Prey is a first-person shooter video game developed by Human Head Studios and produced by 3D Realms, using a modified version of the Doom 3 engine. Venom Games is responsible for the Xbox 360 port of the game.
A playable single and multiplayer demo of the game was released on June 22, 2006 for PC, and a downloadable Xbox 360 demo was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on June 30, 2006. The game went gold on June 28, 2006, and was released in North America on July 11, 2006 and on July 14, 2006 in Europe.
Development historyIn 1995, the first incarnation of the game was announced. Prey, to be developed in tandem with Duke Nukem Forever, and released around the same time, was envisioned by 3D Realms as first of a number of games to be running on unique, cutting edge game engine technology, to be developed in house. In this sense the project played the same role as Unreal did for Epic Games, and it would retain this role in the company’s strategy throughout its development time in the 3D Realms studios.
However, Prey as a game was to go through many different forms during this first attempt. A rapid succession of different designs developed by Tom Hall (previously of id software and later of Ion Storm), who was at that time fresh off the Rise of the Triad team at Apogee Software. After about a year’s worth of work, however, Tom Hall abandoned the project and left the company to form Ion Storm with ex-id compatriot John Romero. At this point 3D Realms brought on Paul Schuytema to begin the next phase in the game’s development.
The new team would go on to create the most coherent design the game ever had. The alien abduction theme was retained, but now the game was to be set on a massive, living alien space ship inhabited by a number of different alien races (three of them collectively known as the "Trocara" and a fourth called the "Keepers"), and the player would take the role of a Native American hero, called Talon Brave.
The game, keeping with its goal of presenting impressive cutting edge technology, showed off for the first time its portal technology, a feature that allowed rips in space to be created, moved and reshaped in real time. This was to be a core feature of the gameplay, along with heavily destructible environments. Demonstrations of these features drew widespread acclaim at the 1997 and 1998 E³ exhibitions – the television program Infinite MHz was able to capture exclusive footage of the game’s private behind-closed-doors demo at the games both E³ showings.
The public perception was very positive, the game looked impressive, and 3D Realms’ name, fresh from the success of Duke Nukem 3D was a mark of quality. Furthermore, German industrial band KMFDM were supposed to create the game's soundtrack. 3D Realms posted on their website in 1997 that they received a sample of the soundtrack from KMFDM and highly praised the music, described as “ambient industrial”. 3D Realms also released, via their website, two KMFDM songs in MP3 format (that are not on the Prey soundtrack), "Inane" and "Megalomaniac."
However, despite the best of starts, Prey’s development was troubled. Seemingly insurmountable technical problems ground development to a near-halt, and this version of Prey too fell apart. Later, on an internet discussion board head engineer William Scarboro would comment that "In hindsight, portal tricks such as these should be used as tricks, not as an engine paradigm."
Shortly after the Schuytema variant of Prey disbanded, 3D Realms attempted again to revive the project by bringing on tech programmer Corinne Yu in November of 1998. At this time there was no active game development going on, Corrinne was the only person on the project. She was solely there to write an engine which would be used for the Prey project. It was also thought at the time this engine would be used for Duke Nukem 5 (the game after Duke Nukem Forever). However, after a time, this iteration of Prey also fell apart too. 3D Realms & Corrine Yu parted ways, and Prey began its long period of inactivity in 1999. The title was put on indefinite hold (although never formally cancelled, contrary to popular opinion).
In 2001, 3D Realms began development on a new version of the title. This time, with the advantage of the necessary portal technology already being a stable and functional component of all modern game engines, 3D Realms was able to license the necessary technology instead of having to develop it. Specifically, the Doom 3 technology from id was licensed, and Rune developer Human Head Studios was commissioned to develop the game using the previous designs as a base.
Rumors of this new project leaked out to the public in 2002, through the website Evil Avatar, but were at that time neither confirmed nor denied. It wasn’t until 2005, when the cryptic clue "Keep your eyes open for the unveiling of our next game very soon. ;)" appeared on the 3D Realms website that the previous rumors were confirmed in any way. This was followed by a CNN article by Chris Morris, claiming that Prey was not only in development, but that it would be shown at E³.
Soon afterwards, the official Prey teaser site was launched, confirming the game's existence, and hinting that more would be revealed in the June issue of PC Gamer, which indeed featured a seven page article on Prey.
