Legendary video game artist Masahiro Ito of Silent Hill fame tweeted back to fans about his thoughts and ideas for a hypothetical Silent Hill sequel. Ito was part of the now defunct Team Silent, and was responsible for the character and aesthetic design of the original Silent Hill series, games 1 through 3, before the studio was disbanded. Even if you haven’t played the Silent Hill games, you might have stumbled across some of his work before. A hulking monstrosity that goes by the name…
…Pyramid Head?
Pyramid Head was one of several of Ito’s iconic and nightmare-inducing creations, yet Pyramid Head (or Red Pyramid Thing as he and SH2 often refer to it) has survived in the following years since his debut in Silent Hill 2, 17 years ago. The icon’s continuing popularity is a testament to the genius of Ito’s work, and ever since publisher Konami handed the series to American studios, the games have lacked his particular touch.
In response to a fan who was curious about potential design ideas for a (hypothetical) Silent Hill sequel, Ito responded that even if it were to be a sequel to the original games, he would never try to duplicate the atmosphere of what came before. While he is uncertain about the future of the series, and if we will ever get a sequel, he is certain that he would go for a new approach. This will come as a surprise to some, as all the entries in the Silent Hill brand that followed after the disbanding of Team Silent, whether the American games or the film adaptations, have tried to capture the original games’ unique feel. Be it the visuals or monsters, all subsequent works in the franchise have tried to emulate the unique design and feel of the original games. Yet, and perhaps unsurprisingly, all of them have failed to capture that initial spark. It’s astonishing how the lack of one creative mind can make all the difference.
Perhaps the most important of what Ito talks about in his Twitter thread is that he would never use Pyramid Head again. This statement comes in direct contrast with what the franchise has been attempting in previous years. The later games, and particularly the movies, have lost the point of what Pyramid Head represents. They’ve utilized him as more of a mascot, a face of the Silent Hill brand. That, if you’ve played Silent Hill 2, is a completely incorrect reading of the character. Pyramid Head is unique to Silent Hill 2’s protagonist James Sunderland. Even Ito makes sure to remind us of this, as he’s grown “fed up with seeing him in the sequels”. In a completely seperate thread back in August 2017, Ito responded positively to someday reforming Team Silent, as long as he doesn’t have to work on a sequel or have to use Pyramid Head again. He was fine with killing him in the opening though, to put a rest to any future abuse of the character.
You can find the two Tweet threads below. Click on them to view the full chain of responses. Perhaps consider following Ito as he often posts quite the insightful information on his work on Silent Hill.
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