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Prey Demo Out Now


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Games are and should be interactive programs.

 

Did you read my post correctly? Let's remake my sentence... The interactive program ain't a game without a basic set of rules. For example; running from point a to point b will make you finish a level. Cause and effect you know.

 

It's not like Windows or Notepad is a game, even though it's actually an interactive program.

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I'm curious as to whether or not the game will emerge uncriticized when parents start seeing this.

 

I am a parent. :) If the mutilation happens in a context where it fits into the story for a reason, then it's not so bad. Having it in there just to schok, is boring. I don't like to watch movies where mindless violence is exhibited. They are usually quite boring, because they try to distract from the boring story with more violence and think that this will make the movie or game better or more interesting. In fact I noticed such a tendency in typical Hollywood movies. They seem to have an urge to put at least one murder in every kind of movie, because apparently it increases the sales. Doesn't make movies better though. I hope that Prey is not that kind of game.

Gerhard

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The interactive program ain't a game without a basic set of rules. For example; running from point a to point b will make you finish a level. Cause and effect you know.

 

It's not like Windows or Notepad is a game, even though it's actually an interactive program.

 

Because I kind of feel strongly about this, I'll respond to it. Of course a game needs things like the PC needs a modus operandi (what do I do?) and "rules" for controlling the PC and interfacing with the world to advance the M.O. (x-control predicably = y-world response & y-world response triggers z-whatever) ... so there are your "rules".

 

But I think (I'm not speaking for Oddity here; this is what I think) that he rightfully put the emphasis on interactivity because the "control of a PC in a world" is really the core of what a game is, and the rules are just one (still necessary) means of bringing that about. But it's good to even perhaps overemphasize it because games today aren't taking advantage of it.

 

Easy example, for most games the level of interactivity is pitifully deficient (competing even with notepad it seems): run forward; shoot whatever weapon is at hand; kill whatever runs at you; pick up health or weapon stuff. But there are so many richer and deeper ways a person can interact with a world or NPCs, and richer situations: helping an NPC with a problem or injury, finding a restaurant for dinner, trying to set up two friends on a date or break them up, sparking a street riot to pressure the city to change a policy or let someone free from prison, or stopping it ... so you need better ways for PCs and NPCs to interact, you need a social world that runs on its own steam going on that you can use or abuse (other people going to work, having lunch, having sex at night). I mean I'm making these up, so these aren't nec the best ideas, but you get my idea. That's how I think about why the emphasis in gaming should be on the "interactive" part (not that rules aren't important too, because of course they are).

 

I guess I should make a token response for the topic at hand. :D

My laptop unfortunately isn't going to run the demo at anything near good speed, and I can't do it on school computers, so still waiting to see all the action. Except for the kid-mutilation (which strikes me as a little gratuitous and unimaginative as well), it sounds promising.

Edited by demagogue

What do you see when you turn out the light? I can't tell you but I know that it's mine.

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Just like most movies these days are rehashes, but there's the odd artistic/different experience presented, the same happens with video games. The gems are there as long as you are willing to look for them. And just like it's ok to have the former kind of movies, imo it's ok to have that in games too. I don't buy that many games anyway, so it's not like I've had too much of a kind. And I also enjoy all the freewares out there, there's some pretty awesome retro gaming hidden on the www, often with unique and interesting twists added on. It's all about FUN :)

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I found Prey's gunplay a little meh. I think the demo served better as a showcase of the gimmicks. I love the energy lecher gun, and the crawlers were very cute and touched my heart, but their practical application was not so effective.

 

I hope that the whole game doesn’t entail playing catch-up-to-girlfriend. That would make it more like a maze then an organic worldship to explore and uncover a, hopefully, enticing plot full of spicy backstory.

