James Sunderland (Silent Hill)

James Sunderland was introduced as the protagonist of the 2001 Konami survival horror game Silent Hill 2, produced by the group Team Silent. He is a widower of white descent with blonde hair, wearing an army jacket, gray polo shirt, and jeans.{{cite web |author=Ashley Bardhan |date=October 21, 2022 |title=Resident Evil's Ethan Winters And Silent Hill's James Sunderland Are The Same, Boring Protagonist |url=https://www.kotaku.com/silent-hill-ps5-remake-james-ethan-resident-evil-1849682889/amp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020184703/https://www.kotaku.com/silent-hill-ps5-remake-james-ethan-resident-evil-1849682889/amp |archive-date=20 October 2022 |access-date=October 21, 2022 |website=Kotaku}} At age 29 by the time of the game's events, his previous occupation was as a store clerk. Prior to the game's events, he decided to travel to the tourist resort of Silent Hill, located in the American state of Maine, because of a supposed letter from his deceased wife Mary Shepherd-Sunderland.{{cite web |last=Gould |first=Elie |date=9 October 2024 |title=Silent Hill 2 devs explain how they were able to stay true to James' character, 'he had to be not too cool and not too good-looking' |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/silent-hill-2-devs-explain-how-they-were-able-to-stay-true-to-james-character-he-had-to-be-not-too-cool-and-not-too-good-looking/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009153646/https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/silent-hill-2-devs-explain-how-they-were-able-to-stay-true-to-james-character-he-had-to-be-not-too-cool-and-not-too-good-looking/ |archive-date=9 October 2024 |access-date=10 November 2024 |work=PC Gamer}}

In the game's events, he read a letter apparently from his deceased wife Mary, who redirected him to go to their "special place" known as "Silent Hill". The town was clouded by a mysterious force called the "Otherworld" that changed its atmosphere and hosts a variety of hostile and grotesque monsters, among them the major antagonist Pyramid Head. He also encountered three human characters, namely Eddie Dombrowski, Angela Orosco, and a young child named Laura. Sunderland also met an assertive doppelgänger of Mary named Maria, who eventually served as the final antagonist in most game endings. The game later reveals based on a VHS tape playing at a television that James smothered his dying wife at a hospital bed with a pillow, confirming to the player that James killed his wife.{{cite web |last=Kelly |first=Andy |date=18 March 2015 |title='Silent Hill 2' Was the Game That Made Me Hate Myself |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dp5zww/silent-hill-2-was-the-game-that-made-me-hate-myself-826 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108142825/https://www.vice.com/en/article/dp5zww/silent-hill-2-was-the-game-that-made-me-hate-myself-826 |archive-date=8 November 2020 |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=Vice}}{{cite web|last=Grosso|first=Robert|date=20 May 2016|title=James Sunderland: Silent Hill 2 / Character Select|work=TechRaptor|url=https://techraptor.net/gaming-features/james-sunderland-silent-hill-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930174647/https://techraptor.net/gaming-features/james-sunderland-silent-hill-2|archive-date=30 September 2024|access-date=5 October 2024}} Silent Hill 2 has multiple endings that determine James' fate based on his emotional guilt depending on the player's prior actions, including two joke endings.{{cite web|last=Terasaki|first=Kimberly|date=4 November 2022|title=The Horrors of Caregiver Burnout: 'Pearl', 'Silent Hill II', and What We Can Learn From Them|work=The Mary Sue|url=https://www.themarysue.com/the-horrors-of-caregiver-burnout-pearl-silent-hill-ii-and-what-we-can-learn-from-them/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104111450/https://www.themarysue.com/the-horrors-of-caregiver-burnout-pearl-silent-hill-ii-and-what-we-can-learn-from-them/|archive-date=4 November 2022|access-date=27 September 2024}}

