Silent Hill Two: The Illusion Theory Of Fiction

Pyramid Head, and Maria (also functioning as Maria’s confirmation); and the final confrontation where James defeats Pyramid Head. While these narrative points are applicable to Carroll’s theory, they are more immersive in video games because they require the player to actively fight the monster. In Silent Hill 2, the horror of the confrontations is amplified by the developers designing stiff combat mechanics to make the player feel weak in comparison to the monster, and the use of strange third-person camera angles to restrict the player’s view and create the feeling of uneasiness. Silent Hill 2’s recurring monster Pyramid Head exemplifies how video games function to support and extend Carroll’s complex discovery plot through player immersion,

While a rational mind can deduce that fictional characters are not real, Carroll claims that “our emotional response to fictions would appear to entail that fictional characters exist,” creating a confusion between what is real and what is not (62). In other words, while Pyramid Head may not be physically in the same reality as the audience, the player’s emotional reaction to his presence and actions is a real response. This fictional theory, known as the Illusion Theory of Fiction, is shown through a confrontation with Pyramid Head, when James and Maria are being chased through a tight hallway in a camera angle that incites fear and claustrophobia in the player. While Carroll claims that the illusional fear response is “best applied in visual phenomena,” like cinema and plays, its effects are amplified in video games (63). In horror video games like Silent Hill 2, the player identifies with the main character more than film because they are controlling the characters actions and decisions. Thus, the illusion of fearful emotions are more genuine in Silent Hill 2 because players are directly affected as the James character through injury and

Described as the paradox of horror, Carroll explores “the question of how people can be attracted by what is repulsive” (160). The balance between attraction and disgust was a theme previously discussed above with body horror, however it is consistent with the game’s setting. Much of Silent Hill 2’s attraction can be attributed to its recognizable set design, in which many of the settings (like apartments or hospitals) are traditional in their Western design. However, one of the recurring events in the game is when the settings suddenly shift into the “Otherworld.” The Otherworld mirrors the setting James was previously traversing, but replaces its traditional setup with blood, gore, dead bodies, and additional monsters. Thus, in shifting settings to the Otherworld, the game takes the attraction of comfortable atmosphere, and contradicts it by introducing a horrific