dead-space posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Former DICE designer analyzes in-game user interfaces

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 24th 2010 at 3:00AM }

Though we rarely acknowledge their existence (unless they're super original or horrifically ugly), heads-up displays and user interfaces play a major role in how we interact with games. Former DICE designer Marcus Andrews was recently tasked by his previous employer with studying a variety of UIs to find out which work effectively, and why. Andrews then took his findings and penned an extremely fascinating article on Gamasutra, which you should really read at your earliest convenience.

The article examines the relationship between in-game "diegetic" HUD elements (think Isaac's holo-projector in Dead Space) and "non-diegetic" elements which only the player can see. Heck, it's worth reading just because of new vocabulary like that, which could easily be used to impress friends and members of the opposite sex.

Report: Dead Space 2 PC no longer in EA's plans [update]

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 9th 2010 at 12:15PM }

A great deal of news came out of EA's Q3 earnings report yesterday; enough to make us overlook this item: The early 2011 listing for Dead Space 2 didn't reference a PC version of he title, as was previously announced. Blue's News reportedly contacted Electronic Arts about the absence of the listing, and was told by a representative that "as of right now a PC sku is not in the plan."

That doesn't mean a PC version of the game is never coming out -- after all, the game's release window is still a year away. We've contacted EA to see exactly what "the plan" entails. Perhaps an elaborate casino heist?

Update: An Electronic Arts representative responded to our query, stating "Visceral Studios is dedicated to delivering an outstanding Dead Space sequel for the Xbox 360 and PS3. A PC SKU is under consideration. Nothing additional at this time."

Dead Space 2 and EA's Epic shooter slated for early 2011

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 8th 2010 at 5:30PM }

EA's tentative release schedule for Q4 of its fiscal 2011 (or, as us normal people call it, January–March 2011) contains more than a few intriguing entries. You already heard about the new Dragon Age game -- but listed just below that is an untitled "Shooter from Epic TBA." Of course, this can only mean one thing: Gears of Madden 2012 is within spitting distance of becoming a sweet reality! Wait -- what's that? Oh, right, the listing more likely points to new speculative details about that possible "Bulletstorm" project from Epic's People Can Fly studio. How ... unofficial.

Also listed under the early 2011 releases is Dead Space 2, which EA had previously promised would drop before next March. The excitement level of the remaining games drops off like the deep end of a pool: The list includes (deep breath) a new Need For Speed on consoles and PC (in addition to an apparent Holiday 2010 release), a downloadable "action" game, a new fighting game designated as a "sports" title, a new Hasbro game (more Family Game Night?), and new installments in the Sims and Spore franchises.

Ken Levine goes behind the scenes on System Shock 2

by Mike Schramm { Feb 1st 2010 at 10:00PM }

Irrational Games continues to empty out its vault of memories and secrets over on its newly commissioned blog -- Ken Levine and the crew are revealing so much old insider information over there you have to wonder how long they'll keep it up. Today, it's "what might have been" on System Shock 2, as Levine relates what they would have liked to do with the SHODAN showdown game, given more time and resources. The game was originally designed as an Apocalypse Now-style assassination in space, and it included some zero-G gameplay ideas (that sound pretty similar to what Dead Space pulled off years later). The ending also had to be rewritten, as the cinematic that Levine got back didn't have much to do with the script that he had originally put together.

And perhaps the most disturbing factoid is that the entire game was created in just 900 square feet of office space, full of overworked (and smelly) game developers. Wandering around the Von Braun was scary and all, but spending 11 months in a tiny room full of developers on crunch? No wonder Levine sounds ecstatic he survived.

EA: Medal of Honor, Dead Space 2, Crysis 2 before March 2011

by Ben Gilbert { Jan 12th 2010 at 12:45PM }

During EA's half-hour investor callstravaganza yesterday, CEO John Riccitiello unleashed a flurry of game titles set to be released in the company's "FIscal 2011." For EA, that falls anywhere between April 1, 2010 and March 30, 2011 -- a window that now holds the release of "a great new version of Medal of Honor, a revitalized Need for Speed, Sims on console, FIFA in a World Cup year, an innovative and new take on Madden, Dead Space 2, Crysis at full margins, a new MMA game, and many others."

Considering this laundry list of games is getting little more than a 12-month window for release, we're taking the logical next step and throwing darts at images of the games on our cork-board calendar. According to our impeccable aim... everything is coming out in November. Not helpful!

