For Dead Space 2 executive producer Steve Papoutsis, PAX East was an amazing opportunity to connect with the fans that could keep the franchise going for "eight billion years."
"Eight billion years," was the tongue-in-cheek answer Steve Papoutsis gave when I asked him how long he saw the Dead Space franchise lasting. Awash and perhaps giddy with excitement over the spectacular turnout to the Dead Space 2 panel held on Saturday afternoon, Popoutsis emphasized the importance of events like PAX East in connecting with fans of Visceral Games' space horror series.
"It's an event for the fans. Those are the guys that we're making the games for, so hearing what they're interested in and actually getting to interact with them and get feedback from them...it was really cool to see how much thought people put into the stuff you're doing," Papoutsis explained. "Being able to connect one-on-one with them like that was just super rad."
Indeed it seemed as if the fans' enthusiasm was contagious. As he spoke about some of the new ways protagonist Isaac would have of dealing with the Necromorphs in the sequel, Steve was adding sound effects and making shooting hand gestures. It was like I was talking to the series' biggest fan.
I suppose that's what an executive producer has to be, and if that's the case, Popoutsis is doing a fine job, listening to his fellow fans and helping to bring them more of what they want.
"It was a great opportunity for us to represent the dev team back at Visceral, and get to connect with people who are excited about what we're doing, and it's really awesome to know that people are so interested in the work that all of us are doing."
And maybe eight billion years is somewhat of exaggeration, but Steve and his team will keep exploring the universe of Dead Space as long as the fans keep playing.
"I think we want to keep making Dead Space games as long as people are excited and supportive of it. That's the big thing - we want to do it because people want it. It's not just to do it."