Dead Space | |
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Developer(s) | EA Redwood Shores |
Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
Director(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Designer(s) | Paul Mathus |
Programmer(s) | Steve Timson |
Artist(s) | Ian Milham |
Writer(s) | |
Composer(s) | Jason Graves |
Series | Dead Space |
Platform(s) | |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Survival horror |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Dead Space is a 2008 survival horror game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows as the debut entry in the Dead Space series. Set on a mining spaceship overrun by deadly monsters called Necromorphs following the discovery of an artifact called the Marker, the player controls engineer Isaac Clarke as he navigates the spaceship and fights the Necromorphs while struggling with growing psychosis. Gameplay has Isaac exploring different areas through its narrative, solving environmental puzzles and finding ammunition and equipment to survive.
Dead Space was pitched in early 2006, with an early prototype running on Xbox. Creator Glen Schofield wanted to make the most frightening horror game he could imagine, drawing inspiration from the video game Resident Evil 4 and films including Event Horizon and Solaris . The team pushed for innovation and realism in their design, ranging from procedural enemy placement to removing HUD elements. The sound design was a particular focus during production, with the score by Jason Graves designed to evoke tension and unease.
Dead Space debuted to slow sales but eventually sold over a million copies worldwide. Critics praised its atmosphere, gameplay, and sound design. It won and was nominated for multiple industry awards and has been ranked by journalists as one of the greatest video games ever made. The series spawned two numbered sequels ( Dead Space 2 in 2011 and Dead Space 3 in 2013), several spin-off titles, and other related media, including a comic book prequel and an animated film.
Dead Space is a science fiction survival horror video game. Players take on the role of Isaac Clarke, controlling him from a third-person view. Players navigate level-based sections of the spaceship Ishimura , completing narrative-driven missions, solving physics puzzles within the environment, and fighting monsters called Necromorphs. [1] [2] [3] In the vacuum Isaac has a limited air supply, which can be replenished by finding air tanks within the environment. Some areas are subject to zero-G, with both Isaac and specific enemy types able to jump between surfaces; these areas have dedicated puzzles. [2] [4] During exploration of the Ishimura, Isaac finds ammunition, health pickups, and Nodes that are used to both unlock special doors and upgrade weapons and Isaac's suit. At certain points in the ship, Isaac can access a store to buy supplies and ammunition. [5] [6] Isaac can use a navigation line to find the next mission objective. [7]
Isaac can stomp to break supply crates and attack enemies, and punch to kill smaller enemies and repel larger ones. Two more abilities unlocked during the game are Kinesis, which can move or pull objects in the environment, and Stasis, which slows movement for a limited time. [7] All gameplay displays are diegetic, appearing in-world as holographic projections. Isaac's health and energy levels are displayed on the back of his suit, and ammunition count appears when weapons are raised. All information displays—control prompts, pick-ups, video calls, the game map, inventory, store fronts—appear as holographic displays. While the player is browsing menus, time in the game does not pause. [6] [7]
While exploring, Isaac must fight Necromorphs, which appear from vents, or awaken from corpses scattered throughout the ship. [3] The various types of Necromorphs have different abilities and require altered tactics to defeat. [1] Depending on how they are wounded, Necromorphs can adopt new stances and tactics, such as sprouting new limbs or giving birth to new enemies. [2] Isaac can access multiple weapons to combat the Necromorphs, which can only be killed by severing their limbs. [3] To do this, Isaac uses weapons designed for cutting. The initial weapon is picked up during the first level, while others can be crafted using blueprints discovered in different levels. [8] [9] Workbenches found in levels can be used by Isaac to increase the power or other attributes of his weapons and suit. [10] Beating the game unlocks New Game+, which gives Isaac access to a new outfit, extra credits and equipment, as well as new video and audio logs. It also unlocks a higher difficulty setting. [11] [12]
Dead Space is set in the year 2508, a time when humanity has spread throughout the universe. Following near-extinction of humans on Earth due to resource shortages, ships dubbed "Planetcrackers" are being used to harvest resources from barren planets. The oldest Planetcracker is the USG Ishimura, which is performing an illegal mining operation on the planet Aegis VII. [13] [14] The backstory reveals that Aegis VII was the home of a "Red Marker", a manmade copy of the original alien Marker monolith discovered on Earth. Attempts to weaponise the Marker and its copies led to the creation of a virus-like organism that infected corpses and transformed them into undead creatures called Necromorphs. Two key factions in Dead Space are the Earth Government, which created and then hid the Red Markers, and Unitology, a religious movement that worships the Markers. Unitology was founded in the name of original researcher Michael Altman. [15] [16]
In the events leading up to Dead Space, the colony on Aegis VII discovers the Red Marker hidden there. Following its discovery and the Ishimura's arrival, first the colonists, and then the ship's crew, begin suffering from hallucinations and eventually severe mental illness, climaxing in the emergence of the Necromorphs. By the time the maintenance ship Kellion arrives, the entire Aegis VII colony, and all but a few of the Ishimura crew, have been killed or turned into Necromorphs. [14] [17]
The game's protagonist is Isaac Clarke, an engineer who travels on the Kellion to find out what happened to his girlfriend Nicole Brennan, the Ishimura's senior medical officer. [18] [19] Aboard the Kellion with Isaac are chief security officer Zach Hammond, and computer technician Kendra Daniels. Unbeknownst to the Kellion crew, Kendra is an Earth government agent sent to control the situation. Other characters encountered by Isaac on the Ishimura are Challus Mercer, an insane scientist who believes the necromorphs are humanity's ascended form; Dr. Terrence Kyne, a survivor who wants to return the Marker to Aegis VII; and Nicole, who mysteriously communicates with and appears to Isaac at various points through the ship. [16] [18]
Isaac arrives at Aegis VII on the Kellion with Kendra and Hammond. During the journey, Isaac has been repeatedly watching a video message from Nicole. A docking malfunction crashes the Kellion into the Ishimura's landing bay, and the ship's quarantine is broken. Necromorphs kill all the Kellion crew but Isaac, Kendra, and Hammond. Isaac navigates the ship, restoring systems and finding parts with which to repair the ship, so that they may escape. They almost succeed, but the Kellion is destroyed in a further malfunction. During these events, all three survivors begin experiencing escalating symptoms of psychosis and delirium, ranging from hallucinations to paranoia.
