The Technological Reason Behind the Ribbed Suit Design in Dead Space

Even though horror games are often stigmatized as something cheap, easy, and for the masses, few would argue against the notion that Visceral Games' Dead Space is a genuine piece of art, still revered more than 16 years after its release for its outstanding art direction, diegetic UI elements, and, of course, being scary as hell.

And of course, Dead Space wouldn't be Dead Space without its timeless protagonist and mascot, Isaac Clarke – an average Joe thrown into anything but average circumstances, armed only with a collection of damage-dealing engineering equipment and an engineer RIG, the latter of which is perhaps the most recognizable element of the beloved game series.

But did you know that before Isaac got his iconic suit, its design went through numerous iterations and initially looked nothing like the final version? As we recently rediscovered by flipping through the pages of Martin Robinson's The Art of Dead Space artbook, the first designs of the RIG resembled not something a regular engineer would wear, but rather something closer to the CryNet Nanosuit from Crysis – more fitting for a super-soldier than a man like Isaac.

As showcased in the artbook, the early iterations of the suit had features like blades and energy weapons, which were all eventually scrapped – not only because they didn't fit the overall atmosphere of the game, but also because they made Isaac seem more like a stereotypical superhero protagonist, and as development went on, Visceral's vision for Dead Space's main character evolved, and so did his attire.

The book also offered an interesting insight into the RIG's ribbed design, revealing that, in addition to fitting Isaac's role by trade, enabling the team to implement a diegetic health bar on his back, and reflecting the design of the USG Ishimura, there was another, more technical reason for its implementation.

According to Ian Milham, Dead Space's Art Director, the suit's ribbings were partly implemented because the developers wanted to push the game's lighting to its limits. The serrations on the RIG allowed them to experiment with shadows, making them appear lifelike as the player moved through different light sources. "Technologically, we wanted to invest in the lighting, so a serrated texture like that gives a lot for the light to play around on. The player's going to move through the lighting, and it gave the shadows a lot to do," Milham said.

We highly encourage you to purchase the artbook to learn more exciting facts about Dead Space. And don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.