Tatsuya Yoshikawa (Breath of Fire character designer/artist) working with Bokeh Game Studio (Silent Hill/Siren/Gravity Rush)

[werezompire]

Bokeh Game Studio just uploaded a video with the announcement that Tatsuya Yoshikawa would be designing the main characters for their new game.




Tatsuya Yoshikawa is best known as an illustrator & character designer for the Breath of Fire series and has also worked on some other Capcom games like Devil May Cry 4 & 5.

Bokeh Game Studio is the new group that was formed by Keiichiro Toyama (the creator of Silent Hill, Siren, and Gravity Rush) after he left Playstation, along with some of his collaborators on past games. The studio is currently working on an unnamed horror game.

 

[Izanagi89]

Wow. I'm really excited to see what they're cooking up. They have a lot of amazing talent working for them.

 

[werezompire]

Wow. I'm really excited to see what they're cooking up. They have a lot of amazing talent working for them.

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No kidding. For example, Miki Takahashi is doing the enemy design for their new game. She was a monster designer on the Siren series and ayone who has played Siren can attest to how creepy Siren's monsters were.

 

[Sesha]

"Some other Capcom games like DMC4 & 5", lol

Anyway, neat. He's incredibly underrated, imo. I figured they already had a char designer, but I guess it was monsters only.

 

[Izanagi89]

No kidding. For example, Miki Takahashi is doing the enemy design for their new game. She was a monster designer on the Siren series and ayone who has played Siren can attest to how creepy Siren's monsters were.

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For real. Shibito designs are crazy good. Some of the best monster designs of that era. Would be really nice if they can superimpose real faces on to the 3D models again😂 But yeah, whatever they're making, I'm there day 1

 

[ILikeFeet]

I wonder who's funding this game

 

[Raigor]

I wonder who's funding this game

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tim sweeney

 

[Deleted member 12555]

I've got the Last Ranker ost and artbook and the character illustrations make me drool so bad. He's really talented.

Eager to see the final character designs. Wondering if those shown in the video will be redone or refined based on changes to the story.

 

[ILikeFeet]

tim sweeney

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That would have been announced by now, I'd think

 

[Strings]

I wonder who's funding this game

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It's NetEase Tencent. We found that out from the Bloomberg article that broke that Nagoshi was leaving.

EDIT: Wait, nvm, it was Tencent:

Publicly-announced minority acquisitions by Tencent include PlatinumGames Inc., which has developed games for Square Enix and Nintendo, and console games publisher Marvelous Inc. The Chinese company has also backed Bokeh Game Studio, a startup led by founders who'd previously created hit games for Sony. That growing track record of deals is also helping build confidence among other prospective investment targets, the people said.

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China’s NetEase in Talks to Hire Creator of Sega Yakuza Series

NetEase Inc. is in final negotiations to poach Yakuza franchise creator Toshihiro Nagoshi from Sega, a sign of how Chinese games companies are expanding beyond their home turf during a government-led crackdown.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[--R]

I wonder who's funding this game

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Tencent invested on the studio, so probably them.

 

[Strings]

So judging by these designs and previous mocap footage of swordfighting (and shooting elsewhere in the video):

I'm guessing this is a sort of horror/supernatural action hybrid.

 

[werezompire]

So judging by these designs and previous mocap footage of swordfighting (and shooting elsewhere in the video):

I'm guessing this is a sort of horror/supernatural action hybrid.

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Supernatural horror action game lines up with what they've said about the game.

 

[Bishop89]

The talent at that studio is crazy

 

[Darkknight2149]

Easily one of my most anticipated games. After this horror-based action/adventure project is released in 2023, I hope Konami considers outsourcing Silent Hill to this studio (as opposed to a cheap developer in the west).

After Siren and Gravity Daze, this looks like a natural evolution for Toyama as a developer.

