Brian Gomez, design director for Vatra Games' upcoming Silent Hill: Downpour, has left the company in order to pursue other opportunities a little closer to home. "When it was announced that Downpour was being delayed to 2012, my family and I came to the decision that I couldn't keep making the commute between Los Angeles and Brno for another 4 to 6 months," Gomez said in a letter to the Silent Hill Historical Society.

Gomez reassured the Silent Hill hopeful that his absence will have no adverse effect on Downpour's development, as it is nearly completed. Gomez also implied creative differences between his vision and Konami's, although he did not cite them as a reason for his departure: "There's a lot of things I still want to do in this genre that Konami simply didn't let me do."

Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, is a solid 6,049.2 miles away from Los Angeles, which is a fairly substantial commute for any family man. Silent Hill: Downpour is still slated for a 2012 release, come rain or shine.