Many of us have no-doubt spent nights huddled up in the dark, barely able to grip our controllers in fear of what monster may lurk around the next corner. But have you ever wondered what key ingredients actually make this experience so special?
In a recent interview, Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami pulled the curtain back a bit and gave gamers insight into his philosophy on what makes a great survival horror title truly scary. “I’m interested in vulnerable characters, in normal human beings. The horror experience is most scary when the player really isn’t sure whether their character is going to live or die–death and survival need to be on a constant see-saw. If there’s a situation where you’re not 100% sure that you can avoid or defeat the enemies, if you feel maybe there’s a chance you’ll make it–that’s where horror lies. Creating that situation is vital.” Says Mikami.
On an interesting note, Mikami reveals why many of his games feature enemies of a more humanoid nature (rather than creatures like mutant bats, blood thirsty spiders, etc). Through studying psychology, he discovered “…people are generally more interested and scared by other people.”
Mikami’s latest epic, The Evil Within , hits store shelves on October 14 th .