Dead Space 3's action was 'a necessary evil' says original Dead Space writer

Dead Space 3's action-heavy gameplay was "a necessary evil in order to broaden the fan base," according to Antony Johnston, the award-winning writer of the original Dead Space.

Speaking with NowGamer, Johnston said that expansion was always the plan.

"I know the developers always wanted to go bigger, in terms of scope," Johnston said. "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. 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."

The alternative, Johnston said, was "pretty dull."

"You'd just have the same game on a different ship each time," Johnston said. Johnston did not work Dead Space 2 or 3, but moved on to other projects. His preferences are more rooted in scares, Antony said.

"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," Johnston said. "So the greater emphasis on big action in the sequels means they're not really for me."

Dead Space 3 released on Feb. 5 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC.