John Johanas (Director)

How long have you been with The Evil Within 2 team? What’s your primary job within the team?

I’ve been working on The Evil Within 2 since the pre-production phase as the director on the project.

What’s your favorite memory/anecdote from the process of developing this game?

Honestly, we started the production very quickly after the completion of the first game’s DLC so it has all been a blur. Seeing it all come together towards the end was a good memory of the project. I also enjoyed the process of developing some of the more memorable boss fights near the end of the game.

What was the most challenging aspect of creating your part of The Evil Within 2? What are you most proud of?

Creating the open stages of Union was definitely a challenging part that required multiple iterations which is always a trying affair. Attempting to tie together the open gameplay while keeping you interested in exploring, keeping tensions high, as well as the story elements was difficult. The story has a lot of twists and turns and characters as well, so making everything come together was tough but at the same time is probably the thing I’m most proud of—that in the end all these moving parts were able to come together.

If you were involved in developing both Evil games, how did the creative process for the second game compare to the first?

As with most game development, a lot of stuff changes as we concept, develop, play test, etc. We did that a lot with the first game. This time, while there were challenges and changes like all projects, the core concept of the game being a story of redemption for Sebastian didn’t drastically change during development.

How did you get into video games as a career? Is there one game in particular that inspired you?

I got into games as a career completely randomly. I enjoyed games but didn’t think that I would be working to make one, let alone direct one. I had an opportunity to join this studio and working hard just led me to this point.

I don’t have one game in particular that inspired me, but I’ve always enjoyed games that have their own unique sense of style and really stand out by providing a real unique experience whether it’s by their art style or the atmosphere they are trying to convey. I’m also obviously a fan of Shinji Mikami and survival horror games.

What’s your favorite horror/survival game of all time? Favorite horror movie?

I have a particular fondness for the Silent Hill series. I remember the first one frightening me more than anything had at that time and I was very impressed by the atmosphere and the seriousness in which the second installation provided.

I also really liked Dead Space 2, more than the first actually.

Looking at it, it seems like I am a big fan of survival horror sequels. Sequels can be hard to do, but I have confidence in the team and what we’re making will be an awesome sequel that stands out with those others I mentioned.

As for movies, I am a big fan of Jacob’s Ladder.

What game(s) are you currently playing?

I’ve spent so much time making The Evil Within 2 that I rarely have time to play games, but a game I just finished playing and was really impressed with was Prey from Arkane Studios. I just love exploring the space station and trying to piece together the story and mystery of what happened.

Where did the inspiration and premise of The Evil Within series come from?

I believe the original premise for the series was a sort of Resident Evil meets Inception. Obviously the mind is a critical part of how people perceive fear so if we had no limitations on what the mind could create, what could we do with that? It’s sort of an open ended idea but it allows us to create unique scenarios that are frightening without having to worry about too many restrictions.

The game is as much psychologically unsettling as it is outright horrifying. What kinds of elements do you employ to get a scare out of players?

I know a lot of people are moved by jump scares and very physical things that can hurt you (chainsaws and such), but to me the scares I always think are the most effective are the ones that require you to fill in the blanks or question things. For example, when Sebastian is in Union City Hall and trapped in a looping hallway that changes when you aren’t looking was a concept I loved, since it defies logic and plays with your assumptions on what could happen.

Another situation I loved is the rather simple section of the game where Theodore pulls you into an endless dark blood pool and the only way to proceed is to follow Lily’s voice. You can’t see where you are, or grasp the finer details, so it’s like feeling your way in the dark. Just imagining what is out there is some of the most frightening parts of the game, and I hope the players will think so too.