On the Bombcast Brad and Patrick seemed pretty dismissive of the overall plot and world of Dead Space (Brad slightly less so, he obviously cared enough to dislike the conclusion) What's the general consensus here? Do a lot of people play these games for the tight mechanics and atmosphere or are you as into the fiction? I have to admit that a lot of it is cribbed from other popular sources but I still like the mix of religious fanatics and modern sci-fi/ Body horror.

i have 0 cares about isaac the whole religion they portray or anything else in dead space aside from the game play and the big bosses

To quote my own thoughts from a different Dead Space 3 thread:

I never knew what the fuck was going on in the first game. I just loved grotesque monsters jumping at me and my inability to stay calm throughout the entire situation.

I've always approached it as a thin premise meant to justify its gameplay mechanics. I don't hold that against the franchise too much, since it's hardly alone in that regard, and the story sequences were so minimal in DS 1 and 2 that they didn't really get in the way of anything. I would change my tune if they begin to focus on their own lore to the point of harming the larger experience.

It's interesting in the same way that the Alien franchise has interesting fiction. It's more about the questions that are raised than the answers you get, and while the "lore" is all background speculation, it's still a large part of why you're still thinking about Alien/Dead Space long after you've finished watching/playing it.

@Oldirtybearon said:

It's interesting in the same way that the Alien franchise has interesting fiction. It's more about the questions that are raised than the answers you get

I think that is true about nearly all fiction. Or at least, any fiction where part of the premise is that there is some great unknown or mystery. The answers are almost never as satisfying as the mysteries.

So like, Star Trek doesn't need to be coy because Starfleet is Starfleet, and the Enterprise is going to keep running into crazy shit. But the original Star Wars trilogy is this great microcosm of this big galaxy with all these different races and people, and DON'T TELL ME ABOUT ANY OF THAT SHIT. Leave it unknown. The Star Wars Expanded Universe is terrible because it turned the Star Wars setting from this place of mystery to this mundane place where there is all this known information about how everything works. And really nobody needed to know about all of the prequel bullshit, with this stupid conflict with this ultimately irrelevant droid army, and all of the political senate bullshit.

Dead Space is fine as long as it keeps on focusing on whatever the practical problems are of each game, and barely spends any time dwelling on answering any of the questions people have about the universe. It worked well for Metroid (as long as you ignore Metroid manga because it is Expanded Universe and therefore the Devil), but then they had to go fuck it up and make the storyline of Other M on par with the shittiest Expanded Universe manga writing you could possibly imagine.

I always liked it on the side but I'm starting to get turned off by it now that it's being forced down my throat. The whole crazy zealots have taken over thing is pretty ridiculous.

@Oldirtybearon said:

It's interesting in the same way that the Alien franchise has interesting fiction. It's more about the questions that are raised than the answers you get, and while the "lore" is all background speculation, it's still a large part of why you're still thinking about Alien/Dead Space long after you've finished watching/playing it.

Yeah, take a wild guess at the direction they took the fiction in with 3.

Yup, I find the stuff interesting but I'm not particularly invested in it, Dead Space is much much more about the atmosphere and gameplay for me. If Dead Space 3's ending is not particularly good I couldn't give any less of a shit. I absolutely consider it window dressing. Pretty nice window dressing, but largely unimportant all the same.

@Oldirtybearon said:

It's interesting in the same way that the Alien franchise has interesting fiction. It's more about the questions that are raised than the answers you get, and while the "lore" is all background speculation, it's still a large part of why you're still thinking about Alien/Dead Space long after you've finished watching/playing it.

This. I play games for the whole experience which includes the story, not just for tight gameplay or because its pretty.

I ask largely because prepping to play through 3 I decided to check out the (fairly terrible) movies and read quick summaries of the books. The actual backstory behind the universe (how planet cracking works, the martyrdom aspects of religion) are actually pretty interesting. One thing I forgot to ask is how people feel about the visual shift from DS1 to 2 & 3. Playing through 1 again I'm reminded of just how gothic the Ishimura was, tall ceilings, sculpted spikes in the wall. That all seems gone in 2 minus the church.

I honestly didn't give a damn about it and knew basically none of the back story despite having played both games. Listening to Brad talk about the story on the Bombcast this week, though, it seemed kinda cool.