Thursday, 16 April 2020

How Silent Hill Pioneered Fog

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

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