Keiichiro Toyama, the creator of Silent Hill and Gravity Rush, has opened up about his next game, showing off concept art in the first tease for the project.
Toyama has confirmed his next game will be horror-related, as explained in the video below. The news was shared by video game tweeter Nibel, who posted a thread about their discovery.
Under his new studio, Bokeh Game Studio, Toyama will apparently release a game that is a “death game”, but also entertaining for the player. Speaking in a nine-minute video titled “Focus – Keiichiro Toyama”, the creator described his reasoning behind wanting to make another horror game:
“The view I have of horror is the everyday life being shaken. Rather than showing scary things, it should question our position, make us challenge the fact that we’re living peacefully. I like bringing this type of thoughts in my concepts. I would like that to be the theme of my next game.”
Toyama then goes on to describe his love of comic books and the popularity of death games, explaining that both provide an entertainment value while managing to be horrific:
“These works tend to add entertainment to somewhat brutal worlds. I enjoy these works and often read them. I naturally took that approach. You have these regular people driven into irrational situations. They’re on the edge emotionally, while dealing with action or drama. This influenced me and I think it will show in my next game.”
The video also features various concept art pieces, which look like they’re straight from a Junji Ito manga.
Ito’s tales comment on society and humanity’s nature, focusing on bleak character situations and backstories. This is perhaps the kind of thing Toyama is influenced by when mentioning comic books. If Toyama intends to make something of this caliber, we could see a game that’s just as groundbreaking as the series that gave him his start in the horror genre.
We’re rooting for you, Toyama. Let’s hope you can make a game that fills the void left by Konami’s cancellation of Silent Hills.
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Featured Image Credit: Bokeh Game Studio