At this point, Silent Hills may be the biggest gaming tragedy in recent memory. It's rare that a game is universally praised – much less a confusing, cryptically designed demo – and yet, everyone praised the Silent Hills demo as one of the most refreshingly scary horror experiences of the last several years.

Unfortunately, the ongoing feud between game director Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami eventually resulted in Silent Hills getting the axe. While there's a lot about the conflict that's still wrapped in mystery, one thing is certain: whatever is going down between Konami and Kojima is the sole reason for Silent Hills' termination.

Sadly enough, the story only gets worse. While there have been many attempts of Hollywood directors trying to break into gaming, few have succeeded. This is usually due to tension between the Hollywood producers and the game's developers — but as it turns out, this wasn't the case with Silent Hill. According Guillermo Del Toro, who was aboard as a producer, work was going smoothly and the game was turning into something truly special.

Speaking with IGN, Del Toro gave fans some insight into the creative process behind Silent Hills:

"What we wanted to do with the game – and we were very much in agreement on this – was to take the technology and make it as cutting-edge as we could in creating terror in the house. The idea was very, very atmosphere-drenched.

But what made Silent Hill so great was that you had the atmosphere but then you a pay-off (sic) with a very active, very intense series of moments. We wanted to do some stuff that I'm pretty sure... there was some stuff that was very new, and I wouldn't want to spoil it."

The tragedy doesn't stop there: Del Toro also confirmed that he and Kojima were getting along famously... and how heartbroken he and his team were when the game's cancellation was confirmed.

"We are [devastated], too...The collaboration between Kojima and myself, the meetings, and the friendship that was developing was beautiful. We had an agreement on where to go. We had an agreement on how we were going to push the new platforms. We were having a blast."

To put things in perspective: the Silent Hills 'Playable Teaser' was released, and everyone loved it. Del Toro and Kojima were working together, and the game was turning into something amazing. Then, Konami and Kojima get into an argument about... something, and the game was canned. While it's true that there's always two sides to a story, it's definitely getting harder and harder to defend Konami's actions...

Del Toro did say that he hoped the project would be able to continue, and that he'd already heard about the support from fans.

"Norman [Reedus] was super happy, Hideo was super happy, and so was I. I know there's a petition going on the internet and it's gathering signatures. I would add my signature to it, and hope that someone pays attention."

Considering the attention that the game is receiving (despite its cancellation), there is still a faint glimmer of hope that Konami will reverse its decision... but it's probably best not to get your hopes up.

Guillermo Del Toro's next project is Crimson Peak, which is set for an Oct. 16 release.


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