Bokeh Game Studio, the new studio founded by silent Hill, SIRENE, and Gravity Rush Creator Keiichiro Toyama published a nine-minute “Focus” video featuring the CEO and creative director, in addition to provoking the studio’s first game.
“Regarding our first game, I have several directions for my work,” said Toyama in the video. “What I took is quite dark, far from my most recent titles. It is as if I am returning to my roots, for example, to terror. My ideas were starting to move in that direction. This is where I’m taking my first title. However, instead of something deeply rooted in terror, I want to keep a note of entertainment. While avoiding terror, I want the player to feel encouraged when playing. “
Toyama continued: “My view of horror is that everyday life is shaken. Instead of showing scary things, you should question our position, make us question the fact that we are living in peace. I like to bring that kind of thinking into my concepts. I would like that to be the theme of my next game.
“I tend to read comics as a form of entertainment, you recently saw a trend towards the ‘game of death’ content type. These works tend to add entertainment to somewhat brutal worlds. I like these works and read them often. I naturally took this approach. You have these normal people driven into irrational situations. They are on the edge emotionally, while dealing with action or drama. It influenced me and I think it will appear in my next game. “
“A characteristic of my games is the scenario, in which city or town we evolved, how these people got there, what their emotional state is. That’s how I approach games. I was also inspired by locals this time and started with that. I am going through maps, trying various methods to build the scenario.
“One of the triggers was a trip I took in my private time. My family and I went to visit this city in Asia. It had this dynamism typical of Asian cities, retaining an exotic touch mixed with a feeling of modernity. I started to imagine an environment that kept that feeling of evolution and people’s energy. I thought it was a good topic to include in my game. “
Additional concept art is shown throughout the video. Here are a few more:
Get the full video and transcript below.
“I always liked games as a player. I’ve been playing since I was a kid. Surprisingly, I never thought of making it my job.
“I entered art school, it was right around the time that 3D games were starting to come out. The gaming industry was looking for more and more young people. At that point, I realized that I could think about becoming a creator. It took me by surprise, but it came very naturally. “
Keiichiro Toyama is the creator behind silent Hill, SIRENE, and Gravity Rush. In 2020, he left Sony Interactive Entertainment after more than 20 years to found a new studio, where he took over as creative director.
“I founded Bokeh Game Studio to continue making games in my own style. Games have become bigger and bigger in recent years. The audience got bigger, mainly for companies like Sony, where I was. However, instead of reaching the widest possible audience, my games choose their audience in a way. They tend to have these strange concepts, in the end I am confident that they leave a trail.
“I aspire to make IPs that fans can enjoy for up to ten, twenty years after they are released. As I want to continue to achieve this under the right conditions, I thought it was necessary to have my own studio. “
Bokeh’s first
“Regarding our first game, I have several directions for my work. What I took is quite dark, far from my most recent titles. It is as if I am going back to my roots, for example, to terror. My ideas were starting to move in that direction. This is where I’m taking my first title. However, instead of something deeply rooted in terror, I want to keep an entertainment note. While preventing the elements from being terrified, I want the player to feel excited about playing.
“My view of horror is that everyday life is shaken. Instead of showing scary things, you should question our position, make us question the fact that we are living in peace. I like to bring that kind of thinking into my concepts. I would like that to be the theme of my next game.
“I tend to read comics as a form of entertainment, you recently saw a trend towards the ‘game of death’ content type. These works tend to add entertainment to somewhat brutal worlds. I like these works and read them often. I naturally took this approach. You have these normal people driven into irrational situations. They are on the edge emotionally, while dealing with action or drama. It influenced me and I think it will appear in my next game.
“A characteristic of my games is the scenario, in which city or town we evolved, how these people got there, what their emotional state is. That’s how I approach games. I was also inspired by locals this time and started with that. I am going through maps, trying various methods to build the scenario.
“One of the triggers was a trip that I took in my private time. My family and I went to visit this city in Asia. It had this dynamism typical of Asian cities, maintaining an exotic touch mixed with a feeling of modernity. I started to imagine an environment that kept that feeling of evolution and people’s energy. I thought it was a good topic to include in my game. “
Engraving emotions
“One motivation I have for taking pictures is to find a way to record the emotions I feel. Back at school, I was focusing more on analog videography. I would like to shoot pieces of our daily lives. Photos have that time machine aspect, allowing you to go back to a moment in time. I like that nostalgia you get from them. I insist on recording those moments, it calms me down in a way. That is why I still keep a camera at all times.
“Making games is a group activity, we do it together in a studio. I really like this. However, on the contrary, when I want to express an emotion that I have inside me, I want to create new works in my daily life, but it can be quite difficult. Photography is the only way to easily express my own interpretation of the world. You feel like times change too. I realize how different I saw the world a few years ago. This is shown especially in the colors. It’s a way for me to face the world alone in some way. Photography goes well with creating games or other group activities, as this is my axis ”.