 

I think the plot could be huge. Something such as the aliens are actually the Aztec's/Mayan's former stewards/gods come back to cleanse the planet of the unbelievers who have turned the world into a secular modern machine and forsook their gods. We all know that the aliens built the pyramids ;)

 

What I do like is introducing an element that the PC can use that is foreign to a technological enemy. What better way to get through forcefields believably in a set context than to use your soul to walk through it. It lends credibility to the lone soldier taking on everyone when he has an ability that the nigh invincible enemy cannot perceive of or adapt to. No matter how advanced you get, stick and stones can still kill you :)

 

Prey’s strength is in its gimmicks: gravity shift, spirit walking, dead world, leech gun. It doesn’t bring anything truly new, but it takes everything old and packages it better than any other FPS out.

 

Another cool gimmick is the spirit animal Talon can actually translate alien text, plus he defends you when you are low in health. I find that a lot of the minute decisions by the developers for the stuff like I mentioned were good choices. The little things can make or break an FPS.

 

A little tidbit: Remember when you first hear that woman’s voice, she is amazed you can understand her, because it first comes out as an alien language, but then is translated. That, of course, begs the question, along with Talon somehow "knowing" alien language. There's got to be a backstory, an ancient backstory. How could the aliens be so systematic? Why are they listening in on planetary radio transmissions? WTF is up with that little girl getting swallowed up by that wraith then her apparition killing the boy alongside her?

 

"These ghostly abominations were not here before your sudden return human... interesting...". Its like the woman’s voice is insinuating that Tommy has unleashed the spirit world upon the aliens after he experienced his first "death". "Sudden return" could mean his death and return to body. Some wraiths may have come through with him.

 

All food for thought. I certainly will be getting it. I hope the many years wait was so worth it.

Loose BOWELS are the first sign of THE CHOLERA MORBUS!
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I enjoyed the demo and will probably buy the game when it comes out. The world seemed alive with things happening everywhere; weird stuff happening all over the place. Kept me intrigued. When I saw trailers and videos for it, I hated the shifting gravity thing and teleportals. In reality, I didn't mind them. I liked the opening scene in the bar... I just wandered around changing music on the jukebox, flipping TV channels and playing video poker/blackjack for a while. After a while, it kinda felt like I was there. I think the voice acting is kinda lame in parts (could be better) -- especially the voice acting of the charcter you play -- but it's okay; above average.

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Did you read my post correctly? Let's remake my sentence... The interactive program ain't a game without a basic set of rules. For example; running from point a to point b will make you finish a level. Cause and effect you know.

 

It's not like Windows or Notepad is a game, even though it's actually an interactive program.

 

Are yu being deliberately stupid?

Of course an individual game has to have rules of play in it, but what I'm saying is that every game doesn't have to contain the same set of rules, and that's exactly what's happening. Developers are releasing the same fomulaic game with almost identical sets of rules and gameplay.

You can't compare computer games to traditional games.

There is only one game of chess, yes, it's been aeound a long time, and it's still enjoyable, but you dont' get companies who make board games trying to think up 500 slightly different variations on chess and releasing 500 different games called chess. IF they want to release a new game, they have to think up a compltely new one, with it's own rules.

Computer games companies, on the other hand, are a bunch of lazy talentless fuckos, they think up one game idea, such as the FPS, and then proceed to release a virtually identical version of it 1000 times, charging a lot of money for each one as well, and stupid zombies like you fall for it, and that's why you are personally responsible for the situation, because if you didn't buy this crap, they wouldn't think they could get away with it, and then when they wanted to release a new game, they'd actually have to sit down and think up a new game with a new set of rules and gameplay, and we'd all be better off as a result.

Civillisation will not attain perfection until the last stone, from the last church, falls on the last priest.

- Emil Zola

 

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I certainly liked the interactivity, and the gravity puzzles increase the interest a bit from the standard point-and-shoot. I have to agree on the corny dialog though, it is just embarassing when you walk around and your character comes out with all this "hold on, I'll save you" Hollywood crap.

 

Not sure whether I will buy the game though, it seems a bit pricy at the moment (but it might come down), and I'd like to see if there are some driver updates or something that improve the performance - not that it is unplayable, but I expect better than 1024x768 from an X850 XT.

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Where's the part that makes me "deliberately stupid"? Maybe you should think twice before insulting someone else in a conversation, it's not a shortcut for winning it.

