Dead space is a high quality science fiction horror, developed by EA redwood and released in 2008. The game was well received, noted for its atmosphere, inventive weapon mechanics, and ability to consistently deliver on its fear factor. The game was also remarkable for its high quality animation , well controlled AI, and for its aesthetic consistency. Dead- Space has become the point of origination for a successful franchise, with two sequels produced for consoles, a cartoon and comic book spinoff. I has even been made into a low quality spinoff for IOS and Android Cell phones. It has received a great deal of commercial success and recognition. Unlike many films, Video games have shown themselves to be highly open to sequels, remakes, and franchises. While such work in the film industry is begrudged and looked down on by the public, They are practically celebrated by the video Game community. Some of the most critically acclaimed games of all time have also been sequels and remakes, from half life 2, to the Nintendo series such as Mario and Zelda. The sequels to dead space have also managed to maintain positive feed back and (1),(2),(3,reception) despite working with a limited narrative and characters. I believe that the success of dead- space has been dew to the developers understanding of post modern media, that the game has been able to work because it was treated as an inter textual piece and as readerly text, which interacts with greater field of media, and adapts to their audience. There aesthetics and methods work within a consumerist and globalized context, and have developed to deal with these aspects of their environment.
I will have to be honest at this point and tell that the motivation for this paper came from a single video , a recording from a talk given by the game director and executive producer, Glen Schofield for the 2013 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) games conference. In the presentation , titled “The Art of Inspiration”, Schofield discussed the research and background work he had used in his career as a game designer. The talk covered a wide range of games, , of which dead space was only one, (though an important one). He describes a research method which he calls “Broad” (wide ranging) and “Deep” (exhaustive and particular), to developing content for ideas for his work. For games based on real world situations this involved travelling to real locations, and finding real objects that would become part of a game or scene. He site these methods for games such as modern war fair, Where his crew traveled to real locations and even modeled situations used within the game, such as simulating zero gravity for an air born scene. When he approaches dead space however he makes it clear that his raw material is the genre itself. In what glen terms a ‘simple example’ of ‘broad research’, Glen shows the lecture audience the range of material that was used as source material for the first dead space game. This includes citing work from a wide variety of media, including Movies, Books, Comics, and even Web pages. For an example of ‘deep research’ he shows the collections of horror movies which were used for research purposes, which he estimates at a number of “about 400”. from his research It seems as if Glen is trying to view the entire genre world of his product, in all of its forms and iterations.
[two Slides demonstrating what Schofield terms “broad research”, outlining the range of source material for the dead space series]
[Two Slides demonstrating “deap research”. He shows a part of the collection of movies watched during research for the game, which were given away as part of a contest]
His focus on genre brings him close to Roland Barth’s concept of Inter-text from her writing, the death of the author , It is no accident that players find similarities between creatures in dead space and other science fiction movies. Some of Schofield’s concepts however, also minimize the role of the author and the self in the creative process in favor of concepts and ideas. This means that it is not important that the ideas in a piece are your own, but that you use the best Ideas for the piece.
“An Idea can come from anywhere, anything… The other thing is that youhave to put your Ego down. You can’t have an Ego, you really can’t. thebest ideas have to get in your games and who cares who comes up with it, The game is bigger than you.”(03:50 Schofield, 2012)
Schofield asks for the artist to negate themselves when working on a piece of art. It is as if he is asking for the artist to enter some sort of karmic meditative state, however his advice makes more sense when seen in the context of his work. The games which glen created were made within a corporate environment, and a team environment. Though Schofield was the creator and executive producer of the original dead space game, he had also worked with several co-producers who carried a significant say in the outcome of the project.(making of V, EA redwood Shores web) This is not including the wide range of creative voices at lower levels of the project. Schofield The reasons that Schofield gives for his approach and research method are also rooted in the industry and economics.
