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[Page 045]
10/11/99 14.01.34
Subject: Shinji Mikami
Response: "Your imagination fills the gaps."
Camera: 2
in Japan about the effects of videogame violence on kids.
So I reworked the idea, unnerving players by surrounding them
with the sounds of nearby horror. You don't see anything, but your
imagination fills in the gaps.
How difficult is it to keep inventing new ruses to scare people
with? The impact of horror soon wears off.
In Resident Evil 3, I wanted to create tension through contrasting
effects. For example, on the city streets you are haunted by the
constant screaming. But then, when you go inside a building, I wanted
everything to go quite. It would have been very eerie, but sadly it
wasn't possible to fit the idea in this time around.
Will that idea appear in sequel?
It's time for a change. I want to get away from Resident Evil and
create something completly new. Fear has been the number one element
in all the Resident Evil games up till now. But it will take a back
seat in my new game, which will be very different.
What kind of game will it be?
It definitely won't be be a horror game. Before Resident Evil, I worked
on Disney games, so I've lurched from happy to scary. Now I want to go
back and create a game filled with warmth.
Resident Evil is very dark and there is only fear. I will create a
totally new type of game where there's love, happeiness and laughter.
The closest comparison would be Dragon Quest RPGs [See Case Note 3 on page 47].
My game will be a fantasy game full of imagination and depth. It'll be more
rounded than Resident Evil and you'll be able to adventure, learn new things ->
Case note 1
Subject: Mikami-san on fear
Ref: Heebie-jeebie central
You like to scare other people. What scares Mikami-san?
My Girlfriend.
Is she the inspiraion for the Nemesis creature?
I can't say. She's even scarier than the Nemesis.
We can't wait to face her in the next Resident Evil game.
Pawn of the dead. Biohazard dolls infect the stalls of Akihabra - Tokyo's
electronic city.
------------------------
[Page 046]
10/11/99 15.49.00
Subject: Shinji Mikami
Response: "Fear was at the top of my list..."
Camera: 4
10/11/99 15.51.26
Subject: Shinji Mikami
Response: "...and what scares people?"
Camera: 2
case note 2
Subject: Pavlov's experiment
Ref: Your dinner's in the dog
Ivan Petrovich was a Russian scientist who liked to subject dogs to
psychological experiments in his lab. He accidently discovered that if a
bell was rung every time a hungry dog was fed, it would eventually associate
food with the sound of a bell and start to activate on cue. Ultimately the
pooch would salivate when the bell rang, even if Ivan had scoffed all the bone
marrow bone and jelly earlier. Similary, we ecome Mikami-san's joke when the
Nemesis music plays and we involunatrily brace for impact whether the super-ghoul
shows or not.
-> and come to appricate characters' feelings. It will make you very emotional.
What's your starting point when you dsign a new game?
I prioritise the game's atmosphere and the effect I want it to have on people.
For Resident Evil, fear was at the top of my list. From fear I had to work
out what scares people. Obviously there are the graphical prompts and the
lighting effects, but you have to know what will draw players into the game.
What will make players look at a perticular graphic. What will make them
think "I must play this game now!"
Once I have decided what kind of emotions I want to stimulate, then I design
every other element in the game to help create that effect.
The original Resident Evil was based on just three rooms - the hall, the
cafeteria and the bar. From there I just expanded the rest of the world, adding
the details that would create the right atmosphere in each place.
Graphics, plot and characters are still subordinate to the message I want to
convey to the player. I started with fear and trickled that into the characters
and storyline. My original vision was some heros blasting away zombies.
Once I'd established the right image and atmosphere I designed the rest of the
game to fit.
What do you enjoy most about designing an entirely new world?
As a kid I watched televsion and movies, read books and, of course, played games.
I realised that a game is the best way to convey a message to someone because
it's two-way. A game is interactive which means it's not complete when i've
finished designing it. It's only made whole once the player engages with it and
completes the effect. Other media are one-way only, but with games I can play
catch-ball with the player.
Does that mean you make the games you'd want to play?
Yes, but I know all their secrets already so they never suprise me.
[See Case Note 3 on page 47]
Are you excited by the PlayStation2?
The hardware has great potential but it will be very hard to make games that take
advantage of it's power, because it demands a much wider range of skills than the
PlayStation. Sony provided libaries [off-the-peg programming routines] with the
PlayStation which immediatley freed the developers to take the next step. But
there are no libaries with the PlayStation2. Sony are saying "It's all yours,
make any games you want" but it will take a long time.
Are you working on the PS2 now?
