A world of hurt : representations of suffering in the "Silent Hill" franchise

Abstract

The conversation surrounding violence in video games has always focused on the morality of violence in video games. Violence in video games has either been condemned by moral guardians as immoral, or used by video game players to signify how far video game technology has progressed. This thesis aims to move the conversation instead to the nature of the violent images in video games. Through an examination of Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4, this paper discusses how these four video games present images of suffering affectively, focusing on how representations of suffering change the relationship between the video game, the player, and the player’s others within the video game world.