James also makes short or cameo appearances in joke "UFO" endings of Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and a joke "cake" ending of Silent Hill: Downpour.{{cite web|last=Foot|first=Casey|date=17 August 2022|title=Silent Hill: Every UFO Ending, Ranked|work=TheGamer|url=https://www.thegamer.com/silent-hill-every-ufo-alien-ending-ranked/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817225209/https://www.thegamer.com/silent-hill-every-ufo-alien-ending-ranked/|archive-date=17 August 2022|access-date=18 August 2024}}{{cite web|last=Trush|first=Brandon|date=12 July 2020|title=Silent Hill: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Cheryl Mason|work=Game Rant|url=https://gamerant.com/silent-hill-cheryl-mason-facts/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208025018/https://gamerant.com/silent-hill-cheryl-mason-facts/|archive-date=8 December 2021|access-date=18 October 2024}} In the UFO ending of the 2024 remake of Silent Hill 2, a PS2 version of James Sunderland and an alien kidnap the modern variant of James then take him to a UFO ship.{{cite web|last=Vincent|first=Hadley|date=9 October 2024|title=All Silent Hill 2 remake endings and how to get them|work=Dot Esports|url=https://dotesports.com/silent-hill/news/all-silent-hill-2-remake-endings-and-how-to-get-them|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110133749/https://dotesports.com/silent-hill/news/all-silent-hill-2-remake-endings-and-how-to-get-them|archive-date=10 November 2024|access-date=18 October 2024}} He is additionally referenced in Silent Hill 4: The Room by his father Frank Sunderland, who noted that his son disappeared in Silent Hill years before the game's events.{{cite web|last=Byrd|first=Matthew|date=24 September 2021|title=Does Silent Hill 2 Have a True Ending?|work=Den of Geek|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/games/silent-hill-2-true-ending-canon-explained/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924145552/https://www.denofgeek.com/games/silent-hill-2-true-ending-canon-explained/|archive-date=24 September 2021|access-date=28 September 2024}}

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According to the creator's commentary, in the early stages of game development, the protagonist had two alternate identities as "Joseph" and "James". The source also stated that the name "Joseph" was chosen based on an individual apparently suspected to have been the unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper while "James" was referenced as a "derivative" name from "Jack."{{cite book |title=失われた記憶～サイレントヒル・ クロニクル ～ |publisher=Konami |year=2003 |pages=46–47}}{{cite web |last=Dutta |first=Debopriyaa |date=24 February 2024 |title=This Influential '90s Horror Game Still Feels Like a Haunting Fever Dream |url=https://www.inverse.com/gaming/silent-hill-anniversary-25-years |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224142235/https://www.inverse.com/gaming/silent-hill-anniversary-25-years |archive-date=24 February 2024 |access-date=17 October 2024 |work=Inverse}}

In the original Silent Hill 2, James Sunderland was voice acted and motion captured by Guy Cihi. In a 2011 interview, Cihi revealed that he and the other actors were "dialed into" their roles and were guided by their directors; he did not recall being told how he should have specifically sounded, however. He then described the scene development process as typically requiring two to three actors to perform their roles together for motion capture during recordings. Cihi also noted that it was his first time performing for a synchronized motion capture and explained that he and the other actors did not wear costumes but instead equipped tight body suits with nodes. The actor also had to perform different actions that reflected moving, attacking, or dying, noting that his body was sore for weeks after having to perform "dying" movements. He additionally noted that he would have loved to have revisited the role as James Sunderland.{{cite web|last=Melendez|first=CJ|date=22 June 2011|title=Guy Cihi Interview, The voice of James Sunderland|work=Rely on Horror|url=https://www.relyonhorror.com/in-depth/silent-hill-in-depth/guy-cihi-interview-the-voice-of-james-sunderland/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625081909/https://www.relyonhorror.com/in-depth/silent-hill-in-depth/guy-cihi-interview-the-voice-of-james-sunderland/|archive-date=25 June 2011|access-date=18 October 2024}}

