Whatever they do they need to keep the "Fuck you, and fuck your marker"

I love that Nicole in Dead Space 2 was just the marker trying to win you over the whole game. Even if the "twist" wasn't always planned I thought it was a great bookend to "Nicole's" involvement in the series.

As long as Isaac shows up in Ishimura 2 says "somebody call for an engineer" and starts planet cracking the moons at some point, you can do anything else you want

And keep the flotilla part. Getting stuck in a Bermuda triangle ship graveyard full of monsters was great. Getting to explore a VERY large zero G environments with Tau Volantis looming in the background was nice. And all the while knowing that whenever you enter a ship there is something waiting for you.

I'm mostly with you guys but I do detest the "chosen one special DNA magic" idea What's great about Isaac is that he was a nobody/anybody who's kinda clever, as an engineer, but he has to deal with the cosmic horror of the necromorphs.

Homeworld: Cataclysm had an interesting approach with a 'necromorph'-esque plot that involved a vaccine, a final showdown, and an implied epilogue extermination of the remaining threat which was cool. I think if you wanted to create a 'continuous world', you'd basically need to take the aftermath of the first game and draaaaaag it out. - Civil war between the fundamentalists and the earth government - An arms race between humanity and the remaining brethren moons (they evolve while humanity invents) - The occaisional human faction that has a brethren moon on life support, trying to 'integrate' with it - A resurgence of a hostile race that was originally hunted by the moons - A possible 'apex predator' that actually treats the necromorphs like prey - Humanity stumbles across something that suggests the brethren moons werent the only reason for the fermi paradox - Humanity salvages an inter-galactic ftl drive and accidentally finds a galaxy with an entirely new level of 'neco-singularlity'

The idea of the Marker literally manifesting a dark copy of Isaac would be incredibly interesting. Think about it - if this super organism is capable of molding tissue into anything, why not have it literally mirror Isaac? A simulacrum of Isaac, a product of the Marker, that is self-replicating.

I think carver could still be a in dead space 3 as like a B side story, similar to Leon and Claire stories in resident evil 2 remake, he has a pretty compelling story that could be told and nicely bookended in one game if they wanted that would flesh out tou volantes more too

Thank you both for this fascinating discussion! Makes me want to revisit Dead Space 2 instantly 😁

I liked the concept of Unitologist extremists in Dead Space 3, sooner or later the universe is bound to have people of the likes of 'em. If only such concept was executed more thoughtfully.

Keeping the lore of dead space 3 but fundamentally changing the game to fit the series sounds like the best way to do the story justice to me. I also really like the idea of an Alien: Isolation style or Resident Evil VII style spin off. There are a lot of really cool stories that could be told in a format similar to that. Anyway, awesome video! A lot of really great topics were brought up

In terms of expanding the Dead space IP into different genres, the multiplayer aspect from 2 being tied to the sprawls security team fighting off the outbreak is what hooked me in. If they want to introduce more styles of games for the IP it's better to have lore written around such scenarios & gauging it from the fans to further pursue i.e. a hit squad sent to do impossible tasks in quarantine zones, A hardcore survival horror take or a [redacted survivors] RE:Outbreak take on locations from the main story & expanded lore.

I dunno if EA/Motive would be able to contract Chuck to consult on any future Dead Space projects, but at the very least there does seem to be HUGE mutual respect here and it's nice that these discussions are public so that even if Motive is unable to directly go to Chuck for EA political reasons, they do at least have these publicly disclosed ideas to refer to.

I just want to say, these discussions about how a story works and the ins and outs of writing has been very valuable and informative to me. Thanks captainbribo :)

I feel like if DS2 did get a remake, making the Tormentor more relentless, and even the final boss, would be good from a spectacle standpoint

A good proposal for the "Shadow Issac" relationship is to incorporate some of the Johnny Silverhand and V relationship from Cyberpunk.

