is a Japanese video game director and designer, best known as the creator of the ''

Silent Hill is a horror anthology media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four video games in the series, '' Silent Hill'', ''Silent Hill 2'', ''Silent Hill 3'' and '' ...

'', ''

Siren Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisc ...

'' and ''

Gravity Rush ''Gravity Rush'', known in Japan as ''Gravity Daze'', is a 2012 action-adventure video game developed by Japan Studio's Team Gravity division and published worldwide by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Vita. ''Gravity Rush Remaste ...

'' franchises.

Biography

Toyama was born in 1970 in

Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders ...

, and studied art in

Tokyo Zokei University is a private university in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1966 by Japanese art educator, fashion designer and design journalist, Yoko Kuwasawa (1910-1977). It is a four-year art college offering both bachelor's and master's degrees in studio ...

. After graduating he joined

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casino ...

in 1994 as a graphic artist. He was the graphic designer and character designer for the

Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan ...

version of '' Snatcher'' and '' International Track & Field'', and after that he created the ''

'' series. The game was successful and produced various sequels, but Toyama left

Team Silent Team Silent was a development team within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET), responsible for the first four games in the ''Silent Hill'' franchise by Konami released from 1999 to 2004. Later titles were developed by non-Japanese companie ...

in 1999 after the first game was launched to join

Japan Studio Japan Studio was a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. A first-party studio for Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment), it was best known for the '' Ape Escape'', '' LocoRoco'', '' Patapon'', ''Gravity ...

afterwards to work on the ''Siren'' series. He directed the video games ''

'' (2003) and its sequel ''

Forbidden Siren 2 ''Forbidden Siren 2'' is a survival horror stealth game developed by Japan Studio's Project Siren team and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. It is a sequel to 2003's ''Siren'' (''Forbidden Siren''). A film in ...

'' (2006). In 2008, Toyama released '' Siren: Blood Curse'', a

reimagining A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the original ''Siren'' game. Toyama then worked on the PlayStation Vita game ''

'', released in 2012. 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. When asked about what prompted the move, Toyama stated that he had been inspired by fellow designer

Fumito Ueda is a Japanese video game designer. Ueda is best known as the director and lead designer of '' Ico'' (2001) and ''Shadow of the Colossus'' (2005) while leading Team Ico at Japan Studio, and ''The Last Guardian'' (2016) through his own development ...

who had related much of his experiences founding genDESIGN to Toyama. Toyama announced that he plans on returning to the horror genre, with a debut game inspired in particular by

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Wong Kar-wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure ...

and

Fruit Chan Fruit Chan Gor (; born 15 April 1959) is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker who is best known for his style of film reflecting the everyday life of Hong Kong people. He is well known for using amateur actors (such as Sam Lee in '' Made in H ...

. The game, ''Slitterhead'', was formally revealed during

The Game Awards 2021 The Game Awards 2021 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2021. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on De ...

Works

Awards

In 2012 Toyama received the outstanding performance award at the 16th

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by a ...

and the excellence award at the

Japan Game Awards The Japan Game Awards is the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's awards ceremony, which was created in 1996 as the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association, CESA Awards. While it repres ...

for his work on ''Gravity Rush''.

References

External links

Interview with Toyama
on '' Siren: Blood Curse'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toyama, Keiichiro 1970 births People from Miyazaki Prefecture Japanese video game designers Japanese video game directors Konami people Living people Sony Interactive Entertainment people Video game artists Video game writers Tokyo Zokei University alumni