In the 2012 video game compilation Silent Hill HD Collection, Sunderland was voice acted by Troy Baker. The initial announcements that Baker replaced Cihi as the voice actor in the newer version of Silent Hill 2 marked significant controversy among Silent Hill fans,{{cite web|date=23 August 2011|title=Exclusive Interview: Troy Baker – The New James Sunderland|work=The Gaming Liberty.com|url=http://thegamingliberty.com/?p=39804|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606015750/http://thegamingliberty.com/?p=39804|archive-date=June 6, 2012|access-date=18 October 2024|url-status=live}} with Inverse remarking that fans never accepted Baker as the new voice actor and calling Konami's actions "seemingly callous with their own series."{{cite web|last=Haske|first=Steve|date=21 October 2016|title=The Weird Voice Acting in 'Silent Hill 2' Makes It Better|work=Inverse|url=https://www.inverse.com/article/22511-silent-hill-2-voice-acting-defense|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715002618/https://www.inverse.com/article/22511-silent-hill-2-voice-acting-defense|archive-date=15 July 2018|access-date=18 October 2024}} The controversial voice acting replacement was reportedly due to Cihi refusing to allow Konami to reuse his voice until he was paid residuals for the game compilation. Baker alleged in one interview that Cihi had wrongfully demanded residuals and defended Konami. He additionally said that he voice acted James Sunderland without focusing on how Cihi had previously voiced the character. In a later interview, Baker also attempted to reach out to Cihi to resolve the issue but never got a response, then stating based on his prior work experiences with Konami that the company has never owed people residuals.{{cite web|last=Melendez|first=CJ|date=27 August 2011|title=Podcast Interview: A chat with Troy Baker|work=Rely on Horror|url=https://www.relyonhorror.com/in-depth/podcast-interview-a-chat-with-troy-baker/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925162706/https://www.relyonhorror.com/in-depth/podcast-interview-a-chat-with-troy-baker/|archive-date=25 September 2011|access-date=18 October 2024}}{{cite web|last=Leendertsen|first=Jordan|date=11 May 2018|title=What Really Went Wrong with the Silent Hill HD Collection|work=Rely on Horror|url=https://www.relyonhorror.com/in-depth/went-wrong-silent-hill-hd-collection/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512230433/https://www.relyonhorror.com/in-depth/went-wrong-silent-hill-hd-collection/|archive-date=12 May 2018|access-date=18 October 2024}} The issue regarding Konami and Cihi was eventually resolved, leading to the inclusion of the 2001 recordings in Silent Hill HD Collection as an in-game alternate selection.{{cite web|last=Yin-Poole|first=Wesley|date=23 November 2011|title=Silent Hill HD Collection has original Silent Hill 2 voices|work=Eurogamer|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/silent-hill-hd-collection-has-original-silent-hill-2-voices|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706110835/https://www.eurogamer.net/silent-hill-hd-collection-has-original-silent-hill-2-voices|archive-date=6 July 2022|access-date=18 October 2024}}

In the 2024 Silent Hill 2 remake, his appearance was intended to convey the "concept of an ordinary man pushed into extraordinary situations" according to the creative game director Mateusz Lenart of the game development team Bloober Team. Sunderland's voice in the 2024 remake was performed in English by Luke Roberts and in Japanese by Chikahiro Kobayashi.{{cite web|last=Mehtani|first=Siddharth|date=1 September 2024|title=All Silent Hill 2 Remake Voice Actors: English and Japanese|work=Power Up Gaming|url=https://powerupgaming.co.uk/2024/09/01/all-silent-hill-2-remake-voice-actors-english-and-japanese/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901162408/https://powerupgaming.co.uk/2024/09/01/all-silent-hill-2-remake-voice-actors-english-and-japanese/|archive-date=1 September 2024|access-date=18 October 2024}} The dialogue for Sunderland and the other characters of the original game were rerecorded by new voice actors into the remake.