I do like Wanat’s idea of 4 with you playing as Ellie and going from planet to planet searching for survivors maybe mix the ideas with Dark Isaac and have you switch between the perspectives with you playing as the villain and the hero

I don't think Dead Space should add any more stories after the theoretical 4. By this point in the story we have already covered the Markers/Necromorphs in such great detail that I don't think there would be anything new to do with them after this point. Sure you could have Ellie go fight them on another planet, but it wouldn't be that scary because we have seen so many types of Necromorphs and how to defeat them. Not to mention, going back to fighting regular Necromorphs after killing the Lovecraftian Horror Brethern Moons would seem like a real step down. The only way I could see something like this working would be if it was revealed that the reason the Brethern Moons migrated as far as Earth was that they were running from something worse in unknown space.

I think the easiest way to fix the confusion about Nicole's Ghost would be to keep it as is but make her dialogue show she is not trying to hurt Isaac but wants him to destroy the entity even though he knows it will make her disappear.. It would keep essentially everything the same but dramatically change the tone from "She was a fake from the marker" to "I had to 'kill' her memory to save myself and everyone" - I think DS3 with a Dark Isaac would be absolutely amazing. - I wouldn't mind a "Gears of War" Dead Space if that was the goal and identity from the start. I think DS3 identity was expected to be DS1/2 so it ended up being a surprise to most.. But Playing as Ellie and Carver in Dead Space GoW would be pretty awesome and actually make the coop something special.. Especially if you could get to a point where you find other Lifeforms even if they were Necromorphed already

Talking about traversing genres... Dead Space: Extraction is a worthy entry albeit it's in a now extinct genre of rail shooters. Makes me think that I could absolutely play Dead Space as a horror FPS (F.E.A.R comes to mind) or even a Mass Effect look-alike with all that choose your destiny/save the galaxy crap, but darker...

Dead space 4 needs to be extremely bizarre dark from the start going into playing it

I've been so hyped for this, this whole game series has been a colossal inspiration to me and a huge motivator on my journey through game design and hopefully into the industry after I graduate 🤞. These discussions just let me geek out about this crazy cool sci-fi world on what has happed, what could of been, and what can possibly be with whatever EA and motive does with this series' revival (I would LOVE to see their own games on other characters in this world as well! Dead space on the Wii and Severed DLC on Dead space 2 gave me a taste and I want MOREEE) Thank you two so much for this whole series its been an instrumental inspiration and motivator for me! Hope to one day have a talk like this about my own worlds with someone one day :)

Haven't watched the full video yet, but I remember being very intrigued by Ben Wanat's pitch of a post-apocalyptic space scavenging Ellie story and wanted to share my own take on the role Isaac could have played: He would have been Ellie's 'Nicole'. After being captured and absorbed by the Moons, Isaac has become the herald of the Necromorphs and would have sent ghostly psionic visions to haunt Ellie. It would be quite ironic for Isaac to become the new Altman - forced into the role of martyred leader for a cult he truly despises, enslaved by the Necromorphs through manipulating Ellie into seeking him out. I could see the climax of Dead Space 4 being set on an Earth converted into one giant Necromorph hub, with Ellie plummeting deep beneath the abyss where the Black Marker was located and eventually locating the 'heart' of the Brethren Planet where Isaac, now converted into the central host of the hivemind, pleads Ellie to kill him. The end of the Necromorph apocalypse could require players to kill Isaac. As for Wanat's ideas about the threat beyond the Necromorphs that would've been revealed in DS4, somehow tied to the Necros' origin story and 'humanity's purpose in this dark universe', I could imagine a revelation that the Necros' rivals were bio-engineers (think of the Engineers from Prometheus or the Precursors from Halo) that seeded countless planets with life that was intended to serve a military purpose. Defeating the Necromorphs might lead these Engineers to see humans as worthy of forced 'ascension'. Alternatively, the Necromorphs might have been reacting to a dark energy incursion, choosing to attempt to consolidate as much energy and consciousness as possible so that they could wait out the inevitable entropy the longest; in videogame terms, this could appear in the form of 'dark energy' creatures, or maybe robots created by them as the non-organic counterpart to the Necromorphs.

