Dead Space 3

The central cast of Dead Space 3; from left to right, Isaac Clarke, Jennifer Santos, Austin Buckell, Ellie Langford, Robert Norton, and John Carver.

Dead Space 3 is set in the 26th century. In the backstory, resource-starved humanity experimented with an alien artifact called the Black Marker, which triggered dementia and mental illness, and changed corpses into monsters called Necromorphs. During the initial outbreak, a new religion called the Church of Unitology, which worshipped the Marker as a divine force that would lead humanity to a unified state dubbed "Convergence", arose. Later experiments with copies known as Red Markers led to the same result, prompting the Earth Government (EarthGov) to hide the Red Markers. The Marker incidents are revived when the mining ship USG Ishimura discovers one on the planet Aegis VII. In the present, the Markers are attacking humanity; while EarthGov tries to contain the crisis and exploit the Markers for their energy, the Church of Unitology works to spread the Markers' influence.[16][17]

The main protagonist of Dead Space 3 is Isaac Clarke, an engineer who survived the Ishimura incident, resultant torture by EarthGov for the Marker blueprints in his mind, a subsequent outbreak on the Titan-based space-station Sprawl, and mental illness triggered by the Markers.[16] The secondary protagonist is John Carver, an EarthGov soldier who survived a Necromorph outbreak that killed his family.[18] Other characters include Ellie Langford, a pilot and Isaac's ex-girlfriend; Robert Norton, an EarthGov officer and Ellie's new boyfriend; Jacob Danik, terrorist leader of a militant Unitologist group called the Circle;[19][20][21] and Marker researchers Jennifer Santos and Austin Buckell.[21]

Two centuries ago, a military team on the frozen planet Tau Volantis retrieves an artifact called the Codex; the team's commander kills his remaining subordinate, erases data on the Codex, and commits suicide. In the present, Isaac is hiding in a colony on Earth's moon when Carver and Norton forcibly recruit him to help them find Ellie, escaping a Necromorph outbreak triggered by Danik and the Circle. Ellie's location is traced to Tau Volantis, which is assumed to be the Marker home world. Isaac, Carver, Norton, Santos, and Buckell travel to Tau Volantis's moon; they rescue Ellie and investigate the orbiting derelict ship Terra Nova, discovering evidence of past research on the Necromorphs and the recurring phrase "Turn it off". They crash-land on Tau Volantis, and Isaac and Carver separate from the rest of the crew. Isaac and Carver find Buckell shortly before he dies from his wounds and hypothermia. After reuniting, the survivors set off in search of a key called "Rosetta"; they are pursued by Danik and the Circle, who followed them to Tau Volantis. Norton betrays the group to the Circle, hoping to safely return to Earth with Ellie; Danik betrays Norton who is then killed by Isaac in self-defense. Santos later dies during another Necromorph attack.

"Rosetta" is revealed to be a cryogenically frozen alien who is native to Tau Volantis, whose population was another victim of the Necromorph infection. Isaac experiences a vision that reveals the Markers influence evolution and perpetuate the Necromorph life cycle. As a last resort before being overwhelmed, the aliens created a machine that sent the planet's moon−in reality a giant, intelligent Necromorph hivemind−into hibernation by freezing the entire planet; the message "Turn it off" came from the Markers so the moon can awaken and summon more of their species to consume all life in the universe. "Rosetta" was used by Tau Volantis' first research expedition to create the Codex, a DNA key that can control the machine. Danik captures Ellie and threatens to kill her, forcing Isaac and Carver to give him the Codex in exchange. Danik deactivates the machine, reviving the moon and triggering Convergence—the absorption of all organic matter on Tau Volantis to empower the moon. Danik dies in the resulting destruction. After sending Ellie away, Isaac and Carver reach the machine and reactivate it, which kills the moon and apparently them. With the Marker signal gone, a saddened Ellie returns to Earth.

In Awakened, the still-living Isaac and Carver try to escape Tau Volantis, facing more Necromorphs and suffering from severe hallucinations. Through one of these, Isaac learns the other moons were awoken and are searching for Earth. Isaac and Carver use a Circle shuttle to reach the Terra Nova to find a lightspeed drive and warn Earth, and they confront a cult of insane Circle survivors. The moons invade Isaac's mind and reveal to him they always knew Earth's location, and were stalling him and Carver. After killing the cultists, Isaac and Carver return to Earth on the ship but find it under attack by the moons. They crash into an approaching moon, leaving their fates unknown.