During his exploration, Isaac learns through audio and video logs about the ship's presence and Necromorph invasion. The Ishimura's illegal mining operation on Aegis VII, which was designated off-limits by the Earth Government, was meant to find the Red Marker for the Church of Unitology. The Aegis VII colony was almost wiped out by mass psychosis triggered by the Marker, causing killings and suicides. The Marker was brought aboard the Ishimura, along with survivors and bodies from the colony. A combination of the Marker's influence, factional fighting and the emerging Necromorph invasion resulted in the deaths of nearly everyone aboard. Isaac finds the two remaining survivors of the Ishimura crew: Dr. Terrence Kyne, who has abandoned his belief in Unitology, and Dr. Challus Mercer, who has gone insane and worships the Necromorphs.
Despite Isaac's efforts, Hammond is killed by a Necromorph, and Mercer allows himself to be transformed by them. Another ship, the Valor, arrives and is infected through an Ishimura escape pod containing a Necromorph; records show that the Valor was dispatched to remove all traces of the Ishimura's presence. Kendra kills Kyne before revealing her Earth Government allegiance, as the deranged Kyne threatened to return the Marker to the Necromorphs' controlling "Hive Mind" on the planet. The Marker was left on Aegis VII as part of an experiment, and Earth wants it retrieved. Reunited with Nicole, Isaac sabotages Kendra's attempt to escape the Ishimura, returns the Marker to Aegis VII, neutralising the Necromorphs and initiating Aegis VII's collapse.
Kendra retrieves the Marker and reveals to Isaac that his encounters with Nicole were hallucinations created by the Marker to return it to the Hive Mind. Nicole's message had ended with her committing suicide to avoid becoming a Necromorph. Kendra is killed by the awoken Hive Mind before she can escape with the Marker. After killing the Hive Mind, Isaac leaves on Kendra's shuttle as both Aegis VII and the Marker are destroyed. In the shuttle, a distraught Isaac mourns Nicole, and is attacked by a violent hallucination of her.
Dead Space was the creation of Glen Schofield, at the time working at EA Redwood Shores. [21] Schofield wanted to create what he felt would be the most frightening horror game possible. His concept drew influence from Resident Evil 4 (2005), and the Silent Hill series. [22] EA Redwood Shores had established itself as a studio for licensed game properties, and the team saw an opportunity to branch out into original properties, establishing themselves as "a proper game studio", according to co-producer Steve Papoutsis. [23] During this early stage, the game was known as Rancid Moon. [20] Dead Space was described as a project that multiple staff at Redwood Shores wanted to work on for many years. [20] Co-director Michael Condrey described it in 2014 as a grassroots-style project where the team were eager to prove themselves, but not expecting the game to become anything large-scale. [24] When they pitched the game to parent company Electronic Arts in early 2006, they were given three months to create a prototype. [25]
In order to get a playable concept ready within that time, the prototype was developed on the original Xbox hardware. The team decided that it would be better to get something playable, before planning how to make the game work on next-generation hardware. Their twin approaches of early demos and aggressive internal promotion ran counter to Electronic Arts practises for new games at the time. [25] Electronic Arts eventually approved the game after seeing a vertical slice equivalent to one level, by which time all the basic gameplay elements had been settled upon. [20] [25] According to co-producer Chuck Beaver, this pre-greenlight work lasted 18 months. After approval, and using their experience creating the vertical slice, the team built eleven more levels in ten months. [25] The team reused the game engine they had designed for The Godfather , which was chosen because it had been tailored to their development style, supported the necessary environmental effects, and implemented the Havok physics engine. [23] [26]
Schofield wanted to create a game that ran counter to Electronic Art's usual output. [27] To help guide the team, Schofield often described Dead Space as " Resident Evil in space". [22] There are different accounts of the game's relationship with the System Shock series. Condrey said that Dead Space was influenced only by System Shock and System Shock 2 . [13] Co-designer Ben Wanat stated that the team were originally planning a third entry in the System Shock series, and played through the originals for reference, but when Resident Evil 4 was released, they decided to make their own intellectual property based around its gameplay. [28] While greatly influenced by Resident Evil 4, Schofield wanted to make the game more active, as the necessity to stop and shoot in Resident Evil 4 often broke his immersion. [22] The gameplay balance was aimed somewhere between the faster pace of third-person shooters and the slower pace of horror games. [29] Resource management underwent constant tuning and balancing to make the game tense, but not unfair or frustrating. [30]
Immersion was a core element of the game, with HUD elements being in-universe, and story sequences like cutscenes and audio or video logs playing in real-time. In addition, the standard HUD elements were incorporated into the environment with suitable contextual or overt in-game explanations. [22] [31] [19] In the team's opinion, the setting was better realised and conveyed as a side effect of this approach. [30] A quick turn option was implemented and removed several times during production; it was finally removed because mapping the feature to the last available controller buttons caused test players to turn, accidentally, during dangerous situations. [26] The Microsoft Windows version of the control scheme went through several different configurations, with the team wanting the best possible configuration for mouse and keyboard. [30]