I really wanted Tau Volantis to be the marker home world. When those trailers are completely wrong it takes away from the experience.

A detail I wanted to pick at a little bit. Early on, he mentions that his version of 4 and his counterparts would be very different. Especially that tidbit about it not being about Issac, but Elle instead. I think that even considering making an entry into a series, that's supposed to be about a specific person's spiritual journey, that would have nothing to do with the person in question, shows a great disrespect for the project.

man if they dont drop a teaser trailer for dead space 2 remake soon, i might make my brain whole with the ceiling

One way for the franchise to continue after Isaac is to take the Silent Hill 2 approach. Take a new character, emphasize on the psychological side, and a good/compelling story arc.

Please Show the untold story of DS4! 🥺

lmao man, some of the shit they talked about is pure insanity. Talking about destiny and making Isaac out to be this special guy, shadow Isaac and being the herald of the markers... absolute craziness. You guys must have come up with that binging on edibles. Dead Space was creepy cause it was an engineer in a super fucked up situation that didn't just seem dangerous and horrific, but even paranormal. It was bigger than him.

Issac as a necromorph god talking to Nicole who is being offered as a blue pill to Issac by the hive mind. “Nicole… we have to rest in peace… after all… we’re just Dead Space™️…” In all seriousness it’s really cool to get to hear some insights from the both of you. Always nice when creatives are genuinely invested in and loving their own work like Chuck does. Thanks for posting this guys!

What about Gabe Weller? His body was taken for studies. Also Lexine's story?

I'm actually more of a fan of stories that don't get happy endings than ones that do get happy endings. Like take Dark Souls for example. I LOVE that game series and it's lore. And I love how your role as the protagonist is that of someone who's nobody special. You're just some dude or chick who happened to make it further than the last guy or girl, nothing more nothing less. And I think Half-Life was an expert in terms of game design at least of the trope that, as the G-Man himself put it in Half-Life 2; "The right man in the wrong situation can make all the difference in the world."

1:42:00 man, it took you a really long time to finally understand what Chuck was trying to explain to you for like 10 minutes

I’m loving the hero journey perspective. I re-read HWATF recently but I didn’t pick up on the model when I played the Dead Space Remake. I’m subscribed to this channel now. I had no idea there were other story/gaming nerds out there. I’m glad I found this place.

A hilarious ending would be Isaac convincing the Brethren Moons of the wonders of sustainable farming techniques, causing them to just collect those that die naturally and work with the living. The human population essentially replaces itself every century, meaning they could get a moon every couple decades (with multiple planets) from sustainably harvested populations rather an a couple dozen moons every sixty million years. Straight up beat them with his greatest asset, hie mind and his ingenuity.

Why can't we have a Dead Space game where Isaac defeats the Marker threat for good? No weird Dark Isaac, or Necromorph Isaac, but an Isaac we saw at the end of Dead Space 3 who becomes a leader and realizes he needs to play his part in ending the necromorph threat. The Hero's Journey ultimately ends with the hero returns home after accomplishing their goal, it would be nice to see Isaac get to have a life with Ellie he never got to have with Nicole.

Awesome! Was waiting eagerly for this conversation you teased all those months ago

You guys got me out of my morning routine…I’m eating spaghetti at 7 am in the dark in my kitchen lol you guys rock.

Thank you for taking care of a legendary franchise and get it taken care of and given the proper love and care for the game it deserves we the fanbase enjoy that definitely will be buying a launch or pre order for the new one after seeing you guys fantastically remake a classic

So awesome of you to have filmed this - it's such a joy to hear your thoughts on DS, it's invaluable to a huuuge fan of the franchise since day 1. DS forever, I hope Motive get to continue your excellent work!

