Dead Space Sunday - More updates!

Can I say more updates for Deadspace?

In this issue, I am going to bring you the latest update on the game Deadspace. If you don't know what the heck is this, I suggest you check out on the official website, http://www.deadspacegame.com/ for more details on the sci-fi horror game.

First up, the highly anticipated comic book issue 2 is out! This series is brought to you by the game developers which I guess, the main purpose is to set a solid story foundation and character buildup, plus the culture of Deadspace universe, in shorter terms, the prequel and events that lead to the game.

Well, about the events and the so called mysterious Marker, you have to watch it to find out yourself. Meanwhile, some awesome screens from the comic:





Up next, developer blog updates! Paul Mathus and Ben Wanat dives into the story level design and their personal insights on nightmarish creatures when they were kids. Pretty interesting and a load of game development walk throughs. Below is a quote about the level design

..Right now we are in the implementation phase of the project, which means
the designs of the level are pretty much nailed down and we are busy executing
on those designs and making things happen on the screen, which is my favorite
phase of the project personally...

Not done yet! Update concept art depicts sketches of cutter guns, enviroments and yes, you got it right. The monsters. Some of the monsters really creep me out and the developers really captured the mood from the movie "ALIENS" which is a feat. Keep it up! The community awaits patiently.



Sick monsters, you don't want your back to be ripped open by those things do you?

Dead Space Thursday - Featured articles

On my previous post, there were loads of new information flushing out from the developer blogs. New screens, story trailer & answers to some of the questions fans asked to name a few. If you missed out all that, don't worry. Head over to the offical Dead Space website, http://deadspace.ea.com/ for the latest updates.

Time to slow down and take a breather. Below, I have complied are articles links from gaming sites that talked about first previews and looks of Dead Space. Enjoy!

Featured online articles:

PS3 Dead Space preview: http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3163497
Xbox360 preview: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/825/825875p1.html
Gamespot first look: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/deadspace/news.html?sid=6180610&tag=topslot;title;4
Gameradar preview: http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/dead-space/preview/dead-space/a-20071008164527807066/g-2007092414531265010

Well, there are also magazines that provide Dead Space previews too. Game informer and Game pro magazine provide extensive coverage of the game which can be downloaded off from Dead Space offical website for your viewing pleasure under Media. And not to forget my favorite magazine cover that just depicts pure ownage of Isaac Clarke:



Hope you like to compilations and till then, I will be releasing the first set of Dead Space artwork for the fans by the fans! Happy gaming people.

Dead Space Wednesday - Latest Updates!

In this issue, I bring you developer blog updates and the story trailer of Dead Space. Finally!

On 20 May 2008, one of the developers, Chuck Beaver has updated his blog, shed light on the story itself and Isaac Clarke's suit. As mentioned in my previous update, it's named the Rig which grants the wearer basic armor protection, zero gravity abilities and lastly, air supply which is located at the back of the suit.




Firstly, let me break down Chuck Beaver's blog. He talks about:

1. The storytelling techniques used in Dead Space.
2. The props, sets and locations in the game, all play a part in storytelling.
3. Foundations of the story like the culture, religious influences, origins of the ship, planets etc.
4. The making of Isaac's suit, for real.
5. Answers to community questions plus a hint of the next update.

Isaac's suit was never an imagination. It was for real. The developers went to the extent of creating a real life size suit, seemingly a replica of the one in the game. Below is an extract from the blog:

''...My new
buddy Sid over at Nightmare Armor Studios is busy pouring over schematics and pics of the armor bits on Isaac’s suit, and is firing up his resin casting and automotive-quality painting skills. Chris Stone, our Animation Director, is apparently a closet-prop-maker, and was trolling our Want Ads the other day for a table-saw he could borrow for a few weeks. He also has my copy of the life-size orthographic print-outs of the Plasma Cutter, and was saying something about his elite dry-brushing skills..''

For more information about the suit and developer updates, head now to http://deadspace.ea.com/blog/.

Not done yet! Even more interesting updates await.