One of the founding gameplay principles was "strategic dismemberment", the focus on severing limbs to kill enemies. This distinguished Dead Space from the majority of shooters, which instead placed focus on headshots, or allowed volleys of weapons fire against enemies. Weapons accuracy and enemy behaviour were adjusted around this concept. [23] [32] For example, enemies became enraged by traditional headshots and charged at the player, rather than being killed instantly. [32] A two-person co-op multiplayer option was prototyped over a three month period, but was eventually cut so that the team could focus on making a polished single-player experience. [27]
A procedural element was created for enemy placement, such that enemies would appear at random points within a room; thus, players could not memorise and counterattack against patterns. [33] There was a mechanism for controlling where enemies would spawn from places like vents, depending on the player's position. One gameplay sequence, where Isaac is ambushed and dragged down a hallway by a large tentacle, stalled development for a month. The team initially planned it as an instant death, then changed the attack to be an interactive one that Isaac had to escape. A dedicated set of mechanics and animations had to be created for the sequence, and Schofield admitted that the way and order he assigned tasks stopped the sequence working properly. To make the sequence work, the team shifted to a "layered" production structure which focused on finishing one section at a time, so that they could pinpoint problems with ease. The team had to cut two other unspecified pieces to allow the tentacle sequence to work. Ultimately this problem helped build up team confidence, allowing them to tackle other problems in the game and add more content. [22]
The character animation was designed to be realistic, with extensive transitional animations to smooth out shifts between different stances for both the player, other characters and enemies. [34] The zero-G sections were in place alongside the setting, and the team performed extensive research on real space exploration and survival to get the atmosphere and movement right. [35] Implementing zero-G was difficult, with Beaver describing the process as "months and months and months of work". While technically easy to achieve by switching off gravity values in Havok, reprogramming sections to be convincing and fun to play presented different challenges. [26] Isaac needed a separate series of animations for zero-G environments, with his sluggish movement achieved by animation director Chris Stone doing an exaggerated stomping walk with bungee cables strapped to his legs. [34] Due to the number of ways Isaac could die, his model was given dozens of points where he could be torn apart, and the death scenes became a part of the game's visual identity. [22] A key issue for the team when designing the horror elements was not reusing the same scares too many times, and allowing for moments of safety for the player without completely losing the tension. [36] In earlier builds, the team made extensive use of jump scares, but as they grew less frightening they were thinned out, and more emphasis was placed on the in-game atmosphere. [33]
When the game was still titled Rancid Moon, Schofield envisioned a scenario similar to Escape from New York , set on a prison planet in outer space. The team liked the "space" element, but disliked the prison setting. [20] In contrast with many game productions at the time, where the story had a low priority, the team chose to have the story defined from the outset, then build the levels and objectives around it. The first solid concept was the mining of planets by humans, with the twist that one planet they mine holds something dangerous. [38] Due to the focus on player immersion, there were little to no traditional cutscenes, with all the narrative being communicated through real-time interaction. [38] [39]
The themes of religion and rogue states outside Earth's control were decided upon to ground the science fiction narrative. [13] Unitology emerged five months into development, as Schofield felt that something was missing. After reading up on the Chicxulub crater, Schofield wrote the original Marker as the object which caused the crater, and built Unitology around it. [40] The specifics of Unitology were created by Wanat and Beaver, who created pieces of the religious lore as needed to fit the scenario's needs. The main concept behind Unitology was examining the effects of a religion or cult when it grows out of control, in addition to the corruptive influence of bad people on people through religion. [41] In response to a later comparison of Unitology with scientology, it was described as representing irrational thought and action prompted by the unknown. [42] Creating Unitology was an easy part of development, and the team were fairly relaxed about the themes surrounding it as it was intended as an analogy of religion as a whole rather than specific criticism of a single belief system. [41]
A key early inspiration for the game's tone was the film Event Horizon . [14] [22] Schofield cited the film's use of visual storytelling and camera work, referencing a particular scene where the audience sees a scene of gore missed by the on-screen character, as an early inspiration. [22] Another strong influence on Schofield was the French horror film Martyrs . [40] Several elements made reference to other science fiction movies: Isaac's struggle was compared to that of Ellen Ripley from Alien ; the dementia suffered by characters referenced Solaris ; the sense of desperation mirrored that in the story of Sunshine . [14] How the story was conveyed was a mechanical challenge, due to both the real-time elements and the ability to complete some objectives out of order. [30]