On April 26, 2005 Prey was officially announced in a press release by 2K Games:
"New York, NY – April 26, 2005 – 2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), and 3D Realms today announced Prey, a revolutionary first person shooter for PC and a next-generation console system in development at Human Head Studios, under the direct supervision of 3D Realms."
The press release later went on to say that:
"Prey will be exclusively showcased at this year’s E3 Expo by ATI in a movie theater-style exhibition. For the world exclusive first details on the game, look for PC Gamer’s June issue featuring Prey as its cover story, arriving on newsstands in early May. Prey is currently scheduled for a 2006 release."
On April 28, 2006, a July 10, 2006 release date was announced (although 3D Realms claims that is not the formal release date since it did not come from them or Human Head). On May 19, 2006, 3D Realms announced that a demo of Prey would be released on June 22, 2006 — the PC demo was released on this date, but the Xbox 360 demo was delayed until June 30, 2006. On June 28, 2006 it was announced that Prey had officially gone gold
StoryThe story focuses on Domasi Tawodi (aka Tommy), a Cherokee garage mechanic and former U.S. Army soldier living on a Native American reservation in Oklahoma. At the beginning of the game, Tommy is in a bar owned by his girlfriend, Jenny. After an unfortunate bar fight, the bar is lifted up by a gravitational force, as various items are sucked from their stationary positions into a green light above. Tommy, Jen, and Tommy's grandfather Enisi are transported into shuttle craft to be transported back to the massive alien starship called the Sphere. After docking, all three, along with countless other captives, are dragged through the upper levels of the Sphere and Tommy is freed in an explosion set off by a stranger who, despite being cybernetic like most of the Sphere's denizens, appears to be working against it rather than for it.
Tommy, who is armed only with a wrench he happened to be carrying when he was abducted, witnesses Enisi's death in a brutal alien device, and, while trying to find Jen, he falls from a walkway and has a near-death experience where he meets with his grandfather's spirit who bestows him with spiritual powers. After returning to the world of the living, Tommy gains the power to perform astral projection, using his spiritual body to pass through forcefields and reach places otherwise inaccessible to his physical form. Despite being entrusted by his ancestor's spirits with the mission to protect all of mankind from the sphere's invasion, Tommy can't stop worrying about Jen, and he only cares about how to find and rescue her. As the game's tagline says, "Earth's savior doesn't want the job."
The SphereThe Sphere is an organic, Texas-sized alien ship similar in shape to a Dyson sphere (though many orders of magnitude smaller). It has a small, concentrated star at its core, which is used to support itself and all life inside it. The origin of the Sphere is unclear, but its main goal is to maintain itself. It travels the galaxy searching for various alien races to maintain it, like white blood cells in a body. It also uses these races as food to provide much needed extra energy to sustain the Sphere and its star. The Sphere is fused with cybernetic enhancements, and has the power to manipulate gravity inside of itself. Various walkways allow the occupants to walk on surfaces otherwise designated as walls and ceilings. Switches that change the direction of gravity, effectively changing the orientation of anyone in the area, are present in some locations, causing floors walls and ceilings to change their roles depending on the switch used. The Sphere also has the ability to produce portals to other sections at will. This implies that the Sphere is in a constant state of flux, existing in multiple dimensions at once. These portals allow occupants to move much faster around the Sphere and fulfill their duties more efficiently.
The Sphere divides the multiple races into a few categories.
Workers are employed as slaves for all purposes to maintain the Sphere. They have the least freedom and are underlings to all other categories. Workers are the least dangerous but are prone to attacking if confronted by a hostile visitor. Most of the workers want to get off and destroy the Sphere, but have abandoned these hopes long ago. Workers are also prone to experimentation by the scientists. Workers who fail to comply with the guards are given as food to the Sphere.
Scientists are intelligent races employed on the Sphere to research technologies that help extend the reach, influence, power, and life of the Sphere. Scientists experiment on other races that are deemed to have potential for experimentation. These experiments result in horrible mutated creatures that are designed to help and succeed the guards. The Sphere's experiments are similar to the Strogg of the Quake series, as they will sacrifice anything to ensure combat efficiency, which results in cruel, twisted creatures that lurk in the corridors of the Sphere.