“I actually think that it is a competitive advantage. At this point, I will research so deep on research, and so wide and so far that If I am competing with someone else working on the same kind of game, I will go father than you will.”(04:30,Schofield 2012)
[in these slides glen states the reasons for his research methods]
Glen Schofield has Identified a conscious use of intertextuality in his work and Games. Rather than referencing works passively or subconsciously he looks to the entire world of the genre to find inspiration and materials. Using and understanding inter text is also essential for success in the media market, where having a wider range of source material can help differentiate your product from that of a competitor. From this perspective source material is everything in the world of commercial art, both for understanding the media in relation to others, and also as a source of content form a new work. Finally, by shifting focus away from authorship and personal expression allows other voices to enter your work, lets an artist work in a team and corporate environment in which Dead Space was created.
When considering video games as a medium It always pays to look at them from the point of view of design, both in the use of text an graphical interfaces, and for the programing and level design of the game proper. We can see the design and media around dead space. Several design features have been implemented in dead space for the purpose of increasing fear and immersion in the players experience. One of the most highly publisised of these elements was what game developers termed “The strategic dismemberment system”, where players were made to sever enemy limbs rather than use traditional shooter game mechanics. The purpose of mechanic was as the game creators specificaly stated, “to force the player to perform fine motor actions in a stressful environment’, and to “force players to play strategically and engage with their enemies”, (Dead Space Featurret,strategic dismemberment) Though another reason for this system could also be to increase the gore aesthetics of the game. Another prominent design feature was the transcoding of heads up display elements and text into the environment in which the player works, in the form of 3d textures and simulated augmented reality displays. This included the imbedding of loading screens into door icons, effectively hiding loading time from the player, and the ironic use of the characters back to display health and status information, in space that is normally taken for granted in third person games. Again these elements were designed so that the player would never leave the game environment, and enhance the emersive power of the game.(Glen Schofield, Dead Space Feturette: Strategic dismemberment)
[At the top we see a number of design elements designed to increase immersion, including strategic dismemberment <top right> embedded heads up display <top center> and embedded loading screens <top right>, and on the bottom we see a number designed for user customization Including Weapon upgrades <bottom left> Easier weapons <bottom center>and an item store <bottom right>]
Though most of the design elements of dead space have been created to enhance the products fear factor, others elements have been included which seem to work against it. There is a trend in independent horror titles where the hero is forced to play with limited power or ability t fight. Players in these titles are given a limited choice of weapons, which may break if used repeatedly, are made to scrounge for items, and are generally encouraged to run when the opportunity arises. Dead space seems to take the opposite approach in the design of there hero, Isack Clark’s weapons and mechanics. Rather than being limited, the player is given control of a wide array of weapons and fighting options to take advantage of. This includes a stasis module imbedded in Isack’s suit, which allows him to literally freeze time, and stop his enemies in mid flight. The designers attempt to limit the power of this particular element by giving it a severely limited ammunition count, however the effect it has on game play is undeniable. The game also features stores, where players can purchase extra items using money found throughout the game, and a weapon modifications and upgrades, which can be purchased using power cells hidden in various locations. These elementsgive the player the ability to make a game very much easier for themselves. These elements are used narativelly at points. Stores and work benches are used to establish releases of tension and apparent safe points, which become violated at later points in the game.
The real purpose of these elements however, I believe to allow for customization of the game experience. The use of customization allows for different types of player, and players of different skill level to participate in the work. A person who is not very good at shooting can stalk up on stasis power, or overpower a weapon to help them progress, while a more skilled player can focus their development on more rudimentary weapons. It should be noted hear that the game also features difficulty settings, while also giving rewards and trophies for players who limit their weapons and upgrade options
[work bench and new armor, showing a continued focus on weapons and customization featured in dead space 2 and 3]
The ability of the player to customize their experience is also simply a powerful element for game enjoyment. Customization lets a consumer or player identify with their experience, and will make them more likely to complete or purchase a title. It is a powerful enough of an effect that it has been included in a genre which is usually not use to this element. The inclusion of customization and player empowerment also play into the games graphical representation of violence and painful content, which Stephen Prince observes in his Book Screening Violence. Stephen Prince describes the faced by film makers who portray violent content. The film maker needs to portray unpleasant situations in their film, yet they need the audience to enjoy the content, therefor they use graphical representations of these situations, which may portray otherwise unpleasant situations in aesthetically pleasing or even beautiful ways. Dead space is able to achieve a similar effect through customization and weapons, allowing a user to feel power and control at the same time as they face fear and uncertainty. Later iterations of the game faced other interesting compromises, both robing the player of weapons at key points in the story, and increasing the range and customizations available for weapons and armour that could be acquired by the player.
