What is the sole purpose of a title that has been tagged as survival-horror? To scare us, of course. However, it seems like scaring people is becoming harder with every passing day. That's the viewpoint of Shinji Mikami, creator of Resident Evil which popularized the genre, and the upcoming The Evil Within.
Speaking recently to EDGE, Mikami spoke about how people have changed with the times, and all the new “tropes of horror,” people can see a scare coming a mile away.
“Not much has changed when it comes to instilling terror in the player,” Mikami stated. “But people have got used to the tropes of horror and they know what’s coming next, so in that sense it is harder to make them afraid.”
To counter this ‘loss of scare’ factor, Mikami is making sure that the upcoming The Evil Within goes to the point of making the player feel powerless with scarce ammo, confined spaces, and near-invincible enemies that require a running and hiding strategy over open combat.
With the game creeping closer to its potential 2014 release slowly but surely, Mikami says he has finally got hold of things and looks more relaxed. On asked about his feelings regarding the game’s upcoming release, Mikami stated: “It’s still difficult to manage a team, but things are coming together now that the game is in a playable state. So, compared with a couple of years ago, it’s easier.”
“Making games is always like a rollercoaster: really fun times, but also really busy times. When you ride a rollercoaster, the uphill part is scary and fraught and lasts for a long time, and the downhill part – the fun, exhilarating part – is over in a flash,” he added.
The Evil Within, developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda Softworks was revealed back in August last year under the working title “Project Zewie.” It tells the story of Detective Sebastian Castellanos and his partners, Joseph Oda, and Julie "Kid" Kidman, who are investigating a gruesome mass murder, only to find out that a mysterious and more powerful force is lying in wait for them.
The Evil Within is currently set for a 2014 release on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC.
