The episode on Dead Space 2 will be released on May 1st. The episode on Dead Space 3 will hit UA-cam May 8th. Subscribe if you don't want to miss them. Also! Our GameClub is starting round two over on Patreon. All supporters can take part - we're currently voting on what game to play.
Eh, not too keen on it. Worlds just feel so empty and sterile. And I don't find the core interaction (jumping, combat) too fun. Really holding me back from playing any more of it.
Unfortunately no one cares about this, but one of the most impressive things in Dead Space is its seamless third person experience with no cuts between gameplay and cutscenes. The whole game is just one "long take" from the beginning to the end. With perfect diagetic UI it makes all 3 games still very "next-gen" and inspirational
Good points! Except for those between chapter tram rides/loading screens. Unless those aren't on PC (which would be amazing), I played it on 360 myself.
Thank you! You're right about those "tram loads" but they managed to make even them feel seamless - camera zoom on a tram map, then loading, and then camera zoom out, no cuts! :) I'm glad they took this narrative approach in the second and third games and did even more impressive job with it.
half life had a similar philosophy for not taking control away from the player. I cant help but think the enemies were a little inspired by halflife too. Great games take great inspiration I suppose.
Yeah, no cuts except the loading screens, and camera pans, and the parts where you stop dead in your tracks to talk to someone who's face popped up in the middle of the screen so you can't see anything.
Re: The errands This was the first game where I didn't feel the errands forced. I felt that every errand was the logical next step in salvaging the Ishimure and/or getting out alive. Playing most other games I feel the errands are just excuses to send me into fights. I mean, I know, this is a game, and the errands are just excuses to send me into fights, but in Dead Space 1 I didn't feel like it, they were so organically integrated into the story.
I used to feel anxiety with being given a new errand because it meant having to be alone and isolated deep in the bowels of the ship looking for some switch or other in the dark while hordes of body-horror monstrosities were out to tear me to shreds.
Pretty sure EA and Visceral have said Dead Space isn't finished, their just really busy with Star Wars games right now and would like to return to the universe of DS in the future. Though its EA so I'll take it with a grain of salt, but EA haven't said Dead Space is shit canned for good to my knowledge which gives me hope.
DS3 did poorly, but it was still a best seller. EA has never said its not happening, in fact I remember hearing they said another one could happen, they just don't have an idea when yet. Visceral is making a new Star Wars game so their super busy, if EA are smart they'll realise DS3 did poorly because it cost more than there were fans of the series to make up for the costs.
I have to say, one thing that I really liked on Dead Space, that was kind of new (at least for me) when it was released: The HUD being implemented into the environment. Having the health bar, oxygen time etc on the suit etc. Makes the game so much more immersive.
The best thing about Dead Space 1 and 2 is the sound design. Never has there been a game that had this impactful weapon sounds. They hit really hard and have the right amount of bass. The strings of the background music in DS1 almost drove me mad with their tension buildup, they're so manic and well timed. The background noises of the monsters and the screams are also helping to give this game a real horror atmosphere. I am playing DS2 atm and the parts where you are flooded with enemies and struggle to keep everything in sight are pure bliss. Heart rate pumping action.
Mick Wrinkles Agreed. Sometimes I just stop walking and just listen to the sounds for a minute. The creaking and groaning of the ships interior. Screams of terror in the background that make you think someone on board is still alive somewhere. Whispers throughout the halls.
@@jonaskonrad It has its benefits too. In DS1 enemies drop ammo for weapons you use. Thats why the uploader had ammo problems at the second half of the game. If you use the pistol and nothing else you have too much ammo and even can sell some of it. It got "fixed" in the other games.
Aside from Plasma cutter, the most necessary weapons that I will not part with: Plasma rifle and Detonator. Detonator so that if I feel anxious, I just pop one in front or behind me. (No.1 reason for my deaths, forgetting I placed one behind me in panic) and Plasma rifle due to it's "interrupt" saving my ass several times
I'm starting to wonder why all these dead space videos are being made right now. I guess people are starting to really miss it and hope for a fourth. It needs to come back.
I'm new the series and bought all 3 on a whim and I really enjoyed the series and was a great buy. Visercial games proved to be a very capable company making games more polished than most games out there. When I heard it got shut down, it made me really despise ea cuz I know they ruined the game. A 4th would be nice but I'm pretty sure all the workers moved on by now. Now if it was fan made, I bet it would be good.
I mean, look... If EA didn't make false promises, absorb all the decent indie developers and ruin them, or treat its entire client base like a bunch of idiot children, then I venture to suggest that perhaps their "fans" wouldn't appear as such vicious visages as they do now. Every time EA tries to play the victim card against fans, I simply have one thought: _"You brought this on yourself. Be better."_
While I never found Dead Space that scary, the game and sound-design and in universe UI are reasons I regularly return to that game. It also still looks amazing for its age. Though fuck that regenerating necromorph, that shit was scary, especially in Dead Space 2.
I would not say that, infact colourfull games like Zelda: Wind Waker or borderlans often age much better. What helped Dead Space is a verry distinct artstyle.
This game was way ahead of its time. The audio was outstanding, UI was phenomenal. Even small details such as Issac moving his head while in the inventory made it felt real.
Great analysis! I was blown away by Dead Space at release. The gameplay, the gory design of monsters, and yes, the freaky use of environment/atmosphere. Not many james can make me jump - a lot of devs make the mistake of sort of signposting these things with slowly building music, subtle visual cues - but a bit of genius design and suspense can actually scare. Really hope Visceral bring all their smart thinking from DS to the third-person Star Wars they're bringing out next year. Visceral, with a story/design from Uncharted's Amy Hennig, and Assassin's Creed's Jade Raymond also involved... It's such an amazing combo and that Visceral is the dev studio... Yeah, I'm excited.
Hey Man, hope you'll see this. I love this series and love your content. I think its high quality with that nieche in-depht makes it truely unique! Keep it coming and I'll keep it watching!
I'd like to add to the sound design segment. Dead Space is great when it comes to subtleties in sound. By far the best use is the faint sound of "twinkle twinkle little star" you will hear sometimes riding in elevators. It really adds to the issac losing his mind them. It's so quiet and overshadowed the ishimura and enemies that you really have to listen closely to hear it. I'm not sure if it's randomized to play or set in certain sections. but either way it's very disturbing. I also love the engineering bay section of the game when the necromorph flesh starts growing on the walls. Even if dead Space is full of jump scares, it will always be disturbing to me in its enviroment and enemy design. I love the design of the divider and guardians in particular.
People don't give dead space enough credit for its art direction, they went for a disgusting body horror vibe and absolutely nailed it, I love how all monsters are a creative spin on some human flesh, like the limbs that can detach themselves and crawl on the walls like spiders and the fucked up organic mold that coats the ship as you mentioned.
StEvEn420BrUlE The corruption itself is one of the scariest things to me. It grows fast, It's nasty, and it can assimilate people into it. Turning them into guardians. Another enemy that shook me.
There will come a point where you enter back into the Ishimura in Dead Space 2, and you will constantly hear Nicole's voice whisper "Isaaac" in a low, quiet, taunting voice. It's basically the Ishimura getting to his own head again. In fact, and this is a testament to the incredible level design, but the Ishimura basically feels like it's own entity by that point. All the people that died on that godforsaken ship are now a part of it, the walls, the floors, the ceilings, all the rooms - going back there feels like you're entering back into a horrifying and traumatic nightmare as an adult for the first time again after you stopped having it for years since you were a child. It really is no wonder Dead Space 3 is so mediocre compared to Dead Space 2.
You need to turn ON vsync during those captures. I don't know how you can stand screen tearing. As for the video itself, i think you should mention how there are no interface elements cramping the screen at all. Everything you need to know is on your character's armor and equipment, like his health bar on the spine, the upgrades and how much ammo is left on the weapons themselves. I thought this was one of the best things about Dead Space and made it more immersive.
