CH: You’ve shared with us concept art from your time working with Capcom, including many eclectic creatures, not used in the retail versions of Resident Evil Zero and Code Veronica, but still much beloved by fans. What were the inspirations for these beta designs, such as your ‘Plant Zombies’, and ‘Wesker Monster’ (images below). What scenario did you create the Plant Zombies for, how is the Wesker Monster linked to Albert, and why were these fascinating infectants & B.O.Ws. removed from the final build?

SN: Do the fans like the unused monsters I designed? Oh, really, I’m glad to hear that! I don't remember why they were not adopted. However, I am aware that I deviated a little from the Resident Evil worldview. I wanted to offer something that had never been seen before, something that would give gamers a scare they couldn't get in the previous games. So I proposed one monster after another, and one after another was sunk (laughs).

My designs for plant monsters were drawn according to Code Veronica's early themes, when an early scenario included an ‘Antarctica’ stage. These two concepts (image 1 & 2 below) are early versions of Code Veronica's ‘Plant People’. They were treated differently from the game’s zombies, and they appeared in the first half of the game; the zombies appeared in the middle. I got inspiration for their design from the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). The Japanese written on that picture (image 1 below) is as follows: ‘Plant people. Mother's children (Kids). Leaf veins all over. Lots of mucus.’ The other picture (image 3 below) is called ‘Antarctic Corpse-man Zombie’.

I fondly remember from that time, a design that I sketched on paper, that is now lost. It was a composite design of a giant jellyfish and an octopus, which I tentatively named ‘The Sick Chandelier’!

The idea for the ‘Wesker Monster’ (image 4 below) was I wanted an enemy moving across the ceiling, in a way which had never been done before. Although the Licker did crawl across walls, the difference was my monster could actually open doors. For this it had to possess a higher level of intelligence, with dexterous hands too. It had a tail utilised as a weapon, to differentiate it from, and make it superior to Hunters. Based on these ideas I designed it as a large ape. I don’t recall its relationship with Wesker, or why it wasn’t used. It’s a shame.

CH: Have you seen the trailers for Resident Evil Village and what is your opinion of the gameplay footage?

SN: Yes, I saw the trailers. That game is extremely fascinating! It grabbed my attention so much, that for the first time in a long time I wanted to enter the Resident Evil world! But I don't want to know any more information other than from those trailers, because if I have any preconceptions, I won’t be able to enjoy the released game un-spoilt. What I have seen so far is really fascinating.

CH: How does creature design differ between horror and science-fiction genres, and what are the differences between the two, you take into account when designing creatures? Do you prefer creating monsters for science-fiction or horror scenarios? If designing a creature for traditional horror, do you need to adopt a darker mood, than if drawing for a science-fiction flavoured horror, and how would your technique change between the two genres?

SN: This question is interesting. So, what makes horror so scary? It’s from things that are real in our world, such as germ infections, psychopathic crimes, psychic spirits, things we all have a physiological aversion to. It may be the desire not to be bitten by a rotting zombie. This is because there is a real fear of being infected by its pathogens, a fear that can really be felt in the real world. Rabies is a good example of this. So the basis of a horror theme stems from what you feel is a real threat. This is also the case with my design for the Nosferatu. I think the scariest thing is when people change ever so slightly, just a little. This is also the case with the ghost of the mother in the film Mama. I think it's the fear of being just slightly different from humans.

On the other hand, science fiction may be the exact opposite. It is a genre that responds to the imagination of ‘what if there was such a creature’ or a new lifeform that has yet to be seen. For example, the various aliens in the movie Men in Black, are very appealing. That’s the work of Rick Baker, whom I consider my mentor. In other words, a new design that is not based on the existing life forms familiar on earth. And the evils and horrors such a creature would bring us. No one can argue with the brilliance of what Giger created in the film Alien.

And here is something you didn’t ask. The most fascinating thing between science fiction and horror is Cthulhu, and very challenging to design for this sub-genre. This is a terrifying god from another world. I think it needs a sense of reality to bring us fear. This worldview requires both, so I find it a difficult but very challenging design.

CH: The loss of the static camera in the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3, is cited by fans as detrimental to a survival horror atmosphere. Would you have preferred the HD remaster of Resident Evil Zero, been remade with a moving camera and 3D environment similar to the recent remakes of Resident Evil 2 & 3? Some fans desire a remake of Code Veronica, others wish it remained untouched, as perfect survival horror for its time. What is your opinion? If Code Veronica is remade would you like to see it keep the traditional style, or remade in the same engine as Resident Evil 2 & 3? Is it a necessity for Capcom to cut the shackles of classic survival horror mechanics for Resident Evil to survive, and grow a larger market audience?

