Prey Demo Out Now

[Denny]

And the main character actually "speaks". Not some muted and "backward" character like Gordon.....

[oDDity]

Hey you're not alone on that one Oddity. That's why I shined light on the Prey demo. It's another FPS but it has an epic storyline this time. As well as themes that play into the real world. It's doing things different,and at least that's a step in the right direction.

 

Ahh,. I see, so you're not just some guy single handedly saving the day by blowing the heads off a bunch of aliens using a variety of big guns?

None of that features in the 'plot' at all?

I don't care how many ways they dress that initial premise up, it still isn't interesting.

[Al3xand3r]

Well, if you want to play a FPS, it's either going to be that kind of premise, or a realistic squad based approach like the Rainbow Six series used to be. How else could they do it in a single player environment (I assume we aren't talking about MP titles now)?

 

There are still many games that aren't all about that too, such as some of the good adventure titles and what not. Well, I suppose they can still be about saving the world but often they have much smaller scale stories that only matter to the main character(s) rather than the whole universe. And they make more sense than killing every enemy in existence. Atleast within their own constructed world.

 

And what about RTS or puzzle games? I don't enjoy RTS games myself but there's the odd fun quirky puzzle title released every so often.

 

And what made you work on The Dark Mod? Or enjoy the Thief series? Those were pretty much about saving the world too, except you did it by sneaking around everyone rather than killing everyone. So, what gives?

Edited June 23, 2006 by Al3xand3r

[oDDity]

The difference is that Thief 2 was the frst PC game I ever played, so it was all new and interesting back then.

And I had it written into my Dark Mod contract that on no account should the plot of the campaign involve saving the world in any way, I also spent a good amoint of time arguing for the removal of all weapons from the game.

Yup, I wanted to make a very different game, but no one else was havng that.

[Al3xand3r]

Lol, you can make your own levels without having the weapons in. Yeah I recall that discussion about being able to get the enemies unconcious even though they wear helmets and you were very against that (did they ever consider my suggestions, if you remember?).

 

You didn't respond to my other points or suggestions on what to play

[Dram]

The difference is that Thief 2 was the frst PC game I ever played, so it was all new and interesting back then.

And I had it written into my Dark Mod contract that on no account should the plot of the campaign involve saving the world in any way, I also spent a good amoint of time arguing for the removal of all weapons from the game.

Yup, I wanted to make a very different game, but no one else was havng that.

 

It was actually useful that you argued so hard against the things odd, as it meant that everyone actually had to think about what you were saying as you kept fighting. If I had said, crossbows rulzorz and shuld b inz, I think everyone would've gone no! and I wouldve just said fuck it. You on the other hand would argue until everyone else either stiopped arguing or a poll was made. So yeah, your input IMO was incredibly useful

[Fingernail]

Prey is great fun though, and incredibly well designed.

[oDDity]

Lol, you can make your own levels without having the weapons in. Yeah I recall that discussion about being able to get the enemies unconcious even though they wear helmets and you were very against that (did they ever consider my suggestions, if you remember?).

 

You didn't respond to my other points or suggestions on what to play

It doesn't matter which genre you pick, theyr'e all as repetitive as the last one. I only started playing computer games in 99/2000, and was already getting bored with them 3 years later. I fail to see how some of you guys who have been gaming for 15 years can still find them interesting. It's basically just the same game being released every time with a slightly different plot. In the case of shooters they usually dont even bother thinking up a new plot, they're happy to use the same one every time, either involving mutants, zombies, aliens, or a mixtire of all three, and RPG's are no better- - start off as kid/or someone who lost his memory, you have lots of untapped power you know nothing about (you father was usually some powerful guy in the past who hid you to keep you out of danger and you know nothihg about him) an evil ruler rises to power again and you are the only one who can stop him, so you single handly kill everything evil in the world until you reach him. EVery single Shooters, RPG and RTS are riddled with the same cliches.

Don't even mention bloody MMOs.

Puzzle games? I'd rather do ANYTHING else. I never feel more intensely like I'm completely wasting my time than when playing a puzzle game.

Adventire games can be quite unique since they rely a lot on story and they do try to think up different ones, the downside being that you really have to like the particular story they're telling in order to enjoy the game, but you can count the numebr of good adventure games that have been released without breaking into double figures.

[_Atti_]

"And I had it written into my Dark Mod contract that on no account should the plot of the campaign involve saving the world in any way,"

 

Try Planescape:Torment if you havent yet..no world saving there

 

besides that i cant think of any where you dont have to save atleast one nation:) especially when it comes to fps

[Denny]

I thought it's called "First Person Shooter" for a reason.