You can disable vsync from the in-game options and enable it in the drivers menu. This will give you 60fps without tearing. I played both Dead Space 1 and 2 like this, it will surely work.
Yeah but turning vsync on adds a noticeable amount of latency, that on top of the shitty mouse and keyboard support doesnt make for good play. The way hes moving the aim looks like hes using controller which is actually easier for ds1. If he used OBS then the tearing would cease since it captures from the game's framebuffer and not the whole screen. I havent tried deadspace with obs but from my experience it works most of the time, provided the game uses the framebuffer properly. Some games even with good software refuse to not tear, like the Bethesda games as of late. Try forcing opengl triple buffered frames if nothing else since that does the same job as vsync with a much less noticeable hit to frame timings.
I found the hud made the game have much quicker combat. I also found it brilliant compared to other games that came out at that time. It also had way better graphics than most ps3 games put there which impressed me a lot.
11:23 That part in the beginning of the game freaked me out so much. I was wondering for so long what was coming around the corner, just to find someone banging their head on the wall; and watching him kill himself that way was so... unnerving. It was a fun game, though.
I'm glad you mentioned the fake-outs. Often in this game I found that the most effective moments for creating tension were the moments where nothing happens. You'll enter an area, and everything about it sets your senses tingling. Your long history of playing video games and your subconscious awareness of the language of level design tells you confidently that this is an area that screams "ambush." A long, narrow hallway, poor lighting, small niches on the sides. Surely something is going to jump out at you, right? You spend the whole time creeping along, waiting for it to happen, and a good 50% of the time, nothing does. This only amps up the tension, leaving you feeling ragged after reaching the end. Plus, if a jumpscare did happen every time you expected it to, they would be predictable, and therefore less scary. By frequently having moments where a scare ostentatiously does NOT happen, it keeps you guessing so that you're never fully prepared for the real thing.
One of the best moments in deadspace comes as a prolonged fake out. Early in the game its easy to come to the conclusion that if the area has a shop in it, its never going to have enemies. A good while later, after coming back to a room you've been to before with a shop, compulsions to check the shop and belief that there will be no enemies traps players into checking the shop while an enemy creeps up behind you.
JimKandol I played Dead Space 2 before I played the first, so when I finally did get to that part in Dead Space it caught me COMPLETELY by surprise. Not once had they pulled that shit on me so it was the last thing I expected. I literally jumped and made a nosie similar to "OIGUG-FUKIN SHIT".
Kurt Yarish its a shame u played 2 first, the return to the ishimura brought a serious feeling of dread in 2 after surviving it in 1. i remember it being the objective and just thinking, oh fuxk this shit, and my stomach sinking.
JimKandol Yeah, it was really lost on me. Though it did a good job getting at me. That long, dark tunnel was a bitch to move through, and the flashback-jumpscares actually got me a few times.
- Me was high as fuck playing dead space.. - Finally found a 5/5 safe room with a armor service, store, save computer, upgrade table, bunch of ammo health and a power node. - Chill out in the room for a good while feeling relieved. - Necromorph jump attacks from behind. I leaped fucking one meter in the air yelling like madman. Yeah that shit was intense... I think it was in the middle of DS2 so it was completely random thing to happen i had gotten totally used to letting my guard down in rooms with shop. Damn DS was good!!! Such fond memories :)
The scariest part of this game is how the Necromorphs won't make a sound as they sneak up on you when you're busy with other enemies.. These monsters actually felt smart!
Man I forgot how amazing this game really is, this video truly made me want to play this game again, I think I will do that before the next part comes out
RE4/5? Splatoon? Gears of War? Vanquish? Kid Icarus: Uprising? There are things to like about _Dead Space_, but I find the core shooting and enemy interactions to be pretty shallow.
For horror, I agree. I am definitely not a fan of 3rd person games, but Dead Space is my favorite! Have you played The Suffering (2004)? That and its sequel (The Suffering: Ties That Bind.) are a very close second to Dead Space.
That's because Dead Space isn't actually a first person shooter, but a survival horror with tps elements. As for RE5, Dead Space is just waaaaay better.
I must say, when I saw:"The Design of Dead Space - Part 1 | Game Maker's Toolkit" pop up on my notifications my mind spun a little and I physically felt dizzy in disbelief. I'm a little sad this video is only 12 minutes. :)
kudos to the devs for figuring out that extremely *precise balance of power and helplessness that made the variable, yet neverending sense of DREAD permeate the whole experience
BigTmoose Agreed. It feels ahead of it's time despite the years that have passed. I'm even playing through it today. Headphones make it a whole new world. All the little bangs and creaks.
One of the best games ever. For correction! You don’t kill the hunter twice as you said. You just killed it once. The first time you just freeze it only but the second time you actually kill it.
My favorite part is you feel in control of Isaac, but at the same time unsafe because of all the vents etc. That plus the impressive UI and guns, this game series in the tits*.
Great video. Picked up on many things that this game borrowed as well as tried to make its own. Atmosphere and sound is what this game achieves the most I feel.
Great Video. I Have been following you since your boss key/game makers toolkit started on the zelda series. I really enjoy how your 'reviews' are quite fluid and you allow yourself to enjoy the games while still noting ways they fell short. Keep it up! Im looking forward to your May 1st episode.
Excellent video, but again, people keep giving Dead Space the wrong genre label. The whole trilogy is action horror, not survival horror. They all have survival elements, but all of them are action horror games.
I prefer the term action-adventure. The horror stuff is mostly just theme. _Dead Space_ shares more in common with _The Legend of Zelda_ or _Metroid_ with its mixing of action, puzzles, and adventure game elements than it shares with _F.E.A.R._
I mostly agree, but the horror elements are still more than present in Dead Space. It's actively trying to freak you the hell out, and the entire game's presentation is designed around unsettling you. Unlike Zelda, and most of the Metroids.
It depends on what criteria you use for genre. The atmosphere defining elements of _Dead Space_ are mostly tertiary to the gameplay, which is what I use for labeling.
Hmm, how come you think that they're separate? While the atmosphere is just atmosphere it's still working together with the game mechanics. You have limited mobility and need to search for ammo and health. Being low on ammo adds to the tension and creeping around corners hoping for some loot is much more interesting because of the possibility of jump scares (as opposed to you knowing there will be x enemies in a room like in a game like Zelda)
Good timing putting out this video out on Alien Day! Just watched the first Alien movie in the cinema followed by a sneak preview of Covenant, after starting Dead Space 1 again a few days ago. Both great pieces of work on their own, Dead Space obviously inspired by the first. That sound design is probably the best I ever experienced in any video game (Silent Hill 1 and\or 2 following closely). Don't know if I'll ever want to play any of the sequels though.
Great video! Will you maybe make mention of the spin-off Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii and PS3? While being a rail-shooter, I thought it was well made and stayed true to the spirit of the series.
The Mass Effect PC port (With the prior acquisition of BioWare by EA) can actually correct you on that. It does however not remedy Mark Brown's error of course.
Ammo conservation was a it of a comedy in DS1. The game would only drop ammo for weapons you had equipped, so if you only equipped one weapon (ps it was the plasma cutter because the plasma cutter could do everything with its variable cutting line) you got tons of ammo for it. The game was great though, it was very much like System Shock 2 and Resi 4 had a hideous fleshbaby, with the environments being just open enough and giving you just enough agency in where you went next to increase the tension (because whatever horrible thing you found there was a result of your choice to go that way), and managing enemies by vivisecting them made combat great. Dead Space 2 was still fun, but the level design wasn't as strong, it was very much a corridor.
The level design in the first _Dead Space_ isn't any more open than the ones in 2 and 3. That most chapters featuring branching paths off of a single "safe" area with a store is trivial since the player has to go down all paths anyways. The gameplay is just as linear. I think the level design in all three _Dead Space_ games is rather weak, but 2 and 3 have larger spaces and arenas compared to 1.