This dialog was so insightful and shined a unique light on a beloved game of my childhood. I wish the industry had more producers and game creators who would sit down and have fun conversations for the fans like this. Motive needs to get you too involved in the story arc for the future of dead space. Thanks again for the playthrough and discussion

i liked the nicole fight personally and it makes sense

ive needed to hear about DS 4 for 10 years now, thank you. Motive needs to get you and Chuck on the payroll lol

I'm very thankful this came up in my feed. This is the passion and dedication missing in the arts today, and seeing it gives me hope for once that cinema and gaming can change for the better. In regards to the conversation on serialization, I believe Evil Dead is a good example of horror serialized. If we take the comics, even as alternate realities, we still see plenty of ways the necromomicon plagues Ash. After 30 years of running from it in the main timeline, we see an older Ash in Ash Vs. Evil Dead, who is tired and not as capable. He denies his role as savior and after finally accepting it, defeats the Khandarian demon, but it comes too late. So, we could, in theory, keep a perpetual cycle of a character not growing more powerful, or by denying their role for a relatively long time, if we focus on the delivery of the horror, and less on the character. Ash is a phenomenal character who goes through a tragic to him but entertaining story to us way. But he still always just barely gets by. Issac as a delivery of Dead Space, and not the character, could go from bigger and bigger set pieces, just because he is intertwined with the markers. They make it so he's always there, and after 4 or 5 games, he can finally go to the source, and if he wins, spend the rest of his life seeking markers to end them, or if he dies, his fight can be inherited by those around him. Not exactly what I would wish for Dead Space, but the belief is there because Issac, Ellen, Ash, Laurie, all of them exemplifies the human trait of survival and the will to live. But they also exemplify REAL human traits. Denial, delusion, anger. Any number of real emotions and reactions that could cause another serendipitous event towards a necromorph outbreak, ya know?

I'm glad to hear that they'd like to keep the story in DS3 mostly the same because I honestly love the story in that game. The revelation of the marker's origin and the brethren moons was amazing.

I could not thank you guys enough for this whole series. I am novice writer who is in the beginning stages of building an indie game with a small team of friends, and being able to hear all of this information from one of the lead writers of Dead Space has been a dream. Dead space 1 is in my top 5 greatest games of all time, and the universe is so rich and thought provoking. I adore this world, and I have cherished it deeply since I was 14. Ever since the DLC for Dead Space 3 released, I have been dying to know what comes next, and this video gave me that after 10 years of believing I would never have that closure. Chuck, you are a true visionary. Your work is beautiful and inspiring and I hope I can bring even a fraction of your creativity to my writing. If you'd be willing, I'd be honored to get to talk with you a bit about writing in games as I'm incredibly eager to learn and it is my dream to do what you do. You have so much knowledge on building these worlds and how to tell stories that are introspective and impactful, and those are the types of stories I want to tell. The ability to learn from someone like you would be the opportunity of a lifetime.

I've always thought that in Dead Space 2, whenever you return to the Ishimura, It would have been a great move to have Isaac discover that he had been on the Ishimura the entire time and never actually left.

Isaac gaining control of the necromorph biofilm and monsters is an amazing idea

so ready to get excited about game narrative on this sunday evening!

Great video! I would love to see more Dead Space stuff, these videos and the playthrough for the game were so interesting to watch!

that was a great convo, thank you both

I think a good way to continue the story post DS4 is having a character tracking down remnants of markers on other planets while also exploring humanities reactions to surviving what was essentially a religious cataclysm and perhaps explore the remaining factions of unitologists who survived convergence. There could also be a timeskip to see the ramifications of a humanity going unchecked with planet cracking/resource farming within the universe

As a dead space super fan this is a treasure to me! Thank you!

Yes and make Dead space 3 better than what it was before lol🙏

would be kinda funny if they added a secret funny ending like in silent hill 2 where you go through this door and "Oh btw dog was running the whole thing lolol"

I love this take on how the lore for Dead Space can go. Especially with how important the series was to me growing up. Definitely got some ideas going for me to just organize plots and conflicts. I just hope if they decide to continue remaking the series, they are okay with just completely redoing 3, maybe a little of two, although it was mostly good.

