“I don’t think about my influences in the industry. I just make games that I’m interested in.”
- Born on August 11, 1965
- Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
- Worked for: Capcom, Platinum Games, Tango Gameworks (present)
There are a lot big name developers in the industry: Many of which have inspired its current direction. You will see their names plastered around most websites, and for good reasons. However, one name that won’t show up nearly enough is Shinji Mikami. The father of the Resident Evil series and the third person camera angel: Lets take look back on the man who truly kick-started the Horror genre.
Before Video Games
” I wanted to become a Formula One driver, not a game designer.”
Shinji Mikami was born on August 11, 1965. Growing up in the Yamguchi Prefecture, he lived in a town that was haunted by the tragic memories of Hiroshima. Growing up, he didn’t really show much interest in video games: In fact, he had aspirations to become a Formula One racer. One thing he did develop a love for though was horror. As a teenager, he was heavily influenced by horror flicks, such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Evil Dead. In addition, he spent a lot of his teenage life participating in martial arts and kendo. What interested him most about horror movies was not the thrill of fear, but rather critical thinking. He has said how he would picture himself in those situation, and more importantly how he would act different.
Shinji graduated Doshisha University at 25 years old with a major in merchandising. However, in a college and business “meet and greet” he became very interested in the company Capcom. Capcom initially rejected Shinji, but soon after called him back for hire. Capcom would come to find out, that calling him back was one of the smartest moves they have ever made.
Capcom: The Legend Is Born
“Used at the right time and in the right way, disempowerment can be the most powerful tool for the horror game creator”
Capcom Quiz: Hatena? no Daibōken was the first game he released to the public. Was the game a huge success? Well lets just say you would have a hard time even finding roms for it. However, Shinji did release a very success title for the SNES. Disney’s Aladdin was 
Shinji’s first hit selling about 1.7 million copies. Shinji was recognized for his success, and was tasked to create a follow-up to Capcom’s earlier NES game Sweet Home (base off the Japanese horror movie of the same name.) The sequel to Sweet Home never did come however, but Shinji would still use his knowledge of horror to create his biggest success, Resident Evil.
This was truly the start of Shinji Mikami’s carreer as he continued to work on multiple projects for Capcom. Moved from multiple teams, Shinji worked on big titles such as Devil May Cry, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Resident Evil: Remake, God Hand, and his most influential title, Resident Evil 4. However, not all was well when it came to relations within the company. Major offenders would be Capcom breaking Shinji’s deal with Nintendo by releasing Resident Evil 4 for the PlayStation 2 Although this did not straight up end his career with Capcom, it did fuel the fire for what was to come.
Shinji was moved to Cacpom’s Clover Studios, which was considered a ”dream team.” The studio released many games that received high critical praise: However, due to poor sales for nearly all of their works, each employee was let go after Shinji’s last game for the company, God Hand.
Outside of Shinji, the other games Clover Studios worked on were the Viewtiful Joe series and Okami.
Platinum Games
“I am certainly disappointed that genres are so limited these days.”
As tragic as this news was, this is not going to be the last we heard from Shinji Mikami. Because soon after 
the closure of Clover, most of the team got back together to create Platinum Games. Now functioning on their own, Platinum Games is consider one of the most original teams of the 7th generation. They created many games which Shinji helped work on, but his flagship title was Vanquish. Although Vanquish was never a financial success, the game received a lot of critical praise for its unique and addictive gameplay. During the development of Vanquish however, Mikami discussed plans about a new venture. Shinji new interest is not in creating better games himself, but molding better developers. He left Platinum games in order to start his brand new studio, Tango Gameworks.
Tango Gameworks
“I think small games, and personal creations: This is where we’ll find the new shoots for the future.”
Tango Gameworks was picked up by Zenimax, Bethesda’s parent company. Shinji Mikami is the director of his new studio and is already hard at work. His new title, The Evil Within promises to be a return to survival horror. In fact, in an interview with Eurogamer, Shinji said,
“Instead of trying to introduce new ideas, I want to return to survival horror roots.”
While many are eagerly awaiting the release of this game, this may very well be the last game Shinji works on. He discusses how being a director of a studio, in correlation with video game design; is a very hard task. Instead, Shinji has put his focus on molding his fellow workers into better game designers. Tango Gameworks will have focus on AAA releases and smaller games, so we can expect to see a wide variety of games as the years go on.
Overall, only the future knows what lies ahead for Shinji and his new team. Hopefully, his fellow designers obtain the innovation and creativity that Shinji has managed to bring to the industry. Whether he continues to make games or not, Shinji’s game design will be seen throughout the mediums history. He may have brought the third person shooter into the market, but it is his creative mind and love of horror that should be remembered.
“I want to see a broader spread of games. I love indie games. These younger people with lower budgets and bigger ideas; maybe they will define new genres?”
Shinji Mikami’s Works: Capcom Quiz: Hatena? no Daibōken (Planner), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (Planner), Super Lap (Unreleased, Planner), Goof Troop (Game Designer), Resident Evil (Director/Producer), Resident Evil 2 (Produce), Dino Crisis (Director/Producer), Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Producer), Resident Evil Code: Veronica (Producer), Dino Crisis 2 (Executive Producer), Onimusha: Warlords (Advisor), Resident Evil Gaiden (Advisor), Devil May Cry (Executive Producer), Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Executive Producer), Resident Evil Survivor 2 Code: Veronica (Supervisor), Resident Evil Remake (Director), Resident Evil Zero (Executive Advisor), Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All (Executive Producer), P.N.03 (Director), Viewtiful Joe (Executive Producer), Dino Crisis 3 (Executive Producer), Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulation (Executive Producer), Resident Evil 4 (Director), Killer7 (Executive Producer/Writer), God Hand (Director), Vanquish (Director), Shadows of the Damned (Creative Producer), The Evil Within (Director)
Work Cited: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-07-19-meeting-mikami