I think you're underestimating the amount that a branching path, even if the player eventually has to exhaust all the branches, grants a game environment a sense of place. In Dead Space 2 I was always able to sense the corridor, even when I was in a lumpy bit.. (I stopped playing 3 on about the third time Isaac fell from a high thing because feel tension now this is exciing!) In Dead Space 1, the fact that levels had those branches, with visual differences between them that made them feel like different functional parts of an overall whole place, made the levels feel more like I was in a place not a level.
The illusion of how the environments in _Dead Space_ feel doesn't matter very much. I'm much more interested in what the level layouts actually are, how the player must move through and understand them to progress, and how they emphasize and drive combat and other gameplay challenges. In this sense, the level design across all the _Dead Space_ games in terms of linearity and progression are very similar.
Can't wait for the next video. I replayed Dead Space 2 a few months ago and that game still stands as one of the all-time greats in my book. Perfect blend of horror and action, awesome variety in locations, perfect pacing, the works.
yea plus in RE4 you could deflect projectiles/weapons thrown at you, and on top of located damage there was a combo system in play for melee moves + knife at all times
metfan4l Remasters, Remasters, Remasters. Why remaster a game that is perfectly fine? Oh wait, because consoles don't have much backwards compatibility. Remasters on consoles are slowing the gaming industry.
I remember whatching my step dad play all three games back to back when i was 7 and loved every second of it. Also does anyone remember that one anime like 30 minute movie showing what happened on the ship?
I loved the video but I disagree with it all looking similar. considering its a ship, and the same ship there will be similarities and I prefer the consistency for my my own interest in continuity. that being said they did a great job of making the areas as different as possible and I loved coming back to areas over the course of the story and see how the infestation has gotten worse.
It's like saying Bloodborne is all similar, which I can't understand. How can you play such an immersive game with a consistent detailed setting and wonder, oh why aren't there beaches in this game? Maybe it's an ADD thing.
Love your videos, Mark! It's such a breath of fresh air to see mature conversation around the mechanics of games without adults yelling like middle schoolers.
Great video ! One of my favourite games of all time. Was surprised you did not mention the UI work in this game. I really loved it and think it gave a lot to the immersion I had when playing.
Marvelous as always, Mark. The second I saw 'Dead Space' and 'Game Maker's Toolkit' in the same sentence, I (to quote a comment below) clicked that shit so fast. Love the analysis, production, and effort you put into each video. Your show is packed with insight and wit - and I look forward to each episode. Keep up the great work. Excited for the remainder of the series, can't wait!
As far as I know, EA pressures the video game devs to create games that EA think would sell better based of cold and heartless statistic rather than create good games, that is why EA is know to kill off so many awesome IP like mercenaries, dead space and more.
As far as I know, EA pressures the video game devs to create games that EA think would sell better based of cold and heartless statistic rather than create good games, that is why EA is know to kill off so many awesome IP like mercenaries, dead space and more.
If a game doesn't get published, it usually doesn't get made. The publisher and developer usually agree on approximately-monthly milestones (deliverables) and the development studio receives payment per milestone, payments that it relies upon because the money just about suffices to run the studio from one milestone to the next. Due to this arrangement, the publisher carries the financial risk and obtains a degree of creative oversight. When the developer comes up with the funds to develop the game on his own, the title is considered self-published. Then he just needs a distributor to get it into players' hands, not the publisher. But occasional nomenclature confusion happens. Due to lack of financial security otherwise, for a studio it's desirable to be bought and converted into internal studio by the publisher, because then they can just get expenses covered and salaries paid, they aren't always one month away from foreclosure. Theoretically this would provide them some creative freedom, but practically, cultural erosion happens as the companies are merged.
lol I get what you mean but the implication isn’t that he’s stupid-he’s an experienced electrical engineer capable of working on high class interstellar ships-it’s that he isn’t a soldier, and if something needs to be fixed for them to move forward then of course he’s the one to do it.
I am surprised you didn't talk about the HUD. In my opinion, one of Dead Space's greatest achievement was its ability to seamlessly let the player know how he's doing without taking away from the atmosphere. The way the health bar and stasis meter are integrated directly in Isaac's suit adds so much to the immersion.
to be honest since i'm a designer i benefit more when it's about a specific topic like versatile verb,adaptive sound track,putting play first, game feel. but you can't abandon anyone since regular gamers - i think- enjoy these more, i hope we don't get abandoned
God that fucking astroid shooting minigame was the worst fucking thing. I'm suprised that most people don't mention Doom 3 more often when talking about dead space. I feel like the two games were super similar.
I still don't know how I managed to finish Dead Space 1 on "Impossible" difficulty when I was 14... I'm currently replaying DS3 on "hard" and I'm almost planning on quitting bc it's so frustratingly difficult...
Ana Bang "Epic Tier 3 Engineer" is the name of the achievement for besting dead space on the hardest difficulty. To this day, it is my most sought after achievement, and also the one I'll probably never unlock. Maybe on my deathbed
@Ana Bang: DeadSpace 1 is "simple" if you know it from a previous playthrough. Getting the right upgrades for example increases your chances of survival. Same with deciding on upgrading and carrying the right weapons and not waste a single node on a stored weapon.
@IntoxiKent My advice: - do a medium or hard playthrough first, and try to memorize enemy placements - keep moving, don't get surrounded, be as fast and precise as possible - use only the plasma cutter, keep it in horizontal configuration, cut off a leg, then an arm for an easy kill - upgrade weapon damage first, then suit health - this way you won't be wasting as much ammo and med packs or credits; buy nodes to speed this up ASAP - buy ammo, nodes, suit upgrades, med packs, in this order of priority; upgrade to level 2 or 3 suit ASAP, level 4 and 5 are less imperative, but helpful for their increased inventory - sell level three med packs, stasis packs, circuit boards, ammo for non-plasma-cutter guns - many people swear by stasis - I don't, but I'm a fairly decent shot, so YMMV; only exception is when fighting brutes, the regenerator and swarmers - your biggest enemies will be swarmers and exploders, as if they sneak up on you it's pretty much game over - offensive kinesis is garbage, rely on it only to buy time - during the first part of the game always try to have a minimum of 75 shots and 1 row of lvl 1 and 2 med packs; during the second, 100 or 150 shots and 1 and a half rows of lvl 1 and 2 med packs; if you go below that threshold, go to the store - don't open node rooms unless you have a surplus of nodes - maybe try to open them all during the medium playthrough so you know what's inside each of them, as their content should be more or less always the same - the game rewards exploration, and going out of your way usually nets resources without enemy encounters (usually) - during level 9 and 10 complete the shooting gallery and the zero g basketball minigames for free resources - never spend all of your credits, as accidents happen; however, remember that while the game may be stingy with ammo drops, it throws credits in your face, especially if you stick to my selling and exploring tips, so don't be scared to spend them Once you know enemy spawns and how to properly manage your resources, the game becomes pretty easy. Also, there's loads of checkpoints, even on impossible (unlike with hard core difficulty in DS 2) If you're REALLY in need of help, I think there are cheats which give you a few nodes and some credits at the start of the game. Another cheaty thing you can do if you're having trouble, is go through doors: enemies can't cross them, allowing you to get some easy pot-shots
Really enjoyed this video, and looking forward to the rest of the series on it! :) Was a big fan of the first Dead Space and your analysis on the evolution of the series will be great!
They published the PC port for Mass Effect, not before buying BioWare in October 2007, then subsequently published the PlayStation 3 port years later. They weren't involved in Mass Effect in it's initial & defining moments of success as it was published as an Xbox 360 exclusive by Microsoft Studios of course, but EA was not uninvolved entirely from Mass Effect, if only in a "If we can't make 'em, acquire them" way.
+Kevin J. Dildonik You forgot to mention the part where ME2 got rid of all the terrible mechanics and engine that made the first game an absolute chore to play through more than once. Seriously, ME2 is leagues better than its predecessor.
