The Dead Space Remake is right around the corner. Fans have been eager to get hands-on with the remake of one of survival horror’s most iconic titles since its announcement. While there isn’t long to wait now there is still a load of details coming out about the game including some changes to the game that were implemented and one change that would have almost left players in pure fear had it been implemented. Realization Director at EA Motive Joel MacMillan recently sat down with Inverse to discuss a number of features and changes they made to Dead Space when tackling the remake.
With the recent release of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition cynical players may assume that the remake of another iconic EA-owned IP might be down to corporate pressure to turn profits on titles. However, MacMillan was quick to note that there was no “corporate mandate” for a Dead Space title and rather it was a labor of love from the team at Motive.
We have these experiences, we hold them with us as part of our own nostalgia, and then we want to try and leave our fingerprints on them or see how we can improve them and update them for the new audiences
Realiztion Director at EA Motive – Joel MacMillan
Speaking further with Inverse, MacMillan noted a few changes to the remake that EA Motive implemented to create a more seamless experience. This conversation focused primarily on the shift of the game’s map from 3D to 2D.
Looking back at it, there was a little bit of frustration around how to control [the original map] or how to read it quickly. You’d have to kind of rotate it to figure out what’s the best angle to see where your character is and where you need to go,… We’ve actually simplified it rather than embellished it, to improve the clarity and the readability of it.
Realiztion Director at EA Motive – Joel MacMillan
Perhaps the most interesting change that EA Motive decided not to go ahead with was removing the ability to pause while playing the game.
In horror games, you can pause and you have a moment of safety there. You can take a breath. And I think you get a reprieve from that. It deflates some of the tension. But with persistent online games, you’re playing with dozens of other people, and you can’t just pause everybody’s game. I think removing that as a feature would make horror games far more impactful — You would truly feel like you’re never actually safe.
Realiztion Director at EA Motive – Joel MacMillan
While this certainly would have made for some terrifically spooky moments MacMillan explained that he does “like to have a pause button, personally. But if you really wanted a frightening, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, anxiety-ridden experience, removing that pause button would help.”
