Dec 27, 2010 12:00 PM

Gallery: 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](http://www.hrgiger.com/) 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](http://www.visceralgames.com/home). 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.
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"We looked at human anatomy, the bones, sinews, organs, et cetera, and tried to think how they might be rearranged into something horrific. The more we made them look like normal people who went through something terrible, the deeper the emotional impact." The team collected medical, autopsy, and accident photos to study, carefully stashing them in an office folder labeled body trauma: warning! extremely graphic! *Artists at Visceral Games experimented with dozens of gruesome designs before hitting upon the right physiology for humans that have turned into the aptly named Puker.*

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Inspired by their research, the designers came up with a signature hook for each type of victim. They may have bat wings or scythelike arms or tentacles that spit spikes, but all of the hideous add-ons are based on actual human anatomy. The designers also drew from a combination of gross-out human hues—olive green, ochre, purple, and off-white—"infection and organ colors," Milham says. A creature called the Puker spews "a specific mélange of colors that you desperately want to avoid in a primal way." We believe it. THE PUKER --------- __1//__ The Puker's hands have become elongated talons. __2//__ The original legs have entwined, and a clump of nerves and muscles have grown down to form an additional leg. __3//__ The wretch gets its name from the acidic bile it sprays through a widened esophagus. The fluid is formed in the mutated lungs, which swell to hideous proportions when full. __4//__ The Puker's body bears the ravages of the acid it spews: The jaw and torso are disintegrating, and eventually the whole body will become a soupy mess.
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