'When you look at horror franchises or movies or games, the sci-fi space is huge' — Directive 8020 executive producer says the simple reason for the game's space setting was because it's 'just fun'
Directive 8020 executive producer Dan McDonald explains that the game's space setting was chosen because it is 'fun' and aligns with the team's long-term vision for the Dark Pictures anthology. The sci-fi horror theme allows Supermassive Games to differentiate itself from other franchises rooted on Earth. Each game in the series explores a unique horror concept, with Directive 8020 featuring a shape-shifting creature in a space environment.
- ▪Dan McDonald stated that the team always knew the fifth Dark Pictures game would be set in space.
- ▪The setting was chosen because the sci-fi space genre is popular in horror and offers creative freedom.
- ▪Each Dark Pictures game features a distinct horror theme, allowing the developers to explore new settings and stories.
- ▪Directive 8020's space setting required the team to create new assets instead of reusing previous ones.
- ▪McDonald cited franchises like Alien and Dead Space as influences on the game's direction.
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| Original publisher | TechRadar |
| Canonical URL | https://www.techradar.com/gaming/when-you-look-at-horror-franchises-or-movies-or-games-the-sci-fi-space-is-huge-directive-8020-executive-producer-says-the-simple-reason-for-the-games-space-setting-was-because-its-just-fun |
| Publication time | Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:20:15 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-04-28T11:26:24.513Z |
| Last seen | 2026-04-28T11:26:24.513Z |
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| Cluster | UyrrGZKHVZsJ |
| Cluster logic | Grouped by semantic title/content similarity across sources within a rolling window. Same-publisher template collisions are excluded from coverage comparison. |
| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
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Gaming 'When you look at horror franchises or movies or games, the sci-fi space is huge' — Directive 8020 executive producer says the simple reason for the game's space setting was because it's 'just fun' News By Demi Williams Contributions from Lucy Buglass published 28 April 2026 "We always knew we were going to go there" When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Supermassive Games) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Directive 8020 executive producer Dan McDonald says Supermassive Games also knew its next game would be set in spaceMcDonald says the…
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