+Corvus Prudens Agree to disagree, friend. I find ME2 to be just as bad as 3 because the writing is terrible and after removing all of ME1's clunky mechanics we were left with a bland cover shooter. The writing is the main part though, I can't comprehend how a serious game that ends with "GIANT PURPLE SKELETON ROBOT WITH RED EYES" gets praised for having a deep story (the rest of the main quest sucks too, side characters are alright and the setting is generic). I'm all for stories that have massive tone shifts like Danganronpa but they have to do it consistently.
halbe null Don't forget that that GIANT PURPLE SKELETON ROBOT plays no purpose in the overarching story(the "Reapers reproduce by mashing an organic race with tech" revelation proposed by EDI is debunked by ME 3) as well as the final choice-destroying the Collector base or handing it to the Illusive Man-doesn't make a lick of difference in the next game. Then again, Saving the Council or abandoning them at the end of ME 1 in addition to the choice of who to make Councilor also doesn't matter much.
You didn't seem to go as in-depth with this as you have in your earlier videos. This is more of an intro/commercial for Dead Space than an in-depth analysis. I understand you need to introduce the systems of the game but you don't really go into their design, or the nitty-gritty of it. You just praise them.
Some folks seem to think that A)Nazi's are a real problem and not a defunct political group from the 1930's and B) inciting political violence will solve problems instead of destabilizing the country.
The sounds put me on edge man. In "Course Correction" when you have to go down into the dark ass Engine Bay and refuel the engines. You can hear all kinds of creaks and screams that really set the atmosphere and make you uneasy. I also live the UI system. Really immersive and futuristic, so it all flows with almost no interruptions.
Another incredible thing about this game is how the information is given through diagetic UI as part of object in game, such as HP shown as Spine Bar in your suit, Ammo on your pistol, or even Oxygen level. I believe the Unpaused menu is using this same concept to reduce in and out of the game to create more immersive experience. GG
Something that I felt really added (or maybe avoided detracting from) to the atmosphere was the very minimal HUD, just a few neon portions on the back of Isaac's suit.
This game is one of my favorites from the past generation. I rarely play survival horror games... I mean, maybe this and Alan Wake are the only ones. Both amazing primarily because of their sound design which sends you the chills even if you don't see a thing. I was surprised you didn't mention how the lack of ammo could be leveled using kinesis wisely, like dismembering an arm from an enemy and using it against itself to save ammo. Great work Mark
The episode on Dead Space 2 will be released on May 1st. The episode on Dead Space 3 will hit UA-cam May 8th. Subscribe if you don't want to miss them.
Also! Our GameClub is starting round two over on Patreon. All supporters can take part - we're currently voting on what game to play.
GREAT JOB, MARK! Love EVERYTHING YOU DO!!!
dude you are awesome and it is really good to see you analyse one of my favorite games (deadspace 1 and 2) cant wait for next part :D
Mark Brown Mark I know that I am not a patreon but I really wish to know what do you think about Yooka Laylee.
Mark Brown well im gonna wait for your video of ds2, is in my birthday and ds2 was one of my favorites
nice video on the first one!
Eh, not too keen on it. Worlds just feel so empty and sterile. And I don't find the core interaction (jumping, combat) too fun. Really holding me back from playing any more of it.
"...or lop off their arms to...uh..disARM them." Great video.
Hey jakey i tried calling you for a rematch 1v1 sesh on halo but you didnt answer my calls my mom is telling your mom!
Oosh
Hey I just started playing bioshock cuz I watched your video
Agreed, incredible video.
Nudey McJudy? I miss you bae. I thought you were trash until I realized trash is what I needed.
Unfortunately no one cares about this, but one of the most impressive things in Dead Space is its seamless third person experience with no cuts between gameplay and cutscenes. The whole game is just one "long take" from the beginning to the end. With perfect diagetic UI it makes all 3 games still very "next-gen" and inspirational
Good points! Except for those between chapter tram rides/loading screens. Unless those aren't on PC (which would be amazing), I played it on 360 myself.
Thank you! You're right about those "tram loads" but they managed to make even them feel seamless - camera zoom on a tram map, then loading, and then camera zoom out, no cuts! :) I'm glad they took this narrative approach in the second and third games and did even more impressive job with it.
half life had a similar philosophy for not taking control away from the player. I cant help but think the enemies were a little inspired by halflife too. Great games take great inspiration I suppose.
Both Half-Life and Dead Space enemies were highly inspired by the Alien movies. And that's perfectly fine as well :)
Yeah, no cuts except the loading screens, and camera pans, and the parts where you stop dead in your tracks to talk to someone who's face popped up in the middle of the screen so you can't see anything.
Disappointed that you didn’t talk about how Dead Space does UI. The health display on the back of Isaacs suit is a stroke of genius
Dead Space 1 -the most satisfying stomp in a game bar none
those are some magnetic boots that attract themselves into the floor while you stomp someone in the head
that's great
When in doubt, stomp it out.
I may or may not have spammed the stomp button for a full minute after killing my first monster.
The fact that Isaac starts swearing after you've stomped for a bit means that the devs knew what the stomping was really for.
I'd agree were it not for Bayonetta
"In the mid-2000s, Electronic Arts had an image problem..."
Had?
It's a different image from now
@@ZenoDLCYeah and the image is hidden in a lootbox in Star War Battlefront 2 or behind three microtransaction in some day one DLC.
@@Shadow-zf5uc Funnily enough, BF2 now has 0 paid loot crates now
@@RetroRadianceLight Only because people complained enough. EA doesn't get credit for that.
Shadow 2550 that and some countries were banning the game considering “surprise mechanics” as underage gambling
Re: The errands
This was the first game where I didn't feel the errands forced. I felt that every errand was the logical next step in salvaging the Ishimure and/or getting out alive. Playing most other games I feel the errands are just excuses to send me into fights. I mean, I know, this is a game, and the errands are just excuses to send me into fights, but in Dead Space 1 I didn't feel like it, they were so organically integrated into the story.
algi glad I'm not the only one who thought that.
algi True. Every errand literally made sense and it was necessary to complete them because that was their way of survival.
I agree, I really enjoyed figuring out how the ship "worked" based on the errands and the places I had to visit.
I used to feel anxiety with being given a new errand because it meant having to be alone and isolated deep in the bowels of the ship looking for some switch or other in the dark while hordes of body-horror monstrosities were out to tear me to shreds.
Side missions? I love them. Errands are cool for me, I don't mind ignoring the main plot as long as there are side missions! :D
I just remembered that Dead Space is never getting a proper finale.
Thanks, EA.
Sugary Salt At the same time, EA is the only reason dead space exists
Pretty sure EA and Visceral have said Dead Space isn't finished, their just really busy with Star Wars games right now and would like to return to the universe of DS in the future. Though its EA so I'll take it with a grain of salt, but EA haven't said Dead Space is shit canned for good to my knowledge which gives me hope.
I thought they considered DS4 but promptly said that they won't be doing any more after they saw the numbers on DS3? I really hope they DO make DS4.
DS3 did poorly, but it was still a best seller. EA has never said its not happening, in fact I remember hearing they said another one could happen, they just don't have an idea when yet. Visceral is making a new Star Wars game so their super busy, if EA are smart they'll realise DS3 did poorly because it cost more than there were fans of the series to make up for the costs.
It never got a proper anything. It's one great game and that's all.
I have to say, one thing that I really liked on Dead Space, that was kind of new (at least for me) when it was released: The HUD being implemented into the environment. Having the health bar, oxygen time etc on the suit etc. Makes the game so much more immersive.
derLoki I love details like that. It makes the game feel ahead of it's time. Also adds to that sci-fi feel with all the advanced tech.
The best thing about Dead Space 1 and 2 is the sound design. Never has there been a game that had this impactful weapon sounds. They hit really hard and have the right amount of bass.
The strings of the background music in DS1 almost drove me mad with their tension buildup, they're so manic and well timed.
The background noises of the monsters and the screams are also helping to give this game a real horror atmosphere.