I completely enjoyed Dead Space 3. The characters, the set pieces, the open world feel of it, and the custom weapons. I really, really liked it. Oh, and the co-op is the best I’ve ever played. And the villain in part 3 was fantastic.

Gotta love how often they have to disclose "We're not saying this was meant to be the canon or this is what they should've done" given how often nerds get that exact impression from videos like this.

This is definitely not a narrative pitch for an actual Dead Space 4.............. but I mean.......... if certain people are watching............. certain people with money.... and connections.... to EA.... I mean..... might be some ideas...... maybe something to work with..... just a thought....

My favorite duo!!!! Please keep it coming!!!!

yoooo been waiting sooo long for another vid

Motive needs to hire this dude and do everything you guys talked about when remaking the rest pf the trilogy. Culminating in a proper next gen Dead Space 4 would make my whole life!

One of the most interesting videos I've watched in a long time!

Chuck beaver the lil guy needs to be invloved in the dead space 3 remake and DS4 storyline as well as having Glen scholfield help the marker origins history too😊

tldr = Dead Space 2 no touch Dead Space 3 complete rework Dead Space 4 Isaac takes the red pill and becomes a podcaster

The katana zero ost in the beginning was awesome. Great video!

This was wonderful, listening to the both of you nerd about the narrative and such. Also good on both of you for not being butthurt that someone else remade a game, and in a lot of ways made it better than you were able to, at the time. I can only hope and pray that if the remakes continue they'll take some cues from you about doing the Dead Space franchise justice.

If Dead space entered the Xcom style realm, It should expand the story of the civil war mentioned in 3 but with a sudden necromorph outbreak midgame. Focusing on massive amounts of necromorphs pouring at the humans in wave after wave as supplies are ground down and command gradually destroys itself in marker fueled madness. 10/10 GoY

Wow! Amazing ideas for 4 ... outstanding!!! hope this comes to be someday

Great video. Awesome that you both love and are big dead space fans too

When It comes to Dead Space 3. I think it should be explained better what happened to the Moon and how the Unitologists gained so much power to basically activate a bunch of markers in a bunch of colonies and kill EarthGov. Are going to ignore that a Necromorph outbreak happened in the Moon next to Earth?

On the topic of Coop, I think it’s entirely possible as long as horror remains it’s core focus. For example, emphasize teamwork, resource sharing, and limit the time the players have in vicinity with each other. Perhaps create an in game director where one player is allowed to come across more resources while the other is starved and comes across more enemies causing a dilemma between players. Additionally have objectives that require both players to achieve in a timely manner while under enemy pressure. You can also make player classes to allow more strategic play with enemy classes acting as counterparts.

Honestly I just wish they didnt try to explain any of the "white blood cell vs evil marker hallucination" at all. Having the "ghosts" show up with varying intentions seeds doubt, and leaves things a mystery. The more they explain about the markers, the less scary the games feel (with a few key exceptions that could still be explained). Halo's Flood suffer from the same problem. They were fun as space zombies, the Gravemind elevated them to pure horror when he was just this eldrich space being. Then they tried explaining what the gravemind was, where they came from, and now the Flood barely hold any weight in the modern Halo community. 343 wont even use them, and half the fans dont care if they ever do at this point. Explain the markers to us a little, explain some of their effects on people. But dont explain everything, not the ghosts or the creators of the marker. The brethern moons fine in concept, dont take it past that. Dont answer the "what came first, the marker or the moon?" question. Leave the fans something to speculate about, leave the community wanting answers theyll never fully have. Thats one of the BEST hooks for cosmic horror, its the kinda hook people will keep biting on. I dont wanna know which ghosts are evil, which are good. If theyre self motivated, a part of you, a part of the marker. Thats the kinda thing I wanna speculate about with friends waiting for the next release

I’ll take an RTS game where you get to surf across the stars as a young brethren moon, invading planets and wiping out various life forms.

I'd actually like to see a Dead Space 3 that's co-op where both people are playing as Isaac and their partner appears to them to be shadow Isaac and throughout the game Isaac learns to work with this split version of himself and by the end makes HIMSELF whole again.

