Bloober Team wanted Pyramid Head encounter "to be really elevated" in Silent Hill 2 Remake

The success of Silent Hill 2 Remake is still fresh, and from it came the consequent announcement of a new order by Konami for studio Bloober Team to create another game based on a super-secret, what-can-it-be TBC franchise. So the timing couldn't be more fitting to talk with Monika Chmura, who was in Gdansk to discuss the level design of the Woodside Apartments in the remake, during a panel for the DevGAMM conference. The setting for our exclusive interview, with the misty background, couldn't be more fitting either, as you can see below:

Spoiler alert: it's in that section where you meet one of the antagonists of the game for the first time, one that transcended both the game and the survival horror genre in the 2000s.

In discussing the Pyramid Head encounter, Monika highlighted the challenge of creating a tense atmosphere through the layout and lighting, saying that "we needed a long, straight corridor that has a lot of darkness... we wanted that moment to be really elevated, to have proper build-up for it." The (Bloober) Team aimed to capture the same chilling essence of the original while improving the experience for modern players.

"So as you mentioned, the Pyramid Head is quite, I would call it a pop cultural phenomenon right now", Chmura defines in the full interview. "Because we changed the geometry and long corridors are not necessarily working well in a third person camera. So we decided to break them a little bit. But for that specific part, we needed a long, straight corridor that has a lot of darkness. So we kind of struggled a little bit to find the right spot because we wanted that moment to be really elevated, to have proper build up for it. That has proper lighting. And so you can feel that power that comes from this character".

"And also it connects to the other events", she continues in the video. "So when you pick up the gun, then you hear the scream and you find a dead body in the apartment that you previously visited. [With the bullets]. And then the Pyramid Head disappears. So it was crucial to keep that flow intact and this chain of events the same way as it was in the original game. Because we felt that it corresponds strongly with building the character of Pyramid Head".

Speaking about other returning characters, and reflecting on Eddie and Laura, Monika emphasised their importance in maintaining the narrative's integrity, explaining that "we didn't want to change anything because the introduction for both is just great... it was more of a level design thing to secure that spacing". The idea was for the characters' return to be carefully paced to preserve their emotional impact from the original game.

And speaking of the original game, the designer also shared her admiration for Masahiro Ito's creative vision, claiming that "he has amazing art skills and amazing visual thinking... we were all speaking the same language, we were on the same page", despite others saying recently that the original creator wanted to change a lot while the remake studio insisted in preserve more of the source material. As it would seem, the team's alignment with Ito-san ensured a cohesive vision that beautifully blended his unique artistry with their modern level design expertise.

Will Bloober Team's next game for a Konami be Silent Hill?

Play the full interview for more on level design, teamwork, and life at Bloober, or the importance and challenge of darkness in the remake. To end the interview, we jokingly asked Monika whether the super-secret new project under a Konami IP would be Contra or Pro Evolution Soccer, and we have to admit how masterfully she handled the matter:

- So my question is, is that Konami IP Pro Evolution Soccer or Contra?
- Okay. So in Polish, when we cannot comment, we say like Tomato.
- Tomato? Really? You have to say that in English and in Spanish as well.
- So yeah. I will say tomato as my answer."
- Tomato to me? Okay.
- As an answer to your question.