Dead Space’s Visceral Games working on a new online shooter

It appears as if EA’s Visceral Games, developers of (Dead Space, Dante’s Inferno, and Army of Two) are spreading their horizons.  According to a job posting on EA’s web site, the studio is looking for someone new for the position of lead multiplayer designer for a new franchise.

EA is looking for a lead multiplayer designer to help create a thrilling online action shooter game. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a bold new franchise which is a cornerstone for a new EA Games Studio.

Very interesting.  The phrase ‘cornerstone for a new EA Game Studio’ catches my eye.  Apparently whatever kind of shooter this new Intellectual Property will be is something the company is putting a lot of faith on.  This only makes me want to know what it is.

Under ‘Experience and & Qualities Sought,’ there is a bullet that says “Knowledge of the competitive space, game design trends, and the ability to predict gaming trends.”  This gives away the fact that this new shooter will take place in some futuristic space setting.  While Dead Space does fit that bill, this is a new franchise. 

Speaking of Dead Space 2, the multiplier was a bit weak.  I liked the concept but the whole Left 4 Dead feel did not work for me.  The humans vs. Necomorphs (“aliens” from Dead Space) felt incomplete and raw.  Respawning for the humans seemed to ruin the experience.  Maybe I have a bias from Left 4 Dead, but the ability to respawn as human dumps the fear of death and survival in my opinion. 

I assume that this new position is to make the multiplayer on this new IP better than past Visceral Games.  I hope so.  My curiosity has defiantly been alerted and I want to see what EA is up to with this project.

[OXM]