Game concept art vs. final product: Dead Space Series Comparison

Content Manager at RetroStyle Games | Feb 17, 2025

Concept art serves as the blueprint, offering the first glimpse of the game’s atmosphere, characters, and world. But what ends up in the final product can often be quite different. This change is shaped by feedback, technological possibilities, and the creative decisions that guide a game’s development.

In this comparison of the Dead Space series, we’ll explore how the original artistic visions were translated into the games that fans got to play and how the initial concepts grew, adapted, or even transformed during the concept art vs. final product game-making process.

Understanding Game Concept Art

Concept art visualizes ideas and concepts in game development before the final product. Designers and artists draw a rough sketch and create an art or a scheme of characters, environments, and objects. The development team uses these works to understand how the game should look and feel.

How concept art plays a role in game development

Concept art helps inspire the team working on the game. When artists and developers see visual representations of their ideas, it can create new directions for the game’s story and gameplay.
It serves as a guide for all other departments involved in the game’s development. Artists, programmers, and designers refer to the concept art to ensure their work aligns with the game’s original vision.
Concept art is a powerful communication tool. It helps explain ideas that are hard to execute with words alone. You can’t just say “Make me a 3D model of a beautiful spaceship with lasers that go «pew-pew»” and the developer will instantly get it.
Early concept art can also be used for marketing purposes. Players can become curious by looking at the art, which gives them a taste of what the game will offer.

Concept art is usually an illustration, but it can be an animation too. What concept art is in animation: Read here to understand where it’s useful.

Character design creates the look of the characters in the game. Artists think about what the characters wear, their expressions, and even their body shapes. Good character design helps players connect with the game. It makes characters memorable.

Environment design is drawing backgrounds and settings where the game takes place — like forests, cities, or outer space. The environment sets the mood of the game. It can make a game feel eerie, exciting, or peaceful, depending on the story.

Assets and Props are the items characters interact with, like swords, books, or any other small objects. Props add detail to the game world and can be important for the gameplay, like keys for opening doors or gear that upgrades a character’s abilities.

UI/UX concept art design is also very important. UI stands for User Interface, and UX stands for User Experience. This art focuses on how players interact with the game, like menus, buttons, and score displays. A well-designed UI/UX makes a game easier and more fun to play. It helps players understand the game quickly without getting frustrated.

Process: From Concept Art to Final Product

What is the difference between concept art vs illustration? Concept art is used to visualize ideas and designs for projects like video games and movies, focusing on exploring different styles and possibilities. It’s about experimenting and finding the right look for characters, settings, and more.

Illustration, on the other hand, is about creating final, detailed images based on specific requirements or stories. It’s used in books, magazines, and other media to convey a clear and polished visual message. For a more detailed answer go to our article.

The difference between concept art & final product is divided into three main phases: pre-production, production, and post-production. Concept art is often a part of pre-production design. Even the creation of concept art has to include several iterations for the best result. Each phase has specific steps and goals that help turn creative ideas into a playable game.

Pre-Production

This is the planning stage. Game developers decide what the game is about, who the characters are, and where the game takes place. It’s the part where the artists draw characters, environment, weapons, and all the items that are supposed to be in the game. If it’s clear how to draw a weapon for example or a character, then how to draw environment concept art? Should the designers draw the entire planet where the main game plot will be taken? How much will you have to draw? All the answers are in our other article. We can also provide game environment art services if you’re new to the game development scene.

Key tasks: Brainstorming, creating concept art, and finalizing the game design document (GDD), which is a detailed plan that guides everyone working on the project.

Production

This is the main phase where the actual creation of the game happens. Artists create concept art to turn it into 3D or 2D animated models. Based on the concept art, developers build the game environment, create characters, and write code to make everything work together.

Key tasks: Developing levels, programming gameplay mechanics, creating 3D models based on the concept art, and integrating audio like music and sound effects.

Post-Production

This phase focuses on polishing the game and making sure it’s ready to play. Developers fix any bugs, and testers play the game to find problems that need fixing.

Key tasks: Testing the game thoroughly, tweaking gameplay based on feedback, optimizing the game to run smoothly on all intended devices, and finally, marketing and releasing the game to the public.

Based on the Dead Space concept art we’ll see how it works.

Dead Space: Concept Art vs. Final Product

Visceral Games developed the Dead Space series and first launched in 2008. They are widely regarded as landmarks within the survival horror genre. Bleak and dystopian, it’s set in a grim future where resources have finally run out. It takes the player on a rather dark journey with engineer Isaac Clarke. Asked to repair a stranded spaceship, Isaac soon fought for survival from Necromorphs. These are reanimated corpses at the behest of an alien artifact called the Marker. The series’ success does not only lie in its gameplay mechanics but also in the ability to plunge a person deep into a vivid universe.

However, what showed the actual vision of a development team was the evolution from concept art to the final product. Early sketches for characters, weapons, and environments were refined to fit the game’s dark tone. Isaac Clarke’s engineering suit evolved from a humble functional design to an iconic piece of survival gear. By marrying creativity to technical precision, the team behind the Dead Space series created a world that’s real to your senses. It’s terrifying to behold, and impossible to forget. Each of the following sections will examine the series’ environments, characters, and weapons.

Main Characters

The Dead Space series is host to several complex characters. Each is designed to represent the atmosphere and themes of the game.

Isaac Clarke (Dead Space 1 & 2). Isaac’s iconic engineering suit evolved throughout the series. Early concept art shows rough, utilitarian designs. While the final version emphasizes functionality and protection.
Jennifer Santos (Dead Space 3). A survivalist designed for the icy wilderness of Tau Volantis. Her rugged gear reflects her adaptability in harsh conditions.
Gabe Weller (Dead Space 2: Severed DLC). Weller’s military background is highlighted through his detailed armor. It combines tactical efficiency with a worn-out look.