Executive producer Papoutsis stated the team wanted to make a game that was superior in quality to Dead Space 2.[30] The game was first developed for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, then ported to Windows, resulting in limited graphical options for Windows. According to Papoutsis, the team wanted the game experience to be similar across all platforms.[31] When asked whether a Wii U version was being considered, Papoutsis said the platform was wrong for the Dead Space series at that point.[32] For the Xbox 360 version, the team implemented Kinect functionality into the co-op mode. The team had worked with other motion-control-based systems in the series but had never worked with Kinect. They used only voice-based commands because they felt gestures would disrupt the established gameplay feel.[33] The game engine, which was carried over from earlier games in the series, had to be adjusted for larger environments.[1] Real-time depth-of-field adjustment and more-realistic reflections and light behavior were new technical additions.[34] The team tried preserve the diegetic UI design but had to break this rule and create a more-conventional, full-screen UI display for the crafting bench; an early version that showed Isaac working over the desk with displays around him was deemed unusable.[5]

Electronic Arts had repeatedly raised the possibility of including a multiplayer mode to broaden the series' appeal; it was dropped from the first game for design and budget reasons while Dead Space 2 includes it as a separate competitive mode.[24] Fans of the series had also requested the inclusion of a cooperative mode.[1] For Dead Space 3, the team agreed to include cooperative multiplayer from the outset and "do it properly". The original proposal was to have a hallucinatory "Shadow Isaac" who would appear to be like another character, playing into early story concepts surrounding Isaac's mental state, but Electronic Arts prompted the team to make a more traditional co-op mode without the horror elements.[24] Story producer Chuck Beaver said after the game's release, the switch from single-player to including co-op happened in the middle of the game's production.[35] The tuning and balance of gameplay and enemies needed to be adjusted to account for the co-op element; some sections were made co-op exclusive with unique story elements.[32][36] There were also adjustments to the enemy artificial intelligence (AI) and spawning rates are unique to the co-op mode.[25]

The new setting Tau Volantis allowed the team to experiment with obscuring visibility with sudden blizzards, combining it with the sound design to create a different type of tension than previous entries.[7] Woldman compared the design of levels to a roller coaster, with moments of high action and tension between periods of rest.[25] The game's environments were made more open rather than the enclosed settings of earlier games to prompt players to use different tactics when dealing with enemies.[1] The vertical environmental design also meant rappelling could be incorporated.[33] The Flotilla, a zero-gravity section, was designed with "some pretty wild setups" that had to be reduced in intensity or cut from the final version.[29] The Flotilla allowed the team to incorporate more traditional, closed environments like those in the first two Dead Space games.[37] From December 2011, the team focused on tuning controls and the weapon-upgrade system, increasing the speed of Isaac's movements from Dead Space 2 to match the new human enemies.[38] The in-game currency Credits was removed to focus players on the crafting system.[14] The team also wanted to minimize backtracking, which had been used and criticized in the original game and reduced in Dead Space 2. Where it did happen, the environment and gameplay design were changed to provide something new.[25]

When Wanat became director, he wanted to place more focus on story than had the earlier games. As the team suspected, it would be the final game in the series, and they decided to conclude the overall narrative.[22] Wanat said he "shoehorned in" a lot of story to close the series.[24] The cliffhanger ending of Awakened left the series open for a possible continuation.[29] The team had written a backstory for the Dead Space universe, and beginning with Dead Space 2 had started making a cohesive narrative involving these elements. Feedback from players wanting explanations for the Markers prompted a focus on their origins and the creation of the Necromorphs.[19] Speaking about the pacing, Wanat said he wanted to give players breathing space and to pace the horror elements.[39] Beaver was involved with the series from the beginning.[18] The story and script were a collaborative effort between Beaver, Wanat, and in-house writer Jay Turner.[40] Another writer on the project during 2011 was novellist Cherie Priest, who appreciated the experience but was uninterested in working again with Electronic Arts.[41]

The early narrative would have explored Isaac's mental state, focusing on the Shadow Isaac companion; hallucinations would play a part in gameplay and player interaction. The finale would be adjusted around Shadow Isaac, both in both single-player and co-op modes. Shadow Issac was scrapped because Electronic Arts wanted the team to avoid psychosis and dementia as central themes.[24] The shift to incorporating co-op required story rewrites and presented problems during story presentation; Carver vanished from scenes in which he did not appear with Isaac.[24][35] While the final narrative kept elements of psychological horror, the focus shifted to the characters surviving the environment of Tau Volantis.[7] The narrative, which reveals the Necromorphs' involvement in human evolution, references the work of Erich von Däniken.[42] The Necromorph Moon is a reference to the Great Old Ones created by H. P. Lovecraft, whose work had been an influence on the series since its inception.[43]

As with the rest of the series, Isaac is portrayed as a reluctant participant in events.[44] The character Carver emerged after Shadow Isaac was scrapped; the request was for a soldier-type character that was then common in mainstream gaming.[24] Carver was constructed "as his own man" with personal issues that make him vulnerable to the Markers.[18] His behavior and role were intended to contrast with Isaac's experience with the Markers. The co-op storylines allow players to get to know Carver as a character.[36] During early design concepts, Wanat wanted Carver to be "a monster inside and out"; Wanat sketched Carver with ugly facial scarring that was retained in a reduced form.[18] The hallucination elements relating to Carver's role in the co-op gameplay were retained in a limited form in the final game but time-and-budget constraints limited their incorporation.[24] The militant Unitologist faction emerged from the team's desire to include a human-enemy faction for Isaac to fight alongside the Necromorphs.[34]

The game's art director was Alex Muscat, who was senior environmental artist on Dead Space 2.[45] Previous lead series artist Ian Milham left the team after pre-production was completed.[22] Speaking about the art design, Muscat said there were several key elements retained for the game, including its science-fiction setting, feelings of fear and loneliness, and the presence of disturbing elements. Without changing much of the world design, Muscat added more color to environments and lowered the light contrast. There were also color changes to reinforce situations, giving more variety to environments.[45] Patrick O’Keefe created the concept art and designed Tau Volantis to make players exploring it seem insignificant and small.[46] Tau Volantis drew inspiration from John Carpenter's movie The Thing and other sources.[14] The environmental design for the human-made ruins on Tau Volantis was intended to appear less high-technology with devices and character outfits that are inspire by pre-digital machinery and safety equipment.[45][47] The team referenced vintage photographs of expeditions to Antarctica and contemporaneous scientific outposts in Alaska to give these environments a familiar feeling.[48] The ice formations were given a serrated appearance to look as though they might cut the player, making the environment threatening and referencing recurring visual motifs within the series.[49] The alien city was created as a homage to the spaceship in Alien, using circles as a recurring visual and design motif.[42]

Isaac's design was kept consistent with earlier designs in the series; his suit design and choice of weaponry had become iconic.[45] The character's suit was redesigned to fit in with the cold environment; a fur-collared version was chosen because the team liked it more than the other options.[50] The humanoid Necromorphs were redesigned to appear more horrifying; and some had specific inspirations—the Feeders were recycled from one of the original game's early concepts using re-animated mummies, and the Infectors are homages of the monsters of Alien and The Thing.[51] The team researched frozen mummies from lost polar expeditions to accurately design the enemies.[39] The alien Necromorph designs for Tau Volantis, which was originally an ocean planet and used a non-human species, drew inspiration from illustrations of aquatic life by Ernst Haeckel. Their design was allowed to be less realistic and potentially more horror-themed; it is also a homage to early concept designs for the original Dead Space.[52] The Moon incorporates features from squids and jellyfish.[43]

The Dead Space series is known and noted for its audio design. Calhoun wanted to expand upon the use of sound to create tension and scare players.[37] Sound elements were recorded in-house; the team used voice and audio samples to create disturbing sounds in the environment, for example, they shook dry teabags to create a dry, crunchy sound for one type of enemy. Many of the new Necromorph sounds were provided by the development team.[53] Gunner Wright provided voice and motion capture for Isaac, describing the part in Dead Space 3 as fun to perform.[54] Carver was voiced and motion-captured by Ricardo Antonio Chavira.[18] Sonita Henry voiced Ellie while new characters Robert Norton and Jacob Danik were played by Robert Gant and Simon Templeman, respectively.[55]

Jason Graves, composer for much of the Dead Space franchise, returned to work on Dead Space 3, creating the score with newcomer James Hannigan.[56][57] Mirroring the shift towards action in the gameplay, the music shifted to be more action-oriented, though Graves wanted to keep themes and motifs from earlier games.[56] Hannigan's pieces focused on narrative movement; consciously avoided Graves's established style.[57][58] The zero-gravity environments, while generally realistic, use small musical cues to emphasize action elements.[59] Graves and Hannigan mostly worked on different areas of the music, and focused on specific chapters, but both of their compositions feature in some sections of the game.[57][58]

