A new teaser has emerged for alien abduction sequel Prey 2. The predominantly live action clip depicts an awe inspiring close encounter at approximately 30,000 feet, but provides few hints regarding story or gameplay. If early art for the game is any guide, it appears that Cherokee protagonist Domasi ‘Tommy’ Tawodi has been shown the door in favour of a generic military badass, an inspiring decision if ever there was one.
The sequel is due for release in 2012, roughly six years after its predecessor launched on 360 and PC. Considering the original spent more than a decade in development hell, work on the sequel appears to be progressing nicely. Then again, it probably doesn’t pay to get too far ahead of ourselves. Prey 2 will be available on PS3 as well as the aforementioned platforms.
Human Head Studios will again be handling development duties, with new franchise owner Bethesda Softworks set to publish.
an inspiring decision if ever there was one???? You use generic and inspiring in the same sentences???? It’s racism you dumb Fing moron!
Tommy was the last normal looking and acting character there was in a FPS. He wasn’t white and he actually had a personality, which is not something many shooter protagonists have. He was the last normal looking and acting character left in a FPS. He had an identity crisis, he didn’t like living on a reservation. In a sea of uninspiring, generic and forgettable military leads (usually some white guy), Tommy was a refreshing down-to-earth average Joe with a girlfriend and a grandfather that loved him dearly who worked in a bar on an Indian reservation. He was conflicted about his heritage, argued with his grandfather and girlfriend about following the beat of modern society, and generally behaved as far from a super space marine as possible. Sure, it was cool he was a minority, but even without his Cherokee heritage, he was still one of the most normal and relatable protagonists of any FPS ever created. He was just a normal man with normal problems, not some bald space marine in battle armor and the personality of a houseplant.
Look at nearly every FPS of the past decade, and you find three variations of the same character: your wisecracking smart ass (Duke Nukem, Gears, Bulletstorm, most of the characters from Borderlands), your completely silent protagonist (Bioshock, Half Life), or your standard military or marine super soldier (Halo, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor). It was nice to see a game focus on a seemingly average, down to earth guy who is dealing with family and relationship problems and whose quest isn’t to save the whole world (again) but initially just to find his loved ones and survive.
Domasi (Tommy) Tawodi’s background was chosen due to the amount of mythology in Cherokee oral tradition, which 3D Realms aimed to use for a number of games. When it was first revealed that the game’s protagonist would be an American Indian, the response was mixed due to concerns that he would be a stereotyped caricature, and that players would have difficulty identifying with an American Indian character. Tommy is voiced by Michael Greyeyes, and Jen is voiced by Crystle Lightning, who are both Plains Cree. Greyeyes approved of the way that Tommy was depicted in the game, contrasting Prey to a film production:
“I was impressed with the way [3D Realms] conceived of and wrote Tommy… Hollywood typically relegates our different indigenous cultures either into a single pan-Indian construct of some type — radical AIM protester type; slick, corporate, anglicized casino businessman type; et cetera — or, most commonly, as a historical figure, typically from a Plains culture. In fact, the overwhelming majority of roles written for native actors are in the Western genre. There are few opportunities for us to appear outside that paradigm, and when we do it is often equally narrow in focus… The writers [at 3D Realms] were always open to my comments — which I freely offered — and took my notes seriously, in nearly all instances changing dialogue or thematic content.”
Games for Windows: The Official Magazine, January 2008
But the morons at Human Head Studios (and Erin Marcon) didn’t have the brains to see this… and just sold out to cash in on all the military games they just keep crapping out…
Thanks for your submission Mac. We appreciate your passion on the issue. My ‘inspiring’ comment was intended as sarcasm. I too am disappointed by the decision to replace an interesting Native American character with yet another white video game protagonist.