Konami has just sent out word of their planned itinerary for the upcoming Leipzig Games Convention (August 23 to 26). Aside from the previously announced Metal Gear Solid 4 playable demo that's gotten the fans wound up tighter than Solid Snake in his new sneak suit, Konami noted that other titles will be making their appearance.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 2, PSP, DS) will be present as a playable, while the German PES League Final is expected to take place on Saturday (August 25) at 3 p.m. The League final will offer 16 players a chance to be the German Champion, and for the right to represent their country in the grand Euro finals in Seville this October.

Other games that are expected to be on display include new Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dancing Stage titles. Here's a list of the rest of the games:

• Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)
• Silent Hill Origins (PSP)
• Dewy's Adventure (Wii)
• Hellboy: The Science of Evil (PSP, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Konami Arcade Classics (DS)
• Coded Arms Contagion (PSP)
• Steel Horizon (PSP, DS)
• Let's Yoga (DS)
  

In relation to this news, Konami further noted that several developers will be present to discuss their corresponding works, including Silent Hill Origins' William Oertel. Here are the devs' scheduled appearances per day of the said event:

• 11:00: Koji 'IGA' Igarashi, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
• 12:00: New DS title team
• 13:00: Hideo Kojima, MGS 4
• 14:00: William Oertel, Silent Hill Origins/Silent Hill V
• 15:00: Hideo Kojima, MGS 4
• 16:00: Aki Saito, PES 2008
• 17:00: Shingo Mukaitoge, Dewy's Adventure
  

The schedule may be subject to change. Konami's section will be located in Hall 4, Booth B11 of the convention grounds. Stay tuned in case we pick up word of more event updates.

Taking a surprising head start for the Leipzig Convention, Konami recently released an official press release stating the company has listed Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, PSP, DS, PS2) as one of its featured games at the upcoming Leipzig Convention, more formally known as the Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC).

They have announced that the game will be rendered playable during the exhibition leg of the event on the multiple platforms that the game will be released on by Fall 2007. The demonstration may already tout Konami's Teamvision, a gameplay feature new to the soccer title series Also to be featured at the event is Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, led by Konami's Koji "IGA" Igarashi.

William Oertel, overseeing the development of Silent Hill Origins, will also be at the event to reveal the series' future. But this news comes at the forefront of the company's full announcement, after noting that the few games mentioned here were only part of the dozens of big games they've lined up for the Leipzig games event. Other highly anticipated titles may be announced in the near future. Sales and marketing director for event organizers GmbH, Martin Schneider, emphasized that notion, stating:

We can promise visitors and gamers in Leipzig that Konami will play a major role in this year´s gaming year – delivering new games and additions to popular franchises, while producing exciting games for new systems and established formats.

So fans of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots may expect a second showing at GCDC 2007. Konami will be at booth B11, Hall 4 of the Leipzig Business Center from August 23-26th.

 

Speaking to Kikizo, William Oertel, producer of Silent Hill Origins on the PSP, noted that Konami's Silent Hill franchise might be headed to the DS if there's a "really compelling" concept behind it. It was noted that the concept should be there in order for the developers to maintain consistency with the main series. Silent Hill on the DS? "I don't think anything is impossible," says the producer.

As for the PSP game, Oertel noted that while there's a lot of pressure for them to get this project right, they're really doing their best not to disappoint. He says that "A lot of people are working really hard to make sure we're setting a bar for survival horror on the PSP."

It was noted that since the PlayStation Portable is a different platform than the PS2, this meant that the developers needed to do different things to increase the intensity and the feeling of horror in the game. It was noted that one of the ways they accomplished this increase in intensity was adopting the over-the-shoulder camera when in combat. They say that this helps increase the action without turning the game into a shooter or an action game.

It was also noted that story-wise, Konami will try to answer some questions, but due to the nature of the game, and the setting it's required that they try to keep the players in the dark about some aspects. Oertel expounds:

We want to take advantage of that opportunity to explain some things - not everything. ...You're going to a town that has multiple shifts in reality with people that have their own kind of dementia. How do you put a realistic spin on that? By it's nature it needs to be somewhat vague.

Kikizo notes that multiple endings may help in that "keeping in the dark" part.

The gradual attempt at making Silent Hill a global franchise, and making the game more "western friendly" was also discussed. Oertel notes some of that shift in the previous installments of the game where some concepts were intended to be a bit more action oriented. Why this slow global shift? It was noted that Konami is thinking long term, and that this is "just the first step in many other things." What other ways will Silent Hill grow and expand? Time will tell.

 

Silent Hill: Origins producer William Oertel was recently interviewed by Euro Gamer and he's given some new information about this highly anticipated game for the PSP. He discussed the difficulties of developing the game for a mobile platform and the allegations that the game will be more combat-oriented among other things.

With regards to developing the game for a mobile platform, he made it clear that the they (the developers)  had a hard time balancing the game since "the experience of playing this kind of game doesn't necessarily fall in line with being 'bite-sized.'" They have focused on making it a good game given the limitations of the PSP.

On Silent Hill: Origins being more combat-oriented, he felt that the essence of a Silent Hill game is not dictated by the amount of puzzles or action in the game but the overall experience that one gets from playing it. He further clarified this by saying that "there are puzzles, of course, necessary to solve in order to advance. We looked at how combat was handled in previous games, and we take this opportunity to try to improve on it."

