Dead Space Game Designers Explore Some Really Gross Anatomy

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The alien creatures in the new futuristic horror game Dead Space 2 will give you nightmares. They are vile, disgusting, voracious killing machines. And then it gets worse. Slowly, as you play the game, you realize that these aliens aren't aliens at all—they're human beings. The enemy in this sci-fi chiller is an invisible infection that takes over the bodies of unsuspecting earthlings, transmogrifying them into things that make H. R. Giger look like Normal Rockwell. "The inspiration for the 'necromorph' infection comes almost entirely from the disgusting world of parasitic fungus; a mycology textbook reads like a horror novel," says Ian Milham, art director of Dead Space 2 developer Visceral Games.

THE LEAPER

1// The arms have elongated to become the primary means of locomotion. The hands are capable of gripping and scaling most surfaces. 2// The infection has forced the Leaper's head open and has split the jawbone into fearsome fangs. 3// The Leaper's spine and back muscles have grown stronger to accommodate the other bodily changes. 4// The leg muscles and intestines have fused to form a scorpion-like tail that can deliver a piercing strike.