Dead Space 3′s focus on action is “necessary evil in order to broaden the fan base”, says original game’s writer
Joannes Truyens February 10, 2013 - 12:54 pmAntony Johnston, the writer who penned the story of the first game in the franchise, deems Dead Space 3′s action-focused approach “a necessary evil to broaden the fan base.”
Things are looking grim for the Dead Space franchise. There’s been plenty of upheaval over the many questionable features Dead Space 3 brings to the fore, like microtransactions, loads of day one DLC and an increased focus on all-out action. That last one is considered “a necessary evil” by Antony Johnston, the man who wrote the story of the first Dead Space.
“I’m personally a big fan of old-school survival horror and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to work on Dead Space. So the greater emphasis on big action in the sequels means they’re not really for me,” Johnston says to NowGamer. Mafia lead designer Daniel Vávra previously lamented Dead Space 3 for losing its focus.
“[It's] a necessary evil in order to broaden the fan base,” Johnston opines, but he doesn’t believe Visceral have gotten it wrong with Dead Space 3. ”So far, I think Visceral has done an admirable job of maintaining that balance.”
I’m currently working my way through Dead Space 3, and while there certainly are moments that manage to capture that old horror feeling, the emphasis is definitely on the action side of things. With the game currently sitting at a 78% Metacritic rating (which is considered a horrible score in today’s landscape), it’ll be left to sales to see whether the franchise still has a future in the eyes of Electronic Arts.
