"As soon as the player can predict a pattern in the Alien, it stops being scary," Alien: Isolation designer Gary Napper says in a new video developer diary. "Depending on how cautious players are, we've seen encounters ... last well over 30 minutes in some cases, and this just can't be done with scripted behavior." Gosh. The video also touches on how the creature looks, moves, and hunts dear young Amanda Ripley.

You see, years of exposure to the creature have made it almost comical, the poor dear, and certainly not the horror it once was. Isolation's going back to making it weird and horrible and, well, alien. It moves around the same spaces as Amanda, without magic tricks, and is driven by reactions to her behavior rather than scripting.

Developed by The Creative Assembly (yes, the Total War folks) and published by Sega, Alien: Isolation is due in late 2014 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PS3.