Prey (game, 2006)

The game was first announced in 1995 and was being developed simultaneously with Duke Nukem Forever . The development involved Tom Hall and John Romero , who worked at id Software . The original idea of ​​alien abduction was preserved, according to the idea of ​​Paul Shuytem, ​​they decided to add a large organic spaceship to the game, on which several races live (three of which are known as “Trocar”, and the fourth - “Keepers”), and the main character Talon Brave from the indigenous America's population.

The game used portal technology, which allows you to use holes in space to create, move and change the shape of objects in real time. This is one of the main characteristics of the gameplay in conjunction with a very aggressive environment. Demonstration of these features in 1997 and 1998 was widely recognized at E3 , although the demo version was shown only behind closed doors for the Infinite MHz television program.

The public took the news positively due to the success of another 3D Realms product - Duke Nukem 3D . The soundtrack of the game, created by the German group KMFDM in the style of "ambient industrial", the developers posted on the official website.

However, the project was suspended due to insurmountable technical problems during the development process, this version of Prey failed. Later, the project’s chief engineer William Scarborough commented on this: “Portal tricks should be used just as tricks, and not as the basis of the engine.” ^[2]

Shortly after the dissolution of the Shuytem option, 3D Realms tried to revive the project again and attracted technical programmer Corrina Yu in November 1998. ^[3] Yu worked exclusively on the game engine, but after a while the programmer and 3D Realms parted ways - Prey fell into a long period of stagnation in 1999 year. ^[4] The release date of the game was delayed indefinitely, although it was never formally canceled, contrary to popular belief.

In 2001, 3D Realms began developing a new version of the game. ^[5] At this time, the necessary portal technology already existed stably and functionally in all modern game engines. 3D Realms chose the id Software licensed engine, which is being developed for Doom 3 , and on the basis of existing design ideas, commissioned the development of Human Head Studios .

An information leak in 2002 spread a rumor on the Internet about the revival of the project, which was neither confirmed nor disproved. That was until 2005, when a mysterious inscription appeared on the 3D Realms website: "Keep your eyes open for the opening of our next game in the near future;)". ^[6] This was followed by an article by Chris Morris on the Internet that Prey is not only in development, but will also be featured on E3. ^[7]

Shortly thereafter, the official teaser of the game Prey was launched, confirming the existence of the game, advertising information about the game in the June issue of PC Gamer magazine , in which the game was allotted seven pages.

April 28, 2006 was announced the release date of the game. On May 19, 2006 3D Realms announced a demo version of Prey , which was presented on June 22, 2006. On June 28, 2006 it was announced that Prey was sent “for gold”.

In June 2005, it turned out that the game uses the highly modified Id Tech 4 (previously used in Doom 3 ), capable of creating "huge open spaces besides traditional corridors." The game also supports dynamic portals, which were seen in the video clips of 1997-1998, which are used both by allies and opponents of the protagonist.

The game starts in a bar where you can watch TV with channel switching, listen to various tracks in a jukebox (see Soundtrack ), play blackjack , video poker and a one-armed bandit on slot machines. One of the machines is styled like the Pac-Man game, where instead of Pac-man’s head, a Viking’s head is depicted, and snow beasts instead of ghosts (an allusion to the previous Human Head Studios game called Rune ).

The game has the ability to change gravity thanks to small switches, which require shooting to activate them - this technique is used throughout the game in numerous puzzles. In addition, some landscapes in the game, for example, mini-planets, have their own attractive force, which must also be taken into account when moving in space.

Vehicles are small aircraft - shuttles equipped with a gravitational beam and an energy cannon, which are used to travel and attack the enemy, as well as solving puzzles. The landing sites are scattered around the sphere, during the use of which a shuttle exoskeleton is instantly built around the pilot. To leave the shuttle, you need to find the same platform and use the gravitational beam on it - the shuttle will be instantly “disassembled”. It is impossible to leave the shuttle without the use of such sites.

Radio transmitters are located in different parts of the spacecraft, from the speakers of which you can hear a live radio show from the Earth, in which the host Art Bell talks to experts in the field of paranormal phenomena, and also speaks on the phone to ordinary listeners of his program, who are in the center of events .

After the first visit to the Land of the Ancients, the main character practically becomes immortal, since after exhausting his vitality, he first falls into a transitional world for a short time, where he needs to fight the ghosts of fallen souls of two kinds, and then returns to the place where he died.

Health restoration is carried out by organic formations. Spheres: spores and reservoirs. After completing the game, the Cherokee difficulty becomes available, on which there are no “useful” formations. In order for the player to “go through” that part of the game in which he is mortal (if the player dies to the place designated by the plot, the game ends), in a critical situation the player’s health is partially restored after a few seconds. Hostile formations cause damage: tentacles sting, geysers sprinkle with acid, and the ovipositor throws out eggs that explode if you hit them.

The Sphere is a complex structure of enormous size, and therefore not everything in it can be controlled - some creatures can attack other inhabitants of the Sphere; not all systems in the Sphere work stably. The player will visit a location where problems in the portal system have led to the emergence of a "spatial paradox."

The story is dedicated to Domasi Tavodi (Cherokee, aka Tommy) from the Cherokee Native American people - a mechanic in a garage and a former U.S. Army soldier living on an Indian reservation in Oklahoma .

At the beginning of the game, Tommy is talking in a bar with her friend Jen. After a short brawl with the participation of the protagonist, something strange begins to happen: the bar suddenly starts, and an emergency warning sounds on TV. Then, green lights are lit in the sky, which lift up cars, buildings, and then Tommy himself. Waking up, he sees himself tied next to Jen and his grandfather Enisi inside a giant spaceship. After being delivered to the ship, this trinity, among many other prisoners, was taken through the space of the ship. An explosion occurs, made by a stranger, and Tommy manages to get out of the shackles. He witnesses the brutal murder of Enisi with an incomprehensible mechanism, while Enisi tells Tommy that he will be waiting for him in the "Land of the Ancients." When trying to find Jen, the main character passes over the bridge, which collapses under him - Tommy falls from a great height, and it would seem that he should be dead.