 

[Vespa]

Damn, big get

 

[Aufdeel]

And with that, my interest in this game has grown suddenly

 

[sir_crocodile]

Breath of Fire work was some of the best VG art, BOF3 work in particualr is some of my absolute favourite. WIl be interested to see what the studio come up with for their new game

 

[Katmeister]

I hope the action feels good. Never played the Siren games (need a remaster with dual audio. English voices ruin my immersion in a Japanese setting) but I don't know how they handle combat. I just want the combat to feel fun and not like a chore like in Silent Hill.

 

[werezompire]

I hope the action feels good. Never played the Siren games (need a remaster with dual audio. English voices ruin my immersion in a Japanese setting) but I don't know how they handle combat. I just want the combat to feel fun and not like a chore like in Silent Hill.

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Siren & Silent Hill don't have great combat, but that's not their point. Gravity Rush is great though so I have confidence that they can make a good action game.

 

[Darkknight2149]

I hope the action feels good. Never played the Siren games (need a remaster with dual audio. English voices ruin my immersion in a Japanese setting) but I don't know how they handle combat. I just want the combat to feel fun and not like a chore like in Silent Hill.

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The combat in Siren is exactly like Silent Hill, except for more stealth and unkillable enemies. However, neither of those games are a good indicator of the combat in this game, because both of those were full-on horror games and not action/horror games. Combat was just a means to an end and not a "fun" mechanic per se. Toyama explains it best in these interviews:

The modern horror essence was the key to the game. The main character is not a hero, nor is he a strong willed person. He has and keeps his morals, but he is really just a plain, normal person. His motions, such as swinging around his items and trying to catch his breath after running, falling on climbing the stairs, etc. are not very cool or heroic, but after a while, it would be easier for a player to project himself or herself to the main character.

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Resident Evil 2, in particular, put aside the horror a bit and went very "Hollywood." It focused on the action, and felt more like an action movie than a horror game. We wanted to go back to the roots of what horror is supposed to be about. We want to make you scared on an instinctive level.

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That's completely different from what this game is:

Toyama's Bokeh Game Studio was founded on August 13 and announced publicly in December. Speaking with IGN Japan, the acclaimed developer explained that he is working on "an action-adventure game that will appeal to fans of my previous work". He explained that the game will include "battles and story elements" in the kind of richly authored worlds you might recognize from his games at Sony's Japan Studio and Konami.

When pressed on whether this new title will lean more toward the horror themes of Silent Hill and Siren or the cuter anime-styled paranormal setting of Gravity Rush, he explained, "If anything, this will be more of a horror-oriented game. But we will focus on making this a broader entertainment experience, rather than a hardcore horror game."

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If you want a better indicator of fast-paced in a Toyama game, check out the Gravity Daze series.

 

[Katmeister]

Siren & Silent Hill don't have great combat, but that's not their point. Gravity Rush is great though so I have confidence that they can make a good action game.

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The combat in Siren is exactly like Silent Hill, except for more stealth and unkillable enemies. However, neither of those games are a good indicator of the combat in this game, because both of those were full-on horror games and not action/horror games. Combat was just a means to an end and not a "fun" mechanic per se. Toyama explains it best in these interviews:




That's completely different from what this game is:



If you want a better indicator of fast-paced in a Toyama game, check out the Gravity Daze series.

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The combat in Gravity Rush was the weakest part of that game for me. Dunno if 2 vastly improved upon it but it was absolutely hell having to fight the Nevi. But I think that's mainly the result of the gravity controls not being suited for combat. So I'm kind of still worried about the combat in this game.

 

[jiggle]

Nice
Big fan of his work
Don't care for horror game
But at least there'll be pretty art to look at

 

[OdjnRyu]

This is like, the first time I've ever seen a video interview with Tatsuya Yoshikawa talking about his work, and the Breath of Fire series. Amazing that it took so long for something like this to come out.

 

[MCD]

Incredible get.

 

[Qvoth]

cool

 

[Darkknight2149]

Compilation of some of the concept art so far:

From Bokeh Game Studio (successor to Japan Studio's Siren/Gravity Team). For the uninitiated, it's a horror game with action and speedy elements directed by Keiichiro Toyama due out in 2023.

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[MCD]

Getting some Last Ranker vibes.