Vatra: Silent Hill multiplayer would need to be "compelling and new"

Silent Hill: Downpour developer Vatra Games has told VG247 that any inclusion of multiplayer into the series's future would need to be something "new."

Speaking in a joint interview alongside fellow producer Devin Shatsky, Tomm Hulett said that multiplayer was talked about in the early concept stage of Downpour's development, but instead the team decided on making a "great" single-player adventure.

"In the early planning stages of Downpour we'd talked about what could be done with multiplayer. However, that isn't something we'd want to tack on just to have another bullet-point," said Hulett.

"If we were to make a multiplayer Silent Hill, it would have to be something compelling and new. So we decided to focus on creating a great solo experience with Downpour."

He also said that it was feasible to create a horror title with co-op, but that it was something that would need to be looked at "carefully."

"I certainly think it's possible to make a co-op horror title, but it's something that needs to be carefully crafted to succeed."

It was rumoured earlier this month through an Italian interview that Konami was "investigating a separate chapter" in Downpour "devoted entirely to the multiplayer."

However, Shatsky denied the claim, saying the comments were either "completely out of context, or it was lost in translation."

In recent years, fellow horror series Resident Evil and Dead Space have adopted multiplayer and co-op in some form, with Dead Space 2 being the most recent to include a full-on multiplayer.

Capcom yesterday announced the co-op-based Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City, from Canadian studio Slant Six, for a winter 2011 release on PS3, 360 and PC.

Silent Hill: Downpour releases this fall for PS3, 360 and PC. Watch for the rest of the interview soon.