Have you been following Nintendo's series of Iwata Asks interviews? They're lengthy, fact-filled discussions that shed all kinds of new light on upcoming games, with one of the more recent entries focusing entirely on Resident Evil Revelations. Iwata-san interviews the Revelations dev team (for pages!) and covers tons of ground, including how the team incorporated fan reactions into the game, and how horror is so hard to pull off in video game...

One fun snippet, when Iwata-san asks what is the "essence" of Resident Evil:

Koshi Nakanishi: Well, I could mention two. One is that Resident Evil is a "Survival Horror Game." That, was what I thought when I played it as a player, was epoch making, and feel that is the foundation of what makes it a Resident Evil game. In making the game this time, we've looked back at the past games in the series and revisited the elements on what make this series a survival horror. The other is a made-up word traditionally shared within our company.

Satoru Iwata: Traditionally? (laughs)

Koshi Nakanishi: Yes. That word is "bioreal." It means real in the world of Biohazard (Resident Evil). What would be a good example?

Tsukasa Takenaka: Viruses. When something happens, you can explain it by the mutation of a virus. That's bioreal. But if a ghost showed up, that's no good.

Satoru Iwata: Oh, so zombification is caused by a virus. The dead can't come back to life some other way, say because of a curse or magic, right?

Tsukasa Takenaka: Exactly.

Koshi Nakanishi: Whenever we are deciding on ideas for the script or stages, someone will say, "That isn't biorealistic!"

Head to Iwata Asks for more, and if you're in the US, Revelations hits stores February 7!

[Thanks Liana for the link!]