New Screens!





Well, that's all for now. Personally, I can't wait to play the game, seeing a solid storyline that I would want to know and of course the horror experience they claimed would the best of all. On the next update, I will post my very own top 5 sci-fi horror games to date and much more of Dead Space! Stay tuned!

Dead Space Tuesday - Monsters and HUD removal

Of course, the so called bad guys, monsters or aliens in any game are bound to have their distinct features & behavior and looks to invoke fear to the players. And as for Dead Space, creatures there are a little different. They behave like one. The aliens were programmed to stalk the player, adjust their attack tactics based on how the player attacks them. Remember what I discussed about strategic dismemberment? Yes, unlike other games where shooting the head will cause significant damage, you or rather, Isaac Clarke will have to exploit weak points of the creatures in order to survive.

For example, the more you try to shoot the skull, the more tentacles it spawned and some started splitting acidic fluid at you. Talk about xenomorphs in the movie, ALIENS. And in other cases, you might blast the creature's legs off to slow it down but that doesn't mean it's end of the story. In Dead Space, you have to sub consciously check and be very sure that the creatures are.. well, really dead.



Another part of this game is the significant removal of the HUD. For anyone who is unsure for what it is, HUD is information like health bar, ammo capacity and other relevant location naming which, are always on your LCD monitor.

The development team increase the scare factor and put the player within the game is the removal of the HUD. There are now, no visuals to block your view of a monster, nor are there counters that will constantly flash up in your way. Instead, holographic imagery will pop up whenever you are interacting with an item, such as a representation of an air canister or ammunition box. It keeps you constantly in the action.

For checking of health and abilities counter, Isaac's health bar runs down his spine, while his stasis meter and air supply (90 seconds max) pop up on his shoulders. This way, you can instantly glance at him and sense how damaged he is, or if he's running out of energy or air.

Needless to say, there will be loads of blood, gore and horrifying scenes that you will encounter this halloween. Are you ready? Leave your comments and what you expect to see from this game!

Dead Space Monday - Isaac Clarke

Up next in this issue, let us dive into more details about the main character. Yes, the name's Isaac Clarke. So you might all be thinking, "what's so special about him?"

Well, in every story, even movies, there will bound to be a main character which events, stuffs, people related substories revolve around him. Same for Dead Space, and as a player of the game, we will be seeing through his eyes, controlling him throughout the single player missions as the story unfolds. I have, below, created a short biography about him which, more will be updated as game production progresses.



Name: Isaac Clarke
Age: Unknown
Occupation: Space engineer
Company: Concordance Extraction Corporation (a resource mining company)
Space suit: The Rig

In other games like Halo, Gears of war or even Doom, main characters like master chief and Marcus Fenix have one thing in common. Yes, that is big plated titanium like, kick ass armor on their bodies. But in "Dead Space", Isaac Clarke is just a space engineer working for a certain company, and to have him designed for kick ass suit would mean he is no different from a Marine.

The developers see in line with that issue and decided, "Hey, he is an engineer so make him more engineer like!" Secondly, the suit serves as a breathing support system when he is out in space, plus the additon of the relavant plasma cutter (futurish cutter in like 400 years later) and other tools namely, stasis gun which help him in his everyday work. More about abilities later on. Right now, I hope this sheds some light on the design aspects for Isaac Clarke. Below is the final design for Isaac's space suit, The Rig.

Main features of the suits are, self support breathing system, a gravity boots and basic armor protection like the face mask. The suit also serves as a remote network system to retrieve information, video transmissions and any form of objectives/updates. And an inbuilt AI to track Isaac's health and other relevant self information for general surrounding awareness.

From the latest design sketches, it's pretty common sense that, spinal attachments of the suit are additional and may serve as additional air supply, more armor or health tracking, on my point of view that is. A pretty decent sketch I would say, which reflects the effort put in by the designers, to be as realistic as possible.

That's about it for now, on the next update, I will post more about the weapons & abilities, plus the creatures in Dead Space..