in the last 2 “next-gen” games.
Each scene looks to have a bluer hue to it, rather than the white / grey fog in
the older games.
In addition to this, Downpour also introduces volumetric fog,
mostly for indoor areas:
Here you can see rays of light aka "god rays", seeping through
the gaps between planks. This is definitely new and will probably been seen
more in newer iterations of the franchise, much like the rolling fog.
On a side note, this entry to the franchise also introduces
a somewhat new atmospheric element: rain, which gives itself to the title of
this game “downpour”. Rain has been seen in previous titles, even SH1, but no
where as prominent as in this.
Silent Hill: The Movie
Following on from this is the movie iteration of the
franchise. This was released In 2006, prior to the 2 latest games mentioned. In
the film it’s clear inspiration has been taken mostly from the first game but in
a realistic setting. Probably what the original game wanted to achieve at the
time if it were possible.
Due to it being a real world iteration of the franchise, its
clear to see the fog accurately captured, alongside slight rolling fog. Interestingly
though the same bluish hue can be seen here, which could have influenced the
last 2 games in the series to follow suit.
Silent Hill 7: Playable Teaser
Finally, is the cancelled playable teaser (PT) in 2014, this
was a teaser for a new upcoming Silent Hill game. Not much is known about
actual gameplay in an open area, but the teaser trailer upon completion gives a
hint as to what the effect were going to look like:
All the previous effects talked about are clearly present,
minus the bluish hue. We have distance fog, at a much greater distance, we have
rolling fog in the foreground. There is even volumetric fog present visible via
the streetlamps.
Conclusion
As each new iteration of the game has been released its
clear to see that the atmospheric effects have been tested and improved over
time. It has gone from simple distance fog to volumetric fog to extra effects
such as rolling fog.
Each game has captured the feeling of anxiety and loneliness
perfectly through the use of fog. Seeing how it has evolved throughout has
given me great insight in relation to my project.
Initially, I only had distance fog in place, but after this
research I have since included rolling fog. Not to heavily to take away from
the original’s aesthetic but enough to acknowledge the evolution of this
mechanic throughout the series.
I have also increased the range at which the distance fog is
rendered. Presumably, the fog in SH1 is so close because it offers the best
performance at that distance. Being recreated on newer hardware allows me to
achieve the same effect but increase the range of view (as I’m sure this is
what the dev would have originally wanted).
I also looked into the new style of blue colour grading,
like the previous games introduced. But I think this is an overall aesthetic
choice for those games. I don’t personally think SH1 would feel the same if I
were to implement this. While I think it looks great for those previous titles
respectively, it just wouldn’t achieve the same for this remake.
Result
It's a bit hard to see due to the effect being subtle and video compression, but if you really look, you can see a faint layer of fog rolling along. This is suplemented by distance fog, large area clouds and slighty smaller clouds fading in and out.
I also added volumetric lights:
All of which I believe accuratly re-captures the look the devs originally sought, with extra effects introduced throughout the series.
[1]Fog World. (n.d.). Retrieved from Fandom: https://silenthill.fandom.com/wiki/Fog_World
