Masahiro Ito, the first three Silent Hill games monster designer, has published an early concept piece of his most renowned creation, Pyramid Head. Pyramid Head, originally a primary opponent in Silent Hill 2, has become synonymous with the franchise, appearing in multiple follow-up Silent Hill titles, as well as the movie series and other Konami-licenced games.
In 1997, Ito joined Konami and joined Team Silent, serving as background and creature designer for Silent Hill, art director and creature designer for Silent Hill 2, and art director, creature and backdrop designer for Silent Hill 3. Silent Hill 2 is still remembered today for its outstanding story, gloomy atmosphere, and character design, so much so that the Silent Hill 2 remake will not include any adversaries, with Pyramid Head standing out as a noteworthy adversary.
"3310", a painting that I did after finishing making the 1st Silent Hill in 1999. I was thinking the object of in the middle of this pic as a character that the protagonist encountered in water from an story-idea for the SH2. This figure became Pyramid Head eventually. pic.twitter.com/eJgDUgrhZe
— ????/Masahiro Ito (@adsk4) January 23, 2023
Fans may now view an early prototype of what would become the famous monster. Ito, who often tweets concept drawings and furious tweets about Pyramid Head, has posted a picture of Pyramid Head at an early stage of development. Ito created the artwork “3310” after completing the first Silent Hill. The “item” seems to be encountered in water by the protagonist of Silent Hill 2. It’s unknown how far Silent Hill 2 was in production at the time of this design, but aficionados will remember that water, in the shape of Toluca Lake, would play an important role in the tale.
The last line of the tweet clarifies that the design wasn’t just a clone of the well-known monster: “This figure became Pyramid Head ultimately.” Ito has said that Pyramid Head was supposed to be uniquely linked to the Silent Hill 2 protagonist, James Sunderland, even going so far as to claim that Dead by Daylight features the incorrect Pyramid Head. Rather than a normal foe, the creature was meant to be a symbol of James’ remorse.
The nurses from Silent Hill 2 also closely relate to James’ story but are recurring characters in the film series. Even as one of the scariest nurses in horror movies, it might be argued that one of the reasons Silent Hill 2 has become a psychological horror classic, if not the genre’s definition, is the way Ito’s monster designs tie in so well to the tormented protagonist’s mind.