The guards are strong and efficient races that enforce the Sphere's rules like a police force. The guards are often stronger than the workers but less intelligent than scientists. The guards will mercilessly kill anyone who resists the commands of the Sphere, including Tommy. The guards are given more leeway than the workers as they are more important to the Sphere. The only real motivation of the guard races is to keep a higher authority in the Sphere and keep themselves from painfully dying in experimentation.
Multiple species may be consumed as more energy for the Sphere. The only group of beings aboard the Sphere who live relatively free are a small band of humans who call themselves the Hidden. The members of the Hidden, individually known as "Hiders", are slightly enhanced with cybernetics, but nowhere near the extent of the other beings on the Sphere, and have not lost their individuality. Led by a seemingly young woman named Elhuit, the Hidden strive to ultimately destroy the Sphere, though what they want most is to return to Earth, where they were taken from many years ago.
The Sphere is controlled by a superior being called "The Mother". She makes her first appearance in the game by communicating telepathically with Tommy. She is actually a human being who, like Tommy, fought against the Sphere and then was allowed to survive to replace the original being inside it. She, coupled with the Sphere, is omnipotent and immortal, and will live as long as she wishes until she tires of life and chooses a replacement. As the game progresses she questions Tommy about his resolve to persevere despite being alone against an entire alien civilization, and says that she is always watching his progress, curious about how far he can go. At the end of the game, having destroyed "The Mother", Tommy gets imprisoned within the same device Mother was in. Before Tommy goes power mad, Enisi tells him he knows in his heart what he needs to do. Tommy drives the Sphere straight into the sun, and ends up in the land of the ancients to see Enisi and Jen once more. Knowing that when it is his time he will see them both again, Tommy goes back to Earth.
A question left unanswered in the game was "what happened to the simple citizens abducted by the Sphere?". Perhaps they were rescued by Elhuit and her tribe, destroyed with the Sphere or by this time they had already been transformed into workers, soldiers or used as "food". These questions may be answered in a sequel/expansion pack, as suggested below.
Six months later, Tommy finds himself in a rebuilt Roadhouse, apparently not yet open to the public. The official story is that people, buildings and objects vanished because of an unknown, unexplained natural phenomenon. No one on Earth knows that Tommy is a planetary savior. He turns around and sees Elhuit, who he thought had died when the Mother located and attacked the Hidden's base of operations, suddenly standing across the bar. She tells him that while people on Earth do not know of the great deed he has done, that there are those "elsewhere", who have taken notice and want to meet him. Elhuit opens up a portal, which looks different from the others in the game, and Tommy walks through it. The player sees a mixture of light as the view warp towards the final destination and the screen goes black as the words "Prey will continue..." appear.
Spoilers end here.
Enemies * Fodder — These feral bipeds roam the craft in search of food. While they make do with carrion, they prefer the taste of fresh meat over a rotting corpse. They were specifically picked and engineered by the ship's scientists to work to keep the ship clean of rotted corpses and bodies of various creatures.
* Harvester — Beings who apparently have a vital role in harvesting the protein from captives to feed the Sphere. Physically weak, Harvesters enhance their bodies with cybernetic parts far more than the other races. They come in two varieties, one which walks around on mechanical legs (which can be blown off) and can travel freely through a network of organic tunnels, and one which has attached an antigravity device to itself, allowing it to fly through the air freely. This version has been said to bear resemblance to the Assault Commanders from Duke Nukem 3D. Both kinds of Harvesters are armed with Crawler Launchers, but only the walking variety use the alternate fire.
* Hunter — The foot-soldiers of the invading force, it is their responsibility to track down and eliminate any captives that get loose. They are armed with the standard Rifle, and will use both firing modes, depending on how far away they are from Tommy. The majority of the enemies faced in Prey are Hunters.
* Mutilated Human — These unfortunates are humans who have had painful-looking machinery implanted into their bodies, leaving them in a zombie-like state, fit only to perform menial, repetitive tasks for the Sphere. They only fight when provoked (by either shooting at them or getting too close) and will continue to fight even after being decapitated.
* Hound — These beasts began life as normal animals, but their mutation has not only altered their physical body; it has ramped up their instincts as well. They resemble the Xenomorphs from the Alien films.