I am playing DS2 atm and the parts where you are flooded with enemies and struggle to keep everything in sight are pure bliss. Heart rate pumping action.
Mick Wrinkles Agreed. Sometimes I just stop walking and just listen to the sounds for a minute. The creaking and groaning of the ships interior. Screams of terror in the background that make you think someone on board is still alive somewhere. Whispers throughout the halls.
For me another cool thing in regard of DS1 sound was how heavy the suit felt and the changes in Issac breathing.
"You can only carry four guns, so you need a balanced selection on-hand."
Wait, you mean to tell me there were weapons other than the plasma cutter?
Yeah... Pretty much this. It's the only weapon besides the bolt cannon in DS3 I've ever used. It's quick, strong, ammo efficient and versatile.
@@jonaskonrad It has its benefits too. In DS1 enemies drop ammo for weapons you use. Thats why the uploader had ammo problems at the second half of the game. If you use the pistol and nothing else you have too much ammo and even can sell some of it. It got "fixed" in the other games.
Yah. Or force gun. Force gun is easily the most overpowered weapon in the entire series. Single handedly carried me through hardcore mode in DS2.
Aside from Plasma cutter, the most necessary weapons that I will not part with: Plasma rifle and Detonator. Detonator so that if I feel anxious, I just pop one in front or behind me. (No.1 reason for my deaths, forgetting I placed one behind me in panic) and Plasma rifle due to it's "interrupt" saving my ass several times
I'm starting to wonder why all these dead space videos are being made right now. I guess people are starting to really miss it and hope for a fourth. It needs to come back.
I'm new the series and bought all 3 on a whim and I really enjoyed the series and was a great buy. Visercial games proved to be a very capable company making games more polished than most games out there. When I heard it got shut down, it made me really despise ea cuz I know they ruined the game. A 4th would be nice but I'm pretty sure all the workers moved on by now. Now if it was fan made, I bet it would be good.
@@magicmanscott40k
Check out 'negative athmophere' it's in developing,but you can see the progress on their channel
The UI was soo inspiring in this game, a lot cleaner and should be considered into VR
Bruno Flores Too bad EA blew that chance. Visceral is dead... But I would've loved to see a VR Dead Space.
Dead space v.r sounds like the best thing ever
Scott Fillinger and simultaneously most terrifying
Bruno Flores wonder what they’re do with the healthbar you wouldn’t be able to see your health
SoulLight maybe the health bar would br on your forearm
R.I.P Dead Space, we could never be made whole again...
All thanks to EA.
REMAKE BABY!
The auto-pathfinding compass was a great addition to the game. It let me know which way to not go if I wanted to find all the bonus collectibles.
The fact that vicious monsters are hidden within the fans... isn't that a commentary about the community of players?
Djorgal I thought he ment those fans :)
"You ought to be wary of any fans you encounter" is good advice for any franchise indeed.
Gotem
I mean, look...
If EA didn't make false promises, absorb all the decent indie developers and ruin them, or treat its entire client base like a bunch of idiot children, then I venture to suggest that perhaps their "fans" wouldn't appear as such vicious visages as they do now.
Every time EA tries to play the victim card against fans, I simply have one thought:
_"You brought this on yourself. Be better."_
While I never found Dead Space that scary, the game and sound-design and in universe UI are reasons I regularly return to that game. It also still looks amazing for its age.
Though fuck that regenerating necromorph, that shit was scary, especially in Dead Space 2.
Dark games generally look better when they age.
I would not say that, infact colourfull games like Zelda: Wind Waker or borderlans often age much better. What helped Dead Space is a verry distinct artstyle.
Those are because they are artistically styled, those games are timeless. You and I are talking about realistic graphical games.
nahhh, I got used to them after a while
just know when they regen after you down them
+Zafran Orbian What really helped is Dead Space is not that old...
Can't wait for Part 3: Skull fuck every design element that made your game great, then ask for microtransactions.
You mean that's part 2.
Atleast the devs added a classic mode once you played trew it for the first time, wich brings back manny of the old elements.
DrearierSpider1 I can't wait for that shit!
algi nah, the story and some peripheral elements got worse in 2, but it became an even better shooter than the original.
algi
nope the second game is great
the 3 is horrible
This game was way ahead of its time. The audio was outstanding, UI was phenomenal. Even small details such as Issac moving his head while in the inventory made it felt real.
Great analysis! I was blown away by Dead Space at release. The gameplay, the gory design of monsters, and yes, the freaky use of environment/atmosphere. Not many james can make me jump - a lot of devs make the mistake of sort of signposting these things with slowly building music, subtle visual cues - but a bit of genius design and suspense can actually scare.
Really hope Visceral bring all their smart thinking from DS to the third-person Star Wars they're bringing out next year. Visceral, with a story/design from Uncharted's Amy Hennig, and Assassin's Creed's Jade Raymond also involved... It's such an amazing combo and that Visceral is the dev studio... Yeah, I'm excited.
(sheds a single tear)
Hey Man, hope you'll see this. I love this series and love your content. I think its high quality with that nieche in-depht makes it truely unique! Keep it coming and I'll keep it watching!
Thanks!
I'd like to add to the sound design segment. Dead Space is great when it comes to subtleties in sound. By far the best use is the faint sound of "twinkle twinkle little star" you will hear sometimes riding in elevators. It really adds to the issac losing his mind them. It's so quiet and overshadowed the ishimura and enemies that you really have to listen closely to hear it. I'm not sure if it's randomized to play or set in certain sections. but either way it's very disturbing.
I also love the engineering bay section of the game when the necromorph flesh starts growing on the walls. Even if dead Space is full of jump scares, it will always be disturbing to me in its enviroment and enemy design. I love the design of the divider and guardians in particular.
People don't give dead space enough credit for its art direction, they went for a disgusting body horror vibe and absolutely nailed it, I love how all monsters are a creative spin on some human flesh, like the limbs that can detach themselves and crawl on the walls like spiders and the fucked up organic mold that coats the ship as you mentioned.
StEvEn420BrUlE The corruption itself is one of the scariest things to me. It grows fast, It's nasty, and it can assimilate people into it. Turning them into guardians. Another enemy that shook me.
There will come a point where you enter back into the Ishimura in Dead Space 2, and you will constantly hear Nicole's voice whisper "Isaaac" in a low, quiet, taunting voice. It's basically the Ishimura getting to his own head again. In fact, and this is a testament to the incredible level design, but the Ishimura basically feels like it's own entity by that point. All the people that died on that godforsaken ship are now a part of it, the walls, the floors, the ceilings, all the rooms - going back there feels like you're entering back into a horrifying and traumatic nightmare as an adult for the first time again after you stopped having it for years since you were a child.
It really is no wonder Dead Space 3 is so mediocre compared to Dead Space 2.
@@endlessevanescence3502 DS3 actually made the same mistake as ResE6 they made it close to an action game rather than a horror game
"A quiet one is often spawned behind you"
"The quiet one": REEEEEEE
Will you do a video on what makes a good combat system
Blade master yeah that's a good idea
Blade master I would like to see that
Now I wanna see a video on Xenoblade Chronicles' combat system.
Maybe! I've talked about this stuff before in various videos but a dedicated episode could be good.
"dark souls"
You need to turn ON vsync during those captures. I don't know how you can stand screen tearing. As for the video itself, i think you should mention how there are no interface elements cramping the screen at all. Everything you need to know is on your character's armor and equipment, like his health bar on the spine, the upgrades and how much ammo is left on the weapons themselves. I thought this was one of the best things about Dead Space and made it more immersive.
Sadly it's Vsync on and 30fps or Vysnc off and 60fps.
You can disable vsync from the in-game options and enable it in the drivers menu. This will give you 60fps without tearing. I played both Dead Space 1 and 2 like this, it will surely work.
