P.T.

P.T. (Playable Teaser) is a first-person interactive teaser. The teaser was directed by Hideo Kojima and developed by Kojima Productions, under the alias of "7780s Studios". It was released as a free download for the PlayStation 4 on August 12th, 2014.

It is not formally a Silent Hill game, though it is connected to the series. The game was intended to be a demo for the since then cancelled Silent Hills, although this was kept a mystery until completing the teaser.

It was removed from the PlayStation Store on April 29th, 2015, following the announcement of Silent Hills' cancellation by Konami.

Plot


P.T. begins with a cutscene that shows the protagonist waking up in a dark hollow room. The protagonist then gets out to find a narrow, L-shaped hallway which appears to be in a loop. The hall is also connected to a bathroom containing a moving fetus in the sink.

On the radio, news broadcast details on how two families were slaughtered by their respective fathers. Much of the plot of P.T. is told through connecting-the-dots and radio broadcasts. However, some aspects of the plot are left to player interpretation and speculation.

Later on, paranormal activity begins to occur, which includes the appearance of a manifestation of the mother from a murdered family, the corridor becoming endless and the lights glowing red. Mysterious broadcasts also emerge from the radio.

After the protagonist solves the final puzzle, a cutscene shows him in Silent Hill, presumably unaware of where he is. He looks over his shoulder and continues making his way into the town.

Gameplay
P.T. is in a first-person perspective. There are no weapons or combat system because, as Hideo Kojima explained, when players have weapons in their possession it lessens the sense of fear and helplessness.

The goal of the game is to explore the hallway and its loops until a phone rings. By zooming in on the phone, the player can hear the message, "You've been chosen." Immediately after the message, the final door unlocks, and the Silent Hills trailer can be watched. Because the requirements for the phone call are vague, playthroughs of the game can range anywhere from 30 minutes to even five hours. Lisa also haunts the hallway and can attack the protagonist at any moment. If Lisa attacks the protagonist, the player experiences a startling jump scare and is sent back to the beginning of the current loop, so there is no progress lost.

Players noted that, despite the different solutions needed to finish the final puzzle, there are at least three circumstances players must fulfill:
 * 1) The final puzzle must be done after the clock strikes midnight.
 * 2) Players must trigger a baby's laughing three times to ring the phone. Many players noted that the baby would laugh by doing these actions: walk 10 steps after the clock strikes 0:00 (1st laugh), locate the source of the haunting and whisper "Jarith" or "Lisa" to the microphone (2nd laugh), stand still while not adjusting the camera until the baby laughs (3rd laugh). Note: Do not let Lisa attack you.
 * 3) Once the phone rings, zoom into the phone to answer it. After hearing "You've been chosen," head down to the door to end the game.

P.T. was also data mined, and there is evidence supporting that the player should say "Jack," not "Jarith."

There is also an optional puzzle known as The Six Fragments.

Development


Kojima revealed that the nonexistent "7780 Studios" received its name from the square kilometer area of Shizuoka, a Japanese prefecture which literally translates to "Quiet Hills". Many Japanese people simply refer to the horror game series as Shizuoka.

Kojima expected the demo to take at least a week to beat and admitted he was surprised the demo was beaten the day it was released.

Kojima revealed that the graphics were intentionally toned down to give the impression an indie studio was developing the demo.

Reception
P.T. received a great deal of praise, especially for its photo-realistic graphics, as well as its scary atmosphere. Many P.T. players worked together to analyze the plot and the game's puzzles and mysteries.

After P.T. was removed from the PlayStation Store, it sparked controversy amongst fans. It also opened a discussion on the preservation and accessibility of video games, mainly on digital storefronts where publishers may remove video games at their own discretion, a practice known as "delisting".

Trivia

 * Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has a radio broadcast from P.T. This is the second reference between the two series (see God's trivia section and Chapel's gallery).
 * In addition, the chandelier sound from P.T. can also be heard in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
 * P.T. shares many visual and thematic similarities with Silent Hill 4: The Room, particularly the Room 302 segments. Both games are built on the concept of an inescapable residence, utilize a first person perspective, present written notes on paper scraps and walls, include disturbing radio broadcasts, push themes of childbirth and voyeurism, feature surreal anomalies as the games progress, and threaten the player with an undefeatable ghostlike entity.
 * The map of the cutscene area shown at the end of the teaser was already mapped out before production ceased. Through hacking the PS4's hardware, a fan was capable of deeply exploring the nearby outdoors.

Data
P.T.