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The survival horror video games series Silent Hill features a large cast of characters. The games' player characters are "everymen", in contrast to action-oriented survival horror video game series featuring combat-trained player characters, such as Resident Evil.^[1] The games are set in the series' eponymous fictional American town.

Characters went through several conceptual different phases prior to their final designs. The physical appearances of Silent Hill 3 characters were created using actors as models.

Design

Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 characters were designed by Takayoshi Sato.^[2] Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, oversaw the process.^[3][4][5] Team Silent designed the character Maria to have physical flaws and did not base her on any particular model.^[6] The developers toned down her design because of technical problems with her low neckline.^[6] To better capture her facial movements, Sato Takayoshi practiced expressions in front of a mirror and drew her facial expressions instead of using motion capture.^[6] Maria and Mary share the same facial structure, polygon count and voice actor; only the muscle structure differs.^[6] Takayoshi designed Angela to appear older than her intended age of sixteen or seventeen and the developers chose an older voice actor for her.^[6] Fifty to sixty Japanese and American voice actors auditioned for Silent Hill 2, with five ultimately chosen: Guy Cihi, Donna Burke, David Schaufele, Jakey Breckenridge, and Monica Horgan.^[6] Motion capture of the voice actors was used to model their action.^[6]

Sophie Marceau (left) and Charlotte Gainsbourg (middle) were the models on which Heather was based;^[7] Vanessa Paradis (right) was a model for concept art of Heather^[8]

The Silent Hill 3 development team initially saw Heather as "innocent", something that was reflected in original sketches of her, but they found this motif to be too "nice", so the game's supervising illustrator Shingo Yuri modeled Heather after French actresses Sophie Marceau and Charlotte Gainsbourg,^[7] with Vanessa Paradis serving as a model for concept art.^[8] The character's leg-revealing outfit and slightly curly hair was the subject of debate among Yuri and two female members of the development team: while Yuri firstly envisioned her wearing jeans, these members convinced him that she needed more sex appeal. Yuri also accepted their view that curly hair would be more suitable for a young girl.^[7] The character's name was taken from Heather Morris, who provided Heather's voice and motion capture.

Priestess Claudia Wolf was the biggest design challenge.^[8] She was intended to look strange, but conventional and evoke a sense of danger. To reflect her evil nature, the development team imagined her with a shaved head and tattoos.^[7] Other dropped ideas included portraying her as a "holy woman" as well as dressing her in a long robe. The team opted to remove her eyebrows to making her expression unreadable.^[7] Hollywood actress Julianne Moore was used as a model. Claudia's name originates from Italian actress Claudia Cardinale. Claudia replaced the original Christie, because the latter was viewed as too cute.^[8]

Silent Hill 3's male characters were delineated by the development team as possessing flaws and complexes to add realism. Douglas Cartland was given a combover.^[7] Early on, he was seen as a middle-aged detective.^[8] A priest from The Fifth Element was the basis for this generation of Douglas;^[7] actors such as Ian Holm and Giancarlo Giannini were models for some of the character's concept art. Douglas' name was taken from actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., because it "just seemed to suit him".^[8]

Vincent's design centered on making him a hypocrite clad in "nice" clothes and of a neat appearance. Incorporation of hints aiming at revealing Vincent's nature were added,by giving him a laugh "like he is hiding something nasty" and during his speech, "one of his eyes is not looking at the observer.".^[7]

Main game series characters

Note: Some characters may or may not appear in Silent Hill 2 or Silent Hill 3, depending on their fate in the previous games.