The scenario was a collaborative effort between Warren Ellis, Rick Remender and Antony Johnston. [37] Ellis created a lot of the background lore and groundwork. [43] This draft was given to Remender, who wrote out planned scenes, added some scenes of his own, and performed rewrites before the script was handed to Johnston. [37] Johnston, who was involved in writing the game's additional media, worked references to those other works into the game's script. While the scripting process lasted two years, Johnston only worked on the game for the last eight months of that time. Much of his work focused on the dialogue, which had to fit around key events which had already been solidified. Johnston also contributed heavily to the audio logs, which he used to create additional storyline and flesh out the narrative. [44] The organizations referenced in the story were described by Beaver as "really rough tent poles in the background story so it could stand on its own". [41]
Isaac, with his non-military role and backstory, was meant to appeal to players as an average person who was not trained for combat or survival. [19] His armour and weapon design followed the principle of him being an untrained engineer; the armour is a work suit for conditions compared by staff to an oil rig in space, while the weapons are mining tools. [13] [29] Isaac's name made reference to two science fiction authors, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. [27] The design of the ship environments deliberately moved away from traditional science fiction, which they saw as being overly clean and lacking function. [23] The large number of familiar environments and designs, in addition to making the Ishimura a believable living environment, increased the horror elements, as they would be familiar to players. [45] To achieve the realistic feel, they emulated Gothic architecture, which fit their vision both practically and aesthetically. [23] The lighting was based on light from the strong lamps used in dentistry. [45]
The Necromorphs were designed by Wanat. Similar to the ship design, Wanat designed the Necromorphs to be realistic and relatable. [23] His approach to them was to illustrate how the human form looked after it was "ravaged by a violent transformation that literally ripped it inside out". They retained elements of their original human form, increasing their disturbing nature. [30] As reference, the team used medical images and scenes from car crashes, copying injuries and incorporating them into the monster designs. [46] [30] Those images were also used as reference for the dead bodies scattered round the environment. [46] The Necromorphs' multi-limbed or tentacled appearance was dictated by the dismemberment gameplay, as having enemies without limbs would not work in that context. [32] Their in-universe naming drew inspiration from the kind of code naming that happens in war zones among soldiers. [45]
Schofield insisted from an early stage that emphasis be placed on the music and audio design to promote the horror atmosphere. [22] The sound work was led by Don Veca, and the team included Andrew Lackey, Dave Feise and Dave Swenson. Each member's work often overlapped with others. [47] Feise, the first member to join, mostly worked on weapon designs and the "tweaky futuristic synth" elements. Swenson was described as a jack of all trades, working on a wide array of elements and in particular creating impact sounds and handling the more scripted linear sections. [48] Lackey's contributions focused on boss fights and the opening sections. [47] Despite Veca's executive role, he "stayed in the trenches" as much as possible and worked on every aspect of the sound design. [48] For one of the areas in the game, which had no enemies but relied on sound and lighting, audio director Don Veca used sounds recorded from a Bay Area Rapid Transit train; the results were described by Schofield as a "horrible sound". The monster noises used a base of human noises; as an example, the small Lurker enemies used human baby sounds as a base mixed in other noises such as panther growls. [49]
As with other elements of production, the team wanted to emphasise realism. When it came to zero-G environments, they muted and muffled any sound and focused on noises from within Isaac's suit, as these mirrored actual experiences in a space vacuum. [49] The sounds played into gameplay, as the team wanted players to use sound cues to help anticipate enemy attacks while also stoking their fear. [47] The team wanted to recreate the scripted sound design of linear horror films in an interactive environment. They watched their favorite horror films, noting their use of sound effects and music, and implementing them into Dead Space. [50] One of the constant issues was optimising the limited amount of RAM the team had for both music and sound effects, which partly inspired the development of specific tools rather than using popular sound design systems. [48]
The dialogue and voice implementation was handled by Andrea Plastas and Jason Heffel. [48] The voice audio was recorded during motion capture sessions with the actors. [48] The cast included Tonantzin Carmelo as Kendra, Peter Mensah as Hammond, and Keith Szarabajka as Kyne. [51] [52] Isaac is a masked silent protagonist, so the team worked to incorporate personality into his appearance and movements, with a large number of animations for his various conditions and actions. This approach was based on the portrayal of Gordon Freeman in Half-Life 2 . [22] [27] A vetoed suggestion from Electronic Arts in early production was that a famous actor should portray Isaac. [27]
To control the sound design elements, the team created custom software tools. [48] One of the tools they created was dubbed "Fear Emitters", which controlled the volume of music and sound effects based on distance from threats or key events. [49] Other sound tools included "Creepy Ambi Patch", which acted as a multitrack organiser for the various sound layers and added randomised internal sounds to create a greater sense of dread; "Visual Effects", which incorporated sound effects naturally into the environment and to specific areas; and "Deadscript", a scripting language developed as a replacement for a sound language later used for Spore that was taking up too much space in the game's code. [48]
