Akira Yamaoka Talks Horror Design With Tarsier Studios
The talk puts Yamaoka's sound-first horror method next to Tarsier's own approach to unpredictable design, and REANIMAL's 78 percent Very Positive rating across 13,486 Steam reviews gives that method a measurable result.
Reporting from 1 source: Game Spark.
A discussion between composer Akira Yamaoka and Tarsier Studios narrative director David Mervik and CEO and producer Andreas Johnsson covers how horror games create fear. Tarsier developed REANIMAL, a horror adventure published by THQ Nordic with single-player and co-op play, in which players control orphaned siblings trying to rescue a missing friend and escape an island of monsters. Steam user reviews stand at 13,486, 78 percent Very Positive.
REANIMAL was developed by Tarsier Studios, the Swedish team behind the original Little Nightmares and Little Nightmares 2, and published by THQ Nordic. It supports single-player and co-op play, offline and online.
In the game, players control orphaned siblings trying to rescue a missing friend and escape a hellish island roamed by eerie monsters and animals. On Steam, user reviews have reached 13,486, with 78 percent rated Very Positive across all periods.
The discussion sets Yamaoka, who has handled music and sound design for horror games including the SILENT HILL series, against Tarsier's narrative director David Mervik and CEO and producer Andreas Johnsson, who describe avoiding predictable developments to keep players unsettled.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.