CH: When did you join Capcom and how did you come to work for them?

MK: It was April 1994. I joined Capcom because I wanted to fulfil my boyhood dream of creating video games. I was really addicted to video games back then. At the same time I also wanted to pursue a career in illustration and design.

CH: How did you come to join the Resident Evil team?

MK: Around the summer of 1994, I joined the team as an art design staff member. At that time the game was still called ‘3D horror’. I remember loving the design of the mansion main hall, which I designed from the trial stage, and then began to contribute further.

CH: Do you remember when the title of ‘Biohazard’ was decided and did you propose any title for the game?

MK: The title ‘Resident Evil’ was decided after the summer of 1995. I remember suggesting the title ‘Helix’ however, because the plot centred on DNA research being used to create zombies.

CH: What were your duties as Resident Evil room designer and which rooms did you design?

MK: I created the designs from the first stage image, and from there added further details. Once each composition was almost complete, the design was then finalised based on the map designs. For the mansion, I designed the main hall. As I mentioned before, the design that inspired me to join the Resident Evil team was the hall area of the mansion. In addition, I designed the mansion's courtyard, the laboratory for the final stage, and the tower that was removed due to capacity restriction.

CH: Mikami, Kamiya, Katoh and others were responsible for those map designs. So did you base your artwork on the existing map designs?

MK: In the process of corresponding with the map, I remember altering some designs so that they matched with it where needed.

CH: What were your instructions from Mr. Mikami and what did you learn from his direction?

MK: Mr. Mikami taught me many things, such as how to improve background art, which was a technical area I was lacking in. I remember it as an expression that makes you feel the fascination of background art, and the fear that comes from that.

CH: Did you propose any original locations that were then used in the Resident Evil game?

MK: I proposed the courtyard location, the tower and laboratory section.

CH: Did Mr. Mikami instruct you to draw the tower in a particular way, which techniques did you use and why was the tower scrapped?

MK: The aspect that I found most challenging when designing the rooms, was not only their design, but also the ‘fascination with the idea of fear’. I feel that was the part that Director Mikami-san was most concerned with to get right. As a means of expression, instead of a simple first-perspective, I was improving the design by making full use of a third-perspective. As for colouring, digital colouring tools were not yet widely used back then, so I remember using coloured pencils and markers. I think the tower was cancelled either because of capacity issues, or because it wasn’t considered that important for the story.

CH: Initially, there were four buildings planned during the beta stages for Resident Evil, but two were scrapped. Did you design either one?

MK: I remember designing a swamp and a cemetery. I remember this was going to be included in the courtyard location that I mentioned before.

CH: Did you work on the first-person shooter version and why was it dropped?

MK: Yes, I remember working on the first-person version when I joined the team. It was passed on due to hardware limitations.

CH: Did you watch many horror films during your work for inspiration?

MK: I watched a few horror movies such as ‘Dawn of the Dead’ and others like it, but I also watched Robocop and Alien to get some reference ideas for settings and landscape designs. From the manga genre I read stuff like ‘Akira’.

CH: Did the Famicom video game ‘Sweet Home’ influence your work?

MK: I haven’t played Sweet Home, so my work would not have been influenced by it.

CH: Which games did you work on prior to Resident Evil?

MK: Before Resident Evil, I was involved a bit with Mega Man.

CH: Which other Capcom games have you worked on?

MK: I worked on Mega Man and Breath of Fire, but Resident Evil was the first team I was full-time with.

CH: Please explain the circumstances that saw you depart the Resident Evil team.

MK: I left the team in the Autumn of 1995, when the background locations were complete, and then I moved to the team developing Breath of Fire 3, and afterwards I joined the Resident Evil 2 team at the start of the game’s production.

SPECIAL THANKS: Welsh, BSAARKLAY, USS COMMAND, THE ORACLE DRAGON, GEORGE TREVOR, SONNY BAUER, YUAN-THE-11TH