An excellent video as we come up to the 15th Anniversary of Dead Space!

Maybe it’s the Asperger’s but Isaac was never interesting nor a drive of Dead Space for me. In fact, my favorite version of him is the one where doesn’t talk. I think the world of Dead Space is more interesting than the drama. Boxing the series into “Isaac’s story” felt sort of like it handicapped the potential for horror and expansion of the franchise. I would have loved to have Dead Space become a series about the horrors waiting for us in the deep of space. Brethren moons are just one cosmic horror the series could have tackled. Jump hundreds of years around, explore new cosmic horrors and concepts during points in humanities interstellar journey.

If they do remake Dead Space 2 I hope they have it like Resident evil 2. Were you play as Ellie, see her side of things.

Like, like, like, like. I think i got whiplash from the amount of time "like" was used in a sentence.

Dead Space is such an amazing idea. It was the reason I bought a PS3 and the reason my son's name is Isaac. He's now 9 and is just starting the original on the PS3. Like me, he loves the gameplay, the lore, and the sounds.......my goodness....the sounds!!! Thanks for the videos giving us SO MUCH MORE content!🤘🏻

Its so weird to see the direction of Dead Space took once 2 was came out. They wanted to expand to a certain direction. Everyone didn't know what the intent of the marker was since the spin off games, visual novel, novels, and movie they all worked to together in a common lore. Along with Issac being bothered by his dads kidnapping, i think his mom dying, and along with Nicole sending a disturbing message. He felt that by seeing Nicole after being separated for a while would help him get through these troubles. Then including Dead Space No Unknown Survivors does expand. Downfall including excavator markings that are 300 years old. when they discover market in Aegis 7.

My thoughts on how Dead Space could expand as a franchise involve expanding the lore into different timelines. I think it would really be important for any installments outside the Isaac's saga to keep evolving the overarching lore, and diving into different time periods could be the way to go. Kind of like Star Wars's Original, Prequel and Sequel timelines, Dead Space already has a setup for a prequel timeline with Altman and the original small-scale outbreak on Earth. And a sequel timeline for all it's worth could jump like 1000 years into the future, have a completely different flavor, explaining things about the original saga retroactively. Being prequel and sequel timelines would really help expand the scale of the whole giant cosmic horror thing, evolve it into an entire fictional history; they'd just have to retain the emphasis on how Isaac's story is always central to the whole ordeal, the most decisive part of the history of that universe, so if it's a prequel story then it informs the eventual inevitability of Isaac's story happening later, and if it's a sequel story then it displays how Isaac's story continues reverberating in the events that keep unfolding even in such distant future. I'm not sure that Dead Space can branch out too far genre-wise, at least not right away, but i think it's got a solid chance at staying afloat this time around. The market for horror games has grown a lot in the last 10 years, Resident Evil proved that there can be mainstream success in a serialized horror franchise even after losing it's footing once. I'm not a business expert so i may have the wrong idea about this, but i think right now the only thing that's holding Dead Space back is lack of EA's faith, they were seemingly not too sure about the reception this remake might get, they weren't really that heavily advertising it and they released it almost alongside RE4 which is simply unwise, since that's the most direct competitor in the genre. Meanwhile the fan's reception of the game was phenomenal. I just hope they noticed that and will put more effort into making DS2 Remake's release a really big deal.

Can chuck beaver have an influence with motive to rewrite dead space 3 and to get motive to make dead space 4. Chuck Beaver needs to work with Motive on dead space 4.

