I’ve seen quite a few people today tutting over the idea that Dead Space 3 will have co-op. Specifically, that the co-op was introduced because people found the game too scary.
Reported by MCV:
EA Games’ marketing boss Laura Miele says that the change of tone is a reaction to product research.
“We were doing research coming out of Dead Space 1 and 2 and we’re really proud of those products. We received feedback to understand how we can take the game out to even more consumers,” she stated.
“We were hearing feedback that they love the thriller game, but it was pretty scary, and the obvious next step was that they wanted to play with someone. So we introduced co-op into the game.
“The horror of Dead Space is still all there. It’s still true to its roots and no less scary, but people felt far more comfortable playing it with someone else than they did doing it on their own.
– Ben Parfitt, EA research said Dead Space 1&2 were too scary
I don’t see the problem at all. Nobody’s forced into playing co-op and, according to Miele the game is just as scary as its predecessors.
Plenty of people would rather watch a horror film with a friend to clutch at during the scary parts. It’s practically a staple of teenage courting. Why not translate this sense of companionship to games?
I haven’t played Dead Space or Dead Space 2. I’m probably never going to play either of them by myself, even though I really want to. Games with horror monsters scare me. It’s just a fact. Less so than they used to but monsters are still far more likely to give me that heart-thumping shock than, say, a giant robot.
Sharing the experience with someone else doesn’t stop it being scary. It’s the difference between blind terror that renders you unable to function, and tolerable fear that heightens the experience.
Some people have different thresholds. Let’s not get snobby about it.
Dead Space 3 will be out on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in February 2013.
Reported by MCV:
I don’t see the problem at all. Nobody’s forced into playing co-op and, according to Miele the game is just as scary as its predecessors.
Plenty of people would rather watch a horror film with a friend to clutch at during the scary parts. It’s practically a staple of teenage courting. Why not translate this sense of companionship to games?
I haven’t played Dead Space or Dead Space 2. I’m probably never going to play either of them by myself, even though I really want to. Games with horror monsters scare me. It’s just a fact. Less so than they used to but monsters are still far more likely to give me that heart-thumping shock than, say, a giant robot.
Sharing the experience with someone else doesn’t stop it being scary. It’s the difference between blind terror that renders you unable to function, and tolerable fear that heightens the experience.
Some people have different thresholds. Let’s not get snobby about it.
Dead Space 3 will be out on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in February 2013.
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