The EA Motive Studio developers behind the Dead Space remake quickly discovered that making experimental projects was not for the faint-hearted.
Before the Dead Space remake, EA Motive worked on an ambitious, lesser-known project called Gaia. Unfortunately, after six years of development, the project was abandoned. The team "didn't want to bite off more than we could chew," EA Motive CEO Patrick Klaus told Eurogamer (opens in a new tab).
It turned out that the risk associated with such an ambitious project was too great for the relatively young studio. "Given that you have families... you want to make sure you have the durability and set up the teams for success," Klaus said. "I take this responsibility to take calculated risks very seriously."
Instead of Gaia, EA Motive has started work on the highly anticipated Dead Space remake, along with the prospect of work on a future Iron Man game. So it wasn't necessarily a step backwards for the studio.
Back to the drawing board
EA Motive isn't the first developer to go back to the drawing board when developing a game, and it probably won't be the last. Capcom's Resident Evil 4 is a great example of this. The iconic survival horror game underwent a massive overhaul before it was released in 2005.
Resident Evil 4 had three separate prototypes throughout development. These were "Fog", "Hallucinations" and "Hook man", the last prototype of which was shown at E3 in 2003. Unfortunately, each of these ideas was inevitably abandoned by Capcom.
But that's not where the story ended. After going back to the drawing board, Capcom reused much of the "Fog" prototype. Originally intended to be a radical departure from the Resident Evil franchise, the prototype became the first Devil May Cry game.
Capcom and EA Motive prove that starting over doesn't have to be a failure. "Game development cancellations shouldn't be taboo," Klaus said. "It's part of the creative process."
This often allows developers to improve existing ideas and improve over time. "Dead Space was the first thing that allowed us to step up and have more ambition," said Klaus, "and then with Iron Man, we have the opportunity to take things to another level."
There will be many pressures on a studio during the development of a game, particularly budget and time available. But when a team realizes they're taking a path with a project that won't end with something they can support, having the freedom and space to start over can lead to some wonderful games. .