Survival horror genre followers in need of more thrills and chills are probably itching to know what's been up with EA Redwood Shores' development of Dead Space (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC). Good thing Senior Producer Chuck Beaver is here with a recent post on the project's blog.

According to Beaver, some significant progress has been made so far, resulting in the game's overall development hitting the halfway mark. The Dead Space boss reports that the majority of motion capture and performance capture has been completed, giving the graphics end some much-needed headway.

This means, Beaver said, that grown men in leotards have been very busy acting in front of green panels to provide the foundation of smooth character movement. The producer notes that the actors have had enough contact with ping pong balls and pencil sensors attached to the tights they were to give them nightmares.

The Creative Department bosses have also been busy listening to temp-voice recordings that will be used in the game. This will give them the chance to weed out the bad from the good clips to ensure that storytelling is kept entertaining.

Good voice acting is essential in Dead Space's storytelling paradigm, which as most of you may know, makes use of no cutscenes. Yup, this is survival horror, but EA Redwood Shores decided to depart from the tried-and-true formula employed by luminaries such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

Finally, Beaver described Dead Space as "a work of passion." He said that the project goes far from the stereotypical EA way of selling games. He said that all was done to keep quality at high levels to deliver what gaming enthusiasts look for in a title.

Thanks to sefr for the tip!

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