The development cycle of theDead Spaceremake is becoming more interesting, as EA announces the involvement of a key developer fromDead Space 2. Considering the massive critical success ofDead Space 2, with the art direction being of particular praise, this is exciting news for horror fans.
EA’s recently announced a remake of the firstDead Spacegame, created by EA’s Motive Studio. The remake will use the lessons learned fromDead Space 2to create a more immersive experience, and the studio intends to keep the story intact.
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Michael “Mike” Yazijan was the art director onDead Space 2.Dead Space 2’s art direction plays a massive role in its impact on the player, so Michael coming back to work on the remake ofDead Spacemeans fans can count on the art direction being stellar. In addition to the game’sResident Evil 2inspiration, this is a good indication of the intent of the remake. In a “Meet the Team” article published by EA, Michael says he is not only a huge fan of the originalDead Space, but also found his original notebooks from when he was working onDead Space 2.
A common criticism withDead Space 1is how segmented the experience is, which is why EA announced early on that Motive’sDead Spaceremake will feature no loading screens. As such, there will have to be some method of traveling between the areas of the USG Ishimura that do not feel like loading screens, drawing inspiration from howDead Space 2handled it. Michael Yazijan, along with the rest of theDead Spaceteam, worked hard on makingDead Space 2feel less segmented than the original, with an early segment subverting the train that Isaac would ride during loading screens in the original by turning it into an action sequence with combat.
As exciting as a remake ofDead Spaceis, EA’s decision to fully remake the game instead of remastering it and re-releasing is confusing to some. Some fans of the original questionwhetherDead Spacereally needs a remakein the first place, and some are still frustrated with EA for shutting down the original studio, Visceral Games, due to theDead Spaceseries not meeting sales expectations. Hopefully, EA has less lofty expectations for theDead Spaceremake. As popular as it is, horror is still a niche genre that will not appeal to everyone.
Regardless,Dead Spaceis a series widely beloved by horror fans, and its comeback may pave the way formore horror game revivalsin the future. Many lessons can be learned from the originalDead Spaceseries' rise and fall, and can be applied far beyond the remake.
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