How Dead Space Aims to Redefine Survival Horror First

ign.com:

Dead Space returns in 2023 after a decade-long hiatus. But the remake will arrive to a landscape very different from the one it left; terror has become a big business, and once-niche survival horror games are now booming. Resident Evil has recaptured its glory, Silent Hill is returning from the grave, and numerous terrifying indies have captured the imagination of players and streamers across the globe. Where the original Dead Space was somewhat of a gamble for distinctly mainstream publisher EA back in 2008, the remake is practically a sure-fire hit in 2023.

As part of this month’s Dead Space-focused IGN First, we sat down with members of EA Motive to explore how the original Dead Space changed survival horror, why the genre is so popular today, and how the evolution of technology has made the game’s return even more terrifying.

Take one look at Dead Space and it’s immediately obvious where its roots lie. “I think something like Resident Evil 4 changed, I guess, the landscape of survival horror at the time,” says Taylor Kingston, an environmental artist at EA Motive and veteran of the Dead Space series. “Dead Space certainly took a ton of inspiration from [it].”

But while Resident Evil 4 certainly inspired Dead Space’s approach to over-the-shoulder combat and haunted house level design, much of the original game's direction was drawn from films such as Alien, The Thing, and Event Horizon.

“I think throughout the years we've seen games being influenced by feature films and bringing a lot more of those cinematic techniques and influences into games,” says Mike Yazijian, art director on Dead Space. “And throughout the years – whether it's Silent Hill or Resident Evil, obviously Dead Space brought a lot of that feeling into