Yeah but turning vsync on adds a noticeable amount of latency, that on top of the shitty mouse and keyboard support doesnt make for good play. The way hes moving the aim looks like hes using controller which is actually easier for ds1. If he used OBS then the tearing would cease since it captures from the game's framebuffer and not the whole screen. I havent tried deadspace with obs but from my experience it works most of the time, provided the game uses the framebuffer properly. Some games even with good software refuse to not tear, like the Bethesda games as of late. Try forcing opengl triple buffered frames if nothing else since that does the same job as vsync with a much less noticeable hit to frame timings.
I found the hud made the game have much quicker combat. I also found it brilliant compared to other games that came out at that time. It also had way better graphics than most ps3 games put there which impressed me a lot.
Tried that and it never works.
11:23 That part in the beginning of the game freaked me out so much. I was wondering for so long what was coming around the corner, just to find someone banging their head on the wall; and watching him kill himself that way was so... unnerving. It was a fun game, though.
I'm glad you mentioned the fake-outs. Often in this game I found that the most effective moments for creating tension were the moments where nothing happens. You'll enter an area, and everything about it sets your senses tingling. Your long history of playing video games and your subconscious awareness of the language of level design tells you confidently that this is an area that screams "ambush." A long, narrow hallway, poor lighting, small niches on the sides. Surely something is going to jump out at you, right? You spend the whole time creeping along, waiting for it to happen, and a good 50% of the time, nothing does. This only amps up the tension, leaving you feeling ragged after reaching the end. Plus, if a jumpscare did happen every time you expected it to, they would be predictable, and therefore less scary. By frequently having moments where a scare ostentatiously does NOT happen, it keeps you guessing so that you're never fully prepared for the real thing.
refreshing to see something other than zelda. Not to say that your zelda videos weren't phenomenal, it's just refreshing :D
I just thought you were pressing F5
Im very happy to see Dead Space of all the games on GMTK, one of the most immersive and scary yet addictive experiences Ive had.
"In the mid 2000s, Electronic Arts had an image problem"...And they still do and they forever will.
One of the best moments in deadspace comes as a prolonged fake out. Early in the game its easy to come to the conclusion that if the area has a shop in it, its never going to have enemies. A good while later, after coming back to a room you've been to before with a shop, compulsions to check the shop and belief that there will be no enemies traps players into checking the shop while an enemy creeps up behind you.
JimKandol I played Dead Space 2 before I played the first, so when I finally did get to that part in Dead Space it caught me COMPLETELY by surprise. Not once had they pulled that shit on me so it was the last thing I expected. I literally jumped and made a nosie similar to "OIGUG-FUKIN SHIT".
I still remember that one work bench in that loud area.
When you use it a Slasher comes from behind. I almost shat my floor
Kurt Yarish its a shame u played 2 first, the return to the ishimura brought a serious feeling of dread in 2 after surviving it in 1. i remember it being the objective and just thinking, oh fuxk this shit, and my stomach sinking.
JimKandol Yeah, it was really lost on me. Though it did a good job getting at me. That long, dark tunnel was a bitch to move through, and the flashback-jumpscares actually got me a few times.
- Me was high as fuck playing dead space..
- Finally found a 5/5 safe room with a armor service, store, save computer, upgrade table, bunch of ammo health and a power node.
- Chill out in the room for a good while feeling relieved.
- Necromorph jump attacks from behind. I leaped fucking one meter in the air yelling like madman.
Yeah that shit was intense... I think it was in the middle of DS2 so it was completely random thing to happen i had gotten totally used to letting my guard down in rooms with shop.
Damn DS was good!!! Such fond memories :)
id like to personally thank you for making this very nice video on one of my favorite games
The scariest part of this game is how the Necromorphs won't make a sound as they sneak up on you when you're busy with other enemies.. These monsters actually felt smart!
JustCallMeMrWest That caught me off guard. Some lure you into traps. You mean to tell me these "things" have some capability of thinking!?
Man I forgot how amazing this game really is, this video truly made me want to play this game again, I think I will do that before the next part comes out
Yessss Dead Space, best 3rd person shooter
Vanquish is the best, but Dead Space isn't far behind.
RE4/5? Splatoon? Gears of War? Vanquish? Kid Icarus: Uprising? There are things to like about _Dead Space_, but I find the core shooting and enemy interactions to be pretty shallow.
For horror, I agree. I am definitely not a fan of 3rd person games, but Dead Space is my favorite! Have you played The Suffering (2004)? That and its sequel (The Suffering: Ties That Bind.) are a very close second to Dead Space.
That's because Dead Space isn't actually a first person shooter, but a survival horror with tps elements. As for RE5, Dead Space is just waaaaay better.
What bout 2nd person shooter?
The HUD of this game is really nice. No clutter on-screen but still manages to inform the player about the important details.
I must say, when I saw:"The Design of Dead Space - Part 1 | Game Maker's Toolkit" pop up on my notifications my mind spun a little and I physically felt dizzy in disbelief. I'm a little sad this video is only 12 minutes. :)
kudos to the devs for figuring out that extremely *precise balance of power and helplessness that made the variable, yet neverending sense of DREAD permeate the whole experience
I literally just started playing this again the other day! Coincidence?
Yes.
BigTmoose So did I.
What a game, right? Aged super well!
BigTmoose Agreed. It feels ahead of it's time despite the years that have passed. I'm even playing through it today. Headphones make it a whole new world. All the little bangs and creaks.
As a Dead Space fan this is the series that introduced me to this channel and now I am hooked ... I hope you make more series like this 💙
One of the best games ever. For correction! You don’t kill the hunter twice as you said. You just killed it once. The first time you just freeze it only but the second time you actually kill it.
Dead Space was a far better game than I expected it to be. I'm glad to see Mark cover it.
My favorite part is you feel in control of Isaac, but at the same time unsafe because of all the vents etc. That plus the impressive UI and guns, this game series in the tits*.
Great video. Picked up on many things that this game borrowed as well as tried to make its own. Atmosphere and sound is what this game achieves the most I feel.
I check the top of elevators in every game I play now because of Dead Space.
The elevator scare was really good.
Great Video. I Have been following you since your boss key/game makers toolkit started on the zelda series. I really enjoy how your 'reviews' are quite fluid and you allow yourself to enjoy the games while still noting ways they fell short. Keep it up! Im looking forward to your May 1st episode.
Excellent video, but again, people keep giving Dead Space the wrong genre label. The whole trilogy is action horror, not survival horror. They all have survival elements, but all of them are action horror games.
I prefer the term action-adventure. The horror stuff is mostly just theme. _Dead Space_ shares more in common with _The Legend of Zelda_ or _Metroid_ with its mixing of action, puzzles, and adventure game elements than it shares with _F.E.A.R._
I mostly agree, but the horror elements are still more than present in Dead Space. It's actively trying to freak you the hell out, and the entire game's presentation is designed around unsettling you. Unlike Zelda, and most of the Metroids.
It depends on what criteria you use for genre. The atmosphere defining elements of _Dead Space_ are mostly tertiary to the gameplay, which is what I use for labeling.
...the end of the video is him saying that this a game about action and horror...
Hmm, how come you think that they're separate? While the atmosphere is just atmosphere it's still working together with the game mechanics. You have limited mobility and need to search for ammo and health. Being low on ammo adds to the tension and creeping around corners hoping for some loot is much more interesting because of the possibility of jump scares (as opposed to you knowing there will be x enemies in a room like in a game like Zelda)
I've played this game countless times, but, it truly is fascinating to see other's opinions about this game. Excellent video!
wonder if you will bring up how dead space was originally supposed to be system shock 3
Good timing putting out this video out on Alien Day! Just watched the first Alien movie in the cinema followed by a sneak preview of Covenant, after starting Dead Space 1 again a few days ago.
Both great pieces of work on their own, Dead Space obviously inspired by the first. That sound design is probably the best I ever experienced in any video game (Silent Hill 1 and\or 2 following closely). Don't know if I'll ever want to play any of the sequels though.
