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Prerelease:Prey (2006)/2005

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This is a sub-page of Prerelease:Prey (2006).

So very stubbly.
This page is rather stubbly and could use some expansion.
Are you a bad enough dude to rescue this article?
Various logo concepts dated to 2005 posted by Scott Miller in 2024, artist unknown.[1]

April 2005

April 1st

3D Realms would release the source code of Shadow Warrior for April Fools 2005. Included at the end of the post was a tease of Prey with the following: "P.S. Keep your eyes open for the unveiling of our next game very soon. ;)"[2]

April 6th

CNN Money publishes an article containing various rumors about E3. Prey is mentioned among these titles.[3]

April 26th

Prey is reannounced in a press release from 2K Games.[4][5]

Innovative First Person Shooter in Development at Human Head Studios

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 initial concept for Prey had been incubating for a while, waiting for the right opportunity to come along,” said George Broussard, President of 3D Realms. "We jumped at the chance to create this game with a talented developer like Human Head Studios and next-generation technology like the Doom 3 engine."

Scott Miller, CEO of 3D Realms, added, "Prey is special for many reasons, including several new and original gameplay features and a tightly integrated story that packs an emotional punch, unlike other first person shooters."

“Our collaboration with 3D Realms has been enormously rewarding,” added Timothy Gerritsen, CEO of Human Head Studios. “With their help, Prey is sure to breathe new life into the first person shooter genre with a compelling story, innovative gameplay mechanics and dazzling imagery, which is powered by our significantly enhanced version of id Software's original Doom 3 engine.”

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.

September 2005

[6]

We think what will surprise gamers most about Prey is the complexity of background, emotion and narrative that's going into the script. Why is narrative so important to Prey?

Scott Miller: Well, narrative is why we care. Would Max Payne have been nearly as entertaining without its story, leaving only the action parts? I really don't think so. The story is such a huge part of the equation because people inherently love a good story. Plus, the best stories affect people emotionally, so we've tried to create a story that does just that, with several emotional gut punches that we're not going to reveal before the game comes out.

Why did the original version of Prey never get a release?

Scott Miller: Sometimes you just need to give up, and that's what we did. At the time we were trying to expand internally as a company and make three games, and it proved to be too much, so in 1999 we ended up dropping Prey and moving the best people to Duke Nukem Forever. Prey stayed in limbo until late 2001, when we connected with Take 2 and Human Head to revive the project.

There seems to be a lot of playing around with physics, gravity and perspective in what we've seen of Prey...

Scott Miller: Well, the setting of an alien spacecraft gives us a lot of license to develop ideas that don't make sense on Earth. Gravity flipping and Wall Walk - which allows you to run on the walls and ceiling - both fit well and were prototyped very early in the project, which allowed the level designers to utilise them as soon as possible. They're pretty much integral to the design because of the alien setting and since puzzles based around gravity flipping and wall-walking are unique and fun. A simple room can have a completely different set of challenges once we start flipping the player up onto the ceiling. For example, one type of puzzle involves a large chasm the player cannot get across - but you can simply flip gravity to the ceiling, navigate past the chasm (which is now above your head) and finally flip gravity back to normal. The game is filled with moments like that.

Have there been any 'Eureka!' moments in the development of Prey, in which the whole team has been invigorated by the concoction of a new idea?

Scott Miller: The best example of something that just clicked with design is Death Walk. In Prey, death is not permanent. You die and you're transported into an alternate plane of existence, where you must battle for the right to come back to the land of the living. When you succeed, you come back to exactly where you died, to continue the game right where you left off. The team was really excited about it - it's unique to a game like Prey, it fits into the storyline and it's just a great feature. Now that I'm used to Death Walk, I find myself wishing it was in many of the other games I've been playing lately.

Who's writing the script? We've read a copy of the earlier parts of the game and have to say that we're mightily impressed.

Scott Miller: The script has been a long process for us and not a cheap one either! We've spent as much on this script as many Hollywood film scripts. The original story was created by myself and several developers at Human Head Studios. Next, we had a 35-page treatment written by Chris Treagus, an expert in the horror genre. Then, David Freeman, best known for his Hollywood writing workshops, wrote the first draft of the script and Gary Whitta wrote the final draft. Gary used to be the editor of a PC games mag over in the US, and has recently had a script picked up for movie production. He's the writer for the Duke Nukem Forever script too.

What cues are you taking for the way the game sounds?

Scott Miller: When we started research on music and sound, we realised just how different it was from other games from a design standpoint. We really didn't find anything firm to latch on to as a starting place. For Prey's sound design, we wanted to mirror the strong biotech angle brought forth by the level design. The Sphere is a living, growing, dynamic thing, and it should sound alive, wet and perhaps even a bit gross. The monsters are altogether alien, so the less they sound like Earth animals - be they lions, seals, elephants or whatever - the better. The weapons are similarly unique and also carry the same strong biotech design element seen in the levels, so be prepared to hear something new when you fire these guns. Musically, you'll hear a mix of traditional Native American instrumentation and new age electronic soundscapes, with a dash of horror film scoring too.

Finally, could you give us one more reason why Prey is going to kick our lily asses?

Scott Miller: The game has the best opening level of any FPS game yet made. We've not shown this to anyone yet, but the game does not start in the bar room with the alien abduction. That's level two, which is a flashback level.

October 2005

3D Realms files a trademark for the name "Tommy Tawodi".[7]

References

  1. ↑ Linkedin / Twitter posts by Scott Miller - September 27th 2024
  2. ↑ Shadow Warrior Source Code Released - 3D Realms, April 1st 2005
  3. ↑ Sneak peek: New Xbox, New Lara Croft - CNN Money, April 6th 2005
  4. ↑ Innovative First Person Shooter in Development at Human Head Studios - 3D Realms, April 26th 2005
  5. ↑ Prey Announced - 3D Realms, April 26th 2005
  6. ↑ Scott Miller talks Prey - Computer and Videogames, September 19th 2005
  7. ↑ TOMMY TAWODI Trademark - Serial Number 78726394 - Justia Trademarks
Hmmm...
To do:
Incorporate/reference this information below into article.

3D Realms News Posts

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