henke on 2/8/2013 at 12:33
(
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/08/02/bethesda-talks-prey-2-denies-arkane-involvement/#more-162915) Bethesda VP Pete Hines says Human Head are still the one's making it.
Quote:
“No,” he told RPS when asked if Prey 2 has moved from Human Head to Arkane's human hands. “All of that stuff, I have no idea where it came from. The Human Head Prey 2 thing is the Human Head Prey 2 thing.
[...]
“It just wasn't where it needed to be,” he admitted. “It wasn't meeting expectations that we had and - in some respects - Human Head had. We're not just gonna proceed with a plan of putting this thing out until that gets addressed in a way that we feel like will be worth all this time and attention.”
Uh... ok. Good.
Neb on 15/8/2013 at 21:32
If the project has evolved enough over three months to not need to be called Prey 2, and it's enough of a reboot that it doesn't feel like Prey, then it won't turn out to be as much of a barefaced lie. Besides the PR, looking forward to seeing what they come out with.
(Bet you it was Prey 2 all along, and now they have to change the name to not look like complete spanners. :p )
Mr. Tibbs on 15/8/2013 at 21:39
Bethesda's paid for the Prey ip. They'll want to use it even if the sequel bears little resemblance to Prey. It sucks that we'll be getting Shock inspired game instead of an open-world alien bounty hunter game. I love System Shock, but the latter's never been done before. These lies certainly prove that Bethesda lied about Prey 2's "quality concerns" when attempting to purchase Human Head for a "sweet price". Horrible people.
Renault on 15/8/2013 at 21:40
The whole secrecy thing is weird, maybe they're just trying to generate some hype. If not, they can't be pleased with whomever leaked those emails.
So they're not using anything at all from Human Head's version. Only the name. Does the name "Prey 2" really hold that much weight in and of itself? I wouldn't think so. He's also calling it a "reboot" and a "Spiritual Successor to System Shock 3" (yes, he said 3). That doesn't seem to really fit in with the story and mood of the first game.
Also, thought it was odd that the email said "Doing a new IP is not a possibility because it's adding risk to the challenge of growth." Uh, you guys (or at least the Lyon office) just launched Dishonored, a new IP, very successfully. Hopefully they're not looking to just rush something out the door to make a quick buck.
Mr. Tibbs on 15/8/2013 at 22:09
The secrecy is because Bethesda tried to purchase Human Head in shady ways by rejecting milestone payments, offering them loans in an attempt to force them to sell their company. Would you want to sell to a publisher that treated you that way? This is just a public revelation that Bethesda's been lying to folks. When Human Head went on strike in November 2011, Bethesda stayed quiet (despite leaking the March Dutch cancellation rumour in March as a return to work warning to H.H.) until April when Human Head floated the idea of making a Rune sequel. Bethesda released an extremely passive-aggressive press release, and intimated to the press that the game was just a tech demo.
(
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/05/what-went-wrong-with-human-heads-prey-2)
(
http://www.aliennoire.com/home/news/writer-speaks/)
"This Prey 2/Arkane rumor is giving new life to a lot of old lies. I'm been quiet about this whole business but can't stay so anymore. I've worked at/with @humanheadgames for years, including different stages of Prey 2 development. I was narrative designer/writer on Prey 2 for the last six months of its development at Human Head. It was a lot more than a demo. Prey 2 was a full game. And a crazy fun one. The team was small but you wouldn't have known it. What happened to Prey 2, from where I sat, was political. And petty. And potentially litigable. Human Head had a great game. I was heartbroken when Prey 2 went into limbo. Human Head deserved to have that game released. Frankly, they needed it.
As for Arkane, I've enjoyed what I played of Dishonored. They have the chops. If the rumor is true, they'll likely do well with Prey. But I mourn that Prey 2 won't belong to Human Head. I mourn that my friends won't get recognition for what they accomplished. Instead, they get the same old “Prey 2 was never a game” and “It was just a demo” thrown around. Shameful. And completely untrue."
(
http://www.aliennoire.com/home/news/bethesda-bullied-human-head/)
I love Arkane, but I can't support bullies like Bethesda. Zenimax/Bethesda won't even acknowledged that Human Head is no longer working on the game.
Jason Moyer on 17/8/2013 at 01:58
Technically, Raf didn't lie there. If Arkane were making Prey 2, the correct answer to "definitely not happening?" would be "no".
Mr. Tibbs on 17/8/2013 at 02:32
Ex-Human Head developer weighed in on the story. (
http://nathancheever.kinja.com/)
'Bethesda once said "I think all of the stuff that you've heard at this point has been from one side of this, and it's been somebody putting spin on it, like, ‘here's what happened.' No, that's your version of what you think happened. I haven't heard from anybody yet that actually sat in the room."
Having sat by the room, all I can say to Bethesda is you reap what you sow. Anyone feeling sorry or defending Bethesda in this thread are only delaying the moment they'll feel betrayed for trusting crafted chit-chat and placating smiles'
'Yes, let's stand up for the people that work significantly harder than any human should be doing 24/7. That's the core of this whole subject matter. The developers for the original Prey 2 and the award winning successful Prey spent vast amounts of time, blood, sweat... and unfortunately probably some tears when Bethesda did the dirty deed they did to derail all those efforts.
So when the public is finally witness to Bethesda deceiving them about the project's status, that's reason to draw attention to it. Why should Bethesda be shown leniency when they obliterated all sense of respect and decency to the original creators?
(These are my personal opinions and don't represent anyone else's.)'
'Yes, within this one particular article concerning the black & white choice whether or not to reveal information a publisher is not ready to reveal is up for debate. What you're overlooking is the larger subject that lead to this. By accepting to do this project, Arkane inherits all Prey 2's history and should be ready to deal with the repercussions of people discovering what really lead to Arkane developing it now. You can't deal with blood diamonds and say you're just an innocent prospector.'
I have to agree. The leaders at Arkane did a crummy thing here. Their not entirely innocent. People are more important than games. It's awesome to see someone come forward from inside the company at let folks know what's going on. I imagine (unless you're a terrible person) scrapping another developers work is a horrible thing to do.
