Screen Burn Interactive director Jon McKellan and Konami producer Motoi Okamoto said how they designed the fictional seaside town of St. Amelia for Silent Hill: Townfall [1].

The development focuses on shifting the series toward a first-person perspective to increase player intensity. By placing the horror in a seemingly charming Scottish location, the team aims to revitalize the franchise through a contrast between domestic beauty, and psychological dread [2, 3].

St. Amelia serves as the primary setting for the game. The developers worked to ensure the seaside environment felt authentic before introducing the series' signature terrifying elements [1, 2]. This approach allows the horror to feel more invasive as it disrupts a familiar, picturesque atmosphere [3].

The choice of a first-person view is a deliberate design decision to heighten the sense of claustrophobia and vulnerability. The team referenced the influence of first-person horror design, noting the impact of Hideo Kojima's P.T. demo released in 2014 [1].

McKellan and Okamoto said the goal was to create a location that felt grounded yet unsettling. The design process involved mapping the layout of St. Amelia to maximize the psychological impact on the player as they navigate the town [1, 2].

By moving the action to Scotland, the developers are expanding the geographical scope of the Silent Hill universe. This departure from the traditional U.S. town setting is intended to prove that the series' themes of guilt, and terror are universal [2, 3].

“The development focuses on shifting the series toward a first-person perspective to increase player intensity.”

The shift to a first-person perspective and a non-US setting indicates a strategic effort by Konami to modernize the Silent Hill brand. By leveraging the 'folk horror' aesthetic of the Scottish coast and the intimacy of first-person gameplay, the developers are attempting to recapture the psychological tension that defined the series' early entries while distancing the new title from the traditional third-person mechanics of previous games.