Staring Into The Void: The Lore of Dead Space

by Ben Reeves on December 08, 2009 at 03:51 PM

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The Dead Space franchise is only a year old, but the universe has already amassed a sizable backstory encompassing ancient alien artifacts, covert government experiments, and underground religious operations. With two games, a comic spin-off, and an animated prequel, several sources feed into and expand the lore of Dead Space. Dead Space 2 incorporates all of this material and moves it forward. “Everything that happens in Dead Space 1 is relevant to what happens in Dead Space 2,” Visceral Game’s senior production designer Ben Wanat told us. With that in mind, we combed through the game logs and grilled the franchise's creative team to unearth a few clues that hint to where the franchise is headed next.

The Basics
The core premise of Dead Space is simple. In the 26th century, humanity has exhausted most of the Earth’s natural resources, bringing its population precariously close to extinction. In order to feed the beasts of commerce and industry, humanity turns to the stars, searching for new raw materials on other planets. Giant vessels called “planetcrackers” travel the galaxy, mining the universe’s nearly inexhaustible resources.

The USG Ishimura was the first planetcracker, and it performed its function admirably for over 60 years. Then, during a routine missions to the planet Aegis VII, the Ishimura uncovered the Red Marker – a giant curved obelisk covered in alien script. As the Dead Space comics revealed, strange organic matter found near the Marker was brought aboard the ship. Once the crew was exposed to this unusual substance, a zombie-like outbreak ensued. Nearly the entire ship’s complement of 1,300 crew members were either killed or transformed into monstrous creatures called Necromorphs.

The original Dead Space chronicles protagonist Isaac Clarke’s attempt to answer the Ishimura’s distress call, as well as his own confrontation with the Necromorphs and the Marker. But the larger story is far more detailed than the game lets on. To gain clues about where the series is headed, it’s important to focus more closely on some of the bigger factions within the Dead Space universe.

Comments

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by OmegaSpartan08 Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:09 PM

i really need to play part one...
by megadeth4444 Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:14 PM

Great article! This revealed more to me about Dead Space and I didn't think the story was this deep at all.
by starkiller212 Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:23 PM

awesome summary of the Dead Space universe, can't wait for the sequel
by hale_is_back Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:36 PM

i never got around to playing the first one,i didn't know it had this much story,i thought it was just about alien mutations on a ship.i need to try it.
by Mandrogynous Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:45 PM

Great article. I watched the comics, the animated movie, played the first game, and played the Wii game, and I still didn't have everything put together. Again, great job and props to Ben Reeves and whoever helped him with this article.
by I Ran Over The Easter Bunny Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:49 PM

hmm tbh my science teacher talked about NASA one day doing this. Not the zombie part but getting minerals from asteriods and stuff...ironic.

And like i said too annother blog, i need to rent the first one
by BatmanPrime Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:50 PM

I need to play this game now. I love deep, complex story lines (which is why I love MGS), and this looks to be just that. The gameplay and scares don't hurt either.
by shadow Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:51 PM

I'm so happy that the sequel is underway. You can argue that Dead Space is somewhat derivative, but it still feels so fresh and original. I'll accept Dead Space as my savior if it means even better writing and depth.

Isaac is going to be an icon.
by Enigmatic Ally Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:55 PM

There's nothing like good 'ol Dead Space lore. ;P
by HPMainEvent Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:56 PM

same here so I can understand what I am reading better.
by Master Asazi Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 04:58 PM

Excellent story. I haven't played Extraction or seen any of the other video or printed material but it helps to know some of the points. This is definitly making me excited for Dead Space 2.
by Baron Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 05:01 PM

I encourage everyone to watch the Dead Space Motion comic and Dead Space: Downfall before playing Dead Space.
by goatr Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 05:04 PM

i love this stuff. can't wait for the sequel.
Mod

by Treestump Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 05:31 PM

It was nice to read all this in one place instead of piecing it all together from the games, comic, and movie. Although, figuring it out for myself was a lot of fun, which I did, it was still a great article.

Although, if you HAVEN'T played any of the games, read the comic, or saw the movie, DON'T READ THIS. Especially if you want to experience any of those. There's spoilers that give away key moments all over the place and it'll just take away all the fun.

Seriously, GI, a spoiler warning would be nice.
by jOiSeYzDEVIL Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 05:40 PM

i hope this game doesnt fail as bad as resident evil 5 did!
by Bill Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 05:56 PM

I never played the first one, is it really as scary as everyone says it is?
by aaron Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 06:03 PM

dead space is really sweet, i can't wait for he next one!
by shadow Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 06:25 PM

@Bigspikey

It really depends on your experience with horror games. If you weren't initiated by Resident Evil, Silent Hill or other similar series, than your experience with Dead Space might be quite frightening. I found it to be more thrilling than scary. The suspense will keep you on edge, and at times this leaves you vulnerable to a 'closet-scare' such as an enemy darting out at you from nowhere. Some of the frights are hinted at, which can be unnerving at times. All in all it's a solid action-horror game with a great story.
by Ninja Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 06:50 PM

i still need to play the 1st one
by Brandon Whiting Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 06:56 PM

Holy crap. That's gotta be the best plot i've ever read in a long time. Need to play the first Dead Space really bad now!

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Staring Into The Void: The Lore of Dead Space