The music of Dead Space was composed by Jason Graves. [53] Graves worked with Veca to create a soundtrack that was dark and "Aleatoric in style", taking inspiration from the work of Christopher Young and the music of The Shining . [54] [55] When Graves got the job, he was told that the team wanted "the scariest music anyone had ever heard". As part of his research, Graves listened to a lot of modern experimental orchestral music. [53] He based the musical style on the name Necromorph itself, with "Necro" meaning "death" and "morph" meaning "to change"; he wanted to make a musical version of that concept. [56]
The music recording sessions took place at the studio of Skywalker Sound, with different sections recording for Graves to create multiple layers of sound. [57] [58] The final in-game score for Dead Space was three hours long and recorded over five months, several times more than Graves had composed for previous video game titles. [55] Graves described it as the most challenging and enjoyable composing job he had undertaken for a game, praising the amount of freedom he was given by the sound team. [54]
Dead Space was announced in September 2007. [59] Dead Space formed part of a strategy formed under Electronic Arts's new management to push new original intellectual properties over their previous licensed properties. [60] [61] The website went live in March 2008, featuring screenshots from the game, an animated trailer, a developer blog, and a dedicated forum. [62] The game received a large amount of marketing support from Electronic Arts. [61] Initially, Dead Space Community Manager Andrew Green stated that Germany, China and Japan banned the game. However, it was confirmed that this was a marketing ploy and that Dead Space was not banned in any country. [63]
In North America, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Dead Space released on October 13, 2008, with the PC version releasing on October 20. All versions released in Australia on October 23, and in Europe on October 24. [64] The PC version was one of the Electronic Arts releases protected by the controversial digital rights management product SecuROM. [65] Electronic Arts released an Ultra Limited Edition of the game limited to 1,000 copies. The package includes the game, Dead Space: Downfall, a bonus content DVD, the Dead Space art book, a lithograph and the Dead Space comic. [66] The people who bought the game within the first two weeks of its release could download the exclusive suits for free: the Obsidian Suit for the PlayStation 3 version and the Elite Suit for the Xbox 360 version. [67] After release, additional gameplay perks in the form of suits and weapons were released as paid downloadable content. [68]
Alongside the video game, the Dead Space team and Electronic Arts created a multimedia universe around the game to both promote it and show off different elements of its lore and story referenced in the game. [69] This positive response and development was prompted by enthusiasm for the vertical slice demo. [13] The first media expansion was a limited comic series written by Johnston and illustrated by Ben Templesmith, running between March and September 2008. [70] [71] The next was an animated film, Dead Space: Downfall , produced by Film Roman and released in October 2008. [72] [73] The comic covers the five weeks following the Marker's discovery on Aegis VII, [74] while Downfall reveals how the Ishimura was overtaken. [72]
In addition, Electronic Arts launched an episodic alternate reality game with a dedicated website titled No Known Survivors. [75] No Known Survivors was developed by web creator Deep Focus. [76] [77] The challenge for Deep Focus was creating an immersive experience which would excite potential players, while being unique to the online environment. According to Creative Director Nick Braccia, the aim was to take pieces of the Dead Space lore and "blow [them] up" in ways that could only work in this environment. [76] The production lasted fourteen months. [78] While more interactive events were considered, the production timeline meant several concepts were cut. The point and click interface style, and the limited exploration space of a single room per scenario, was chosen due to technical limitations and to create an experience impractical on mainstream consoles. [76] The scenario of No Known Survivors was written by Johnston. [44]
Over the nine weeks prior to the game's release, players could open the different episodes using graphics of mutated human limbs. Exploring in the style of a point and click adventure game, the story was split across two episodic stories, told through a combination of audio logs, short animations and written documents found in each environment. [75] [76] The two episodes were "Misplaced Affection", which told of a hiding medical technician remembering his attempted affair with another crewperson; and "13", which focused on a government sleeper agent planted aboard the Ishimura. [75] [76] It began its release on August 25. [75] The final episode of content was released on October 21, alongside the game. [79] Signing up on particular dates unlocked a discount for the game, with the top prize being a reproduction of Isaac's helmet. [80]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | (X360) 89/100 [81] (PS3) 88/100 [82] (PC) 86/100 [83] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
1Up.com | B+ [84] |
Computer and Video Games | 9.1/10 [85] |
Eurogamer | 7/10 [86] |
Game Informer | 9.25/10 [87] |
GamePro | [88] |
GameSpot | 9/10 [89] |
GameTrailers | 8.8/10 [90] |
IGN | 8.7/10 [11] |
PALGN | 9/10 [91] |