Great video! Will you maybe make mention of the spin-off Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii and PS3? While being a rail-shooter, I thought it was well made and stayed true to the spirit of the series.
there was also a mobile game too that followed the story of a Unitologist engineer
Game Maker's Toolkit is probably one of my favorite analytical video series on UA-cam. Keep up all the awesome work, man!
EA started publishing mass effect with mass effect 2
The Mass Effect PC port (With the prior acquisition of BioWare by EA) can actually correct you on that. It does however not remedy Mark Brown's error of course.
TIL
Well... That explains why I loved Dead Space 1.. With 2 and 3 being huge steps down. Man, EA seems to destroy almost everything it touches.
For me this was one of the best games i ever played,headphones,night time and lights off,great atmosphere and jumps,loved it.
Nothing good will come out of 2020.
Glen Schofield puts his hand on me back, will this reveal do it,
*The Callisto Protocol*
That barely 1 second clip of the zero oxygen environment fight scene instantly terrified me and sold me on this game
Ammo conservation was a it of a comedy in DS1. The game would only drop ammo for weapons you had equipped, so if you only equipped one weapon (ps it was the plasma cutter because the plasma cutter could do everything with its variable cutting line) you got tons of ammo for it.
The game was great though, it was very much like System Shock 2 and Resi 4 had a hideous fleshbaby, with the environments being just open enough and giving you just enough agency in where you went next to increase the tension (because whatever horrible thing you found there was a result of your choice to go that way), and managing enemies by vivisecting them made combat great. Dead Space 2 was still fun, but the level design wasn't as strong, it was very much a corridor.
The level design in the first _Dead Space_ isn't any more open than the ones in 2 and 3. That most chapters featuring branching paths off of a single "safe" area with a store is trivial since the player has to go down all paths anyways. The gameplay is just as linear. I think the level design in all three _Dead Space_ games is rather weak, but 2 and 3 have larger spaces and arenas compared to 1.
I think you're underestimating the amount that a branching path, even if the player eventually has to exhaust all the branches, grants a game environment a sense of place. In Dead Space 2 I was always able to sense the corridor, even when I was in a lumpy bit.. (I stopped playing 3 on about the third time Isaac fell from a high thing because feel tension now this is exciing!)
In Dead Space 1, the fact that levels had those branches, with visual differences between them that made them feel like different functional parts of an overall whole place, made the levels feel more like I was in a place not a level.
The illusion of how the environments in _Dead Space_ feel doesn't matter very much. I'm much more interested in what the level layouts actually are, how the player must move through and understand them to progress, and how they emphasize and drive combat and other gameplay challenges. In this sense, the level design across all the _Dead Space_ games in terms of linearity and progression are very similar.
Can't wait for the next video. I replayed Dead Space 2 a few months ago and that game still stands as one of the all-time greats in my book. Perfect blend of horror and action, awesome variety in locations, perfect pacing, the works.
The limb targeting bit doesn't do RE4 justice, it already introduced and implemented that exact layer of decision making.
yea plus in RE4 you could deflect projectiles/weapons thrown at you, and on top of located damage there was a combo system in play for melee moves + knife at all times
Love your videos! One can really tell you dedicate time and energy, balanced with a great speaker. Bravo! Love from Sweden
Great video, loved the Dead Space series. Too bad the trilogy never got a proper remaster for current systems.
metfan4l Remasters, Remasters, Remasters. Why remaster a game that is perfectly fine? Oh wait, because consoles don't have much backwards compatibility. Remasters on consoles are slowing the gaming industry.
If you got them on Xbox there all currently backwards compatible
I remember whatching my step dad play all three games back to back when i was 7 and loved every second of it.
Also does anyone remember that one anime like 30 minute movie showing what happened on the ship?
I loved the video but I disagree with it all looking similar. considering its a ship, and the same ship there will be similarities and I prefer the consistency for my my own interest in continuity. that being said they did a great job of making the areas as different as possible and I loved coming back to areas over the course of the story and see how the infestation has gotten worse.
It's like saying Bloodborne is all similar, which I can't understand. How can you play such an immersive game with a consistent detailed setting and wonder, oh why aren't there beaches in this game? Maybe it's an ADD thing.
Happy birthday to what has been my favorite game review/video for a year now ♡
Clicked that shit so fast
Me too.
I care
Dude just leave, you're the very definition of shitposting.
Can we just love each other and live happy lives?
Love your videos, Mark! It's such a breath of fresh air to see mature conversation around the mechanics of games without adults yelling like middle schoolers.
R.I.P Visceral Games
Great video ! One of my favourite games of all time. Was surprised you did not mention the UI work in this game. I really loved it and think it gave a lot to the immersion I had when playing.
"The exploder, who..."
*Cuts away*
Me:"Wait but what does it do?"
Marvelous as always, Mark. The second I saw 'Dead Space' and 'Game Maker's Toolkit' in the same sentence, I (to quote a comment below) clicked that shit so fast. Love the analysis, production, and effort you put into each video. Your show is packed with insight and wit - and I look forward to each episode. Keep up the great work. Excited for the remainder of the series, can't wait!
Dead Space - Visceral
Crysis - Crytek
Mirror's Edge - DICE
Publishing means nothing in creative image, and EA created none of fore-mentioned games.
They didn't develop brutal legend, rock band, or the saboteur either. But if a game doesn't get published, it doesn't get released.
As far as I know, EA pressures the video game devs to create games that EA think would sell better based of cold and heartless statistic rather than create good games, that is why EA is know to kill off so many awesome IP like mercenaries, dead space and more.
As far as I know, EA pressures the video game devs to create games that EA think would sell better based of cold and heartless statistic rather than create good games, that is why EA is know to kill off so many awesome IP like mercenaries, dead space and more.
If a game doesn't get published, it usually doesn't get made. The publisher and developer usually agree on approximately-monthly milestones (deliverables) and the development studio receives payment per milestone, payments that it relies upon because the money just about suffices to run the studio from one milestone to the next.
Due to this arrangement, the publisher carries the financial risk and obtains a degree of creative oversight.
When the developer comes up with the funds to develop the game on his own, the title is considered self-published. Then he just needs a distributor to get it into players' hands, not the publisher. But occasional nomenclature confusion happens.
Due to lack of financial security otherwise, for a studio it's desirable to be bought and converted into internal studio by the publisher, because then they can just get expenses covered and salaries paid, they aren't always one month away from foreclosure. Theoretically this would provide them some creative freedom, but practically, cultural erosion happens as the companies are merged.
Siana Gearz Great insight man. Very illuminating.
Mark Brown, your videos are fantastic. Excellent quality, never stop pushing your limits!
JUST an engineer
That hit at home
lol I get what you mean but the implication isn’t that he’s stupid-he’s an experienced electrical engineer capable of working on high class interstellar ships-it’s that he isn’t a soldier, and if something needs to be fixed for them to move forward then of course he’s the one to do it.
this channel is one of the few I have the bell switched on for love your stuff man!
0:00 By the end of this decade, EA is back to this image😂😪
I am surprised you didn't talk about the HUD. In my opinion, one of Dead Space's greatest achievement was its ability to seamlessly let the player know how he's doing without taking away from the atmosphere. The way the health bar and stasis meter are integrated directly in Isaac's suit adds so much to the immersion.
"In the mid 2000's, Electronic Arts had an image problem."
"had..."
HAD
to be honest since i'm a designer i benefit more when it's about a specific topic like versatile verb,adaptive sound track,putting play first, game feel.
but you can't abandon anyone since regular gamers - i think- enjoy these more, i hope we don't get abandoned
will be doing both types, always!
thank's for replying
please make a video on alien isolation
There is one at least for the sound design
I saw this already like a year ago, but i got chills when you said "and more"
God that fucking astroid shooting minigame was the worst fucking thing.
I'm suprised that most people don't mention Doom 3 more often when talking about dead space. I feel like the two games were super similar.
NanoSwarm I hate that area. I could have absolutely NO deaths until i reach that area.
