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Sam Barlow (game designer)

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For other people named Sam Barlow, see Sam Barlow (disambiguation).
Sam Barlow
OccupationVideo game director
Years active1999–present
EmployerClimax Studios

Sam Barlow is a video game director, best known as the writer and designer of Her Story and the two British Silent Hill games, Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.[1][2] He previously worked as a game director at Climax Studios,[3] before leaving in 2014 to become an indie game developer. He published his first independent game, Her Story, in June 2015.[4]

Interactive fiction

Barlow was active in the interactive fiction scene of the late 1990s,[5] most notably releasing the game Aisle in 1999. It won the XYZZY Award for Best Use of Medium. Like his later Silent Hill games, Aisle features a psychologically damaged viewpoint character, a contemporary setting and a positive meaning at its heart.[6]

Influences

Barlow frequently cites novelists and film directors are having influenced his work. He claims that Hitchcock, Luis Buñuel and J.G. Ballard influenced his work on Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.[7] Both Silent Hill titles reference Shakespeare (Silent Hill Origins features a performance of The Tempest,[8] whilst Silent Hill: Shattered Memories has multiple references to Twelfth Night). He has also been inspired by David Lynch, Mark Z. Danielewski, Paul Auster, Shirely Jackson, The Exorcist and Gene Wolfe.[9] Consistently his most frequently cited influence is Hitchcock, for example: "I bored everyone with Hitchcock and talking about his techniques and his ideas of suspense"[10] and "Hitchcock said that all horror goes back to childhood, that's why it's a universal thing -- it's a fundamental".[11] Barlow cites Cronenberg’s The Fly and Paul Schrader’s Cat People as showing how best to reboot an existing story.[12]

Video games

Barlow has worked on at least nine titles since he joined the video game industry in 2002, seven of which have been released.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ Long, Neil. "Writer's roundtable: the death of Irrational and the trouble with blockbuster videogame narrative". Edge. Climax Studios game director Sam Barlow is a videogame writer of equal experience and renown, having written several Silent Hill games
  2. ^ "The Players: Climax Studios". Games TM (61): 6. GamesTM speaks with Sam Barlow, the visionary lead designer on the latest Silent Hill to come from the heart of Climax Studios
  3. ^ "Key People". Climax Studios Official Site.
  4. ^ "Serial-style mystery game Her Story launches June 24". Polygon.
  5. ^ "The Making Of: Silent Hill Shattered Memories". EDGE (263).
  6. ^ Douglass, Jeremy (2007). Command Lines: Aesthetics and Technique in Interactive Fiction and New Media (Thesis). The University of California, Santa Barbara. p. 309.
  7. ^ Barlow, Sam. "The Sam Barlow Hour". Official Silent Hill Blog. Konami.
  8. ^ McNally, Rand. "Silent Hill: Origins Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  9. ^ Barlow, Sam. "Defining Horror with Sam Barlow". Rely On Horror. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  10. ^ East, Thomas. "Wii Feature: Silent Hill Shattered Memories Interview". Official Nintendo Magazine.
  11. ^ Casamassina, Matt. "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Interview". IGN.
  12. ^ Casamassina, Matt. "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Interview". IGN.
  13. ^ "Sam Barlow's LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn.
  14. ^ "Sam Barlow Video Game Credits". Mobygames.
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