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Dead Space, one of the most anticipated games of the year, is only one short week away from release. Hoping to reimagine the genre, EA has taken horror-survival into a weightless environment and, in the process, created an entire universe; filling it with enough vocabulary, technology, and back story to build an entire franchise (or so they certainly hope...)

Recently, we got a chance to talk to Rich Briggs, one of the game's producers, and ask him some questions about Dead Space. We wanted to know some of the history of the game, the research that went into its development, its influences, the necromorphs, and more. We also asked about the countries that have banned the games, but he couldn't comment on that... Oh well! 

Here's the interview:

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Gamervision: What is the meaning of the name Dead Space?
Rich Briggs: Clinically speaking, Dead Space refers to the space in your lungs that contains air not used for oxygen and thus not converted into Carbon Dioxide when you breathe. This lifeless air is a good parallel for the necromorphs, who arise from dead flesh. Of course, Dead Space also refers to the fact that many people are dying in the game, and it takes place in outer space. Finally, the term has a deeper meaning within the game, which I’m not going to reveal just yet, so it works on several levels.

GV: That the game was influenced by horror films is well documented, but what games also influenced the creation?
RB: We are big survival horror fans, and there have been many great games such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Fatal Frame that we looked at. We wanted to be sure we incorporated some of the time-honored conventions of the genre such as resource management, but put our own stamp on them like the fact that you cannot pause the game to use a health pack or check your map. We also viewed it as a huge opportunity to take survival horror into space, and that led to some of our innovations in the genre. The creation of Isaac’s suit became our “no-HUD” approach, since all the information you need is projected when you need it. In addition, zero-gravity changes the way you’ll approach combat, navigation, and puzzle solving.

GV: There has been a large amount of preview material, from comic books to movies, will this be a continuing trend after the game’s release, possibly bridging the gap between this and a sequel?
RB: Dead Space has an incredibly rich universe, which let us flesh out the story of what happened on the colony, and then on the Ishimura, before the game began. You don’t have to read the comics or watch the animated feature in order to understand the game, but it certainly gives you a much better appreciation for the events that take place. We also have an incredibly deep web site experience, which offers background on some of the secondary characters in the game. We haven’t made any announcements about additional content along these lines, but fans can look for the graphic novel in comic stores, and our animated feature “Dead Space: Downfall” will be available on October 28th.

GV: What is the meaning behind the ship’s name, Ishimura?
RB: An artist named Doug Nishimura designed the concept art for the ship, and his name sounded like it could be a car company. Our vision of the future was that successful car companies would evolve and begin manufacturing spaceships. So Nishimura became Ishimura, and it fit very neatly into the fiction.

GV: How many different types of Necromorphs made it into the game?
RB: We have several Necromorphs that you will need to rip apart as you try to survive. We have Slashers, who are the most common, humanoid enemies with bladed arms. Lurkers are my personal favorite, as they look like malformed babies with tentacles sprouting from their back, and they shoot projectiles. Leapers are very fast, crawl along on their stomach, and have a whip-like tail, while Pregnants carry a huge sack, which when broken open gives birth to the Spawn. Guardians are rooted to walls, have tentacles and spit out pods that fire projectiles at you, and Exploders carry along a huge pustule that blows up when they get close or when you shoot it. The Divider breaks into several other creatures once attacked, and the Brute is an enormous, armored beast. We also have special versions of some of these enemies, and boss characters. Most enemies have their own death animations for Isaac, so don’t be afraid to let yourself die the first time you encounter an enemy!

GV: How much testing and research went into the zero-g portions of the game?
RB: We spent days researching how objects, blood, bodies, and even body parts would behave in space. That’s not to say we are 100% realistic in everything we do – we weren’t afraid to sacrifice a little authenticity in order to make something look cool. There was a lot of iteration, where we would try something, see how it looked, put it in front of people, and then refine it. We constantly asked ourselves “Is this how blood should look when it’s spilling from a corpse in zero-G…? OK, how about this?” You start with a scientific foundation and then you work on the awesomeness factor.

GV: How much testing and research went into the sound design for outer space?
RB: As with the zero-G portions, we did a lot of research so that everything would be grounded in reality, and thus relatable, but at the end of the day we had a vision we wanted to deliver. Staying true to that vision and delivering a compelling experience meant that we took a few liberties, such as how sound would transfer in a vacuum. We drop the sound when you enter an airless environment so Isaac’s heartbeat and his breathing become the focus, but there are some things that you need to hear from a gameplay perspective, so we make them a little louder than they would actually be. At the end of the day, we feel that we created a compelling treatment that conveys that feeling of being alone (or sometimes not so alone) in space.

GV: Was there ever a time in the development where multiplayer was a consideration?
RB: We focused on delivering the best possible single player experience that we could with Dead Space. Survival horror is a very personal thing in our opinion. When you are playing Dead Space, no one is coming to help you, just like no one is coming to help Isaac. You are by yourself, and you need to rely on yourself if you are going to survive.
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The game's soundtrack was created with what EA is calling "dynamic scoring". Composer Jason Graves wrote the music in seven different layers, from soft strings to cacophonous brass and percussion. Further, each and every necromorph has been tagged with "fear emitters". So the more fear being emitted by the necromorphs, the more of the score will end up playing. 

Think of it like this: when Isaac is alone with no monsters around, the only sound is his breathing apparatus. If he's in a well-lit room with only one necromorph, it's a little scary, so you'll start to hear the lightest music play. In a dark room surrounded by Lurkers, Spawns, and Leapers, the music will be little more than discordant noise. This is a game to truly test your surround sound set-up... and your sanity.

Dead Space releases October 14th.

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