Creating Horror and Immersion With the Art of Dead Space

Run into the Team Leading the Remake of Dead Space

Learn how inspiration, innovation, and collaboration are bringing the beloved game back to life.

By at present, you might take heard: Expressionless Space^TM, one of the near beloved and critically acclaimed survival horror games ever, is being rebuilt from the ground up to offer a deeper and more than immersive gameplay experience. Our talented folks (who shipped Star Wars^TM : Squadrons and the single-player campaign of Star Wars ^TM Battlefront^TM 2) are deep in the process of turning a 2008 title into a state-of-the-art, modern experience.

In order to go a sense of what's going into this projection, we talked to Senior Producer Philippe Ducharme, Artistic Manager Roman Campos-Oriola and Art Director Mike Yazijian. And it speedily became clear that this remake is a passion project for everyone.

(Left to right) Mike Yazijian, Art Director; Roman Campos-Oriola, Creative Director; Philippe Ducharme, Senior Producer

BY FANS, FOR FANS

Accept, for example, Roman's four-word response when we asked what brought him to Motive: "The words 'Dead Space.'" This is clearly a team that's in love with the source cloth, and it shows in every facet of the project.

Of course, that's not all he had to say nigh joining Motive. "I'd never had the opportunity to work on a survival horror game, which is one of my favorite genres as a gamer. And so the opportunity to work on Dead Infinite was similar, 'Yes, yous can stop talking, I'one thousand on my manner.'"

Philippe tells a similar story. After several conversations with VP and General Manager Patrick Klaus, he finally learned that a remake of Dead Infinite was the project he was actually being recruited for. "At that indicate information technology was like, 'Well, where do I sign?'" Philippe says. "Because that's definitely compelling. And so I was the get-go person officially assigned to Dead Infinite, "and started preparing the project for the awesome team that moved from Star Wars: Squadrons to course the Dead Infinite team."

Mike's feelings almost the original are simply equally enthusiastic. "I recall being then excited to play that game that I'd think almost it all day and then get home only and so I could play," he says. "And I call back enjoying information technology and so much that I didn't want it to exist over. So I made sure that I savored information technology, a footling fleck at a time."

Only Mike has an even deeper connection to the franchise, because he was the Art Director for his work at EA Montreal on Dead Space 2. That gives him a unique perspective on this remake — and a very special ready of resource. "I actually establish my erstwhile notebooks from Dead Infinite 2!" he tells united states of america. "Then that really comes in handy, seeing all the notes from the sequel, everything the Visceral team had shared with u.s. as nosotros were making the game with them. We've got concept art, visual guidelines, source materials, notes on the conversations we had with them, the knowledge that they gained — information technology's all here. It's all going into this game."

HONORING THE LEGACY

So permit'due south talk nigh what this new iteration of Dead Space is, and what it isn't. First of all, this isn't a reboot — that is, it's not a wholesale re-imagining of the franchise. But it besides isn't a remaster, which is mainly a higher-resolution, faster-running version of the exact same game. Instead, it's a remake, rebuilding everything from the ground up in a new engine —  while keeping, and being respectful of, what made the original then special..

"It'due south existence fully rebuilt in Frostbite," Roman says, "with all new assets, new character models, new environments — fifty-fifty though we're basing those on the original designs. There are new parts, new props, new collision models, and and then on. We're rebuilding everything from scratch, but we're keeping the same story and the same structure."

This allows the game to do some things that older technology merely couldn't handle, to create a previously impossible sense of immersion.

"We're playing with volumetric effects," says Philippe, "so instead of simply having sprites, you're really able to experience the depth of a room, the thickness of the air. We're playing with shadows, with dynamic lighting, so not only does it create the mood and the atmosphere, just information technology also has an effect on gameplay, because the player has the ability to control the lighting in certain areas of the ship. Sound likewise plays an important role reinforcing that sense of immersion. This is one area of the original game that nevertheless resonates with players. Nosotros are working on enhancing the experience and providing believable audio that focus on objects positioning and 3D sounds propagation."

-- Philippe Ducharme, Senior Producer

"And the super-fast SSDs on modernistic systems permit us to load and unload really fast," Roman chimes in. "Our intention is to offer a fully unbroken experience, it will be an uninterrupted sequence shot, from the start screen to the stop credit, without intermission."

"The objective we gave to the whole team was to have players pick up the controller and completely lose track of fourth dimension," Philippe continues. "Similar, they play through the entire experience without putting the controller down. That's how immersive we want our game to be, that people merely dive in and don't come out until the credits roll."

Each fellow member of the team is clearly excited nearly what new engineering can do for such a beloved game. But each is merely as insistent on what Philippe calls "the offset pillar" of the remake project: honoring the legacy of the original game.

"The main source of inspiration," Mike says, "is the original vision for Dead Infinite. We make sure we're following the story, the fine art direction, everything, out of respect for the original game. We are taking the opportunity to also practice abroad with some things that don't work, and make certain the game stays relevant to modern audiences — simply fifty-fifty that has to be done surgically."

-- Mike Yazijian, Art Manager

Philippe concurs: "Having the opportunity to work on a game like Dead Space, we need to match the inspiration of the team to the inspiration of the customs," he says. "What the fans desire, what people expect out of the game — we desire to be able to match that, to deliver the game they want. And the idea of them confirming that we did information technology right? That's a huge inspiration."

To that finish, the team has been seeking fan feedback about from the beginning. "Nosotros started sharing things with some of our biggest fans and asking for feedback just two months into working on the game," says Roman. "Nosotros want to care for the franchise with great care and respect, so we want to make sure the things we're doing are striking dwelling with our customs."

MOTIVE-ATION

Of course, the team working on the game is made up of fans, also!

"What's really cool," Roman says, "is non only how passionate people are at Motive, but how passionate they are nearly Expressionless Infinite, and how everybody is serious near remaking it as adept as it can be. It's not that I wasn't expecting people to exist passionate about what they're making! Simply I wasn't expecting everybody to be that passionate about this game, and all be such big fans."

-- Roman Campos-Oriola, Creative Director

And that'southward an interesting thing near these conversations. In discussion with each of these squad leaders, things e'er seemed to circle back to the working culture here at Motive. Philippe, for example, highlights the strong sense of teamwork that runs through every step of the procedure. "Nosotros accept a team that's able to talk honestly and transparently," he says, "that respects everyone's opinions and values, and that reinforces that community to make something together, to achieve better results. There may be challenges, but nosotros come together equally a group to fix those challenges. We work together to make sure everyone is office of the solution."

Mike expresses similar sentiments. "In a higher place annihilation else, it's the people," he says. "And everyone's voice is heard. No matter their role on the project, how senior, how junior, everybody'southward voice is heard. Information technology's so highly collaborative. For example, everybody was so flexible and cooperative while going through the difficulties of the pandemic together. I mean, we shipped Star Wars: Squadrons terminal year from dwelling house! I'1000 simply amazed at how passionate and dedicated the team is."

And now? "I'thousand and so excited," he says. "This projection means and then much to me. I tin't wait to share so much more than."

Desire to add together your own vox to this team? We're always looking for forward-thinking minds to be function of our journeying. Visit our Careers page for more than information.

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Source: https://www.ea.com/ea-studios/motive/news/meet-the-team-leading-the-remake-of-dead-space?setLocale=en-us&fbclid=IwAR2eyWdCvM73JYALa7g-JIDmkWxXB9uG7OQiuuOToBqqJYgXeTDaEzuzdn0

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