Tommy's role in Prey 2 becomes clearer

Developer Human Head offers a little more info on what role Tommy, the native American protagonist from the original game, will have in Prey 2.

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When developer Human Head took the wraps off Prey 2 earlier this year it revealed many changes. One of the biggest of these was the apparent abandonment of Tommy, the native American protagonist the player controlled in the first game. And though the designers confirmed we'd still see him in the new game in our E3 Prey 2 preview, he'd been replaced as the main character in Prey 2 by Killian Samuels. He's a lawman who's become a bounty hunter on the planet Exodus, halfway across the galaxy from Earth. But where does that leave Tommy?

Not only is Tommy on Exodus as well, he has an important part to play there. In a recent preview interview with IGN, Prey 2 project lead Chris Rhinehart says, "He's integral to the story and events on Exodus." He's not just window dressing, either, evidently. "One of the big things is, the unique abilities that Tommy has, specifically sprit walk and death walk, are integral to his role and how he actually fits into the story," explained Rhinehart.

Rhinehart said that the Tommy was always part of the plans; they just wanted to hold that back as a surprise. They also wanted to make Prey 2 a game that expands on the universe they've created. "New character, different mechanics, new visuals, but Tommy is still a critical character," said Rhinehart. Whether that last part means we'll get to play as Tommy in the game, perhaps as a little change of pace here and there, is the next bit question about his future in the series.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 10, 2011 7:00 PM

    Garnett Lee posted a new article, Tommy's role in Prey 2 becomes clearer.

    Developer Human Head offers a little more info on what role Tommy, the native American protagonist from the original game, will have in Prey 2.

    • reply
      August 10, 2011 7:01 PM

      eff yeahé

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      August 10, 2011 7:15 PM

      They should have continued with the theme of overtly racist names.

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        August 10, 2011 7:23 PM

        he's prob just selling cigarettes.

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        August 10, 2011 7:28 PM

        Tommy Hawk

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        August 10, 2011 7:40 PM

        [deleted]

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          August 10, 2011 7:41 PM

          I can't go without my ese, superfly.

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        August 10, 2011 8:25 PM

        Kinda funny because it's not racist. Native Americans have names like Running Deer, and my Irish family keeps tradition with Paddy (instead of Patrick) which is also racist considering "Paddy Wagons" and such. Maybe you're the one with the outside view that's incorrect? I dunno... I don't talk to ethnic people about these issues because I'd probably end up getting sued for hate crimes.

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          August 10, 2011 8:27 PM

          tommy hawk..cmon.

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          August 10, 2011 8:28 PM

          I only said that because I thought the outrage was hilarious.

          Personally, I didn't give a shit. I think they should have named him Cracker McNorhythmn

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          August 11, 2011 5:50 AM

          paddy isn't racist, as irish people aren't a race

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            August 11, 2011 6:41 AM

            Well, most of my heritage is actually welsh, and my great grandmother spoke it (it's a dying language.) It's only in 1923 when we see the Irish side after immigrating, but I was using that as an example because "Duff" (dark haired, the other male cousin) means something different with our pop culture. BESIDES THAT, I would like to alter my statement to say, I don't think it's outright racist, but it might be seen as tacky and in poor taste.

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              August 11, 2011 7:00 AM

              interesting back story, but Welsh people aren't a race either (I have Welsh, Irish, English and Romanian Gypsy in my blood)

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                August 11, 2011 2:33 PM

                And Gaelic is the language I was thinking of. But ok. I guess I'm just "white" and it's silly for me to try and identify with an ethnic group that doesn't exist, learn the language of a culture that's not tied to race, and visit lands that were fought over for no particular reason. I am glad to be rid of such a burden of heritage. Even if I can no longer claim a racial history myself, I can still stand up for the poor souls still identified in a US census and standardized tests.

                In other news... I guess we shouldn't dictate to people weather they can or cannot be offended according to our own perspective. If Native Americans wanna get angry, it ain't my fuckin' business if the comments are justified or not, feelings are still valid. Ditto might go for me someday, if all things were equal I suppose.

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            August 11, 2011 6:59 AM

            They used to be considered a race as far as European and North American bigotry went.

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            August 11, 2011 7:35 AM

            race
            noun
            1.a group of persons related by common descent or heredity.
            2.a population so related.
            3.Anthropology
            a.any of the traditional divisions of humankind, the commonest being the Caucasian, Mongoloid, and Negro, characterized by supposedly distinctive and universal physical characteristics: no longer in technical use.
            b.an arbitrary classification of modern humans, sometimes, especially formerly, based on any or a combination of various physical characteristics, as skin color, facial form, or eye shape, and now frequently based on such genetic markers as blood groups.
            c.a human population partially isolated reproductively from other populations, whose members share a greater degree of physical and genetic similarity with one another than with other humans.
            4.a group of tribes or peoples forming an ethnic stock: the Slavic race.
            5.any people united by common history, language, cultural traits, etc.: the Dutch race.