I'm working on the new Resident Evil game for the PlayStation2. But I can't
10/11/99 14.01.34
Subject: Shinji Mikami
Response: "Your imagination fills the gaps."
Camera: 2
in Japan about the effects of videogame violence on kids.
So I reworked the idea, unnerving players by surrounding them
with the sounds of nearby horror. You don't see anything, but your
imagination fills in the gaps.
How difficult is it to keep inventing new ruses to scare people
with? The impact of horror soon wears off.
In Resident Evil 3, I wanted to create tension through contrasting
effects. For example, on the city streets you are haunted by the
constant screaming. But then, when you go inside a building, I wanted
everything to go quite. It would have been very eerie, but sadly it
wasn't possible to fit the idea in this time around.
Will that idea appear in sequel?
It's time for a change. I want to get away from Resident Evil and
create something completly new. Fear has been the number one element
in all the Resident Evil games up till now. But it will take a back
seat in my new game, which will be very different.
What kind of game will it be?
It definitely won't be be a horror game. Before Resident Evil, I worked
on Disney games, so I've lurched from happy to scary. Now I want to go
back and create a game filled with warmth.
Resident Evil is very dark and there is only fear. I will create a
totally new type of game where there's love, happeiness and laughter.
The closest comparison would be Dragon Quest RPGs [See Case Note 3 on page 47].
My game will be a fantasy game full of imagination and depth. It'll be more
rounded than Resident Evil and you'll be able to adventure, learn new things ->
Case note 1
Subject: Mikami-san on fear
Ref: Heebie-jeebie central
You like to scare other people. What scares Mikami-san?
My Girlfriend.
Is she the inspiraion for the Nemesis creature?
I can't say. She's even scarier than the Nemesis.
We can't wait to face her in the next Resident Evil game.
Pawn of the dead. Biohazard dolls infect the stalls of Akihabra - Tokyo's
electronic city.
------------------------
[Page 046]
10/11/99 15.49.00
Subject: Shinji Mikami
Response: "Fear was at the top of my list..."
Camera: 4
10/11/99 15.51.26
Subject: Shinji Mikami
Response: "...and what scares people?"
Camera: 2
case note 2
Subject: Pavlov's experiment
Ref: Your dinner's in the dog
Ivan Petrovich was a Russian scientist who liked to subject dogs to
psychological experiments in his lab. He accidently discovered that if a
bell was rung every time a hungry dog was fed, it would eventually associate
food with the sound of a bell and start to activate on cue. Ultimately the
pooch would salivate when the bell rang, even if Ivan had scoffed all the bone
marrow bone and jelly earlier. Similary, we ecome Mikami-san's joke when the
Nemesis music plays and we involunatrily brace for impact whether the super-ghoul
shows or not.
-> and come to appricate characters' feelings. It will make you very emotional.
What's your starting point when you dsign a new game?
I prioritise the game's atmosphere and the effect I want it to have on people.
For Resident Evil, fear was at the top of my list. From fear I had to work
out what scares people. Obviously there are the graphical prompts and the
lighting effects, but you have to know what will draw players into the game.
What will make players look at a perticular graphic. What will make them
think "I must play this game now!"
Once I have decided what kind of emotions I want to stimulate, then I design
every other element in the game to help create that effect.
The original Resident Evil was based on just three rooms - the hall, the
cafeteria and the bar. From there I just expanded the rest of the world, adding
the details that would create the right atmosphere in each place.
Graphics, plot and characters are still subordinate to the message I want to
convey to the player. I started with fear and trickled that into the characters
and storyline. My original vision was some heros blasting away zombies.
Once I'd established the right image and atmosphere I designed the rest of the
game to fit.
What do you enjoy most about designing an entirely new world?
As a kid I watched televsion and movies, read books and, of course, played games.
I realised that a game is the best way to convey a message to someone because
it's two-way. A game is interactive which means it's not complete when i've
finished designing it. It's only made whole once the player engages with it and
completes the effect. Other media are one-way only, but with games I can play
catch-ball with the player.
Does that mean you make the games you'd want to play?
Yes, but I know all their secrets already so they never suprise me.
[See Case Note 3 on page 47]
Are you excited by the PlayStation2?
The hardware has great potential but it will be very hard to make games that take
advantage of it's power, because it demands a much wider range of skills than the
PlayStation. Sony provided libaries [off-the-peg programming routines] with the
PlayStation which immediatley freed the developers to take the next step. But
there are no libaries with the PlayStation2. Sony are saying "It's all yours,
make any games you want" but it will take a long time.
Are you working on the PS2 now?
I'm working on the new Resident Evil game for the PlayStation2. But I can't
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