 

Anyway, the rules I'm talking about here is the "cause and effect" type.

 

Look at Demagogue's post;

"helping an NPC with a problem or injury, finding a restaurant for dinner, trying to set up two friends on a date or break them up, sparking a street riot to pressure the city to change a policy or let someone free from prison, or stopping it ... so you need better ways for PCs and NPCs to interact, you need a social world that runs on its own steam going on that you can use or abuse (other people going to work, having lunch, having sex at night)"

 

That's simply a cause and effect rule, set and scripted in the programming. If there's no reason for the gamer (let's simply call it that) to interact with the NPC, making him or her happy or sad, then it "usually" won't keep the gamer going. Just by letting the gamer interact with an object or person is a rule in itself that allows the person to do that.

 

Edit*

I think you guys are way locked on the word "rule" itself. I can't find another word to explain what I'm trying to say.

Edited by Denny
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Since when do FPS games have any of that sort of interactivity in them? They're just mindless shooting of monsters, built to the same template as 500 shooters before them, and Prey is no different.

A bunch of twats are still queuing up to buy it though, and that's why they continue making them.

Civillisation will not attain perfection until the last stone, from the last church, falls on the last priest.

- Emil Zola

 

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Some developers try to keep that interactivity in their FPS'. Vampire the Masquerade : Bloodlines atleast tried.

 

-----------------------------

 

It's still called "First Person Shooter". How do you make an FPS without shooting? Hard to make it "not" seem mindless as that is the main point about FPS'.

 

Agreed that the story in most cases SUCK, but it is there. :P

 

By the way, I read through the thread and never saw if you actually "played" the Prey demo. Did you? (some people tend to judge by looking, not trying) :)

Edited by Denny
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OF course You can't make a shooter without having shooting - in which case, the best idea would be to stop making them. There are more than enough already, no one will ever be short of a shooter to play.

Anyway, they tend to label them 'action' games these days rather than FPS.

No, I didn't play the demo. I've no wish to waste my time playing another shooter to see how bad it is compared to the last hundred, just like I don't continually go around sticking my hand into fires to see how hot it is.

Civillisation will not attain perfection until the last stone, from the last church, falls on the last priest.

- Emil Zola

 

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that's nonetheless a logical fallacy as there is no reason that something which appears to be a fire should be hot, no matter how many times something similar was hot before.

 

Err...what?

 

In order for something such as a gas to emit light, it generally has to possess rather a lot of internal energy, i.e. heat. In the absence of any other explanation for the emission, you would be well advised to consider something that looks like a fire to be hot.

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just because the earth has been shown to rotate around it's axis for every day in human existence so far is no 100% assurance that it will continue tomorrow.

 

True, but it would pretty stupid to assume that it wasn't going to. That is the difference between pure logic and rationality.

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that's nonetheless a logical fallacy as there is no reason that something which appears to be a fire should be hot, no matter how many times something similar was hot before.

 

Not this nonsense again, I've told you about this before, just becasue you've done some elementary twatish lessons on philosophy and logic, doesn't mean you know how to apply them to the real world (and from your posts, you obviously don't')

WHat exactly do you mean by 'something that appears to be fire'?

Name me something that looks and behaves like fire but isn't?

Civillisation will not attain perfection until the last stone, from the last church, falls on the last priest.

- Emil Zola

 

character models site

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No, I didn't play the demo. I've no wish to waste my time playing another shooter to see how bad it is compared to the last hundred, just like I don't continually go around sticking my hand into fires to see how hot it is.

 

you rather waste that time here arguing about something you didnt even try..

well no point describing colors for a blind man.

 

There are more than enough already, no one will ever be short of a shooter to play.

 

So you would play chess with the same amateur guy who never learns a thing... again and again..

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WHat exactly do you mean by 'something that appears to be fire'? Name me something that looks and behaves like fire but isn't?

 

Ah! There are these lamps made out of red and yellow paper stripes with some fan underneath it. They look pretty convincing on first sight. :)

Gerhard

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