[Via Eurogamer]

Visceral teases us with Dead Space 2 '3D' screenshot

by Xav de Matos { Dec 22nd 2009 at 8:00PM }

[Game Informer]

It was hinted at again and again... and again, until it was finally confirmed. Dead Space 2 is officially a thing that exists, and the sequel will land on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC at some point. Until then, EA's Visceral Games is in full-blown tease mode. Today's tidbit of Dead Space 2 info comes in the form of a Game Informer-exclusive "3D" screenshot.

The image features the game's hero, Isaac Clark, fighting off a horrific childlike necromorph. Well, to be honest, we assume the pair are fighting. For all we know the two characters could be moments away from a beautiful holiday embrace. (Mistletoe may or may not be involved.) Check out Game Informer's dedicated Dead Space 2 site to see the shot in all its interactive glory.

Dead Space 2 producer confirms Sprawl, doesn't sweat Schofield departure

by David Hinkle { Dec 22nd 2009 at 2:00PM }

Dead Space 2 is shaping up to be quite the sequel, as executive producer Steve Papoutsis told CVG a lot of what we've heard about the Game Informer cover story is in fact true: engineer Isaac Clarke is a lot more vocal in the sequel and won't be confined to the claustrophobic corridors of the Ishimura. Instead, he's now an inhabitant of the space metropolis Sprawl.

Papoutsis did more than validate suspicions in his interview, as he also pointed out a greater focus on action and telekinesis in the sequel. See, Isaac won't just be able to move objects around, but he'll be able to destroy those objects and employ their debris as offensive weaponry. In fact, Isaac can even use dismembered enemy limbs to kill more enemies. It's kinda like when that bully at recess used to make you punch yourself, except he's sliced your arm off first and is firing it toward you at blue hedgehog-like speed.

Of course, an interview about Dead Space 2 can't go by without discussing the sudden departure of Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, the two gentlemen now running Sledgehammer Games for Activision. Papoutsis said that most of the team from the first game is on board for the sequel, and that it "takes a lot more than 2 people to make a great game." We hope so, because we have high hopes for this sequel.

Europe getting Dante's Inferno 'Death Edition,' includes playable Isaac Clarke

by Griffin McElroy { Dec 13th 2009 at 1:00AM }

In an inspiring attempt to try and take even more gratuitous liberties with the works of Dante Alighieri, Visceral Games has announced a Europe-only special edition bundle of its upcoming Hell-based action title, Dante's Inferno. The "Death Edition" bundle comes with a copy of the poem, some making-of documentaries, and an art book. However, its greatest bonus is a new skin for the game's scythe-wielding protagonist: The slot-helmeted outfit of Dead Space's hero, Isaac Clarke. Check out the full costume after the jump.

Now that we think of it, there's something pretty similar to this cross-promotion in the text of Dante's epic poem:

"I saw multitudes
to every side of me; their howls were loud
while, wheeling weights, they used their chests to push.
They struck against each other; at that point,
this space miner came in and killed them with this big scythe.
Needless to say, it was pretty [expletive deleted] radical."

Source: Console Planet (Google Translate)

Continued →

Rumor: Dead Space 2 info extracted from Game Informer

by Griffin McElroy { Dec 10th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Terrifying video game news site Rely On Horror claims to have recently gotten its hands on the next issue of Game Informer, which contains a pretty comprehensive breakdown of the new methods of Necromorph murder featured in Dead Space 2. According to the site, the Informer article reveals that the game's designers are trying to make the game spookier, placing hero Isaac Clarke (who learned the ability to speak between games, it seems) in more death-defying situations, and likely a few impossible-to-defy-death situations as well.

According to the report, the game's action has moved off of the Ishimura, instead placing Clarke on the similarly monster-infested interstellar city Sprawl, which dwarfs the original game's setting in size. Finally, the article supposedly ends with the developer dropping the following tease regarding multiplayer: "All I can say is it's really fun, and you'll get to strategically dismember your friends." Oh, man -- Bushido Laser-Saw confirmed! Or, rather, it might be confirmed. There's no way to tell for sure until we get our hands on the Clarke-covered magazine.

[Via VG247]

Dead Space 2 announced for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360

by Justin McElroy { Dec 7th 2009 at 9:20AM }

Not official art, actually

Do us a favor and read the following sentence really slowly -- seriously, savor it. It's been hinted and teased at enough to give the world's remaining necromorphs a heart attack, but Dead Space 2 has finally been officially announced for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Now, you might be wondering why you had to take your time with that easily understandable sentence. Well ... we don't really have anything else to tell you. It's still Visceral, it's still Isaac Clark, it's still the necromorph invasion. We don't even have a release window. The best thing EA has to say is, "Survival isn't the only thing on Isaac's mind in Dead Space 2 – this time, he calls the shots," which makes it sound like our engineer protagonist dumped his abusive boyfriend and moved to the big city to work in an office pool with Dolly Parton and Morgan Fairchild.

