Alongside the level design I've also been rewriting the monster AI. I always thought the game FarCry was a bit of an anticlimax when you started fighting the mutants because whilst they were horribly tough all they really did was run at you and hit you, which doesn't make for hugely interesting fights.
I wanted to avoid this so I have added some complexity to monster AI. There is a mob mentality; some monsters will only be aggressive when in a group. I also was kind of inspired by horror movies where the scariest parts are when someone is being stalked by a monster. So I created a monster that stalks the player, approaching from behind in the dark and carefully moving to avoid the players torch beam.
The monsters are spawned near to the player on the fly (from off screen, they dont appear in front of you) and the spawning is controlled by a population and strategy algorithm as well as some randomisers. For example if you attack a group of monsters but let the wounded ones flee, they will return shortly with reinforcements. Whereas if you kill every last one, you will generally encounter fewer monsters but then there is the ammo consideration.
I'm quite pleased with the extra dimension this adds to the survival horror gameplay because it really forces you to think about the ammo you are using up. Also, because the monsters are in different places each time you play the level, you never know exactly what, when or where you are going to encounter, and it is this kind of unfamiliarity that I have always found that creeps me out.
I am however taking a great deal of care to keep things fair on the player.
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ben mercer 
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