Don’t be Pissed Off with Dead Space 3 Co-Op, New Features

EA wasn’t shy about bringing their guns to the fight this past E3, and they also weren’t shy about taking risks. While Medal of Honor: Warfighter and Need for Speed Most Wanter were among their big names, EA also brought Dead Space 3 along. It would’ve been dumb if they hadn’t.

However, not a lot of fans were enthused about the change in venue and the added co-op element. How the hell are you supposed to be scared with a friend right next to you? Well, says EA’s Labels boss Frank Gibeau, he wanted to “open up the accessibility of the IP a little bit” with such a move.

In an interview with CVG, Gibeau noted that producer Steve Papoutsis had an idea for Dead Space 3. People like to get scared, but when they go to see scary movies, they tend to bring others along. It’s just not as fun if you get the piss scared out of you by yourself, right?

“What we’ve tried to do with each installment is tell a different story about Isaac but at the same time bring in new features and ways to turn the game into a more connected experience,” explained Gibeau. “…Papoutsis had [this insight] that when you go to see a horror movie it’s always more fun to go with somebody else. It’s more fun to be scared together than by yourself. So we embraced that idea and we tried to open up the accessibility of the IP a little bit by adding a little bit more action, but not undermining the horror. We can’t not be a horror game because that’s what Dead Space is.”

Skeptics will always be skeptics until we finally get the game into our little paws though. However, Gibeau believes that as the months go by, little peeks of the game’s development will hopefully curb what negative things people have had to say about the notion of co-op not being scary.

“We’re going to be releasing more assets over the coming months that show you how deep the horror is,” said Gibeau. “It’s definitely not getting away from gore or horror, but at the same time it’s opening up to a larger audience by adding some elements.

“…with the addition of co-op and taking it to a planet and mostly away from space…we’re pushing it in areas such as environment, co-op and at the same time we definitely do not want to piss off our fans by taking it too far from horror. We’re very self aware of that – we listen to the fans and we hear them.”

To read what else Gibeau had to say about Crysis 3, EA Partners, and the next-gen console battles, head over to CVG for the full interview.