In a state of clinical death, he meets in a surreal world called the “Land of the Ancients” with his dead grandfather, who endows him with a supernatural ability - the ability to separate the spirit from the body, passing through obstacles and using the magic bow. The spirit turns out to be stronger than the body, and Tommy returns to life, while the ability remains with him. He uses this ability in his further journey on the ship to pass unnoticed through the ranks of opponents and penetrate places inaccessible to the average person. To help Tommy gets the spirit of his hand-hawk nicknamed Claw (in the English version - Talon ), who died when Domasi was still a boy. Although the main character was brought back to life to save all of humanity from the invasion of aliens, Tommy does not cease to worry about the fate of Jen and only cares to find and save her as soon as possible.

An organic alien spaceship is called the “Sphere.” It is small compared to the Earth, and in the center is a star used to ensure the life of the Sphere itself and all living creatures inside it. The origin of the Sphere is unknown, and its main purpose is to preserve itself. She travels through galaxies in search of various alien races that save her once inside. The sphere also uses these races as food and receives from them additional energy, which, in turn, is necessary for the charge of the star in the center. The sphere is plastic and cybernetically perfect; it can change the gravity inside itself and change the space. Various tracks allow the inhabitants to walk on surfaces that seem to the observer walls and ceilings. The sphere is also able to create portals that provide access to different sections of the ship. Due to this, residents can move much faster inside the Sphere and fulfill their duties more productively.

The inhabitants of the Sphere themselves are represented by various alien races, most of which are cybernetically strengthened like the strictions from the Quake series. Only a group of human-like creatures aboard the Sphere, which calls itself "Secret", lives relatively freely, engaging in rebel activity. Secret, although cybernetically modified, are far from the state of the other races within the Sphere and have not lost their personal qualities. Under the guidance of a seemingly young woman named Eluit, the Secret ones dream of returning to Earth, where they lived in ancient times.

The sphere is controlled by a higher being called Mother, who telepathically communicates with Tommy throughout the game. In the end, after a tumultuous struggle, Mother was defeated, but before she died, she called on Tommy to take over her work, otherwise the uncontrollable Sphere must inevitably die. After a bright flash, Tommy discovers herself inside the Mother’s room, able to control the Sphere. Grandfather Enisi spiritually connects with Domasi and says that the power received is nothing more than an illusion, and the price of reckoning is much higher than he acquired, so Tommy must make the right choice. After that, the main character, listening to the words of his grandfather, sends the Subject to him directly into the sun and ends up in the Land of the Ancients, where he sees Enisi and Jen again. Here he learns that his time has not come yet, and returns to Earth.

Six months later, Tommy finds himself in a roadside bar from where he was kidnapped; apparently the bar is still closed. He hears on radio the official version of what happened, according to which people, buildings and objects disappeared as a result of unknown natural phenomena. Then he sees Eluit. She and the Mystery survivors escaped through their own portal before Tommy sent the Orb into the sun. Eluit says that although the Earth’s population does not know how much he has done, some “others” have learned everything and want to meet him. She opens the portal, and Tommy steps into it. On the screen there is an inscription: “To be continued”.

The soundtrack is composed by award-winning composer Jeremy Soule and his brother Julian. The soundtrack of the game is available in two parts (lasting about two hours) on

DirectSong .

First drive:

1. Prey Overture
2. Aniwyah Calling;
3. Dark Harvest Begins;
4. Upside down
5. Where in the Hell am I ?;
6. The land of the ancients;
7. As if Appearing from Nowhere;
8. Cries in the Darkness;
9. Back to the Ancient Land;
10. Finding the Warrior Within;
11. Breaching the surface;
12. Smoke and Mirrors;
13. Desperate Measures;
14. Battle at the Superportal;
15. Primal Instincts;
16. Strengthened Resolve;
17. Hundreds of Your Miles Tall;
18. Full Ascension.

Second disc:

1. Cutting the Power;
2. Survival of the Fittest;
3. You're Becoming a Nuisance;
4. Pushing Towards Fate;
5. Splitting the Arrow;
6. Sacred Realm Desanctified;
7. The Power of the Keepers;
8. Raiding the Keeper's Fortress;
9. What Lies Before You;
10. Immortality or Oblivion;
11. Redemption and Finale;
12. Prey Super Trailer (Bonus Track).

In addition, a number of other tracks are licensed for use in the game. The list of songs in the jukebox at the first level of the game in the order they are located:

• The Edgar Winter Group - “Free Ride”;
• Heart - “Barracuda”;
• Judas Priest - "You've Got Another Thing Comin";
• Ted Nugent - “Cat Scratch Fever”;
• Railer - “If We Could Be”;
• Scotch Greens - “Deaf Girlfriend”;
• Seven Mary Three - “Settle Up”;
• Sheep on Drugs - “Machine Sex”;
• Halifax - “Anthem for Tonight”;
• The Countdown - “Human Resources (Radio 4 Remix)”;
• SOiL - “Forever Dead”;
• Clutch - “10001110101”;
• MxPx - “The Setting Sun” (ordered specifically for the game ^[8] );
• Blue Öyster Cult - "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." This song cannot be selected, but it is played in a jukebox during the alien invasion.

The final credits are presented by the song After Midnight Project - “Take Me Home”.

• Official site from 2K Games
• Official game site from 3D Realms
• The official website for the Linux version of the game at icculus.org