The point discussed around 1:42:00 regarding franchising horror got me thinking, and I think I'm closer to the Captain here, where it actually can be thrown into perpetual motion with a proper setup. The main character can come prepared from physical, mental, or social conditions (or the combination of all of them, like James Bond), and I think that social aspect of it can be the one to keep it fresh, where a character, for example, gets constantly ping-ponged by several opposing sides which the character needs to contact in order to survive against the force of nature (be it Godzilla, necromorphs, or something ese). It is also possible to modify physical and mental preparedness, but I think it is hard to use in a long-term situation, especially in game development. However, a scripted scene thrown in here and there where main character is unable to move, see, hear, or understand what's real is always keeping the player on their toes (which was demonstrated by the tentacles in DS1 and hallucinations throughout the series in general)

i always thought the nicole fight in dead space 2 was the markers last defense against isaac who had more or less accepted the tragedy that befell him and was ready to do whatever it took to make things right. Also I will say that there is a draw for other types of dead space. Dead Space 2s multiplayer was godtier. I really hope Motive keeps that when they remake it. It was SO well done and SUPER fun

This might be a little long.. Sorry. I think Dead Space's 2's twist make sense narratively, even if you keep Issac's story within the 2nd as "Can you live with the truth?". It makes sense for Issac to have that story, given that the story is from his perspective and experiences, but it's the culmination of four factions that create the event that generally lead to his internal journey; Issac (who is trying to destory the marker), Unitology (who is trying to free the marker), EarthGov and it's branches (who is trying to control the marker) and the Marker itself. Nicole's actions cuase Issac to accept the truth, but it wasn't Nicole's, or the Marker's, intention. Focusing on Nicole, only three of these matter. To me it made sense that Nicole's ghost was always the marker, trying to manipulate Issac. At the beginning, Nicole trying to kill Issac, becuase, as if you remember: " the makers must be consumed". Nicole taunts him with her own death, attempting to get Issac to kill himself. This is mid outbreak when Titan Station Security is overwhelmed and is clearly not in control anymore. It's later into the game where Nicole starts to be helpful. From Tiedman's (the leader of Titan station) perspective, it's implied through enviromental clues that he's trying to contain to situation, by evacuating citizens, and eventually, creating a stronghold within the Governmant sector. One built around the Marker itself, preventing a convergence event. From my multiple playthroughs of Dead Space 2, I always considered stronghold, as well as Issac's repeatedly fighting off the Marker's insanity, the reason why Nicole's turn happens. It switches it's focus from killing Issac to using him to penetrate Tiedmann's complete lockdown of the govermant sector. Nicole's betraying him in the end, is just the Marker going back to Objective No. 1, to kill Issac.

As a veteran who has dealt with and known others who have dealt with PTSD 3, it should stay the way it is. Mostly. My reasoning: From the first game to the second Isaac had no break. While taking place a few years after Isaac was basically in suspended animation the whole time. One of the main reasons he is not as destroyed at Stross. So he didn't even go from one crisis to the next, he is basically in the same crisis, just a different environment. Even with the influence of the Marker he is trying to come to grip with what has happened previously. The way he is written ( to me) Isaac is a man of action. There is a problem? What is it? How do I fix it? Get it done. That kind of mindset let's you get things done when fit hits the shan. Which going into 3 shows how Isaac has been dealing with the trauma. Major PTSD. 1. Starting a relationship with Ellie out of a mutually shared hardship. Which happens quite a bit. Yet they have completely different personality types. 2. Isaac is a man of action, but it seems he is not a man of direction. As is his want to just hide. Where Ellie is the opposite. She has been poked and is now ready to fight. 3. The Ishimura was experienced after the fact, while Titan was happening around him. How many did he see slaughtered? In the chapel and the school with the Pack? I mean children. They are monsters, but they were children what just a couple hours ago? The set piece boss that was a pregnant mother at the core. That is a lot to be hit with. Not to mention the exploding babies. Isaac's ability to goal focus is the only way he got through that, where so many others break. As such it compartmentalizes all of that trauma for later to deal with. Which with the little time we spend in his apartment you can see he's having no luck. As he is in hiding he can't just seek out a therapist to cry to. He is also still plagued with what was placed inside his head. 4. The tone between 1/2 and 3 being more action oriented makes sense as in the moment Isaac can focus. This is the job, this is how I get it done. I've been through this before. Also you have the Unitologists that you are dealing with. With how they believe in the whole Convergence idea, it makes absolute sense that you would be dealing with them trying to kill you. So the cover mechanic makes sense. Now, I personally loved the weapon creating. Just have so many different styles to play with. You could set up and play balls to the walls or be more careful and methodical With the Awakened DLC I just figured Isaac having the hallucinations again was due to the brother moons attempting to either kill or break him. As they were aware of the threat that he possessed. Yes rework the story so Carver is better. Especially when in or out of co-op. I know you guys had things you were made to throw in, so let me say thank you for the subtle way you let us get around the micro transactions. Ration deals were well used.