On review aggregate website Metacritic, the Windows and Xbox 360 versions scored 78 points out of 100 based on 68 and 16 reviews respectively, while the PS3 version scored 76 based on 37 reviews.[81][82][83] During the 2013 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards, Dead Space 3 was nominated in the categories "Animation, Interactive"; "Direction in a Game Cinema"; "Sound Effects"; and "Use of Sound, Franchise".[94] Upon its release, Dead Space 3 received generally positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised its gameplay, crafting system, and graphics. A common criticism was the move from survival-horror toward action, which many felt weakened the experience.[95] Fan reaction was also mixed on the change to an action-heavy experience, both before and after release.[22][39][80]

Tim Turi of Game Informer and Arthur Gies of Polygon were positive about the game, saying the incorporation of action benefited the series without diluting its horror and aesthetic, and praising the co-op mode as an unobtrusive addition.[8][87] Shaun McInnis of GameSpot, while calling its story convoluted, praised its atmospheric presentation and gameplay additions.[2] Nathan Ditum of PC Gamer praised the game's tone and co-op elements, though he noted pacing issues due to its size and the disjointed nature of its chapters; he also said the game is a natural evolution of the series and still carries key elements of the Dead Space series.[92] Joystiq's Ludwig Kietzmann called Dead Space 3 "an exciting, shocking and mammoth adventure", praising its integration of action elements and co-op mode, and lauded its space sections as some of the best parts of the game.[89] Computer and Video Games's Matthew Pellett praised the mechanics, highlighting some early co-op sections and enemy designs for their use of horror but said several elements, including changes to ammunition and a lack of variety, were detrimental, and that the game "[wasn't] Dead Space anymore".[10]

Edge Magazine lauded Dead Space 3's immersion and outer-space section but said the campaign is too long and the storyline of saving humanity lets down the narrative.[85] Electronic Gaming Monthly's Ray Carsillo praised the presentation and storyline but said the mechanics are generic and noted a lack of horror compared with earlier games in the series. Carsillo also said the microtransactions are an unwelcome addition to the game.[9] IGN's Casey Lynch spoke negatively about the game's story and mission structure but said the gameplay in both single-player and co-op is enjoyable enough to allow players to overlook any problems.[88] Dan Whitehead writing for Eurogamer summed up the game as having many contradictory parts ranging from polished and well-designed to clumsy or unoriginal, calling it a game for newcomers rather than series fans.[86]

Ryan Stevens of GameTrailers enjoyed the co-op gameplay and noted the outer-space sections as a highlight but disliked the story and characters, and criticized the microtransactions.[3] Joel Gregory of PlayStation Official Magazine UK, while enjoying the gameplay, noted a loss of elements that make earlier Dead Space games stand out, and that the recycling of elements caused a loss of scariness.[90] Edwin Evans-Thirlwell writing for Official Xbox Magazine UK praised the crafting and co-op integration, but wrote negatively about the story and repetitive gameplay elements.[91] VideoGamer.com was less enthusiastic than other reviewers, faulting a lack of originality and faulting the quality of both action and horror elements.[93]

Critics gave Awakened a mixed reception.[96][97] Lynch called it the best part of Dead Space 3 due to its focus on Isaac's mental state; he, however, criticized its status as DLC rather than being part of the main game.[98] Carsillo praised the DLC's psychological elements but faulted its plot and lack of new environments.[99] Evans-Thirlwell enjoyed it as an extension of the game experience but criticized its recycling of game assets.[100] McInnis enjoyed the new cult enemies but generally faulted it for a lack of new elements in environments and combat.[101] Richard Mitchell writing for Joystiq enjoyed the expansions to the lore but noted the DLC's lack of new gameplay elements made it a hard sell.[102] Whitehead summed up the DLC as "short and insulting", saying its only redeeming element is the sound gameplay carried over from the main game, and calling it otherwise unenjoyable given its price.[103] Plot holes surrounding the protagonists' fates and the DLC's short length were generally criticized.[98][99][101][103]

In the United States, Dead Space 3 was the top-selling game in February 2013, according to the NPD Group.[104] It sold 605,000 copies in North America during its debut month.[105] In the first week of sales in the United Kingdom, Dead Space 3 peaked at number one on sales charts but sales were more than 20% less than those of Dead Space 2.[106] Both Dead Space 3 and Crysis 3, which were released in the same month, failed to meet Electronic Arts' sales expectations though no sales figures for either game were released.[107]

• Dead Space 3 North American instruction booklet. Electronic Arts. February 5, 2013.
• "In A Blizzard, No-One Can Hear You Scream". Play. No. 224. Imagine Publishing. December 2012.
• Robinson, Martin (February 5, 2013). Art of Dead Space. Titan Books.