With a lot of game releases tending to appeal the "casual gamer", it's getting harder to find games that have quality within them. Yes, there are a number of good games, but to me, the best of the best allows you to delve into the game and become a part of the world.
On that note, welcome aboard the Ishimura, be sure to have your boarding ticket handy upon entry and make sure your plasma cutter fully reloaded for some limb cutting action, because Dead Space takes you into the shoes of Issac Clarke: Literally.
The Unknown
At the beginning of the game you and your team are sent to the Ishimura (a massive mining ship) after receiving a distress signal. Not knowing what exactly the reason is, you and your team enter the ship blindly, only to discover majority of the ship dead and overrun by some alien lifeforms.
What happened? Why are all the crew members and civilians aboard the Ishimura dead? What the FUCK are those creepy ass aliens roaming around?!
The lack of explanation and, as the sub-heading implies, the unknown of a situation can be one of the easiest ways to immerse a gamer into the story. As you roam the gigantic mining ship looking for answers you can't help but feel like you really are a part the whole situation, struggling to discover the truth and ultimately
survive the necromorph attack.
No HUD? No problem!
People can argue that Dead Space is a Resident Evil for wannabe (gameplay wise) or stole it's version of story telling from Bioshock, but what gave Dead Space the full immersive feeling was the fact that the game lacked a HUD.
You don't have to worry about that big ass life bar hiding that monster running at you full speed. Instead, all of the annoying out-of-game life bars, ammo supply, etc. are hiding in plain sight.
Isaacs health bar and stasis energy (a special ability Isaac obtains) are located on his back, and ammo is displayed above the weapon when Isaac aims. This makes the HUD easy still easy to see for the gamer, and it also gets rid of the nuisance that the out-of-game HUD that takes you out of the "i'm a part of this world" feeling.
This allows you to get the full effect dark and gruesome setting of the Ishimura and its deadly inhabitants.
and lastly...
Dead Space's 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' theme song
Don't lie...when all you here is the rumbling of the elevator as you travel deeper into the Ishimura and you faintly hear that damn woman singing that song, you get goosebumps.
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The fast necromorphs made my balls fluctuate.
The big tall guys who split apart always freaked me out.
I think a lot of developers can learn from Dead Space's lack of a HUD. It would be a serious struggle to implement it in certain types of games where the HUD plays a more major role, but I think it's possible, and the benefits to the sense of immersion are huge.
Psh, forget the damn Twinkle, Twinkle song...what about when you're riding in an elevator and she lets out a bloodcurdling shriek out of nowhere?!!? O_O
hmmm i don't recall her shrieking...but i bet i'd piss my pants if i heard her do so.
I don't really think Dead Space stole it's story telling from Bioshock. After all then that means that Bioshock stole its story telling from the first half of A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Just to consider the fact that there haven't been any original plots since Shakespeare.
@Maxbraff
I think i was going for more on the lines of how there weren't cutscenes in both Bioshock and Dead Space.
All the story telling was in-game, Bioshock through voice recordings and Dead Space through audio, video, and text logs.
Should've pointed that out, my bad! :)
Then they stole their story from old point and click adventure games. I don't actually really care, but I'd like for you to understand so you don't make a writing mistake like that. The point is, is that you made that accusation and people will have a hay day with what you wrote sometimes. So how you can change that is by talking about how interesting the story telling was or stating that it shared story telling similarities like Bioshock. Explain how its story was told through audio, video, and text logs. To root its story telling you could say that it digs back to the days of old point and click adventure games. Once again, not to lecture you but just to let you know. What they look for on the front page is a quick evaluation of the game that the world is from. Don't be afraid to explain yourself. You'll succeed as long as you have more to say about your main point. I really liked your article and I hope you can take some constructive criticism from this.
@ Maxbraff
definitely didn't take it as a lecture whatsoever. As they say, the devils in the details.
thanks for the tip, any criticism is welcome, at least thats the way i see it.
Good pick for the monthly musing.. =P
If I could change one thing in
dead Space, it would be spending more time in the larger communal areas. Both animated comic and movie showed plenty of action going on in large populated areas where people lived out their day to day life. Those kind of environments would have been far creepier than the miles of non-descript maintenance corridors you trawl down.
I think the most unsettling area I passed through was that section where the girl is singing and there's a bunch of people strewn around with bandaged up heads.
@Timmeh
True dat, all of dat.
Nice pick for this months musing topic. In the past year, few games have pulled me into the game world as thoroughly as Dead Space.