[The Ishimura as we first see it, Passing by our window as we scout a landing. This will be the only time we see the outside of the vessel we will inhabit for the course of the game]
The producers of Dead created a game with variable playing methods for different users. They also create a piece of work that can be read differently by different ways demographics. They achieve this through the use of sub text, and by taking ambiguous positions on their subject matter. In this way the piece acts as readerly text, because it can be interpreted in different ways by different readers.
Dead space contains one of the harshest environmental critiques in any game, or for that mater media. The ship on which the game takes place is a mining ship used in a process known in the games as “planet cracking” (making of story) this process seems to involve among other things, blowing chunks out of whole planets, and mining the pieces. The blasted debris of the ships host planet, and a massive crater left on its surface are featured throughout the game. This backdrop provides a sinister setting for the rest of the games actions, where the horrors faced on the ship seem like only a smaller version of the actions that ship itself took part in. The disease itself can also seem like a version of industrial disaster in more visceral form. When look at the design of the outside of our host environment, the ship Ishimura, we see metaphors to this theme. The large square base and thin body make it resemble a virus, while the large plates that line its hull resemble sails from an old sailing ship, as if it were an old sailing ship sent to the new world. When the game creators discus the Ishimura for there promotional material however, they use the most general phrase possible to describe it. “ The world we describe is a world where resources are extremely constrained,and it is becoming harder and harder to find resources for earth and other planets… and what they do is they find these big planets deep deep out inspace and they mine whole entire planet, they just rip it apart.”(Bret Robbins, Glen Schofield, Behind the Scenes: Creating a Story, 2008) [Some Sides comparing the design of the USG Ishimura. from a Diagrammatic view <center left> we can see its resemblance to a Virus <left> While an perspective view <right> shows the similarities between the large metal plates and a colonial ships sails <center right> ]
Although the Ishmura, it’s design and its mining techniques are integral to setting mood and context within the game, they are also easy to ignore or miss. We only ever see the outside of the Ship in the opening section of the game, appearing out of the periphery of a ship window, and as we move in to dock. The fading of these elements into the background and thematic of the game help create a creeping sense of fear, however they also allow for someone who does not agree with the critique to ignore it, or take it for granted, the same is true of the statement above. A person with a mind towards environmentalism may read it as a critique of industrial waste of nature, however a person who has a vested interest in mining or other forms of industry can take for granted that the mining of whole planets would be necessary, because “The resources are constrained”, and feel validated by the statement.
Of course even if Challus Mercer represents a Muslim fanatic or, or Muslim terrorist, it does not necessarily mean that it is a bad portrayal. Though there is little official literature on the character Mercer, The voice actor and model for the character of ChallusNavid Negahban is in fact famous for playing Abu Nazir, a key villain and Muslim terrorist in the American television series Home Land. He received allot of press coverage for this role, and in interviews he states his views on character portrayal and the place of the character stereotype.
I was getting frustrated, but at the same time I was enjoying them. I have friends who are not playing, for example, so-called ‘terrorist characters.’ For me, what’s important is to tell the truth. To portray the character as truthfully as possible. So I work on the projects where I have to sit down and, not argue, but talk with the director and the writers about the characters. This character is not just a villain, this character is a father.This character is a husband. This character might have been a teacher. So I always try to find a hero inside my character. (Navid Nagahban, Matt Ross, (2012) Rolling Stone )
[<left>a photo of Navid Nagahban, the voice of Chalus Mercer and <right> his role as the terrorist king pin Abu Nazir in the series Home Land]
Navid Nagahban Makes it clear that he would not play a character if he did not see that it had depth, fairness, or complexity. Though Nagahban has a limit opportunity to portray character depth within the game environment, yet we see a certain depth and complexity in the depiction of Mercer. The casting of the role is already somewhat unconventional. Even with the its context, the role of Mercer could of just as easily been written for a European or American actor. The subtext of the character has as much to do with his race as anything else, for example, a wight mercer speaking about the next stages of evolution and human experimentation would be associated with the holocaust, while this may be associated with colonialism and the colonialism in the case of an American character. Mercer is also Intelligent, well educated, and articulate, which are rare for Arab characters in modern American cinema.