* Gasbag — floating, tentacled creatures which spit acid. Apparently Gasbags are some sort of parasite that dwell within the Sphere and do not aid it in any way. Gasbags will attack anything that moves near them, whether it is Tommy or a Hunter.
* Mutate — Born of the melding of the DNA of human and alien victims of the living Sphere. The Mutate is a surprisingly nimble opponent despite its bulk, and possesses a massive claw that it uses to impale its enemies in a spinning attack
* Wraiths of Fallen Spirits — When Tommy loses all his health, he enters the Death Realm. He must battle the Wraiths of Fallen Spirits to regain both health and spirit energy before returning to his living body. These dishonored spirits inhabiting the realm of the spirit world also seem to inhabit the sphere. This is most probably because their souls are bound to the sphere because of their dishonored deaths at the hands of the Sphere. One of the examples of these wraiths is in a scene where it enters a holding chamber and possesses a child who abruptly is used to brutally murder the other child in the cell. This is an indication that these wraiths are similar to, if not the same as, demons in other religions, who possess hosts to perform terrible acts of evil. A short time later, possessed children attack on two occasions, including one scene where a school bus is encountered. However, these children only appear relatively early in the game and are conspicuously absent for the remainder. The human possession aspect is neither further explored nor resolved, leaving something of a loose end in the plot. However, the Wraiths occasionally appear at various points and fly around, sapping spiritual energy if they come in contact. It's interesting to note that the Sphere Mother, after first seeing a wraith, states that they were not on the sphere until Tommy showed up. Rather than being upset, she instead finds it intriguing.
Bosses * Centurion — One of the Sphere's most dreaded warriors, the Centurion blasts through adversaries using dual machine gun turrets grafted to both arms. In addition to this advanced weaponry, the Centurion's sheer size and brute strength makes it a truly intimidating obstacle.
* Girlfriend X — Tommy finds Jen in a strange pod of sorts and she is unable to feel her legs, according to what she says. The pod opens and we find out why; her torso has been surgically grafted to a vaguely reptile-like beast, resulting in a singular creature that is fairly quick, tremendously strong, and uses quite a few weapons against the player. Seeing as Jen is unable to control the beast she is now attached to, Tommy must either kill the beast, and his girlfriend in the process, or be killed himself.
* Keeper — After seeing fleeting glimpses of an alien creature that is apparently able to control portals by itself, as well as hearing a psychic describing said alien (as well as Tommy) via the aliens' monitoring of an Earth radio call-in show (Coast to Coast AM), Tommy finally comes across the alien in question, seeking vengeance for the recent death of his girlfriend. It is here the player learns that the Keeper's race seeded innumerable worlds across the galaxy with the prerequisite components for biological life so that, when the times arose, the Keeper's race could harvest that which they initially sowed so long ago. Earth was a barren and desolate rock until this process happened. Because of this, the Keepers ultimately do not care about, or even acknowledge, the rights of the beings that evolve on the seeded worlds, for they are merely protein to be harvested and used at their discretion. It is possible that the Keepers are the actual builders of the Sphere, seen as though it performs the very task they set out to initiate.
The first Keeper Tommy fights is able to summon just about every lesser enemy to fight Tommy, including a creature virtually identical to Girlfriend X (called Creature X), but with an anonymous human male in place of Jen. Later Keepers are not able to do this, but they share the same characteristics with the initial Keeper; an absolutely gigantic brain, which gives them the ability of telekinesis (with which to shield themselves, as well as hurl balls of energy or physical objects, such as barrels, at Tommy), and a body structure that is unlike any of the other alien races encountered on the Sphere.
* The Sphere/Mother — At the very end of the game, Tommy finally comes across the being that is in direct control of the Sphere, which is a human woman who was abducted from Earth long ago. She says that, at that time, she was just like Tommy; fighting tooth and nail every step of the way to the Mother's den. The being in control of the Sphere at the time was old and tired, so it made a deal with her: stop fighting and take control of the Sphere, so that she and her people will live. Seeing as it was either this or a swift death, she chose to become the new Mother.
