The team over at EA Motive undoubtedly has some big shoes to fill when it comes to their upcoming Dead Space remake. Clearly aware of the legacy that the long-hibernating franchise has garnered over the years, the game’s Creative Director, Senior Producer, and Art Director addressed some of the burning questions people have in a post on the studio’s official website.
The team, which is made up of long-time Dead Space fans, wants to clarify that this isn’t a simple remaster. The remake is not a reboot or a shot-for-shot recreation of the original either. This new take on the classic is going to be more of a reimagining of the sci-fi horror hit. The final product will be a little bit of the old and a little bit of the new married together to hopefully make something special that still has the same spirit.
The main source of inspiration,” Mike says, “is the original vision for Dead Space. We make sure we’re following the story, the art direction, everything, out of respect for the original game. We are taking the opportunity to also do away with some things that don’t work, and make sure the game stays relevant to modern audiences — but even that has to be done surgically.
The team hopes to modernize the classic and bring it up to speed thanks to all of the hardware advancements that have taken place in the years since the original release. This is actually a pretty impressive feat because Dead Space still looks great to this day. Give it a look if you can. It holds up remarkably well for having come out over a decade ago. Not many games with hyper-realistic style graphics can say that.
What’s really cool,” Roman says, “is not only how passionate people are at Motive, but how passionate they are about Dead Space, and how everybody is serious about remaking it as good as it can be. It’s not that I wasn’t expecting people to be passionate about what they’re making! But I wasn’t expecting everybody to be that passionate about this game, and all be such big fans.
It’s a bit of an understatement to say that Motive has some very big shoes to fill. Fans have been clamoring for more Dead Space for quite some time while the franchise was withering away in the EA dungeons with the studio’s other beloved single-player outings. The attitude towards single-player experiences has since shifted thankfully and this remake is a step in the right direction. The team seemingly has the right attitude and passion to make the reimagining something special but only time will tell if it pays off.
