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

Silent Hill is a horror media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four main games—'' Silent Hill'', '' Silent Hill 2'', '' Silent Hill 3'', and '' Silent Hill 4: The ...

'', '' Siren'' and '' Gravity Rush'' 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 1,028,215 as of 1 January 2025 and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefectur ...

, 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 studi ...

. After graduating he joined

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

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

Sega CD The Sega CD, known as in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory and format for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. Originally released in November 1991, it ca ...

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 of Sony Interactive Entertainment based in Tokyo. It was best known for the '' Ape Escape'', '' LocoRoco'', '' Patapon'', '' Gravity Rush'', and '' Knack'' series, '' Ico'', ''Shadow of the Colos ...

afterwards to work on the ''Siren'' series. One of the first games he worked on in Sony was '' Yoake no Mariko'', a collaboration with

Spümcø Spümcø, Inc. ( ; stylized as SPÜMCØ) was an American animation studio that was active from 1989 to 2005 and based in Los Angeles, California. The studio was best known for working on the first two seasons of ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' for N ...

, where he was a gameplay designer. He directed the video games '' Siren'' (2003) and its sequel '' Forbidden Siren 2'' (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 s ...

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

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

game '' Gravity Rush'', 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, game director and visual artist. 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'' (20 ...

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 or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

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 o ...

and

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

. The game, ''

Slitterhead is a 2024 horror action-adventure game developed and published by Bokeh Game Studio. The game released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on November 8, 2024. It received mixed reviews from critics. Gameplay Slitte ...

'', 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 D ...

Works

Awards

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

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival was 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 ...

and the excellence award at the Japan Game Awards for his work on ''Gravity Rush''.

References

External links

Interview with Toyama
on '' Siren: Blood Curse'' *
Keiichiro Toyama
at Bokeh Game Studio {{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 Japanese video game artists Japanese video game writers Tokyo Zokei University alumni