When the original Dead Space launched in 2008, it ushered in a new age of video game horror. Gamers were introduced to the now iconic and initially silent protagonist, Isaac Clarke, a space engineer stuck in a nightmare that makes The Thing look like a preschool date. This installment was followed by two sequels that ratcheted up the horror and gore, as well as gave Clarke a full voice.
Revisiting Isaac “I’m so blessed to have a character like Isaac Clarke, who I feel I’m a lot like,” Wright tells Digital Trends with a chuckle. “We’re very similar in design and DNA. So it was a pleasure to go back and revisit that character.” Such a change wasn’t a simple task, but a complicated creative process for EA. As we chatted, I found that giving Isaac a voice wasn’t as cut-and-dried as writing a script, getting Wright in a studio, and recording. There were a lot of careful considerations and self-monitoring on the part of everyone involved. Wright would basically go back in time to complete the puzzle of Isaac’s growth seen in Dead Space 2 and 3. That meant adopting a new mindset to fit the setting, time, and tone.
Game narratives have changed a lot since 2008, as has the reception to them. MacMillan notes that he, Wright, and the rest of the team at Motive Studio wanted to find a careful middle ground that paid respect to that original, voiceless Isaac while implementing an all-new immersion and experience by using his voice as a tool.