In a recent blog post shared on EA’s website, those interested can delve into ‘Inside Dead Space #1: Remaking a Classic’, in which Motive explains what it believes is key to bringing back and remaking such an iconic title. First things first, the most important thing for Motive is to stay true to the original title, and this is without a doubt, what many fans of the original Dead Space are looking for. Senior producer Philippe Ducharme says, “We look at the original game with the utmost respect.” Project technical director David Robillard adds, “A lot of people reference it as being one of the best in the genre. So we wanted to make sure we understood well what made it best, and we wanted to make sure we kept that.” As a result, Motive reached out to some of Dead Space’s most hardcore fans as advisors, creating a Community Council that the developer could bounce ideas off. Motive says that while staying true to the original, it also wants to expand and enhance Dead Space. “The story, for example, hits all the main beats and main events of the original, but we looked at the lore of the whole franchise,” says Ducharme, “there was Dead Space 2, Dead Space 3, the comic books — these all added additional lore that we re-injected into the game.” As for the technology behind the game, Creative Director Roman Campos-Oriola shares that “It’s in a new engine, Frostbite, and every asset — every animation, every texture, every effect or piece of enemy behaviour — has been rebuilt in the new engine.” What’s more interesting, however, is what Phillipe Ducharme then followed up with. “We’re actually creating the entire game as one sequential shot. From the moment you start the game to the moment you end the game, there are no camera cuts or load screens—unless you die.” The team also noted that with the computational power it has now, the Dead Space Remake will be able to push things like lighting, fog, shadows, dismemberment, and more even further than ever before. “It feels more dynamic, more strategic,” says Robillard. While simultaneously staying true to the original Dead Space and enhancing it for modern audiences and consoles, the final step for Motive is to bring everything together. We’ll be able to see for ourselves just exactly how this pans out on January 27, 2023. Needless to say, I’m excited about a definitive, modern Dead Space experience.
