10 Things You DIDN'T Know About Alien Isolation
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Alien Isolation
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we are getting excited for the newest Xenomorph escaping horror entry, but first, let’s see what we missed in previous. These are 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Alien Isolation. Alien Isolation 2 is gonna have to wait! Let’s go.
Newt Could Shoot
Fans have spent years waiting for the sequel to the beloved survival horror game "Alien: Isolation", but one of the strangest missed opportunities in the franchise turned out to be something completely different. In 2017, former Epic Games designer and Boss Key Productions founder Cliff Bleszinski revealed that his studio had discussed creating an "Aliens" game with Fox before the project disappeared into the void. Instead of retelling the films, the concept would have pulled inspiration from the Dark Horse comics. Players would step into the boots of an older Newt, who somehow avoided the grim fate fans know from the movies. Ripley was planned as a guide throughout the adventure, while Newt would be joined by a robotic version of Casey's doll head. Sadly, Boss Key closed in 2018, taking the idea with it.
Simon Franco
For all the terrifying encounters and heart-stopping moments in "Alien: Isolation", one of the most emotional stories connected to the game appears after the adventure is over. When the credits roll, players are greeted with a dedication to Simon Franco, a senior programmer at Creative Assembly who sadly passed away in June 2014, only a few months before the game's release. Franco had spent a decade at the studio and played an important role in the development of the project. His friends and colleagues later honoured his memory by creating the Franco Jam, a game development event where teams built small projects while raising money for charity. It’s just sweet enough to make me spiritual and hope he’s seeing the game's success from another place.
Marshal Waits Voice
Most fans know that "Alien: Isolation" brought back several actors from the original "Alien" for its DLC content, but there's also a fun connection to "Aliens" hiding in the main campaign. William Hope, best known for playing Lieutenant Gorman in James Cameron's film, voices Marshal Jethro Waits aboard Sevastopol Station. Interestingly, the two characters couldn't be more different. Gorman was inexperienced and made mistakes, but he ultimately found some courage when it mattered most. Waits, on the other hand, spends much of the game making terrible decisions while treating Amanda Ripley as a disposable tool. His plan to use her as bait for the Alien is one of the coldest moments in the story. Unlike Gorman, Waits never really earns a redemption arc before disappearing from the spotlight.
Amanda’s Model
Since Amanda Ripley is the daughter of Ellen Ripley, the developers obviously wanted the two characters to look related. Surprisingly though, the team behind "Alien: Isolation" didn't simply copy Sigourney Weaver's face and make a younger version of it. Instead, Amanda's appearance was built using motion-capture performer Kezia Burrows, combined with reference photos of Elizabeth Inglis, who happened to be Weaver's real-life mother. That might sound like an unusual choice at first, but it actually ties neatly into the "Alien" film series. In the extended version of "Aliens", Ellen is shown a photograph of her elderly daughter Amanda, and the woman in that picture is played by Inglis herself. The level of detail in this game? Va fangool.
Alien’s Design Was Slightly Changed
Getting the Xenomorph right was arguably the most important job facing the developers of "Alien: Isolation". If the creature looked wrong, fans would notice immediately. Thankfully, Creative Assembly stayed incredibly faithful to H.R. Giger's original design, keeping the familiar elongated skull, towering frame, and nightmare-inducing double jaws intact. However, there was one noticeable change hidden in plain sight. Unlike the movie version, which had more human-shaped legs thanks to being portrayed by an actor in a suit, the game's Alien was given backward-bending knees. The reason was surprisingly practical. During development, the creature's original movie-accurate legs made it seem slower than intended. By redesigning them, the team gave the Alien a more athletic, spring-loaded appearance. Yeah .. Thanks heaps.
3TB Of Data
A huge part of what makes "Alien: Isolation" so special is how convincingly it recreates the look and feel of the original 1979 film. Everything from the clunky computer terminals to the eerie audio design feels like it belongs in Ridley Scott's retro-futuristic universe. Even small details, such as the famous drinking bird desk toys scattered around Sevastopol Station, help sell the illusion. To help achieve this level of accuracy, 20th Century Fox provided Creative Assembly with an enormous archive of production material from the movie. The collection reportedly contained around three terabytes of reference data, including prop designs, sound recordings, photographs, and behind-the-scenes footage. That’s the whole grail of collector items.
Kezia Burrows Was Originally Cast
Most players associate Amanda Ripley in "Alien: Isolation" with the voice of Andrea Deck, while Kezia Burrows is remembered as the performer who provided Amanda's appearance and motion-capture work. Interestingly, that wasn't always the plan. Burrows has revealed that she originally recorded Amanda's dialogue as well and had already completed the role before the developers decided to bring Deck in to voice the character instead. The change was reportedly made to help strengthen the connection between Amanda and the wider "Alien" universe. Burrows still left a major mark on the finished game, however. Alongside providing Amanda's likeness and movements, she also recorded many of the character's breathing, grunts, and pain reactions. As great as the game is, that’s gotta hurt, I’d never speak again.
Why The Working Joes Jog
The Alien may get most of the attention in "Alien: Isolation", but the Working Joes deserve plenty of credit for keeping players uncomfortable, one of my biggest scares of all time was turning around and being face to face with one of these suckers. These unsettling androids patrol Sevastopol Station with an almost creepy level of determination, and once they spot you, they're rarely interested in letting the matter go. Most encounters end with players sneaking into lockers, hiding behind desks, or desperately looking for another escape route. If you watch them closely, though, you might notice something strange. Occasionally a Working Joe will pause its search and start jogging in place for a few moments before carrying on. It looks like a bug at first, but it's actually a nod to "Alien". In the film, Ash performs a similar action, which Ridley Scott later suggested was part of an android maintenance routine.
Alien Queen
Here's a fun little mystery hidden inside "Alien: Isolation". During the later parts of the game, players discover a terrifying Alien nest packed with eggs and more facehuggers than anyone reasonably wants to meet. Fans of "Aliens" will immediately spot a problem: eggs need a Queen, yet no Queen ever appears on screen. As it turns out, the developers actually discussed addressing this during production. Lead designer Gary Napper explained that the team originally planned to hint much more strongly at the Queen's presence. Eventually they backed away from the idea because they worried players would assume a giant boss battle was coming. That kind of climactic showdown didn't fit the helpless survival horror experience they wanted. Interestingly, the game's official art book still confirms that a Queen exists somewhere nearby, even if players never see her.
Chestburster Was Cut
For many players, the saddest moment in "Alien: Isolation" isn't a terrifying encounter with the Xenomorph at all. It's what happens to Ricardo, one of the few people on Sevastopol Station who genuinely helps Amanda throughout her ordeal. By the time players reach their planned meeting point late in the story, they discover him in a grim state with a facehugger already attached. It's a bleak end for one of the game's most likeable characters, but things almost became much worse. According to writers Will Porter and Dion Lay, an earlier version of the story had Ricardo suffering a fate similar to Kane in "Alien", with a chestburster eventually emerging from his body. The idea was scrapped because the timing didn't fit the established rules of the films, and the team wanted to remain faithful to the lore. Ugh! Lore Shmore, I wanna see some burst chests!
