20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Silent Hill
15. Takayoshi Sato Almost Wasn't Credited
A lot of that success can be attributed to Takayoshi Sato. One of the younger members of Team Silent, he was mainly called upon for basic tasks like font design for the first game. Hungry and eager to prove himself, however, Sato went to extra lengths and ended up being almost single-handedly responsible for the unique storytelling and visual style of Silent Hill today. In his spare time Sato offered to create all of the cinematic cut scenes in the game, which he did entirely off his own back once the studios were closed and computers were free, necessitating that he sleep in the office for about two and half years. Being the youngest member of the team meant that, whilst doing all this, he also had to teach the older developers how to do 3D modelling. And yet, despite having played such a key effort in making Silent Hill, he was originally going to get zero credit for all his extra work. He approached Konami's higher ups, showed them some of the cinematics he'd made and threatened to leave the team (taking his modelling skills with him). Team Silent acquiesced, and he was given a proper 3D modelling job.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/