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Keiichiro Toyama

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Keiichirō Toyama
外山 圭一郎
Born1970 (age 53–54)
Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan
Alma materTokyo Zokei University
Occupation(s)Video game writer, designer, producer
Years active1994–present
Employer(s)Konami (1994–99)
Sony Interactive Entertainment (1999–2020)
Bokeh Game Studio (2020–present)
Known forSilent Hill
Siren
Gravity Rush

Keiichirō Toyama (外山 圭一郎, Toyama Keiichirō, born 1970) is a Japanese video game director and designer, best known as the creator of the Silent Hill, Siren and Gravity Rush franchises.[1]

Biography

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Toyama was born in 1970 in Miyazaki Prefecture, and studied art in Tokyo Zokei University.[2] After graduating he joined Konami in 1994 as a graphic artist.[3][4] He was the graphic designer and character designer for the Sega CD version of Snatcher and International Track & Field, and after that he created the Silent Hill series.[5] The game was successful and produced various sequels, but Toyama left Team Silent in 1999 after the first game was launched to join Japan Studio afterwards to work on the Siren series.[3][6] He directed the video games Siren (2003) and its sequel Forbidden Siren 2 (2006).[7] In 2008, Toyama released Siren: Blood Curse, a reimagining of the original Siren game. Toyama then worked on the PlayStation Vita game Gravity Rush, released in 2012.[8] A sequel, Gravity Rush 2, was released on January 19, 2017, in Japan.

Toyama left Sony Japan Studio in September 2020. He has founded Bokeh Game Studio alongside Kazunobu Sato and Junya Okura, both of whom worked on the Siren series, on August 13, 2020.[4][9][10] When asked about what prompted the move, Toyama stated that he had been inspired by fellow designer Fumito Ueda who had related much of his experiences founding genDESIGN to Toyama.[11] Toyama announced that he plans on returning to the horror genre, with a debut game inspired in particular by film directors Wong Kar-wai and Fruit Chan.[6] The game, Slitterhead, was formally revealed during The Game Awards 2021.[12]

Works

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Year Game title Publisher Role
1994 Snatcher Konami Graphic designer (Sega CD version)
1996 International Track & Field Character designer
1999 Silent Hill Director, writer, background designer[13]
2003 Siren Sony Computer Entertainment Director, writer
2006 Forbidden Siren 2 Director, designer, writer
2008 Siren: Blood Curse Director, designer, writer[14]
2012 Gravity Rush Director, designer, original concept, initial story[15][16]
2015 Gravity Rush Remastered Director, designer, original concept, initial story
2017 Gravity Rush 2 Sony Interactive Entertainment Director, designer
2024 Slitterhead Bokeh Game Studio Director

Awards

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In 2012 Toyama received the outstanding performance award at the 16th Japan Media Arts Festival and the excellence award at the Japan Game Awards for his work on Gravity Rush.[2][17]

References

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  1. ^ Perron, Bernard; Barker, Clive (October 7, 2009). Horror video games: essays on the fusion of fear and play. McFarland. pp. 15–. ISBN 978-0-7864-4197-6. OCLC 419264171.
  2. ^ a b "外山ディレクターも空に落ちる!? 『GRAVITY DAZE』本日発売！ おすすめポイントを直撃インタビュー！『2』の最新情報も！【特集第4回】". PlayStation.Blog (in Japanese). December 10, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Gifford, Kevin (October 13, 2013). "Silent Hill creator discusses how he joined the game biz and why AAA horror is 'difficult' to fund". Polygon.
  4. ^ a b STENBUCK, KITE (December 3, 2020). "Keiichiro Toyama Left SIE and Founded Bokeh Game Studio". Siliconera. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  5. ^ Barder, Ollie (September 3, 2016). "Keiichiro Toyama Talks About His Work On 'Gravity Rush' And 'Siren'". Forbes. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  6. ^ a b McWhertor, Michael (March 25, 2021). "Silent Hill creator teases new horror game project". Polygon. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  7. ^ Reed, Kristan (March 23, 2006). "Forbidden Siren 2: Keiichiro Toyama on Sony's latest horror title". Eurogamer. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  8. ^ Leo, Jon (June 7, 2011). "E3 2011: Gravity Daze Hands-On Preview". GameSpot. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  9. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (December 2, 2020). "Silent Hill, Gravity Rush's Keiichirō Toyama Leaves SIE, Founds New Studio". Anime News Network.
  10. ^ December 2020, Jordan Gerblick 03 (December 3, 2020). "Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama leaves Sony to form new studio". gamesradar. Retrieved June 2, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Robson, Daniel (December 23, 2020). "Silent Hill and Gravity Rush Creator's New Project Will Be a Horror Action-Adventure Game, Aiming for 2023". IGN. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  12. ^ Romano, Sal (December 10, 2021). "Bokeh Game Studios announces Slitterhead". Gematsu. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  13. ^ gpara.com, ‘"クリエイターズファイル 第127回′ Archived September 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine(in Japanese), Retrieved on January 30, 2012,
  14. ^ GameSpot.com, ‘Siren Blood Curse′ tech info, Retrieved on January 30, 2012,
  15. ^ Gamespot.com,Interview With Keiichiro Toyama, Retrieved on January 30, 2012,
  16. ^ GameSpot.com, TGS 2011: Gravity Daze Demo, Retrieved on January 30, 2012,
  17. ^ "今年度の"日本ゲーム大賞"は『GRAVITY DAZE』に決定！【TGS2012】". famitsu. September 20, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
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