It's harder than ever to scare players, says Resident Evil creator

It is harder than ever to scare players because they have become accustomed to the tropes of the horror genre, Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami has said.

"Not much has changed when it comes to instilling terror in the player,” Mikami told Edge in a new interview. "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.”

Mikami's next game, horror title The Evil Within, has been designed to make the player feel powerless, he said. Ammo will be hard to find, enemies won't go down easily, and corridors will be narrow.

"The scariest parts will be when you encounter enemies that cannot be killed with a gun," Mikami said. "Even if you shoot them they won't die, so you'll have to run or use a trap to beat them. That should be fun--and also scary."

Mikami previously described The Evil Within, to be published by Fallout and Elder Scrolls studio Bethesda, as a game that will return to the roots of the survival horror genre.

"Really, I'm making this game just because it's fun to scare people," Mikami said in July. "Instead of trying to introduce new ideas, I want to return to survival horror's roots. We've strayed from that. I want to explore fear again, and that sense of overcoming fear, one that's unique to games."

The Evil Within launches for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 in 2014. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.