... Actually, that sounds pretty good.

Dead Space 2 possibly teased by Necromorphic ink blot

by Griffin McElroy { Dec 6th 2009 at 1:30PM }

What do you see in the ink blot above? A butterfly with cattails attached to its wings? Well, that probably means you're insane. The popular theory is that the image, which was linked to on the recently relocated official Dead Space Twitter page, is actually a teaser for Dead Space 2. This much is supported by the strange script featured at the bottom of the image (visible in the full picture, posted after the jump), which, when translated using this helpful guide (via horror game news blog Hell Descent), reads "the nightmare is over but it will not end."

There's also a few Necromorphs hidden in the ink blot, including Mr. "I'm going to stab you with these sharp tentacles" and Mr. "I'm just a baby but I'll bite your face off." (Disclaimer: Those probably aren't their Christian names.) We feel we can confidently add this to the growing pile of evidence for an upcoming announcement for the follow-up to last year's dismemberment simulator.

Continued →

Rumor: OPM teases Dead Space reveal in December

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 24th 2009 at 6:00PM }

Considering the artwork depicted on the "next month" page of November's Official PlayStation Magazine, it requires only the slightest of hops to reach the conclusion that a new Dead Space announcement is lurking just around the corner. Allegedly snapped by GOONL!NE (as in the connectivity instruction, not the lineup of criminals), the artwork features a grotesque, tentacled creature viewed through what appears to be the iconic toaster visor of Dead Space protagonist Isaac Clarke. The site confidently suggests that the creature itself is derived from the original game's concept art.

Now's the time to strategically remember several job listings, which mentioned a Dead Space follow-up, along with EA CEO John Riccitiello's recently expressed desire to have EA focus on more profitable, safer games. What could be safer than an isolated spaceship sending out a distress call?

The November issue of Official PlayStation Magazine is on sale ~~behind youuuuu~~ in the UK right now.

[Via CVG]

EA job listing hints at online multiplayer for Dead Space 2

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 14th 2009 at 1:30PM }

If an Electronic Arts job listing is any indication, Dead Space 2 is set to receive a gameplay feature that none of us saw coming -- online multiplayer support. The listing, which calls for the aid of a "Senior Online Level Designer," mentions that the new hire should "be able to work collaboratively with Creative Director and Online Producer to create extremely fun, satisfying and polished multiplayer levels." Those who desire to create droll, unsatisfying and shoddy multiplayer levels should probably look for employment elsewhere.

We'd call this move surprising based on the fact that we have no idea how it would work out. Given the first game's heavy focus on "strategic dismemberment," we can only imagine that multiplayer matches will quickly devolve into hilarious, appendage-removing duels. Kind of like Bushido Blade meets the Black Knight scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. (Actually, that sounds pretty awesome!)

[Thanks, Andrew!]

Dead Space tops on Riccitiello's list of faves

by Justin McElroy { Nov 6th 2009 at 8:00PM }

When John Riccitiello needs to unwind from a long day as CEO of EA, he does it with dismemberment. That's the word from an interview with Fox Business in which Riccy (No? Well, worth a shot) names Dead Space as his favorite game of the past 12 months. We're assuming he's not talking about the Wii version of the game, since it's a statistical improbability that he owns it.

After his revelation that digital distribution offset retail sluggishness, the publishing boss went on to say it takes him around "50 to 60 hours" to finish a typical game. It prompts the question: Exactly how many times is he planning on fending off the necromorph threat?

Reuters: RE5 sold 1.94M in US; Dead Space 2 in development for 2010

by David Hinkle { Oct 30th 2009 at 1:45PM }

In a story about the scarier games (it's almost Halloween, don'tchaknow?), Reuters mentioned two things we thought would be good for this website we got going here. First, there's Capcom's Resident Evil 5, which Reuters reports has managed to sell 1.94 million copies in the US, according to NPD Group figures.

The second part of the Reuters story talks about EA and its spookier titles for 2009: Left 4 Dead 2 and Dead Space: Extraction. While there isn't anything new on the former, in a discussion of the latter, Reuters revealed that Dead Space 2 is apparently planned for a 2010 release, which would seem to confirm what we've heard about the game so far.