[OrbWeaver]

Prey has some wonderful environments, but it runs like an absolute dog even on an X850 XT (relatively speaking - I get about the same performance as Doom 3 on my old 9800XT)

[Denny]

I've heard alot of people having different experiences with Prey and performance. It seems those with newer graphics cards get less performance with Prey than Doom3. Weird.

 

Most people I've heard says they get better performance in Prey than Doom3 or Quake4.

[Al3xand3r]

Oddity maybe you should take games less seriously and just use them as entertainment, not something that has to have an amazing new plot (except for adventure games which have to have that) and the all innovative gameplay. For example, I still find lots of retro games fun, it doesn't have to be all new to be that. NaaC is my current favorite: www.bloodymonkey.com - try it! And by the way playing any game is basically a waste of time. It's why they exist, to kill time until you have something better/more important to do! Like any kind of entertainment I guess.

 

About the Prey performance, I have an X800 XL (256MB Ram version) and it runs better than Doom 3 does for me. That means pretty damn good, I didn't spot any real slowdown and I'm usually very picky about such things (I'm not one of those people that think 30fps is acceptable!). Using the latest Catalyst display drivers with Ati Tray Tools.

[OrbWeaver]

I'm probably exaggerating a bit, for the most part at 1024x768 (no AA, 4xAF) I am getting 60 fps with occasional slowdowns into the 30s.

 

I'd rather play at 1280x1024 though, which I can do quite comfortably in D3/Q4 but with Prey there are parts where it goes down to 20-odd FPS at this resolution.

[Fingernail]

Yeah, I'm getting better performance than Doom 3 on my aging 9800 Pro.

 

Running at 1024x768, 2x AA, high detail texturezz

[Komag]

What about sports, card games, or other things like that? Baseball and Poker haven't changed much in 100 years or more.

 

Maybe computer games with similar plots/gameplay could be seen like that, more of the same isn't always a bad thing if the same is still fun.

[Denny]

Maybe computer games with similar plots/gameplay could be seen like that, more of the same isn't always a bad thing if the same is still fun.

 

That simply explains why The Dark Mod exists.

[oDDity]

I see games more as creative art, not as a set of rules that are set in stone like baseball and poker, though the various game genres are now actually being made to formulas that have a set of rules. That is not quite so bad for multiplayer games, which are more about interaction and competition with other people than about the specific game you happen to be playing, but for single player games, these formulaic, repetitive titles serve no purpose other than zombie fodder (the zombies being people who are quite happy to endlessly watch the same generic movies, read the same generic books, and play the same generic games)

[Denny]

If there's no rules or anything similar, it's not a game anymore. It's at most an interactive program.

 

If we're not talking "game" in a hunter's term.

Edited June 24, 2006 by Denny

[oDDity]

Games are and should be interactive programs.

[Fingernail]

even you've got to admit this is better than the pack; the gravity messing and portals ensure it's original, varied and exciting in ways that most other fps games merely dream of

[demagogue]

I'm on Oddity's side here (I think; one can never be too sure) on game vs interactive.

 

When cinema first started 100 years ago, it was considered sort of a fluke offshoot of photography, and had a few gimmicks at first, then started rehashing some basic stories... But as it's matured it's really been able to do more than *merely* entertain, going into artistic and humanity sort of directions like we think about cinema and theatre.

 

PC Gaming has that potential. Of course I'm sure "games" will always exist and be as fun always as they are now. But I also look forward to more expressive productions. And what separates gaming as a medium of expression is interactivity, engaging with the narrative or experience rather than just passivly watching it. Also, since it's a creative medium, there's no reason it should stay content with a few themes played over and over (again, like we think about cinema), except insofar as they are universal human themes that never age. But anyway, there's so much potential here, we should start expecting more from PC games and not be held back (while of course saving a place for the really great games that will always be fun).

Edited June 24, 2006 by demagogue

[woah]

I think I'll buy this game. It's got some unique aspects about it, and I like that. Though, it's hardly anything revolutionary. It runs perfect on my 7600GT; about on par or better than Quake 4's performance.

 

The dialog is so corny. Although, that really isn't anything unusual for games. Still, it bothers me how developers can put so much effort and perfection into graphics, level design, and such, yet dumb the whole experience down with cliche character personalities and dialog that are only cool when you're 12 years old.

 

 

But I guess one good thing about Prey is that this is the first game I've played where children are mutilated, real-time in front of you :D

[Komag]

I'm sure you liked typing that last sentence...

 

That's the main reason I might not get the full game, if there's a lot of that sort of thing. I probably will get it, but it will be in spite of that aspect

[woah]

Haha, well I was sort of joking. I actually hate mutilation--and all of those movies where people are tortured to death for that matter, but the way it is done in Prey is rather dull and inept (and thus comical). It was just surprising to me that they actually did it. I'm curious as to whether or not the game will emerge uncriticized when parents start seeing this.