Issacs conflict regarding Nicole looks like a case the Angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other inner conflict and should presented in the remake of Dead space 2, if they remake it. The 'good' Nicole is the part of Issacs mind that wants him to get over it but safely. The 'devil' Nicole is the Marker pushing its influence on Issacs mind.

Loved this video so much

I just feel like Capcom’s stories regarding shadowy organizations and infectious horrors that transform average innocent people into monsters but still have good, happy endings more or less is what Dead Space should also have. We got our cosmic horror ending at 3. Even Lovecraft’s stories have endings where people escape with their lives and manage to keep the entities or creatures or knowledge they’ve discovered in the forgotten darkness. You could do the same for Isaac.

Bro.... her showing up on a " Moon Cracker " to crack brother moons would be so sick!

Yes, you can't keep something going forever the exact same, especially a story like this. Loved the Dead Space Series, greatly enjoyed the remake (especially the plot hole retcons like who was on the computer to help if Nicole was dead). However if you're going to want a dark Isaac I'd have him in 2 WITH the hauntings of Nicole to represent the split; but also to distract him with the illusion of a choice - distract his monkey mind as it tries to turn him into a prophet like in the Awakened DLC. The Dark Isaac would be his regret and denial, his desire to remain with Nicole in some form if there's any truth to a form of life in the markers, that death isn't the end (suicide sequences); and Nicole would be the acceptance that he messed up in the end, that Nicole is gone and he needs to move on, acceptance; but this is a gamble. Either he succumbs to to madness and dies removing him as a threat. Or he follows a calculated path for survival and later to beat the monster, and the narrative with Nicole is a ruse to get him close enough for the marker to take absolute control of Isaac and make him into a prophet. Outside that it's the same game, so 1 and 2 only have two minor changes. Extraction, Ignition, Dead Space (Mobile) Severed, Movies, Comics, etc ought to be fine for the most part.

the change of ending in dead space 2 that chuck pointed out 25:29 would be really cool, and would utilize the initial idea of a "dark Isaac" for dead space 3

Amazing interview, explains a lot of the weird design choices of Dead Space 3. Also Chuck looks like a cool guy to talk to 🌚

What a delightful find.

They should dabble in first person deadspace being a settings option to add more flair to the games to come

It was still…. SO AWESOME… that dead space 3 was co-op… playing with friends and revisiting it, now that I’m in the mid 20s, with friends is still awesome

They should have kept the dead space 2 multiplayer aspect. 4v4 was actually kind cool because some of the maps were off screen scenarios that happened right before severed dlc. I remember seeing 7 rigs being affected with 4 dying. I imagine as multiplayer of that map where humans lost.

I would love to remake DS2 with the Necromorphs with Nicole helping Isaac fight the CEC to the marker after letting them into the government building for a short while like the mission from Halo 3 with the flood helping the Chief for a section of a mission. I miss the DS2 multiplayer and playing as the Necromorphs something like that or adding Necromorphs invasions would be something I would love to see, also fighting humans at the same time is something I actually liked in DS3 BUT DS3 didn't do human's very well, I want to see them using stasis and kinesis too like holding boxes as cover while they push up to the player or even using launching slasher arms at you too lol. Imagine how sick it would be seeing the power and carnage of the Ubermorph rippping and tearing it's way through the building with you until you have the marker turn on you at the end.

Some really good ideas on how to do a proper Dead Space series given the retrospect they have now. It is a shame that it we probably won't ever see a proper conclusion to Issac's story.