The document presents insights from Ian Milham, the art director of Dead Space, focusing on the creation of the horror and science fiction game, including elements like color, lighting, and environment design. It emphasizes the importance of accessibility, believability, and immersion in horror games, while outlining challenges faced during development and key strategies employed to enhance player experience. Lessons learned from Dead Space highlight the balance between horror elements and game mechanics to maximize player engagement and maintain suspense.

1. Creating Horror and Immersion
with the Art of Dead Space
(which could be canceled any
minute)
Ian Milham
Dead Space Art Director

3. Lullabye Trailer

4. Outline
• Where we started
• Horror vs. Sci-Fi
• What We Did
– Color and Lighting
– User Interface
– Environment Design
– Player Character
– Weapon Design
– Enemies
• What Went Right / What Went Wrong
• Work-in-Progress Examples
• Q&A

5. DEAD SPACE GOALS (JAN ‘06)
• Create new survival horror franchise (not a lot of competition
compared to market, EA had none)
• 85 Metacritic
• Don’t get cancelled and screw up new I.P. green lights for
others

6. LET’S NOT GET FANCY
Risk tolerance already maxed out before starting:
• New IP vs. Simpsons, Lord of the Rings, Godfather
• Small Team
• Almost No engine when we started
• Stylization works against horror

7. HORROR VS. SCI-FI ACTION
HORROR
(Little Competition)
Slow Movement,
Exploration
Less Combat, More Lethal
Environmental Storytelling
More Mystery
Fragile Everyman Player
SCI-FI ACTION
(Tons of Competition)
Fast Movement
Frequent Combat, Less
Lethal
Action Storytelling
More Explicit
Superheroic Ass Kicker
ALWAYS EMPHASIZE HORROR!

8. keys to horror art direction
Accessible, Believable, and Relatable
• Games already a step behind film “reality”
• Not too many logic leaps required
• Easy to relate to
• Keep magic tech to a minimum (No Lasers or force fields)
Immersive
• Once we’ve got them, don’t let go
• Don’t remind them it’s just a game
Must Move Away from Sci-Fi Action!

9. RIGHT, SOUNDS EASY ENOUGH
“ACCESSIBLE, BELIEVABLE, RELATABLE, and IMMERSIVE”
• Color and Lighting
• User Interface
• Environment Design
• Player Character
• Weapon Design
• Enemies

10. RIGHT, SOUNDS EASY ENOUGH
“ACCESSIBLE, BELIEVABLE, RELATABLE, and IMMERSIVE”
• COLOR AND LIGHTING
• User Interface
• Environment Design
• Player Character
• Weapon Design
• Enemies

11. COLOR AND LIGHTING

12. DAVID FINCHER

13. Ambient Texture Only

14. + Ambient Occlusion

15. + Lights

16. + Shadows

17. + VFX Light Source Textures

18. + VFX / Bloom/ FSAA

19. + Color Look-Up

23. Using color to show progress and build emotion

24. Using color to show progress and build emotion

25. Using color to show progress and build emotion

26. Using color to show progress and build emotion

27. RIGHT, SOUNDS EASY ENOUGH
“ACCESSIBLE, BELIEVABLE, RELATABLE, and IMMERSIVE”
• Color and Lighting
• USER INTERFACE
• Environment Design
• Player Character
• Weapon Design
• Enemies

28. WHY WE HAVE NO HUD

29. Typical game HUD elements were found to work against horror. It
killed our believability and immersion.
WHY WE HAVE NO HUD
Scary! Not Scary!

30. No World Interface

31. First Round

32. Added Door Halos

33. Added Directional Signs

38. WIN!

40. RIGHT, SOUNDS EASY ENOUGH
“ACCESSIBLE, BELIEVABLE, RELATABLE, and IMMERSIVE”
• Color and Lighting
• User Interface
• ENVIRONMENT DESIGN
• Player Character
• Weapon Design
• Enemies

54. NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKS
Industrial Public Clean

55. INDUSTRIAL

56. PUBLIC

57. CLEAN

61. RIGHT, SOUNDS EASY ENOUGH
“ACCESSIBLE, BELIEVABLE, RELATABLE, and IMMERSIVE”
• Color and Lighting
• User Interface
• Environment Design
• PLAYER CHARACTER
• Weapon Design
• Enemies

66. RIGHT, SOUNDS EASY ENOUGH
“ACCESSIBLE, BELIEVABLE, RELATABLE, and IMMERSIVE”
• Color and Lighting
• User Interface
• Environment Design
• Player Character
• WEAPON DESIGN
• Enemies

70. RIGHT, SOUNDS EASY ENOUGH
“ACCESSIBLE, BELIEVABLE, RELATABLE, and IMMERSIVE”
• Color and Lighting
• User Interface
• Environment Design
• Player Character
• Weapon Design
• ENEMIES

76. Outline
• Where we started
• Horror vs. Sci-Fi
• What We Did
– Color and Lighting
– User Interface
– Environment Design
– Player Character
– Weapon Design
– Enemies
• WHAT WENT RIGHT/WHAT WENT WRONG
• Work-in-Progress Examples / Q&A

77. RIGHT: PUSHED INTERNAL PR HARD

78. RIGHT: 3D CONCEPT ART

79. RIGHT: 3D CONCEPT ART

80. RIGHT: DID LESS, POLISHED MORE
• Polish and Presentation highest scoring aspects of DS
• Controlled what problems we tackled
• We cut off rendering features early.
– Relatively modest rendering (no HDR, basic shading)
– Artists had final tools early, learned them well
• We cut off content early
– Engineering Alpha 4/18
– Content Alpha 5/31
– Content Lock 7/31 (No A or B bugs)
– Audio Lock After Everyone else (huge win)
– Ship 10/14
• Tons of Focus Grouping, time to properly respond

81. WORK IN PROGRESS EXAMPLES / Q&A
• Dismemberment Prototype (Spring 2006)
• Xbox Whitebox Capture (Summer 2006)
• Pregnant Necromorph Pre-Viz (Winter 2007)
• Lurker Necromorph Pre-Viz (Winter 2007)
• Leaper Necromorph Pre-Viz (Winter 2007)
• Infector Necromorph Pre-Viz (Winter 2007)
• Grabber Necromorph Pre-Viz (Winter 2007)
• Greenlight Demo Capture (Spring 2007)
Thanks!