Original Dead Space writer Antony Johnston says latest entry taking more of an action approach required to broaden the fan base.

Original Dead Space writer Antony Johnston has chimed in on Dead Space 3. Speaking to NowGamer, the writer–who had no involvement with Dead Space 3–said the game’s focus on action was a “necessary evil” to attract more gamers.

“I’m personally a big fan of old-school survival horror, and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to work on Dead Space. So the greater emphasis on big action in the sequels means they’re not really for me,” Johnston said.

Johnston added that Dead Space 3’s new focus on action is a “necessary evil in order to broaden the fan base,” and noted that “it’s a very difficult balancing act to pull off. So far, I think Visceral has done an admirable job of maintaining that balance.”

For Johnston, Visceral Games’ decision to “go bigger” in Dead Space 3 came as no surprise. He said it was a logical progression for the series, and in fact one that was needed to keep the franchise from becoming stale.

“I know the developers always wanted to go bigger, in terms of scope. And I’ve mentioned before that the universe we created was huge, with lots of elements, which simply didn’t make it into the first game,” he said. “So to get that story told, to round out the universe, it was inevitable the settings and environments would open out a bit, become a bit more epic in scale’otherwise you’d just have the same game on a different ship each time, and that’s pretty dull.”

Dead Space 3 launched this week behind a largely positive critical reception. For more, check out GameSpot’s review.

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