Ruvik has become a fan favorite in the survival horror genre for not just his tragic back story, but his eerie look. His character design didn’t start out so eerie, he was originally designed to look more sophisticated to show off his science background.

Original concept art shows him in a nice suit and tie, looking more sophisticated than the final demonic/zombified look when got in the final draft.

Ruvik’s bio and design were created a year and a half into development. Initially he was a sophisticated psychopath and hence wore simple clothes. As the game play focused in on a psychological world, his upbringing and design changes accordingly. Ruvik’s design involves mostly his major burns; however, in order to portray he underwent an experiment on his brain, there is a very noticeable scar around his head. This was Shinji Mikami’s idea.

This is the final concept of Ruvik’s design with the tattered cloak. Ikumi Nakamura states “we felt it would be more appropriate if he wore something that was tattered, like a rag”.