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‘Prey’: Lead Designer Weighs In On Feel And Nature Of The Game, Reveals Gameplay Elements

By Bryan Star
Published on: 12:36 PST, Aug 21, 2016

We’re finally learning more about Prey, the upcoming first-person shooter game.

Developer Arkane Studies has been hard at work developing a complete reboot of Prey, and new information has been revealed in terms of the environment of the game and what we can expect.

In a report by Gamespot, it’s being said that Prey is looking to take an eccentric approach to the overall experience. Lead designer Ricardo Bare went into some detail about how the game will open up, as well as the progression that will take place. From the trailer that we’ve already seen, protagonist Morgan Yu is caught up in events gone wrong on a space station. Changes both internally and externally lead him on a mission to uncover all that has transpired, and the player is tossed into a tangled journey that must be unraveled.

Bare had this to say about the world that Morgan Yu will be a part of.

“When you emerge from the experiment, the disaster that’s overtaking the space station just happened. It didn’t happen months or years ago, it’s happening right now.”

This gives us the feeling that Prey is going to be very “in the moment.” Games like Bioshock take advantage of this, thrusting the player into split-second decisions that eventually pulls back the veil on information that may be key to completing the game and getting a full picture of what’s happening behind the scenes.

The trailer for Prey also reveals that the aliens we see will serve various purposes to both the story and combat. There’s a certain darkness that descends over the game, leaving Morgan with the necessary task of examining his surroundings carefully; some aliens are able to morph into inanimate objects, springing into action when the player least expects it. Co-creative director Raphael Colantonio addresses this, mentioning that the game is mildly dipped in a horror and surprise element.

“It’s not always predictable, even by us, because the aliens do that systemically,” Colantonio explains. “Based on what objects are around them, they will choose one if they have to flee at this moment.”

It seems clear that Prey will keep players on the edge of their seats. This is especially true if there will be shock factors that change based on how players approach each mission’s objectives. However, Colantonio also mentions that the game is not so much a horror experience.

“There are horror elements, but it’s not a horror game in the sense that this is not the focus for us,” says Colantonio. “The focus is…a story where you were the subject of an experiment and something went wrong, and now you are trying to understand what happened, and who you are, and why you’re here, and how do you escape this place.”

While Prey isn’t the first game to have this type of story, Arkane Studios appears to be shooting for a certain replay value in creating suspense and a constant change in how enemies may adapt or adjust to Morgan’s settings. Gamespresso reports that we can already see some of the abilities and gameplay elements in Prey, as shown in a teaser trailer during GamesCom 2016.

It’s obvious that Prey isn’t going to be your typical run and gun game. Colantonio solidifies this by weighing in on the purpose of Arkane Studios making the game as enigmatic as they plan to.

“We’re going to mess with the players’ heads to some degree, at least at the very beginning,” Colantonio begins. “Because there’s a big theme about identity and what did you want before and what do you want now?”

Prey is set to release in 2017 on PlayStation 4, XBox One, and PC. With this being a reboot, fans can rest assured that they’re going to get a completely rebooted experience from Arkane Studios.

[Image via Arkane Studios]

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