The creative directors of the original Dead Space and the new edition discuss how to make a faithful remake in a podcast.

The creative director of the new Dead Space remake explains how EA Motive set out to make a good remake. Remakes are pretty common in the new generation of consoles. Because now developers have the tools to make the game the way they want it, without the limitations of previous generations.

The original Dead Space was a huge success when it was released in 2008, adding another fantastic survival horror game to a list dominated by giants such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil, the latter of which inspired Dead Space through Resident Evil 4.

In this bonus episode of the Rise Above gaming podcast, we speak with original Dead Space creative director Bret Robbins and Dead Space Remake creative director Roman Campos. They talk about how they recreated the same experience that people loved. One of the most prominent topics discussed was the remake’s zero-gravity gameplay, which Campos said is: “In the pillar of being true to the original. The way we were defining it inside the team: it’s not to necessarily recreate the original as it was, but recreate it as you think you remember it,” which can be applied to remake development in general.

That said, the podcast has countless good moments in Robbins and Campos’ conversations. These conversations include, among other things, Isaac Clarke’s ability to speak in Remake. Also, the infamous tower sequence from Chapter 4 of the original game

Near the end of the podcast, Robbins praises Campos and the EA Motive team, saying, “I knew I’d be a fan, but I was nervous. I think the changes have made it better. You guys really did a great job.”

A lot of decisions are made during game design. For remakes, one of the most significant decisions is what to change. It’s never easy to change a game that many people love. After all, people might not like it in the end. Fortunately, the DS remake topped the sales charts. The changes made to the original have resulted in a beautiful game that not only lives up to the experience of the original but has also corrected many of its flaws, as confirmed by the creative director of the original game himself.

Source: Rise Above