"The horror experience is most scary when the player really isn't sure whether their character is going to live or die," Mikami told The Guardian.
Shinji Mikami, the renowned creator of the "Resident Evil" series of survival horror games, discussed what he believes amps up the tense feelings in horror games.
Mikami is currently priming to ship his latest horror game, "The Evil Within," with his team at Bethesda Softworks and Tango Gameworks. In his recent interview with The Guardian, he revealed how to scare the bejeezus out of modern video game players.
"I'm interested in vulnerable characters, in normal human beings," he said, suggesting that players fear the uncontrollable fate of their protagonists.
"Death and survival need to be on a constant see-saw," he added. "If there's a situation where you're not 100 percent 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."
The industry veteran feels that creating this sort of situation is vital, rather than just setting up a line of hideous enemies as target practice for the player.
"I don't want to just stand there shooting dozens of enemies," he said. "Die! Die! Die! I don't have the energy for that."
And that attitude shows exactly why he is still doing what he does best, crafting sublime horror experiences, some 20 odd years later.
"The Evil Within" is due on multiple platforms on Oct. 11. Until then, you can check out a cool, new video that focuses on the art and overall design elements of game below:
