Dead Space 3 is ‘a necessary evil,’ says series writer

Dead Space 1 writer discusses survival horror and Dead Space

New York Times bestselling author and Dead Space 1 writer Antony Johnston calls Dead Space 3‘s focus on action “a necessary evil in order to broaden the fan base,” in an interview with Now Gamer.

This isn’t the first time Johnston shared his disagreements over the change of direction. In July, he told StickTwiddlers: “I think it’s a shame they have to make these changes in order to sell more copies. But that’s the reality of making mega-budget games these days, and I have a lot of love and respect for the [Dead Space] team at Visceral.”

After Dead Space 1, Johnston left to work on Binary Domain and ZombiU. In the interview, he comes across as a very level-headed guy that is understanding of the series’ new direction, even if he doesn’t agree with it.

“I’m personally a big fan of old-school survival horror,” Johnston said, “and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to work on Dead Space. So, the greater emphasis on big action in the sequels means they’re not really for me.”

If something seems missing from the Dead Space series, part of it might be Johnston, a talented writer that gets the genre.

“Developers and publishers need to come to terms with [survival horror] never being a mass thing, like books and films, it’s a niche. But there’s still profit to be had, and they should set expectations accordingly.”

Dead Space 3’s Action Focus A ‘Necessary Evil’ [Now Gamer, and StickTwiddlers]