SN: I don’t blame the creators, and I don’t blame the producers, because they are trying to make their previous works better. That may or may not be accepted by the gamers. But the problem is that if the remake is not what the fans want, then creators and producers will be blamed. I don't adhere to a traditional style. I’m more of an ‘innovator’. If I were to innovate, I would think about whether my existing fan base would be happy or sad. For example, when a 10-year-old child comes in contact with a remake for the first time, he won't feel any different, as he doesn't know the previous one existed, so there will be no comparison. However, those of you who have loved the films over the years will feel some discomfort.

This may be similar to the many agonies of making a new Star Trek film: • I want to present a new story of space exploration • I want to offer a new episode in this world using the current modern methods, but whilst keeping the existing worldview • There's nothing wrong with a ten year old seeing it for the first time • But it may be unacceptable to the fans of the original episodes • There's no way the Klingons would say that • The creators don't know what they're talking about •

This kind of process will be repeated endlessly. There are always challenges, innovations, successes, and failures. Even so, creators must always challenge themselves. Even if they are criticized by customers.

CH: What were your ideas and techniques for adding unique and immersive atmosphere into Resident Evil Zero and Code Veronica? What emotions did you want to provoke in gamers, from an atmosphere you can generate with your creations? What designs did you create to illicit these emotions?

SN: I didn't have any specific techniques for this (laughs) First of all, there are always necessary enemies. Zombies, Zombie dogs, Hunters, etc. Then, in a meeting, we would come up with the key characters and enemies for the game. At that time, I proposed the Albinoid, Nosferatu, and Bandersnatch. I also designed a completely different kind of plant man for an early concept scenario. It was just an early idea I suggested to be a replacement for the zombies, to add a new element into the game. I also proposed a ‘Chameleon monster’ to replace the Hunter. I wanted to make it a substitute for the Hunter. It would be hard to detect unless it moved with its characteristic eye movement, tongue extension attack, or mimicry. To this day I still think it's interesting (laughs). Unfortunately, this was not adopted into the game.

I wanted to surprise the players, so I proposed the Bandersnatch creature. Until then, there was no such thing as a B.O.W. that could reach out with that type of attack. It's a nasty experience for gamers when they feel safe from a long distance, but suddenly they are attacked despite that distance, which was not the case before. I am one of the victims of this! “Who are you? Who created this fucking disgusting character? I'll kill you for this!”. Yes, I was furious with myself while playing!

CH: What were the inspirations and references for your unique style that produced some of Resident Evil’s most unique and eclectic characters and B.O.Ws? Did you have two separate, distinct themes, one for Resident Evil Zero, and one for Code Veronica? Did you have ideas or techniques for creating a marked difference in atmospheres between the two respective games?

SN: The scenario always takes precedence. Then the setting presented in that scenario becomes the basis for my ideas. When I joined the development team for Code: Veronica the scenario was already underway, but it kept changing due to different circumstances. The creature designs and ideas changed as well. When I created and began to design the Nosferatu, at first I thought it would be interesting to have a character locked up for a long time, with his hands bound, because there had been no such enemy in the series before. He would have been held for a long time, experimented on, and slowly turned into a monster. As a result, instead of being released from bondage and using both hands, I imagined a crazy mental state in which the state of bondage was normal and still part of the creature when released.

For the Bandersnatch, I wanted to deign a creature that could reach out and grab you; the inspiration came from Dhalsim (laughs). At the time I used nothing other than Dhalsim, I just loved the way he would reach out! (Dhalsim is character from the Street Fighter series, with the alias ‘long-arm’ and his fighting ability includes stretching limbs). Of course, I took the gameplay seriously, and I found inspiration from Alice in Wonderland, for a neck that elongates quickly and can be stretched right out.

My favourite B.O.W. is Bandersnatch, because it went through so many changes. It was first designed with both hands extending, but the Dreamcast capabilities didn’t allow for this. We had to change the design accordingly, and there were changes due to the lack of polygons. It was a lot of hard work, but I was happy that we were able to create a design that I remain confident in.