Dead Space received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. [81] [82] [83]
Upon release, Dead Space earned critical acclaim from many journalists. [69] Matt Leone of 1Up.com praised its innovations in third-person gameplay, though faulted several elements that felt like padding. [84] Computer and Video Games 's Matthew Pellett was similarly positive about the gameplay and lore, though wishing for more zero-G sections and again faulting its length. [85] Dan Whitehead, writing for Eurogamer , enjoyed the experience despite some frustrating design elements and other parts that clashed with the horror aesthetic. [86] Andrew Reiner of Game Informer enjoyed his time with the game, praising its committent to horror elements and gameplay elements. In a second opinion, Joe Juba called it "the premiere accomplishment in survival horror since Resident Evil 4". [87] GamePro gave the game a perfect score, praising almost every aspect of the experience except for a lack of additional gameplay modes. [88]
Lark Anderson of GameSpot praised the enemy design and behavior, praising it as being able to stand out within the survival horror genre. [89] GameTrailers was positive about the game's use of both many horror tropes and its references to other horror and science fiction properties, saying players would be compelled to push on despite the disturbing atmosphere. [90] IGN 's Jeff Haynes faulted some overpowered mechanics and frustrating New Game+ elements, but generally praised it as an enjoyable new title in the genre. [11] Jeremy Jastrzab of PALGN summed the game up as "easily the most atmospherically intense, genuinely scary and well-built survival horror experience of this current generation". [91]
The storyline saw a divided reaction; many praised its atmosphere and presentation, [11] [85] [88] but other critics found it derivative or poorly written. [86] [87] [92] Where mentioned, the graphics and environmental design were praised. [11] [84] [89] [91] The voice acting and sound design were also well received, with the latter being praised for reinforcing the horror atmosphere. [11] [87] [90] The twist on combat mechanics and enemy behavior design met with much praise, [11] [86] [87] [89] [92] [91] but repetitive level and mission structure were often faulted. [84] [89] [92] [91] The complete lack of a HUD was also positively noted. [11] [86] [87]
Several retrospective journalistic and website articles have ranked Dead Space as one of the greatest video games of all time, pointing out its innovations in the survival horror genre. [93] [94] [95] [96] [97] [98] A 2011 GamePro article noted that the game promoted Electronic Arts as a potential home for original IPs, and generally found a balance between action and horror despite some contemporary reviews having mixed reactions. [69] In an article on the series from 2018, Game Informer said the title stood out for its unique gameplay gimmicks and atmosphere compared to other video games of the time. [13] Magazine Play , in a 2015 feature on the game's production, said that Dead Space distinguished itself by incorporating more action elements into established genre elements, and positively compared its atmosphere to BioShock from 2007 and Metro: Last Light from 2013. [23] In a 2014 article concerning the series' later developments, Kotaku cited it as "one of the best horror games of the seventh generation of consoles". [99]
At release, Dead Space reached tenth place in North American game sales, compiled in November by the NPD Group. Recording sales of 193,000 units, it was the only new property to enter the top ten. [100] It was the only Electronic Arts property within that group. [101] In early analysis, low sales of the title were attributed to strong market competition at the time, though sales improved over time due to positive critical reception. [102] By December, the game had sold 421,000 units across all platforms. The game, along with Mirror's Edge , was considered a commercial disappointment following its extensive marketing. Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said that the company would have to lower its expected income for the fiscal year due to multiple commercial disappointments including Dead Space. [61] In February 2009, Electronic Arts CFO Eric Brown confirmed that all versions of Dead Space had sold one million copies worldwide. [103]
Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | NAVGTR | Camera Direction in a Game Engine | Nominated | [104] |
Animation in a Game Cinema | Won | |||
Art Direction in a Game Cinema | Nominated | |||
Camera Direction in a Game Engine | Won | |||
Direction in a Game Cinema | Nominated | |||
Lighting/Texturing | Won | |||
Sound Editing in a Game Cinema | Won | |||
Sound Effects | Won | |||
Use of Sound | Won | |||
Game Original Action | Nominated | |||
Game Developers Choice Awards | Audio | Won | [105] | |
2009 | ||||
5th British Academy Games Awards | Action & Adventure | Nominated | [106] | |
Artistic Achievement | Nominated | |||
Original Score | Won | |||
Use of Audio | Won | |||
12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards | Action Game of the Year | Won | [107] | |
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design | Won | |||
Annie Awards | Best Animated Video Game | Nominated | [108] | |
Spike Video Game Awards | Best Action Adventure Game | Nominated | [109] | |
Game Audio Network Guild Awards | Audio of the Year | Won | [110] [111] | |
Music of the Year | Nominated | |||
Sound Design of the Year | Won | |||
Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game | Nominated | |||
Following the success of Dead Space, EA Redwood Shores was restructured as a "genre studio" called Visceral Games, going on to develop several titles alongside their work on the Dead Space franchise, which spawned both further additional media and spin-off titles on several platforms. [112] [113] A direct sequel, Dead Space 2, was released in 2011, [113] [114] and a third title, Dead Space 3, launched in March 2013. [115] The third game was met with disappointing sales, [116] and a prospective sequel was cancelled before Visceral Games was closed down in 2017. [113] [117]
