Despite an excellent critical reception in 2008, the survival horror game Dead Space never attracted a large audience. It is this injustice that two lovers of the franchise, Philippe Ducharme and Roman Campos-Oriolo, want to correct.
Posted at 2:35 p.m
Good thing, the two men were hired for this mandate in 2020 by EA’s Montreal studio Motive. They are respectively Senior Producer and Creative Director on the 2023 version of Dead Space, which is highly anticipated by insiders and will be released this Friday.
“Dead Space helped revolutionize the horror survival genre,” says Philippe Ducharme. But he didn’t have the success he should have, he never entered the market. That’s one of the reasons EA shelved it back then. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MOTIV
Philippe Ducharme, producer of the Dead Space remake.
Archaeological excavations
Times have changed for Roman Campos-Oriolo since 2008, when horror films were appreciated by a minority of enthusiasts who had to go to the cinema or rent their favorite works.
“Nowadays most horror films have national releases, the big streamers have their flagship series, there is a more popular aspect than genre cinema. It’s a very interesting time to bring back Dead Space: today it has the ability to touch people. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MOTIV
Roman Campos-Oriolo, Creative Director
It’s practically an archaeologist’s job that the Motive team had to do to bring the game back to life from 2008. EA, which released the first game developed by Visceral Games, opened its archives and granted access to hard drives containing programs, graphics and audio. Virtually everything but the music used at the time had to be reworked and integrated into a new game engine, Frostbite. And if we respected the original scenario, additions have been included that give more depth.
To soak up the original philosophy, the team multiplied the game sessions to analyze them. “The ultimate goal is to make a game that pays homage to the original, that doesn’t adequately represent what the original was but how a player remembers it,” explains the creative director.
“Gore” and puzzles
The media that played the 2023 version of Dead Space, including La Presse, must comply with an embargo until Thursday morning. It’s therefore impossible to give too many details or give an appreciation other than that this is an adventure set in 26 to hunt you down,” reads EA’s website.
This is not a classic shooter game: the battles are far from representing the entire adventure, which includes many quests, puzzles, testimonies and secondary axes. The 2008 “Gore” side survives, with its liberal splatters of blood.
“It remains an issue for the older ones, my children can’t play it,” specifies Philippe Ducharme. But it’s not just “gore,” it’s a story with a narrative thread and emotion.”
praise for slowness
The frightening, claustrophobic atmosphere of the original game is also one of the ingredients we’ve kept. The main character, Isaac Clarke, is desperately slow, and on purpose. “One of the elements is giving the impression that you’re vulnerable and yet have a big shell,” explains the creative director. If it’s too easy to run away, it won’t work. »
This is nothing like an action game where you can spin around and multiply the blows. Ammo is scarce, enemies are vicious and slimy. “It’s rare that a game asks you to walk, walk, slowly,” notes Philippe Ducharme. The tension, the fact that you don’t know what to expect, is intentional: the rhythm (“pacing”) is one of the great strengths of the original, to achieve that curve of tension, to ensure that the player stays in the frenzy of the moment. »
Dead Space, says Roman Campos-Oriola, is “a pretty unique blend” of science fiction, cosmic horror, monsters, and psychology. “That’s part of the appeal of Dead Space. »