A collector's statue of James Sunderland was sold under the Japanese brand Gecco.{{cite web|last=Wilson|first=Mike|date=4 April 2023|title=New 'Silent Hill 2' James Sunderland Statue Available for Pre-order From Sweet Factory|work=Bloody Disgusting|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/toys/3757065/new-silent-hill-2-james-sunderland-statue-available-for-pre-order-from-sweet-factory/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404145932/https://bloody-disgusting.com/toys/3757065/new-silent-hill-2-james-sunderland-statue-available-for-pre-order-from-sweet-factory/|archive-date=4 April 2023|access-date=18 October 2024}} The online survival horror game Dead by Daylight has a cosmetic player skin of James Sunderland.{{cite web|last=Breslin|first=Richard|date=29 October 2021|title=Silent Hill 2's James Sunderland Is Coming To Dead By Daylight|work=GameByte|url=https://www.gamebyte.com/silent-hill-2s-james-sunderland-is-coming-to-dead-by-daylight/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210031430/https://www.gamebyte.com/silent-hill-2s-james-sunderland-is-coming-to-dead-by-daylight/|archive-date=10 December 2022|access-date=18 October 2024}}

James Sunderland has received acclaim from publication critics for his characteristics within the wider world of Silent Hill 2. Chris McMullen of The Escapist expressed that the 2001 horror game effectively displayed how the purgatory-like world, filled with "confusion and distress," was shaped by James' mentality and state as an unreliable narrator.{{cite web|last=McMullen|first=Chris|date=8 June 2021|title=How Silent Hill 2 Twists the One Thing You Thought You Could Trust|work=The Escapist|url=https://www.escapistmagazine.com/how-silent-hill-2-twists-the-one-thing-you-thought-you-could-trust/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015060519/https://www.escapistmagazine.com/how-silent-hill-2-twists-the-one-thing-you-thought-you-could-trust/|archive-date=15 October 2021|access-date=15 June 2024}} Likewise, Game Informer writer Blake Hester felt that James' deteriorated mental health and personal guilt was important in context of the "nonsensical" level design and building architectures and that James' in-game footstep sounds in contrast with the overall silence terrified him.{{cite magazine|last=Hester|first=Blake|date=27 December 2023|title=Two Decades Later, Silent Hill 2 Is Still The Scariest Game Of All Time|magazine=Game Informer|url=https://www.gameinformer.com/opinion/2023/12/27/two-decades-later-silent-hill-2-is-still-the-scariest-game-of-all-time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227220715/https://www.gameinformer.com/opinion/2023/12/27/two-decades-later-silent-hill-2-is-still-the-scariest-game-of-all-time|archive-date=27 December 2023|url-status=live|access-date=15 June 2024}} Vice contributor Andy Kelly stated that he was fooled into thinking that James was fooled into being sympathetic for him in an instance of "a cheap trick, but an effective one," that he is "the very definition of an unreliable narrator, and he fooled me. Big time". TheGamer editor Jade King argued that the dark nature and general incompetence of James is evident by Maria's seductive nature and her being constantly killed. She then said that players initially sympathize with him but slowly realize his true nature, that the game is "masterful in how it systematically pulls the wool over our eyes and turns the hero into one of the medium's most despised villains".{{cite web|last=King|first=Jade|date=18 October 2024|title=Silent Hill 2 Works Because James Sunderland Is Pathetic|work=TheGamer|url=https://www.thegamer.com/silent-hill-2-james-sunderland-character-study-pathetic-fandom/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110133401/https://www.thegamer.com/silent-hill-2-james-sunderland-character-study-pathetic-fandom/|archive-date=10 November 2024|access-date=19 October 2024}}

The authors of various gaming publications have argued that James Sunderland as a "generic white person" helped to enhance the horrors and story of Silent Hill 2, although opinions on the character himself vary.{{cite web|last=Druker|first=Mike|date=5 February 2021|title=James Sunderland isn't Silent Hill 2's antihero; he's the villain|work=Polygon|url=https://www.polygon.com/2021/2/5/22264705/silent-hill-2-james-sunderland-isnt-the-antihero-hes-the-villain|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205170109/https://www.polygon.com/2021/2/5/22264705/silent-hill-2-james-sunderland-isnt-the-antihero-hes-the-villain|archive-date=5 February 2021|access-date=15 June 2024}} For instance, Ashley Bardhan from Kotaku compared Sunderland to Ethan Winters from Resident Evil, criticizing both characters for being "bumbling" and "regrettably uninteresting" to the extent that she was unable to find anything about them to care about compared to their missing wives. Mike Druker, who wrote a book analysis for Silent Hill 2, said that the protagonist "is so generic that he could smother his wife with a pillow and never get caught. You know, like he actually did". He noted that James being a "figurative and literal fog" to the point where players lack true understanding over him despite controlling him makes the game's psychological horror aspect "fun" due to its open-ended nature. He continued that James was not an antihero like Kratos of the God of War series but the "perfect villain" because of him being "unassuming, a little boring, and entirely rotting from the inside".

