Del Toro: 2 or 3 years to go on Insane

Spanish film maker Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) has said there are still two or three more years to go on his THQ horror game Insane.

"We've been working for a year," del Toro told MTV Multiplayer. "We have two or three more years to go.

"It's huge. I'm learning a lot. I'm going in with a really, really modest 'I'm learning' approach.

"I'm a huge gamer but going into constructing it, you have to be respectful of the medium."

Del Toro's vision will be turned into a game by the capable team at Volition, developers of canned series Red Faction and gangster romp Saints Row.

"It's really weird, but it's Lovecraftian in a very sick way, which I like."

Guillermo del Toro, creative director, Insane

"It's Lovecraftian," del Toro said of the game's style, referring to the horror sub-genre inspired by author H. P. Lovecraft. "It's really weird, but it's Lovecraftian in a very sick way, which I like.

"It's truly, truly entertaining. Full of action, but also a very shocking game."

As for gameplay details, Del Toro revealed that "we had to build a sandbox, so we designed all the architecture already". A sandbox world fits well with Volition's expertise.

Del Toro and Volition are currently designing lighting, art style and cinematography style. Creatures are also being designed, with the help of comic artists Guy Davis and Francisco Ruis Velasco.

"We've been designing the creatures, which are obscenely fun and unique," beamed del Toro. "You haven't seen them ever."

"Guy Davis, to me, is one of the best monster designers alive right now."

Del Toro admitted that he can't devote all his time to the THQ video game but promised he is giving it "proper attention".

"We've spent an inordinate amount of time into that project," he said. "It's because it's worth it.

"You learn more as a narrator for this medium than I ever expected."

Guillermo del Toro announced his collaboration with THQ and Volition in September 2010. He told the world then that his new game wouldn't arrive until, "best case scenario", 2013.

Given his comment that there may still be three years from now, mid-2011, it begs the question of which platforms will the game be released on? Microsoft, remember, is rumoured to be releasing a new Xbox in the run up to Christmas 2013.

What's more, THQ intends to build a trilogy of del Toro/Volition games that will span around eight-to-10 years. Wouldn't it be sensible to base them all within the same hardware generation?

The announced plan, as of December 2010, was for Insane to launch in 2013 on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.