Prey (2017 video game)
| Prey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Arkane Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Bethesda Softworks |
| Director(s) | Raphaël Colantonio |
| Writer(s) |
Ricardo Bare Chris Avellone |
| Composer(s) | Mick Gordon[1] |
| Engine | CryEngine |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
| Release date(s) | Q1/Q2 2017 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Prey is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is scheduled for release in 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Originally in development by Human Head Studios as a sequel to the original Prey released 2006, the game fell into development hell and was eventually cancelled by Bethesda in 2014. Bethesda announced Prey as a re-imagining of the original game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2016, with the Austin branch of Arkane Studios taking on development duties.
Gameplay
Prey is a first-person shooter with role-playing game elements and strong narrative. The player takes the role of Morgan Yu, a human aboard a space station with numerous hostile aliens. The player will be able to select certain attributes of Yu, including gender, and decision made by the player will affect elements of the game's story. To survive, the player controls Yu to collect and use weapons and resources aboard the station to fend off and defeat the aliens.[2] According to creative director Raphael Colantonio, the station will be completely continuous rather than having separate levels or missions, at times requiring the player to return to areas they previously explored. The player will also be able to move around the outside of the station in zero gravity and find shortcuts connecting parts of the station.[3] Colantonio also stated that the aliens have an array of different powers that the player-character can gain over time; one such alien has the ability to mimic everyday items such as a chair.[3]
Setting
Prey takes place in an alternate timeline where United States President John F. Kennedy survived the assassination attempt in 1963. As President, Kennedy directed more funding into the space program, allowing it to flourish.
The game takes place in 2032, aboard a space station Talos I that is orbiting Earth's moon. Talos I was built during Kennedy's term, and has been expanded over several decades by various groups. This creates several different decors across the station ranging from retrofuturism to Art Deco.[4]
Development
The success of the original Prey lead to the announcement of a sequel Prey 2 in August 2006, with continued development by 3D Realms.[5] However, the project faced a number of issues, including the transfer of the IP rights to Bethesda Softworks (under ZeniMax Media) sometime by 2011. By March 2011, Bethesda announced that Prey 2 will now be developed by Human Head Studios using a modified id Tech 4 engine.[6][7]
On 31 May 2013, Kotaku reported rumors that development has moved to Arkane Studios and that the development has been rebooted scrapping all of Human Head Studios work on Prey 2 with a targeted release of 2016.[8] After about a year of further rumors, Bethesda officially canceled Prey 2, though as described below, Arkane had started working on a Prey game that would be considered a reboot rather than a sequel, using the Prey concepts but none of Human Head's previous development.[9]
On 12 June 2016, Bethesda officially announced at their E3 press conference the Prey reboot. The game's development is currently led by Arkane Studios CEO and director Raphaël Colantonio and his team in Austin, Texas.[10] Chris Avellone has also confirmed to be working on the project.[11] The new Prey is not a true sequel but instead a "a reimagining of the IP", according to Colantonio.[12] The teaser trailer shown during E3 2016 showed the game's protagonist in something like "a space horror version of Groundhog Day", according to CNet's Seamus Byrne.[13] Bethesda's vice president of marketing Pete Hines explained that the new game has no elements from the cancelled Prey 2 outside of the player facing against aliens.[14]
This version of Prey came out of Arkane Studio's own ideas; as explained by Colantonio, after they finished Dishonored, they split their team to work on two projects, one being Dishonored 2 and the other a new IP based on similar gameplay ideas which would be "in first-person, with depth and simulation and narration".[9] This new concept was set aboard a space station and involved aliens, and would require the player to consider the "full ecology" of the game's world.[9] As Arkane started developing this, they recognized the similarities to the original Prey. Realizing that coming up with a name for a new property can be difficult, and that through Bethesda that they would have the ability to use that name, they opted to go with calling the game Prey.[9] Hines explained that Arkane evaluated the Prey property to its core and built up a new game around it, calling it more a psychological game rather than a horror one. Prey will not be an open world game but will feature open-level gameplay similar to Arkane's Dishonored.[14]
References
- ↑ "Mick Gordon". Twitter. 12 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ↑ Biery, Thomas (27 July 2016). "The new Prey will not be like the old Prey". Polygon. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- 1 2 Matulef, Jeffrey (4 August 2016). "Prey reboot will be a metroidvania adventure". Eurogamer. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (9 September 2016). "Prey's alternate timeline depicts a future where JFK lived to see the space program flourish". VG247. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ↑ "Next-Gen People: Scott Miller". next-gen.biz. Edge. 9 August 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ↑ D Deesing, Jonathan (18 April 2011). "Prey 2 producer on taking new direction, with 'capable' id Tech 4". Joystiq. Engadget. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ↑ Rosenberg, Adam (14 March 2011). "'Prey 2' Bringing An 'Open, Alien World' For A 2012 Release From Bethesda Softworks". Multiplayerblog.mtv. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
- ↑ Schreier, Jason (31 May 2013). "We Hear The People Behind Dishonored Are Now Working On Prey 2". Kotaku. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 Pereria, Chris (8 August 2016). "Prey Dev Explains Why It's Named After an Unrelated Series". GameSpot. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ↑ O'Conner, James (13 June 2016). "Prey coming 2017 from Dishonored dev's Austin studio". VG247. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- ↑ Chalk, Andy (13 June 2016). "Prey is back, and there's a trailer [Updated]". PC Gamer. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- ↑ Pereira, Chris (12 June 2016). "Prey Revealed at E3 2016, Not a Sequel or Remake". GameSpot. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- ↑ Byrne, Seamus (13 June 2016). "Quake Champions, a new Prey and Fallout 4 VR: Everything Bethesda announced at E3 2016". CNet. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- 1 2 Paget, Mat (15 June 2016). "New Prey Has Nothing to Do With Cancelled Prey 2, Bethesda Head Says". GameSpot. Retrieved 15 June 2016.