Dead Space Preview

The folks working on Dead Space take the time to answer a few questions for us. Executive Producer Glen Schofield talks briefly about the gameplay elements that are important to define an exciting single-player experience. He claims the game has the potential to deliver a unique and engaging atmosphere, separating it from other survival horror games on the market. We've inquired about the game's zero-g areas, weapons, enemies, soundtrack, environmental interaction and more.

EA also provided three exclusive new in-game screenshots, showing the main character in action.

ActionTrip: Dead Space sort of appeared out of the blue. When did you first start working on it and where does the inspiration for the game come from?

Glen Schofield: Two years ago we started with a small hand picked team and really did just keep it pretty quiet. The inspiration truly is that we are fans of this genre and always have been. I've been a sci-fi/horror fanatic my whole life and I've been thinking about this for years.

AT: Let's face it, survival horror is a competitive game genre. What makes Dead Space stand out?

GS: We're probably one of the only sci-fi /survival horror games and definitely the first on the current generation of platforms. Also how many survival horror games take place 500 years in the future and their top mechanics are dismemberment and zero-g?

AT: Give us more details about the weapons in Dead Space. There is no HUD, so gamers mostly rely on their instincts, rather like in real life. How does the no-HUD element affect weapon and ammo handling?

GS: The weapons are pretty unique and are really based on mining tools. There is a HUD but it's in real time and in-game- its actually part of the main character's suit. It affects ammo and weapons in similar fashions as other survival horror games except that you can't pause the HUD in the middle of a fight, take a deep breath and health and ammo up. You need to think ahead and plan things out or you could end up in trouble. It adds to the tension that's for sure.

AT: Clearly, the conditions around Isaac (the hero of the game) change when he enters zero-G areas. How does this affect gameplay?

GS: Completely changes the gameplay. Imagine now that you can fly up to the ceiling or wherever else you'd like in a room, but so can some of the enemies. Consider like a whole different mode of gameplay.

AT: Just how important is environmental interaction? Are there ways to deal with enemies without using brute force?

GS: Absolutely important and I would say in many places that's the only way to combat an enemy or get out of a crazy situation. Weapons are just part of the answer in Dead Space. You need to look around a room and figure out what you can or need to use to handle many different horrific situations we put you in.

AT: The music will be a very important element to create the right horror-like atmosphere. Can we expect a dynamic soundtrack, similar to the tunes we've heard in the recent trailers?

GS: You can expect that and more. We are really going over the top in experimenting with and without audio. Audio is such a key component to any horror game or movie. Try this; turn off the sound on a horror movie and watch a scary scene, its usually not scary. Then turn off the picture and just listen to the audio, its usually still pretty damn disturbing. We did this a lot.