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

In order to get a sense of what’s going into this project, we talked to Senior Producer Philippe Ducharme, Creative Director Roman Campos-Oriola and Art Director Mike Yazijian. And it quickly 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

Take, 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 material, and it shows in every facet of the project.

Of course, that’s not all he had to say about 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. So the opportunity to work on Dead Space was like, ‘Yes, you can stop talking, I’m on my way.’”

Philippe tells a similar story. After several conversations with VP and General Manager Patrick Klaus, he finally learned that a remake of Dead Space was the project he was actually being recruited for. “At that point it was like, ‘Well, where do I sign?’” Philippe says. “Because that’s definitely compelling. So I was the first person officially assigned to Dead Space, "and started preparing the project for the awesome team that moved from Star Wars: Squadrons to form the Dead Space team."

Mike’s feelings about the original are just as enthusiastic. “I remember being so excited to play that game that I’d think about it all day and then go home just so I could play,” he says. “And I remember enjoying it so much that I didn’t want it to be over. So I made sure that I savored it, a little bit at a time.”

But 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 set of resources. “I actually found my old notebooks from Dead Space 2!” he tells us. “So that really comes in handy, seeing all the notes from the sequel, everything the Visceral team had shared with us as we 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 — it’s all here. It’s all going into this game.”

HONORING THE LEGACY

So let’s talk about 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 also 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 so special..

“It’s being fully rebuilt in Frostbite,” Roman says, “with all new assets, new character models, new environments — even though we’re basing those on the original designs. There are new parts, new props, new collision models, and so 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 simply couldn’t handle, to create a previously impossible sense of immersion.

“We’re playing with volumetric effects,” says Philippe, “so instead of just having sprites, you’re really able to feel 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, but it also has an effect on gameplay, because the player has the ability to control the lighting in certain areas of the ship. Audio also plays an important role reinforcing that sense of immersion. This is one area of the original game that still resonates with players. We 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 modern systems allow 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 end credit, without interruption.”

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

Each member of the team is clearly excited about what new technology can do for such a beloved game. But each is just as insistent on what Philippe calls “the first 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 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.” 

-- Mike Yazijian, Art Director

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 community,” he says. “What the fans want, what people expect out of the game — we want to be able to match that, to deliver the game they want. And the thought of them confirming that we did it right? That’s a huge inspiration.”

To that end, the team has been seeking fan feedback almost from the beginning. “We started sharing things with some of our biggest fans and asking for feedback just two months into working on the game,” says Roman. “We want to treat the franchise with great care and respect, so we want to make sure the things we're doing are hitting home with our community.” 

MOTIVE-ATION

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

“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.”

-- Roman Campos-Oriola, Creative Director 

And that’s an interesting thing about these conversations. In discussion with each of these team leaders, things always 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 process. “We have 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 we come together as a group to fix those challenges. We work together to make sure everyone is part of the solution.”

Mike expresses similar sentiments. “Above anything 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’s voice is heard. It’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 last year from home! I’m just amazed at how passionate and dedicated the team is.”

And now? “I’m so excited,” he says. “This project means so much to me. I can’t wait to share so much more.”

Want to add your own voice to this team? We're always looking for forward-thinking minds to be part of our journey. Visit our Careers page for more information.