‘He breaths out from his shoulder. It can accumulate and store air here, and then reach out using compressed air. (Suggest this to the user as a pre-attack move.) Only one arm/hand is bigger than the other. It’s a mook (weak enemy) character. Sometimes both arms will extend. Treat it as an enhanced type of being.’: Translation of Japanese text in above Bandersnatch concept, by Satoshi Nakai.

For Resident Evil Zero, I participated in the scenario from the beginning. The framework of the scenario was already in place, but I was able to come up with any ideas freely. I think that's how I came up with the idea for the Marcus Leeches. I focused on differentiation from the previous titles and a different direction of ‘creepiness’. I have a lot of rough sketches from this time.

CH: What was the most challenging Resident Evil character to create, and how did you overcome artistic challenges you faced on these games?

SN: The one that was most challenging to design was Alexia Ashford’s t-Veronica virus final form, because it was the last enemy, and the challenge was whether it would work as an adequate game mechanic for a boss fight. The design went through a lot of discussions and changes. The immense pressure was a challenge. Why was this most difficult character to design? It was a female character, I’m terrible at drawing people (laughs)! Especially cute women, but how hard can it be?! I’m good at uncles and grandfathers though! As you know, Capcom’s design team is excellent at drawing people!

However, there is one thing I can say with certainty; it's easy to come up with a character design if you already have a good idea of what you want the boss to look like, or what kind of attacks you want the character to perform. It’s easy to then develop the character design. I still love the act of thinking and designing, because it’s such a fun process!

CH: Why did you include a German war theme in your designs for Code Veronica, and what atmosphere were you intending to evoke with a cast of characters, imbued with a Germanic military style? Was this too controversial for Capcom to include in the retail versions of your characters?

SN: In the first stages of development, the Ashford family’s character names were all in German. That was their origin. Alexia was Hilda and Alfred was Hilbert. Lord Kruger was their father, and in one of my sketches, I drew Lord Kruger changing into Nosferatu.

There was a Tiger 1 World War II German tank in the game map. So I invented a character called ‘Lord Kruger’s second-in-command’, an old butler who had served the Kruger family since the previous generation. He was a butler who had lived through World War II. Therefore, I thought German-style costumes and equipment would be appropriate. I still like the idea and design of this old butler. Unfortunately, my idea was not adopted. I didn’t see the German atmosphere as evil, I designed costumes that fitted the character's name, tanks, and other elements. I also used the uniforms of the McLaren Formula 1 team, of the time, as a reference. It’s a futuristic design with grey tones. I was a big fan of Mika Häkkinen, so that was another reason!

CH: What were your inspirations and references for both the Billy Coen character, and ‘Annie’ who you created as his co-protagonist, before she was substituted with Rebecca Chambers?

SN: This is the first drawing I did when creating Billy Coen’s design, If you check the file name and time stamp, it’s the oldest of all the designs. In the early development stage, I decided Billy should become a different type of character than had come before in the series, a delinquent or criminal. I submitted a number of designs for a bad type of person at that stage to get the team to discuss them. So, the initial concept for Billy and Annie was as follows: If they are young criminals, I need to design them with punk style, and as the main characters in Resident Evil use the colours blue and pink/red, I wanted to deviate from that with a monotone punk look!

I don’t think there were tattoos or handcuffs on his arms at that stage, and I was free to draw them as I saw fit. For a delinquent type of character, I created a punk style, but I created the design with Billy’s age and specific details of his criminal record undecided.

In the early stages, Billy wore a prisoner's uniform, but I remember that it had to become a tank top instead, due to the limitation of the number of polygons available. I was told that since is Resident Evil Zero was going to be on the GameCube console, there would be less v-ram available. So, his arm tattoo was designed from the start to save on texture space, and I drew the tattoo so that it could be flipped left and right to save memory space. But when I saw the finished model, it was totally different, with a more detailed texture. So as it turned out, my fears were unfounded, because Billy's tattoo was placed all over his arm! I guess I was thinking too deeply in the earlies stages of his design (laughs). I love that early punk design, but I do not resent how Billy was changed.

I thought his height would also be important, for the contrast with Annie. I didn’t think of any specific actor, I first imagined the character as I would see him if portrayed in a film. This is the process of presenting a design at a concept stage, and for showing the direction of that design. This is common practice and a good thing because it allows for consensus within the team.

CH: Concept art for Rodrigo Juan Raval has an Umbrella logo ‘AAT’ on his trousers. What is the meaning of these letters and what design details can you tell us about this popular character?

