This Cherokee finally got to finish Prey

[WVa Cherokee]

I'm back! I was last seen here in this thread:

http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showthread.php?t=19157

I finally got Prey for Christmas yesterday and was able to finally conclude the game that has been a demo on my 360's harddrive for over a year now .

A little about me (for those of you who won't go to the other thread)...I am Cherokee (among other things), I have a BA in Native American Studies, I have extensively studied my tribe's history, culture, language, etc. I've also had the pleasure of meeting a good deal of prominent Cherokee people. I also consider myself a "traditional Cherokee". I'm just giving a little background on myself...I am not proclaiming to being the be-all-end-all of things Cherokee hehe.

I really enjoyed it! Some of the puzzles had me frustrated but to be honest, I think that had to do with the detail put into the game. In a game with a lot of detail, it is sometimes hard to know just what you can or cannot interact with. So I'd just chalk it up to being spoiled by games like Halo with their nav point systems.

I loved the use of the Cherokee version of Tommy's name (Domasi). There was no pointing of this out in the game (that I noticed) so it seemed like a treat for those of us who know that kind of thing...though no doubt many others possibly just figured it out anyway. After all, Domasi is just a "Cherokeeization" of Thomas. I had hoped that his "real" Cherokee name would have been revealed rather than just the translation of his English name. Maybe we'll see that in Prey 2 .

I was a bit confused about the mention of "Aniwodi" at the end. Grandfather said that the Aniwodi were proud of him. Aniwodi is the Cherokee Paint Clan. Was Tommy from the Paint Clan and therefore his clan is proud of him? I can see how that would work but I would think that perhaps Cherokees as a whole would be proud of him . That being said, "enisi" is the term given to a paternal grandparent. Clan is passed down through the mother. Therefore, it would be possible for Enisi and Tommy to be of the same clan.

I also loved that Tawodi (hawk) was Tommy's last name.

I know that quite a bit of the "mystical" portion of the game is fiction. No biggie there. I enjoyed it immensely and won't pick it apart like some would (no one questions why an Italian plumber (Mario) can jump several times his height, do they??).

I am very much looking forward to Prey 2.

(EDIT: My signature isn't updating correctly...my gamertag is "Cherokee Dragon")

[Bad Sector]

Hi! Nice comments :-).

And i was wondering if Prey's story has anything to do with Cherokee or it's just pure fantasy. Nice to see that most things have a ground :-). I would assume, however, that the enisi part was just a little mistake.

[Altered Reality]

I was a bit confused about the mention of "Aniwodi" at the end. Grandfather said that the Aniwodi were proud of him. Aniwodi is the Cherokee Paint Clan. Was Tommy from the Paint Clan and therefore his clan is proud of him?

At a certain point of the game, Tommy identifies himself as "Domasi Tawodi of the Aniwahya (sp?) clan". Maybe Enisi is from the Aniwodi clan instead?

[HazMat]

Hey cool to see you again, yes I remember you, Glad you got to play prey. how do you feel about Turok? The old games and the upcomming one?

Nice gamertag, might have to add you

[WVa Cherokee]

Originally Posted by Altered Reality

At a certain point of the game, Tommy identifies himself as "Domasi Tawodi of the Aniwahya (sp?) clan". Maybe Enisi is from the Aniwodi clan instead?

Possible .

[Waiter]

Originally Posted by WVa Cherokee

I enjoyed it immensely and won't pick it apart like some would (no one questions why an Italian plumber (Mario) can jump several times his height, do they??).

You hit the nail there. Nice to read your comments!

I really like it when you can see that people have made an effort to "get it right" in a movie, game, etc. Even though everything is fiction, I tend to lose interest when divers go down to 200m depth with pure oxygen to breathe, the nazi germans of WW2 haven't got the first clue about their own language, the vikings (my own ancestors) are pictured in the usual stereotype that has nothing to do with real life and other similar scenarios where it becomes obvious to you that the authors haven't got the first clue about the stuff they're writing about.

Of course it's a difficult act of balance not to cripple your fictious freedom in your attempts of making everything correct. After all it's a computer game about murdering aliens, not a history lesson about native americans. But if you want to create characters and stories with any depth I think it's important to take the time to find out what you can do to give your fictive story an anchor in real life in order to give it a sense of credibility. Reading up on the environments that you write about is to me the first step towards making a fictive story come to life. This is so often neglected. Get the facts right and the fiction becomes credible.

It's nice to hear from someone like you that 3DR has made a good job here. Credits to them!

