The Evil Within Creator: People Used to Horror Tropes, “Harder to Make Them Afraid”

Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami is no stranger to effective horror in video games. The man and his studio, Tango Gameworks, are currently developing The Evil Within which is slated to release in 2014 for current and next gen platforms. However, these days, it’s become more difficult to frighten gamers.

Speaking to EDGE, Mikami stated that, “Not much has changed when it comes to instilling terror in the player. 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, Mikami and his team are working to make the player feel powerless in certain situations. You’ll also have limited ammo and will need to either run away from your foes or outsmart them to survive.

How does it feel as the release of the game nudges closer to release? “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.”

The Evil Within will release on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4 and PC.