SN: How dare you notice these details (laughs)! It’s been a long time between being asked this question and last seeing Rodrigo’s image asleep deep within my HDD! Oh, yes, indeed, there's an ‘AAT’ on his thigh… I wonder what it is, I don't really remember. Maybe it's an embarrassing mistake; letter ‘A’ for ‘Umbrella’, ‘A’ for ‘Assault’, and ‘T’ for ‘Team’. This is very likely, so horribly embarrassing!

CH: During your time working with Capcom, how did the Resident Evil story and game mechanics develop? How would you describe the changes occurring to the narrative and gameplay, across the series, from the original Resident Evil to Resident Evil Village?

SN: I haven't played any of the recent Resident Evil games, so my answer is limited. I got halfway through Resident Evil 4 and couldn't get used to the Wii controls. I've only played the demo version of Resident Evil 5. I prefer to play open-world games. I watched a video of Resident Evil 7 on YouTube. It was very beautiful, but it looked like a horror story. I have no idea why this is the case nowadays. I guess the change is inevitable, because you can't keep doing exactly the same thing as in the previous game.

I was involved in Flagship’s planning meetings, but the scenario team created the foundation story. I do remember that in the early stages of Code Veronica, a cruise ship was chosen as the stage, and I also remember Antarctica being a key theme. I think our customers understand the transition of the story from Resident Evil 1 to 4 better than we do. I watched Resident Evil 6 on YouTube and it looked like Gears of War. Resident Evil 7 looks like a completely different and good quality horror game.

CH: Did you work closely with Noboru Sugimura and what are your memories of him? How did he contribute to the survival horror genre?

SN: I talked a lot with Mr. Sugimura. I did not know any elders who I could call a teacher or mentor. I don't even have a painting teacher. So it was my first experience to get guidance from elders in a different working environment. It was a great experience. Mr. Sugimura and I both lived in the same town, Kichijoji, so we used to drink together, outside of work. He is from an older generation, a ‘Oyakata’ (boss) type of person. He is a dynamic, slightly aggressive leader, who inspires people and still takes care of the younger generation. He would invite me to dinner with his then girlfriend, and he would tease me, he would get angry with me, he would encourage me. I am very happy to have met Sugimura-sensei, Soda-sensei and everyone at Flagship.

CH: Do you have a message for the Resident Evil community, and to fans of your huge contribution to Resident Evil’s cast of iconic characters and B.O.Ws?

SN: To my fans, thank you so much for following my work so far! I apologise for forgetting some things. My memory is uncertain, so I open my folder and look at my past work, and I get this feeling. “What? There’s no extension on the PSD data from these days! It's old… Oh, wow! I’m terrible at this… I’m so embarrassed… In those days, I used to draw with a pencil and import with a scanner… It brings back memories… This was rejected, what a waste… Oh! But I still like this picture, it's good… Yeah, it was a lot of fun!”

So thanks to this interview, I had a chance to revisit some good old memories. And I am truly grateful to have been able to be a part of the work that has fascinated people around the world for so many years. I would like to thank Aoyama-san, the president of Nextech, for giving me the opportunity. Thank you to everyone at Capcom for accepting a freelance designer like me. Mikami-san, Kato-san, and Kamiya-san. Everyone at Flagship who allowed me to participate in planning and scenario meetings. Sugimura-san, Soda-san, Ishizeki-san. And of course, the fans!

Yes, no matter what we create, it would not be possible without the gamers who play it. Thank you once again. I am not an important person, I just love creatures and monsters. Is my work for a niche specialist shop (laughs)?! I only have an assortment of terrifying monsters (laughs). Recently, there was news that Cinefex, which had a great influence on me, will be discontinued. When I was in junior high school, I used to read articles about special-effects makeup for movies until the book finally fell apart! There were Japanese editions of Cinefex and Starlog. This was the starting point for me to draw monsters and creatures. Yes I would love to work on something like Resident Evil Zero or Code Veronica again, and as many times as I can! But it’s hard to find such work in Japan today, and I feel lonely.

My message to you all has been long, thank you very much for reading to the end. I hope one day to create more designs for games, that will scare you all again. I will do my best, so please wait for me!

SPECIAL THANKS: SATOSHI NAKAI, George Trevor, The Oracle dragon, bsaaRKLAY, welsh, zombie girl