Suits

Suits are visually and functionally representative of surviving in hostile environments. Each suit is fitted to the particular gameplay and environment of its game.

Prototype 1 (Dead Space 2). Early concepts show a very bulky armor that has sharp angles, then streamlined to a more cohesive design.
Isaac Clarke’s Venture Suit (Dead Space). A light and sleek design for maximum agility through confined spaces.
Snow Suit 2 (Dead Space 3). A survivalist suit featuring thermal layers and a low-visibility visor.

Weapons

The weapons of Dead Space are not only tools for survival but also a testament to the ingenuity of design in a sci-fi horror setting.

Plasma Cutter (Dead Space). Perhaps the most iconic of all the series’ weapons, designed for precision dismemberment. Concept art has seen many more industrial aesthetics. But they ultimately got refined into the sleek and minimalist design seen in-game.
Javelin Gun (Dead Space). Powerful, spear-launching weapon. Kept a sharp, clean look throughout.
Tesla Beam (Dead Space 3). Compact and futuristic, its concept art showed a more angular design, later refined into this final product.

Enemies

The Necromorphs are the heart of Dead Space’s terror, with their grotesque forms and horrific designs. Each one of them tells a story of its horrific transformation.

Twitcher (Dead Space 1). This is a very fast-moving enemy, with very obvious mutations in the limbs and spine, which further adds to its eerie presence.
The Nexus (Dead Space 3). A large, centipede-like Necromorph, filled with wooden and other organic patterns.
Feeder (Dead Space 3). A small, gaunt enemy, made to feel pitied and terrified of at the same time.

Environmental Concept Art

The environments in Dead Space have as many characters as people and creatures. They immerse players in a universe filled with dread and awe.

USG Ishimura Medical Bay (Dead Space). Claustrophobic halls filled with sterile, abandoned equipment. The early art highlighted the eerie glow of emergency lights.
The Sprawl (Dead Space 2). A vast, labyrinthine space station. It’s made to feel organic yet dying, with civilian, industrial, and scientific sectors of space.
Tau Volantis (Dead Space 3). A frozen wasteland-windswept landscapes with abandoned outposts. Earlier concept work explored much darker tones, later balanced with icy blues and whites.

Dead Space environment USG Ishimura Medical Bay

Factors influencing the final Dead Space games

Various factors have shaped the direction and decisions for the later games in the series. Over time, players started to prefer games with more action. This change affected Dead Space 3, which included more action and less of the classic horror that made the first games popular. This shift was meant to attract more players but not all fans liked it. The first two Dead Space games were loved for their horror and exciting gameplay.

Sometimes the concept art presented by the artist is considered more important than the finished product. The first two games were developed by graphic designer and producer Glen Schofield, who had a precise artistic vision of how the game should look like. He created the concept art for the Necromorphs and other Dead Space creatures, as well as the main philosophical concept of the game – there is no hope. The space is non-hostile for everyone and it’s not filled with friendly civilization, it’s, well, dead. The thought was contrary to other sci-fi universes of the time like in Star Wars or Star Track, it rather shared more similarity with Alien. The Dead Space character is put in an infected environment, and most of the time his company are monsters and hallucinations.

Dead Space 3, however, got mixed reviews because it focused more on action and teamwork, which some thought took away from the game’s scary parts and the plot’s depth. The sales of Dead Space 3 also weren’t as good as hoped, influencing decisions about the future of the series.

The franchise had its challenges, like tight deadlines, budget limits, and changes in the team at EA. For example, adding co-op (cooperative play) to Dead Space 3 needed more resources, and modifications and changed how the game was designed. Digital game sales, small in-game purchases, and ongoing content updates affected the series too. Dead Space 3 introduced weapon crafting and small in-game purchases as a way to make more money, but not all players liked these features.

EA, the company making Dead Space, always aims to make as much money as possible. This focus on profits sometimes means making decisions that favor earning more money over various artistic ideas and creative game design. What fans thought and said about the games was very important. The initial games were praised for their horror elements, but the reaction to the more action-focused Dead Space 3 led EA to think again about where the series was headed. The positive response to the remake showed that fans still loved the original horror style, guiding future discussions about the series.

The Role of Concept Art in Game Promotion

Concept art does wonders if you let it be released to the public. These artworks provide a sneak peek into the game’s world, characters, and style. For example, Dead Space suit concept art generated buzz and excitement among potential players, sparking discussions and anticipation long before the game was released. Unique design vision can catch the eye of gamers and distinguish a game from its competitors. If the art looks different or particularly creative, it can attract more attention and interest. When art is visually appealing, fans are more likely to share it on social media, forums, and other platforms. This free promotion can increase the game’s visibility and attract new audiences. Beyond digital promotion, Dead Space’s main character art was also used for merchandising. Posters, T-shirts, and other merchandise featuring popular concept art can boost a game’s visibility and provide an additional revenue stream.

How to make concept art for video games? Unique and eye-catching design visions, like those offered by professional concept art services, grab attention and make a game stand out. If the art is especially creative and interesting, people are more likely to share it on social media, forums, and other platforms, helping the game reach new audiences for free.

Moreover, AI for concept art is transforming how these designs are created, making it possible to produce striking and innovative art faster and more efficiently. This not only speeds up the development process but also allows for exploring a wider range of artistic possibilities.

Conclusion

The Dead Space series, more than anything else, is exemplary of how concept art shapes what it will finally be. Be it character designs or environments, the art aspect that goes into Dead Space makes it one of the most striking horror franchises. Investigating its concept art opens up incredible attention to detail in bringing this universe into view.