[madhatter man]

Because mario is such iconic with video games that you really can't make fun of him and be serious at the same time. Prey was a fun game back when it was released because there really wasnt anything good coming out that year. Prey was a fun game but nothing truly revolutionary (or new) to add to the fps genre.

Side note:

If you say they added portals just think, Half-life already added those.

[EvaUnit02]

Originally Posted by Waiter

It's nice to hear from someone like you that 3DR has made a good job here. Credits to them!

Don't you mean Human Head?

[madhatter man]

Your right EvaUnit02, 3D Realms hasn't developed an in house game since Duke 3D.

[Altered Reality]

Originally Posted by madhatter man

If you say they added portals just think, Half-life already added those.

Before Prey? And I mean before the Infinite MHz interview in 1998?

[Steve]

Originally Posted by madhatter man

If you say they added portals just think, Half-life already added those.

Ever played Shadow Warrior?

[Commando Nukem]

Originally Posted by Steve

Ever played Shadow Warrior?

Quake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_oY9TuZs2Y

[Damien_Azreal]

Wow... a Quake mod with a portal gun. Looks... meh.

While I love PREY, it's use of portals was rather small... and you say a lot of chance for some great use. But mostly the portals simply felt like doors.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Commando Nukem

Quake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_oY9TuZs2Y

Cool! Forgot about that!

[Waiter]

Originally Posted by EvaUnit02

Don't you mean Human Head?

No, I give all the credits to 3DR for everything that's good and blame HH for everything that sux.

Of course I do.

[Tetsuro]

Originally Posted by Commando Nukem

Quake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_oY9TuZs2Y

There was something similar in the U4E mod for UT, it had a quantum singularity weapon that could also be used as a portal (if you didn't place another portal anywhere, the single one would work like a black hole and suck in everything with amazing destructive power).

[madhatter man]

I guess its a smack in my face

[ryche]

Don't take it like that Mad I'm sure a lot of people didn't know where else portals were prior to Prey.

I didn't know about the Quake one nor Unreal one. I somewhat remember Shadow Warrior but those were more like teleports like in Duke than portals were you could walk through the hole...if I remember right but I probably don't lol

[Waiter]

The smack in the face isn't for not knowing, it's for thinking that you know.

[Commando Nukem]

Originally Posted by madhatter man

I guess its a smack in my face

Originally Posted by ryche

Don't take it like that Mad I'm sure a lot of people didn't know where else portals were prior to Prey.

I didn't know about the Quake one nor Unreal one. I somewhat remember Shadow Warrior but those were more like teleports like in Duke than portals were you could walk through the hole...if I remember right but I probably don't lol

Yeah, its not really a "Portal" its more like a joke. All that vortex is, is a model that appears, the player walks up to it, makes contact, and is teleported through.

A real portal is a genuine "hole" that allows you to see the other side, ala Prey or Portal.

I think Unreal is the only other game that has a genuine portal in it(In mod form). Most others are psuedo portals with fake trickery that does not produce the same effect.

[madhatter man]

Originally Posted by Waiter

The smack in the face isn't for not knowing, it's for thinking that you know.

However I need not smack myself in the face even though i guessed the wrong game. I was still right about prey not adding anything new to the genre.

[Otto]

The gravity aspect of Prey was pretty cool. I'd never seen that in a game before. Perhaps I don't get out much.

[madhatter man]

There's been low gravity in counter-strike source.

[Commando Nukem]

Originally Posted by Otto

The gravity aspect of Prey was pretty cool. I'd never seen that in a game before. Perhaps I don't get out much.

Originally Posted by madhatter man

There's been low gravity in counter-strike source.

Im pretty sure Otto meant the gravity fields. The HL/Quake/Source engine gravity is pretty basically really (cranking it up is hilarious for about ten minutes.)

I really need to get my hands on Prey... and some cash.

[Otto]

Yeah, I mean the gravity walkways, the gravity plane switchers. Thought that was pretty cool.

Also found spirit-walking enjoyable. Been a while since I've played it, so my memory of the Prey universe terminology is a bit hazy. You hit a key, everything goes ethereal. I liked it.

[Eli Quinn]

Originally Posted by Waiter

No, I give all the credits to 3DR for everything that's good and blame HH for everything that sux.

Originally Posted by Waiter

Of course I do.

[Eli Quinn]

Glad that you enjoyed the game, WVa Cherokee. 3DR and HH exhaustively researched Cherokee customs, culture and mythology in order to create an authentic story...of course, not everybody's perfect! Thanks for pointing out some of the logistical considerations.

[Waiter]

Originally Posted by Eli Quinn

LOL!

As I said - or at least meant - Good work!