EA announced a remake of Dead Space in July 2021, to be developed by EA's Motive Studios. The remake was released for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S consoles. [118] [119] Among lead staff include senior producer Philippe Ducharme, creative director Roman Campos-Oriola, and art director Mike Yazijian, all whom had worked on titles within the Dead Space series. There are no plans to change the story or the characters, though the team will consider the other Dead Space games and may include references to these prior works as to incorporate the first game better into the series canon. [120] They will also incorporate some of the cut content that they found in reviewing the design files for the original game. [121] The team said they will remove some gameplay elements that "didn't work", based on consultation with players and fans of the Dead Space series. They also want to focus on improving the accessibility of the game, using improvements in accessibility features created since the original game's release. [120] The remake will be built in the Frostbite Engine, rebuilding all the systems from scratch for it and introducing new features such as volumetric and dynamic lighting. The game will also take advantage of the newer consoles' solid-state drive systems to create a seamless experience between levels without any loading screens. [122] There are no plans to introduce microtransactions into the game, a similar move following the release of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order . [120]
A PlayStation 1-style fan remake, titled Dead Space Demake, was released as a playable demo in April 2023. [123]
Survival horror is a subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and vision, or through various obstructions of the player's interaction with the game mechanics. The player is also challenged to find items that unlock the path to new areas and solve puzzles to proceed in the game. Games make use of strong horror themes, such as dark mazelike environments and unexpected attacks from enemies.
System Shock 2 is a 1999 action role-playing survival horror video game designed by Ken Levine and co-developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios. Originally intended to be a standalone title, its story was changed during production into a sequel to the 1994 game System Shock. The alterations were made when Electronic Arts—who owned the System Shock franchise rights—signed on as publisher.
Glen Schofield is an American video game artist, designer, director, and producer. He was formerly the vice president and general manager at Visceral Games, co-founder of Sledgehammer Games, founder and former CEO of Striking Distance Studios, and the creator and executive producer of the third-person survival horror video game Dead Space.
Dead Space is a science fiction horror comic book series written by Antony Johnston and illustrated by Ben Templesmith, published from March to September 2008 by the American company Image Comics. The comic was compiled into a graphic novel and released online as a motion comic. It is a prequel to the 2008 survival horror video game of the same name, detailing the five weeks leading up to the destruction of a space colony on the planet Aegis VII following the discovery of an artifact called the Marker.
Dead Space: Downfall is a 2008 American adult animated psychological science fiction horror film directed by Chuck Patton, written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and developed by Film Roman under the supervision of Electronic Arts; Electronic Arts also published the 2008 survival horror video game Dead Space upon which the film is based. It first released direct-to-video in October, before seeing a television showing the following month on Starz Encore.
Dead Space: Extraction is a 2009 rail shooter co-developed by EA Redwood Shores and Eurocom and published by Electronic Arts for the Wii. A port for PlayStation 3 was released in 2011 alongside Dead Space 2. A spin-off within the Dead Space series and a prequel to the original game, the story follows survivors from the Aegis VII mining colony as the planet and newly-arrived ship USG Ishimura is overrun by deadly monsters called Necromorphs. Gameplay involves going through scripted sequences with different characters, using assigned weapons to kill Necromorphs by severing their limbs. Each version respectively supported the Wii Zapper and PlayStation Move peripherals.
Necromorphs are a collective of undead creatures in the science fiction horror multimedia franchise Dead Space by Electronic Arts, introduced in the 2008 comic book series of the same name. Within the series, the Necromorphs are constructed from reanimated corpses and come in multiple forms of various shapes and sizes. They are violent creatures driven to murder and infect all life within their vicinity by a signal emitted from mysterious alien artifacts known as Markers.
Dead Space 2 is a 2011 survival horror game developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 in January. The second mainline entry in the Dead Space series, set on the Titan-based Sprawl space station, the story follows series protagonist Isaac Clarke as he fights against both an outbreak of the monstrous Necromorphs and debilitating mental illness induced by the alien Markers. Gameplay features Isaac exploring a series of levels, solving puzzles to progress, and finding resources while fighting off Necromorphs. The game included a competitive multiplayer, with the Sprawl's security forces fighting teams of Necromorphs.
Visceral Games, previously EA Redwood Shores, was an American video game developer studio owned by Electronic Arts. The studio is best known for creating and principally developing the Dead Space series.