Critics have also written about their appreciations for how Silent Hill 2 allows the player to form their own opinions of Sunderland over time and seal his fate in one of its multiple endings. Academic scholar Ewan Kirkland, writing for the peer-reviewed journal Camera Obscura, stated that James' ambiguous reasons for killing his ill wife has left players speculating on whether he did so out of mercy or for more sinister reasons.{{cite journal|last=Kirkland|first=Ewan|year=2009|title=Masculinity in Video Games: The Gendered Gameplay of Silent Hill|journal=Camera Obscura|volume=24|issue=2|pages=161–183|doi=10.1215/02705346-2009-006}} Andrea Shearon of TheGamer interpreted James as an unreliable narrator to the point that his surroundings and enemies reveal more about his history than James himself. She was abhorred by the dark nature of James but expressed hope that he was a good person, tying her thoughts into the greater themes of how the player sees James versus how the character and the Silent Hill world both see him.{{cite web|last=Shearon|first=Andrea|date=11 February 2021|title=Silent Hill 2 Turns 20 This Year And I'm Still Lost In Its Fog|work=TheGamer|url=https://www.thegamer.com/silent-hill-2-anniversary-20-konami/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214082702/https://www.thegamer.com/silent-hill-2-anniversary-20-konami/|archive-date=14 February 2021|access-date=28 September 2021}} Writer Kimberly Terasaki of The Mary Sue praised the game for allowing the player to ultimately determine James' guilt and fate via its multiple endings. She argued that players may or may not sympathize with Sunderland depending on whether or not they have experienced a similar type of "caregiver burnout" that led him to killing his ill wife, comparing his decisions to that of the movie character Pearl in her namesake 2022 horror movie. Likewise, Den of Geek editor Matthew Byrd felt that the connection between the player's actions and James' mental state was a brilliant game narrative on the grounds of the psychologies of both individuals leading to certain endings.

Bloody Disgusting writer Michael Pementel connected his gameplay experience of Silent Hill 2 with his personal struggles with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). He wrote that he related to James' disconnect from reality and emotional damage from his surrounding world in that his OCD similarly warped his world to the point of belittling himself, fearing that he would hurt others, and feeling that he deserved punishment from his mental illnesses since he was a kid. Because of this, he felt emotionally connected to James in feeling that he was alone in his personal hell.{{cite web|last=Pementel|first=Michael|date=27 September 2021|title=Of Lonely Hells: Looking Back On 'Silent Hill 2' Through The Lens Of OCD|work=Bloody Disgusting|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3684501/lonely-hells-looking-back-silent-hill-2-lens-ocd/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927200512/https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3684501/lonely-hells-looking-back-silent-hill-2-lens-ocd/|archive-date=27 September 2021|access-date=5 October 2024}} Robert Grosso of TechRaptor published an extensive character analysis of James Sunderland, interpreting his psychological trauma from killing his wife as a form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in which Silent Hill 2 is about James grappling with his guilt and trauma personified by the world around him. He claimed that James sought to redeem himself in the town of Silent Hill in some form, hence the game being mainly about his inner conflicts with himself. Grosso said that James "is dynamic, sympathetic, tragic, and remorseful all at the same time – simply put, James is us. He is every human being who has gone through feelings of loss due to a terrible tragedy, dealing with his inner demons twisting his mind and warping his soul".

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{{Silent Hill}}

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Category:Fictional American people in video games

Category:Fictional uxoricides

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Category:Silent Hill characters

Category:Video game characters introduced in 2001