Silent Hill: Origins is slated to be out this year. Oertel has already dropped the bomb and said that the game is very near completion, so we can expect the game to be out pretty soon. One thing's for sure though, we're going to start freaking out again every time we hear the sound of static when this game comes out. You can find the entire interview via our read link.

 

Speaking to IGN, William Oertel, the Producer of Konami's Silent Hill Origins, revealed several details about the upcoming title. When asked how much of the story behind the town is revealed in Silent Hill Origins Oertel says that the game reveals part of the history of some of the series' characters, like Alessa, Dr. Kaufmann, and Dahlia.

He also notes that there is a definite connection between Origins and the other games in the series. He says that this can be observed in the released screenshots and videos. He also adds that the connection is most apparent with the first Silent Hill game. Oertell says that this game for the PSP incorporates the psychological elements in James' story in Silent Hill 2, and combines it with the background and context of the first Silent Hill game. He says that it was their attempt at having the best of both worlds, and he hopes that the fans will appreciate the effort.

He also acknowledges that Travis, the game's protagonist, is handier with the gun compared to other Silent Hill protagonists. However, he says that like the past games the main character is a regular person and isn't superhuman. He says that he just wanted to make Travis to have more of a physical presence. We think that this sort of makes sense since he is supposedly a rough-and-tumble trucker.

When asked about the gameplay aspect of having weapons eventually become less durable and break, and how this will factor in combat and fights against monsters, Oertel notes that the actual balancing between combat and weapons is still taking place. He does note that like Dead Rising you can pick up nondescript items and attempt to use them as weapons; yes, things like sledgehammers and TVs.

Other gameplay-related details that were discussed involved talk about the various "cineractive" moments in the game that require fast button presses during certain battles. William Oertel expresses that these "struggle moments" are supposed to enhance the intensity of combat and the camera getting up close to the action and allowing you to see it in vivid detail, coupled with the screen of the PSP ads to the experience.

When asked about how they implemented the graphics on the PSP, Oertell noted the Climax worked hard on getting the technology right. He noted that the fog alone in the game required several iterations on the technology involved.

For more on the interview feel free to head to the IGN interview via our "read" link below

It's been a month since we heard last from Silent Hill Origins, but now the silence is broken with details of PLAY Magazine's interview with Climax Studio's William Oertel, details which reinforce the hope that not only is SHO still on track, but progressing well enough. And the details were reported by GameFront.de, which means more wonderful weblator and Engrish adventures in lost translations.

So far, the game's at 70% completion, Oertel tells PLAY - and they're also looking forwards to a February 2007 European release date. Release dates can change, true, but these should help form some rough estimates about how the game's going, and when we're likely to see it.

Now for some gameplay details. The original version of the game was supposed to feature "barricades" that players could use to block off monsters. Climax decided to scrap this during the dev process because it was too time-consuming and complicated. And besides, "one wants to make a great Silent Hill play and no great barricade play". Okay, that's the weblator talking, but the idea could not have been said more perfectly.

Here's where it gets confusing: mention is made of inventory management. "The player is to have had to however always deposit everything not somewhere with itself and objects in crates, to which he must run back then." We understand this as inventory deposit boxes in fixed areas a la Resident Evil, but the "however" in the weblation threw us for a loop.

Here's another one: "The flashlight participates again also, the radio with some changes will again emerge: In the discussion is a visual announcement." We're curious: what "visual announcement" with the radio? Climax is also implementing a new aiming mechanism for the game (the laser sighting had been removed), but no details were revealed in GameFront.

This one was clear as day, however - unless the weblator's screwy again: "The producer would make Silent Hill also gladly for the PS2."

At the pre-E3 conference, Konami announced that there would be a prequel to the popular Silent Hill 1, named Silent Hill Origins. Chris Remo from Shacknews got to interview bigtime Konami producer, William Oertel. Oertel gave an overview about the game: although a tie-in from the first Silent Hill and though some characters like Alessa, Dahlia and Dr. Kaufmann cross over, Silent Hill Origins is pretty much a separate game with a separate story. As for you people who are not very familiar with the Silent Hill series, the title's namesake is an isolated lakeside resort town in the United States inhabited by mysterious forces. Demonic and disfigured creatures roam the streets and buildings, and the town continually shifts between everyday reality and a decaying "Otherworld."


Read the rest of the article after the jump!

When we saw the official trailer of Silent Hills Origin our gut reaction was... wtf kind of sickos could conjure such a terrifying plot filled with gruesome creatures? This isn't the kind of hills that drove Julie Andrews to sing! Were their mothers witches who nursed them on bat's milk or something? Sprinkled zombie dust on their birthday cakes year after year? However they were raised we thank their mothers (and fathers) for that.

In this GT interview you get to see one of the "sickos" behind the game we are dying to play! William Oertel, Silent Hills Origin psycho director shares info on the making, the story and the gameplay mechanics of the nightmare that will soon make your PSP scream with terror and delight. Too bad he doesn't look anything like the fiendish creature shown here.

Download: [The GT Interview: Silent Hills Origin]