After a very turbulent fight, Mother is defeated and, in her death throes, begs Tommy to take over her job, lest the entire Sphere die. As she dies, a huge burst of light engulfs Tommy and when vision is restored, the player sees Tommy inside the Mother's den, complete with swarms of data overwhelming him. Once the process is complete, we find that Tommy is basically numb with power. His grandfather contacts him from the spirit realm and tells him that such power is only an illusion and that he needs to look in his heart and make the right decision.
So Tommy does just that; by having the Sphere break from the Earth's orbit, target Sol (Earth's sun), and plunging the Sphere into it, ending the galactic menace's existence once and for all.
Spoilers end here.
WeaponsIn keeping with the Biomechanoid theme of the Alien Sphere, most of Prey's weapons are also hybrids of both mechanical and living, organic parts.
* Wrench — Tommy's Pipe wrench, used as an improvised mêlée weapon. Holding primary fire swings it back and forth quickly, while holding secondary fire makes Tommy bring it above his head for a more powerful strike when released.
* Rifle — An automatic weapon which fires bolts of energy at a medium rate. Secondary fire causes an appendage to emerge from the weapon and attach itself to Tommy's eyeball, augmenting his vision with a zoomed-in "scope" view. The zoom can be further magnified too. In this mode, creatures glow brightly when the targeting area passes over them, making them highly visible. Also, while zoomed, the Rifle fires only single shots which are much more powerful and use more ammo.
* Crawler — Small, 3-legged crab-like creatures which are found roaming all over the Sphere. Can be used in two ways: by ripping off all of its legs and throwing the abdomen, it becomes like a grenade which explodes after a couple of seconds. Ripping off just one leg and throwing will make the crawler become like a proximity mine; attaching to whatever surface it lands on and exploding when a creature comes near. Pressing secondary fire makes Tommy flip the Crawler over to select which way to use it.
* Acid Sprayer — Created by the friendly Hiders. A shotgun-style weapon which sprays acid rather than buckshot. The primary fire is deadly at close range, but much less effective at further distances. The secondary fire launches the entire vial of acid, which can be lethal if the shot hits its mark. Skillfully-aimed shots with the secondary fire can be rebounded against walls and around corners and so on.
* Auto Cannon — A rapid-fire, multi-barrel machine gun complemented with a secondary fire which lobs grenade-like orbs from an orifice above the gun barrels, exploding on impact. Continuous use of the primary fire will make the gun overheat and stop firing for a moment until it cools down again.
* Leech Gun — A powerful and versatile weapon. Ammo is gained by using the secondary fire to draw energy from nodes found throughout the Sphere. Different nodes make the gun take on different properties, namely: Plasma (fires fast-moving balls of energy causing moderate damage), Freeze (short-range attack which turns enemies into ice), Lightning (fires a bolt of electricity, one or two shots kill most enemies) and Sunbeam (a violently incandescent beam which cuts down most enemies almost instantly, as well as pushing the player back while firing).
* Launcher — An RPG-type weapon with Crawlers used as the ammo (although this is not shared with the individual Crawlers that are used as hand grenades). Primary fire shoots in a straight line to the target, exploding and causing damage in a large radius. Secondary fire vaporizes the Crawler into a lingering cloud of acid, effectively creating a shield in front of Tommy which dissolves any projectiles that come into contact with it.
* Spirit Bow — Tommy's only weapon while spirit walking. Its ghostly arrows are powerful and effective over a long range, but with a relatively slow firing rate. At certain points in the game, it has some special uses which cannot be done with any other weapon.
Only the Wrench, Rifle, Crawler, and Leech Gun (in addition to the Spirit Bow) are available in the single player portion of the demo (while all eight can be used during the multiplayer aspect). In order to use the remaining three guns in the single-player aspect of the demo, activate the in-game console by holding down control, alt, and tilde, and entering "give all".
TechnologyThe June 2005 issue of PC Gamer revealed that the game uses a heavily modified Doom 3 engine capable of rendering "huge cavernous spaces as well as more traditional passages". The game also supports the dynamic portals that were seen in the 1997/1998 video clips, which are used by friends and foes alike.
The game also has the ability to change gravity in many parts of the game, via small items that need to be shot to become active, which is used to solve many puzzles throughout the game. Also, various landscapes in the game (large rocks, for example) have their own gravity that overrides the normal gravity in the game.
Two vehicles make an appearance; one is a flying vehicle used frequently for travel and attacking (as well as puzzle solving), and one is only used during a small portion of the game.