Dead Space is a science fiction/horror franchise created and directed by Glen Schofield. Dead Space was developed by Visceral Games and published and owned by Electronic Arts. The franchise's chronology is not presented in a linear format; each installment in the Dead Space franchise is a continuation or addition to a continuing storyline, with sections of the storyline presented in prequels or sequels, sometimes presented in other media from the originating video game series, which includes two films and several comic books and novels.
Dead Space Ignition is a 2010 action puzzle video game co-developed by Visceral Games and Sumo Digital. It was published by Electronic Arts for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A spin-off of the Dead Space series, it serves as a prequel to 2011's Dead Space 2. It is set on the Sprawl, a city built upon the remains of the moon Titan. The player takes the role of Franco Delille, an engineer who witnesses and navigates round the initial outbreak of the hostile alien Necromorphs. The gameplay combines hacking minigames with motion comic-style cutscenes featuring multiple story paths.
Dead Space: Aftermath is a 2011 American adult animated psychological science fiction horror film directed by Mike Disa, written by a team including Brandon Auman, and developed by Starz Media Film Roman and Pumpkin Studio under the supervision of Electronic Arts & Visceral Games. It was released direct-to-video on January 25, the same day as the 2011 survival horror video game Dead Space 2, published by Electronic Arts.
Dead Space: Martyr is a 2010 science fiction horror novel written by B. K. Evenson, published by Tor Books. Martyr forms part of the Dead Space survival horror media franchise developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts. A prequel entry in the franchise, the novel is set centuries before the events of the main series and follows geophysicist Michael Altman as he investigates an alien artifact called the Black Marker. The novel concludes with Altman being unwillingly used to found Unitology, a religion that worships the Marker.
Dead Space 3 is a 2013 survival horror action video game developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360. It is the third and final main entry in the Dead Space series. The game's story follows player-character Isaac Clarke and his allies as they explore a frozen planet, Tau Volantis, to discover the origins of the growing threat from their enemies, the Necromorphs. Players control Isaac and explore the environment, solve puzzles, and find resources, while fighting Necromorphs and hostile humans called Unitologists. The game supports online cooperative multiplayer sessions in which a second player takes the role of new character John Carver.
Dead Space: Liberation is a 2013 science fiction horror graphic novel written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by Christopher Shy, published by Titan Books. It forms part of the Dead Space survival horror media franchise developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts. Liberation is a prequel to Dead Space 3 (2013) detailing the experiences of EarthGove soldier John Carver following an outbreak of deadly monsters called Necromorphs, joining with Ellie Langford and Robert Norton on a search for the Necromorphs' origins.
Isaac Clarke is a fictional character in the survival horror media franchise Dead Space, owned and published by Electronic Arts. He was introduced as the protagonist of Dead Space (2008) developed by EA subsidiary EA Redwood Shores, which later became Visceral Games. A starship systems engineer, he is initially contracted by the Concordance Extraction Company (C.E.C) to join the crew of its maintenance ship Kellion on a search and repair mission for USG Ishimura, which is the last known whereabouts of his ex-girlfriend Nicole Brennan who had sent a brief transmission to him. Once on board the derelict vessel, Isaac finds himself beset by Necromorphs, horrendous undead creatures unleashed by a mysterious alien artifact known as a Marker. Subsequent sequels follow Isaac's struggle to cope with the alteration of his mind by the Marker in the first game, as well as his journey to uncover the origin of the Markers and the source of the Necromorph outbreaks.
The music of the Dead Space media franchise, created by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts around a series of survival horror video games, was mainly composed by Jason Graves. Graves composed the music for all mainline entries in the series and the majority of spin-off titles. Other composers have been involved in the series; Grave's recurring collaborator Rod Abernethy acted as an early advisor for the titular first game, James Hannigan co-composed the score for Dead Space 3, while Seth Podowitz and Christopher Tin were the respective composers for the movies Dead Space: Downfall and Dead Space: Aftermath.
Dead Space is a 2023 survival horror game developed by Motive Studio and published by Electronic Arts. A remake of the 2008 game of the same name developed by EA Redwood Shores, it was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on January 27, 2023. It is the first release in the Dead Space series since 2013's Dead Space 3. Like the original game, it is set on a mining spaceship overrun by deadly monsters called Necromorphs following the discovery of an artifact called the Marker. The player controls engineer Isaac Clarke as he navigates the spaceship and fights the Necromorphs while struggling with growing psychosis.
The USG Ishimura is a fictional spacecraft from the Dead Space franchise of survival horror video games developed by Visceral Games. Known as a "planet-cracker" in-universe, the mining vessel serves as the setting of the 2008 Dead Space and its 2023 remake after its crew recovers an alien artifact on the planet Aegis VII, which transforms them into undead creatures called Necromorphs. The protagonist, Isaac Clarke, is sent to conduct emergency maintenance on the ship but soon finds himself fighting the Necromorphs with his engineering tools in an attempt to survive and escape. The ship is rediscovered in the time between Dead Space and Dead Space 2, having been left abandoned for three years and subsequently taken to a massive spaceport known as the "Sprawl" for insurance purposes; this indirectly triggers a new outbreak of Necromorphs.
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