And yet Doom 3 felt like it owed a huge debt to Alien Resurrection on the Playstation 1. That was quite a good game despite its general reception.
Im loving this series, I got so happy when I got a notification telling me that you uploaded!
I still don't know how I managed to finish Dead Space 1 on "Impossible" difficulty when I was 14...
I'm currently replaying DS3 on "hard" and I'm almost planning on quitting bc it's so frustratingly difficult...
Hahahaha same thing man i wouldn't dare to even try nowadays.
I guess it was just determination.
Ana Bang it's simple, you didn't have to deal with human's shooting at you more than necromorphs and fair enemy placement
Ana Bang "Epic Tier 3 Engineer" is the name of the achievement for besting dead space on the hardest difficulty. To this day, it is my most sought after achievement, and also the one I'll probably never unlock. Maybe on my deathbed
@Ana Bang: DeadSpace 1 is "simple" if you know it from a previous playthrough. Getting the right upgrades for example increases your chances of survival. Same with deciding on upgrading and carrying the right weapons and not waste a single node on a stored weapon.
@IntoxiKent
My advice:
- do a medium or hard playthrough first, and try to memorize enemy placements
- keep moving, don't get surrounded, be as fast and precise as possible
- use only the plasma cutter, keep it in horizontal configuration, cut off a leg, then an arm for an easy kill
- upgrade weapon damage first, then suit health - this way you won't be wasting as much ammo and med packs or credits; buy nodes to speed this up ASAP
- buy ammo, nodes, suit upgrades, med packs, in this order of priority; upgrade to level 2 or 3 suit ASAP, level 4 and 5 are less imperative, but helpful for their increased inventory
- sell level three med packs, stasis packs, circuit boards, ammo for non-plasma-cutter guns
- many people swear by stasis - I don't, but I'm a fairly decent shot, so YMMV; only exception is when fighting brutes, the regenerator and swarmers
- your biggest enemies will be swarmers and exploders, as if they sneak up on you it's pretty much game over
- offensive kinesis is garbage, rely on it only to buy time
- during the first part of the game always try to have a minimum of 75 shots and 1 row of lvl 1 and 2 med packs; during the second, 100 or 150 shots and 1 and a half rows of lvl 1 and 2 med packs; if you go below that threshold, go to the store
- don't open node rooms unless you have a surplus of nodes - maybe try to open them all during the medium playthrough so you know what's inside each of them, as their content should be more or less always the same
- the game rewards exploration, and going out of your way usually nets resources without enemy encounters (usually)
- during level 9 and 10 complete the shooting gallery and the zero g basketball minigames for free resources
- never spend all of your credits, as accidents happen; however, remember that while the game may be stingy with ammo drops, it throws credits in your face, especially if you stick to my selling and exploring tips, so don't be scared to spend them
Once you know enemy spawns and how to properly manage your resources, the game becomes pretty easy. Also, there's loads of checkpoints, even on impossible (unlike with hard core difficulty in DS 2) If you're REALLY in need of help, I think there are cheats which give you a few nodes and some credits at the start of the game. Another cheaty thing you can do if you're having trouble, is go through doors: enemies can't cross them, allowing you to get some easy pot-shots
Really enjoyed this video, and looking forward to the rest of the series on it! :)
Was a big fan of the first Dead Space and your analysis on the evolution of the series will be great!
"In the mid-2000s, Electronic Arts had an image problem."
Oh really?
It's not an image problem, it's a mentality and practice problem.
The artstyle of this game was one of the best I have ever seen
the first 2 dead space games were baller, the second game was my favorite personally, and the third was only enjoyable with a friend to play it with
Not even 5 minutes into the video and I already want to play Dead Space again. A game for the ages I tell ya
sorry but immediate nitpick - ea had nothing to do with mass effect
Not Mass Effect 1, at least at release. Microsoft still owned Bioware at that time.
They published the PC port for Mass Effect, not before buying BioWare in October 2007, then subsequently published the PlayStation 3 port years later.
They weren't involved in Mass Effect in it's initial & defining moments of success as it was published as an Xbox 360 exclusive by Microsoft Studios of course, but EA was not uninvolved entirely from Mass Effect, if only in a "If we can't make 'em, acquire them" way.
+Kevin J. Dildonik
You forgot to mention the part where ME2 got rid of all the terrible mechanics and engine that made the first game an absolute chore to play through more than once. Seriously, ME2 is leagues better than its predecessor.
+Corvus Prudens
Agree to disagree, friend. I find ME2 to be just as bad as 3 because the writing is terrible and after removing all of ME1's clunky mechanics we were left with a bland cover shooter. The writing is the main part though, I can't comprehend how a serious game that ends with "GIANT PURPLE SKELETON ROBOT WITH RED EYES" gets praised for having a deep story (the rest of the main quest sucks too, side characters are alright and the setting is generic).
I'm all for stories that have massive tone shifts like Danganronpa but they have to do it consistently.
halbe null
Don't forget that that GIANT PURPLE SKELETON ROBOT plays no purpose in the overarching story(the "Reapers reproduce by mashing an organic race with tech" revelation proposed by EDI is debunked by ME 3) as well as the final choice-destroying the Collector base or handing it to the Illusive Man-doesn't make a lick of difference in the next game. Then again, Saving the Council or abandoning them at the end of ME 1 in addition to the choice of who to make Councilor also doesn't matter much.
I've always been so intrigued by this game! So glad that you're making this! Thank you!
You didn't seem to go as in-depth with this as you have in your earlier videos. This is more of an intro/commercial for Dead Space than an in-depth analysis. I understand you need to introduce the systems of the game but you don't really go into their design, or the nitty-gritty of it. You just praise them.
Its what love does to us
the fact they make the actual game the UI is really cool too, lasers on the gun acting as a good crosshair, and the health bar on the back of issac
0:34 Am I the only one who can't hear "Nazi punching" without cringing anymore?
DrearierSpider1 that's you, some of us don't have problems with Nazi's being punched
Some folks seem to think that A)Nazi's are a real problem and not a defunct political group from the 1930's and B) inciting political violence will solve problems instead of destabilizing the country.
Nazis are the punching bag of western civilization, pun sort of intended.
I urge you to rethink. Unprovoked violence emboldens the enemy.
Love your videos dude. I'm a.. game enthusiast, and your videos really shed a light on gameplay design in laymans terms. Love you.
The Dead Space series changed to shit basically.
Ast vom Baum what's wrong with it? seems just as great as ever to me ...
it went from survival horror to action adventure.
Bologna Catfish oh I thought you meant game maker's toolkit lol. yeah dead space did kinda turn shit.
blah blah Haha, no I definitely meant the Dead Space series. I love Game Makers Toolkit.
No it didn't. Ds3 strayed too far to action but it was still good. And that was the last entry. The series never got tired or turned to shit.
The sounds put me on edge man. In "Course Correction" when you have to go down into the dark ass Engine Bay and refuel the engines. You can hear all kinds of creaks and screams that really set the atmosphere and make you uneasy. I also live the UI system. Really immersive and futuristic, so it all flows with almost no interruptions.
Another incredible thing about this game is how the information is given through diagetic UI as part of object in game, such as HP shown as Spine Bar in your suit, Ammo on your pistol, or even Oxygen level. I believe the Unpaused menu is using this same concept to reduce in and out of the game to create more immersive experience. GG
Something that I felt really added (or maybe avoided detracting from) to the atmosphere was the very minimal HUD, just a few neon portions on the back of Isaac's suit.
This game is one of my favorites from the past generation. I rarely play survival horror games... I mean, maybe this and Alan Wake are the only ones. Both amazing primarily because of their sound design which sends you the chills even if you don't see a thing.
I was surprised you didn't mention how the lack of ammo could be leveled using kinesis wisely, like dismembering an arm from an enemy and using it against itself to save ammo.
Great work Mark
One of the greatest horror action games ever and probably the best one in the sci-fi category, so sad that we will never know the real ending...