[Challus Mercer as we first see him, through a plate window and virtual mirror image. Mercer later uses the vantage point to inflict torment aponn our hero]
Mercer also has an interesting and ambiguous role in a sort of othering that takes place in the way he interacts with us. When we see Mercer, it is always with a degree of separation, When we meet him he is a few feet away, seen in another room through a sheet of plate glass. This appearance makes him seem like a reflection, like the first mirror principle theorized by Foucault. It soon becomes clear however,that this relationship is to Mercers advantage. He uses his distance as a way to subject you to trails and dangers, sending creatures into your room, cutting of oxygen and life support, and always from the safety of the other space, or the other side of the glass. As this treatment continues it becomes clear that the player is the one being othered and subjugated by Mercer. His dialogue he suggest that we are a sort of Noble Savage, referring to Isak as brutal, Simple, animal like and making reference to your noble Efforts to survive, and ignorance to ‘the truth.’
Changes of tactics that took place between the generations of game. The first Dead space had been approached as a exploratory horror game. Much of the action game. You play as a largely silent every man character Isak Clark, a male character who’s face and voice only ever appear at the very beginning of the game. Isak is then separated from the rest of his crew and left to fend for himself, with the help of occasional communications from team mates, and the odd ship member still alive and sane enough to cooperate. The general aesthetic is of silence and isolation, with a general aesthetic approach of In space no one can hear you scream. Even the sound scape of the piece encourages this, foregrounding your characters grunts and breathing, and internal or contact noises. You can see this in the games early trailer. This approach garnered the game certain game critiques and Journalists. This Included critiques of story and narrative development. This included critiques of the tasks to maintain the ship, which are “mundane and repetitive”. One of the harshest critiques comes from Brad Galloway on the web page, gamecritics.com ,who bashes on the silent stoic character of Isak Clark.
“Exacerbating the cookie-cutter formula, the developers absurdly chose to make main character Isaac Clarke a silent protagonist, completely obliterating any chance of interesting characterization or dialogue. Clarke is (I guess) trying to rescue his loved one throughout the adventure, and multiple characters speak directly to him, but by not uttering a single word it’s hard to feel anything or attach any sort of emotional weight to a man completely cloaked in esoteric fetish armor.” – (Galloway, 2008)
There were not too many critiques of this aspect of the game, however When we get to the second game their approach is completely turned on its head. Isack Clark can speak , we see his face and body, minus ‘fetish armour’ for the first time, and We see Him develop relationships with characters within the game. We can see this approach In the following game trailer produced for the Electronic Entertainment Expo of 2010.
This can be seen as a dialogue between the work and its audience. A demand and critique was made by a member of the public, or audience, and it was incorporated into the work of art. It could also be taken as a change in visual language in the medium. The silent hero had been a staple of first person perspective video games for some time, the introduction of voiced protagonists is partly dew to the language of Japanese RPG’s and action games. This includes two highly popular titles in the horror genre, Silent Hill and Resident Evil. These are both long running, but I’ve included trailers for versions of the game released a few years before dead Space, Which demonstrate their approach to character and dialogue.
Though the original dead space had done well, and though they had performed extensive research, it seemed that the producers of dead space had wandered into a pit fall with there genre. They had entered the project using narrative and character conventions from shooter games and independent American horror games, where silent , anonymous leads were the norm, They’re fan base it seems, were already used to different, active character conventions from Japanese horror titles, Which they adapted to in the second title in the series.
Dead Space- Post Modern Text In new Media. 