The bar that the game begins in is very interactive, utilizing usable restroom facilities, a TV with various channels, a fully playable Pac-Man-like game, several video casino machines, and a jukebox that plays songs from Prey's soundtrack.
Prey is the first major title to utilize the new Triton distribution system, whereby users can play the game while streaming from the service. Triton uses "next-gen technology" to reduce download times drastically.
Trivia * In the game's original design document, the protagonist was originally named "Talon Brave". Although the character's name was changed to Tommy after the project began, the name "Talon" is reused as the name of Tommy's spirit hawk. This name is not accidental; it is a nod to the old version of the project.
* In a later section, Tommy exclaims “Man, so dark in here. I’m doomed,” possibly a reference to Doom 3, known for its poorly-lit levels despite that Prey uses Doom 3's engine. This could also be a reference to Duke Nukem 3D, which made puns relating to other FPS games such as "That's one doomed space marine."
* The game is dedicated to the memory of William Scarboro, who died of an asthma attack on 9 August 2002. (News Story) He was the game's original lead programmer in 1995, and devised the portal technology in the game's original incarnation.
* During the game, the player encounters special consoles that are tuned to Earth radio frequencies. The one most commonly heard is presumably the late night program Coast to Coast AM with the program's main host Art Bell making a vocal appearance.
* In the bathroom that the player starts in, a reference to the animated short Rejected can be found above the right urinal. The drawing shows a stick figure holding a large spoon with the words, "My spoon is too big" written next to it.
* On the playable arcade machines (which are in the bar at the start of the game), instead of showing your "lives" in the game it refers to them as "mans". This is a reference to the playable flash video games at the Homestar Runner website, which in turn stems from how young children would refer to their lives in games like "Super Mario World"
* During Prey's epilogue, a radio announcer can be heard mentioning snakes onboard a flight, an obvious reference to the film Snakes on a Plane.
* In the men's bathroom (where the player starts), one stall has a poster advertising "Viking XXX Chat", which asks, "Looking to get slayed?" The image shows a character from a previous Human Head game, Rune.
o Similarly, in the women's bathroom, there is another "Viking XXX Chat" poster in a stall. This poster states that the man in the picture (another Rune character) will "Ragnarok your world."
* The television in the bar has 2 channels. One of them has a clip of the Duck and Cover video running.
* Early in the "Hidden Agenda" level (where Tommy can watch a video of Jen being shocked), there is an animation of Jen's face. This image is randomly replaced with an image of Jen that is angry and not altogether human looking.
* Early trailers for Prey showed that the Dishonored Dead were possessing children (visible through glowing eyes), and then forcing them to perform evil acts. In the final game, however, the children were clearly shown to be killed, and the Dishonored Dead were simply taking the children's forms to commit acts. Given that Tommy is forced to shoot these spirits, it is likely that the change was implemented in order to avoid the controversy of a game demanding one to kill children (even if they are possessed). Interestingly, Art Bell talks to a father whose child is "acting strange," with glowing eyes.
o All the children in-game that are replaced by the Dishonored Dead are girls. There is a "spirit boy" monster, but is unused in-game.
o After the "bus scene," the possessed children make no more appearances in the game, with no explanation as to why.
* Despite her praying post, Elhuit can be spoken to twice after her initial spiel. She confirms that the Hidden are from Earth.
* The meaning of the word "Elhuit" in Hebrew is "a divine female".
* The music playing on the jukebox in Jen's bar is Heart's "Barracuda" as well as one of the selectable tracks on the jukebox at the beginning of the game is Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever". "Take me home" by After Midnight Project plays during the end credits
* In the level "All Fall Down," in the room where Tommy must fight dozens of dishonored dead children, several phrases are seen written in blood that do not appear in any other area. These include "I want to go home," "No one hears us," and "Francine." There is no explanation as to what these mean.
* On the bottom of a promotional card, included with the Xbox 360 version of Prey, the letters "prymvyscrnplycmng2007" are mashed together to suggest that a Prey motion picture is in the works.
* The basic storyline of Prey bear a similar vein of traditional Native American hero mythology in which the hero (Tommy) against all odds trying to rescue their loved ones (Jen) from an invincible enemy that existed from eons ago (Mother).
