K.Y., aka Yasunori Kanetake, is a senior chief designer at Konami Digital Entertainment who has been involved in the Silent Hill series ever since Silent Hill 2.
In a recent interview with GameSpark, as translated by Automaton Media, the veteran designer reveals that he was the one to first pitch Robbie the Rabbit for Silent Hill 3. Tasked with designing the game’s atmospheric backgrounds, K.Y. decided to visit real-life ruins to gather reference material for the game.
During the process of scouting for suitable locations, K.Y. recalled that the inspiration for Robbie struck him when he saw a rabbit mascot handing out balloons in a children’s area on top of a train station building in Japan. Robbie was created based on this observation, with the intention of depicting “the abnormal within the normal” through the character. In other words, he took a normal, even cute part of daily life and made it look like it’s “not supposed to.”
K.Y. said he has been pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming fan response to Robbie the Rabbit, noting the mascot’s popularity among fans and its enduring presence in various Silent Hill merchandise.
Kanetake can be seen in the Making of Silent Hill 3 video talking about how the crayon-rendered map of the church in the game was drawn by the son of a friend of one of the designers. Kanetake is credited in SH3 for “Background Design & Modeling.” A group led by Hiroko “Hiro” Usuda and Takamitsu Nemoto was in charge of the actual design and modeling of the church. The church part especially was Usuda’s responsibility, as she designed both the front and back of the area.
There has been no word yet on whether Konami has any plans to remake Silent Hill 3. That decision will most likely be made after seeing how well the upcoming SH2 remake does.
Silent Hill 2 releases on PS5 and PC on October 8th, 2024. You can pre-order the game now via PSN and Steam. Digital Deluxe versions of the game are also available on both platforms.