            Irish, Welsh, etc. easily fall under the definition for race as part of #1 or #5, you're probably going to say the Anthropological definition is the only valid one, to which I say #3c still works, though less than it did.

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              August 11, 2011 8:18 AM

              going with 3c. would mean that only Irish people in Ireland, or Welsh in Wales, would be part of that race. Since I grew up in Canada and was raised by British people, am I then of the Anglo-Saxon race? Canadian race? Ontarian Race? or am I just a white dude?

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            August 11, 2011 2:37 PM

            An exercise with that logic would require the definition of "jew" to be examined. Race? Religion? Cultural identity? Can you "become" jewish? How accepted are those that convert by the rest of the jewish community? Good questions?

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        August 11, 2011 12:37 AM

        Man, Tony Hawk and A.J. Hawk (Packers player) must be ticked at their folks!

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        August 11, 2011 1:47 AM

        Kill'all Smellys

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        August 11, 2011 2:25 AM

        Explain to me how Prey 2 was overtly racist?

        While it was a *bit* schlocky, I actually think they approached the character with a reasoned hand.

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        August 11, 2011 6:35 AM

        If 3DR had stayed in business, their next game would have featured a black protagonist named Chuck Spears.

        Recycling your own jokes FTW!

      • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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        August 11, 2011 6:42 AM

        Tommy now runs a fireworks stand

        • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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          August 11, 2011 6:42 AM

          and he is an alcoholic

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        August 12, 2011 10:01 AM

        How is Domasi Tawodi, racist?

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      August 10, 2011 7:51 PM

      I found the first Prey to be massively underrated. Loved that game, after the first scene with don't fear the reaper playing, I was hooked till the end. The gravity and portal mechanics mixed up a fairly standard shooter, made it damn fun, and I quite enjoyed the story.

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        August 10, 2011 8:26 PM

        It was a very good game

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        August 10, 2011 10:17 PM

        [deleted]

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          August 17, 2011 8:54 AM

          i respectfully disagree. the game felt very much like a game to me. i still think it's one of the outstanding games i played in a period of time where a lot of shit was released :)

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        August 11, 2011 12:38 AM

        The combat and shooting was underwhelming, weapons looked great but it didn't feel powerful or fun to shoot with

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        August 11, 2011 2:07 AM

        I wish they'd put it back on Steam so I could try it out. :(

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          August 11, 2011 7:49 AM

          It was on sale on another download service, I think Direct2Drive, not long ago.

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        August 11, 2011 5:47 AM

        Yes it was a great game, loved it

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        August 11, 2011 6:15 AM

        I enjoyed it but it had one serious flaw: it really overused the 'lock player in chamber - insert monsters now' trope.

        It got to the point where I could see it coming from half a map away ("Oh look, a vent-crawling section- want to bet it ends with me falling into a locked room full of bad guys?")

        I really liked the flying bits and the portal stuff though - and getting my bearings in the topsy-turvy ship gravity was always fun. The spirit walk puzzle stuff was kind of neat, too.

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        August 11, 2011 6:42 AM

        Mechanics were pretty nifty, and effects were well done. Good level design too for most!

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        August 11, 2011 6:54 AM

        I thought it was good, not great. An average FPS with some above-average elements.

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        August 11, 2011 7:31 AM

        It was incredibly innovative for its time and I had a blast with it.

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        August 11, 2011 7:40 AM

        I didn't finish it but I enjoyed what I played of it. I was also genuinely horrified by the game which is pretty rare Jen - the whole thing was pretty sweet I thought.

        Racial stereotyping was meaningless to me as an Aussie, I don't 'get' all the bad stuff or cheesey shit, the only reason I know it's apparently bad is due to US podcasts and forum posts.

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          August 11, 2011 8:12 AM

          I think it's probably worth finishing just to see what Tommy finally does and what happens to him at the end. If you don't want to though, I'll just spoiler it here for you. Hopefully I still remember it right.

          Tommy ends up confronting the leader of the sphere, who turns out to actually be another human who was once in Tommy's place (an abducted human) thousands of years ago. She has become bored of having near unlimited power through the sphere, which is why she has let Tommy live throughout the course of the game. Tommy is able to defeat her, and then takes her place. He is at first tempted by his newfound power, but his grandfather contacts him psychically and convinces him that nothing good will come of it. Tommy then flies the sphere directly into the sun, destroying it and all the aliens on board. He has another vision of his grandfather and Jen, who tell him its not his time to die yet, and then the game has him back in the bar on Earth some time later, trying to fix the place back up. A portal suddenly opens in the bar and the leader of the human resistance from the sphere appears and tells Tommy they need his help elsewhere in the galaxy, and Tommy follows her through the portal. End of the game.

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        August 11, 2011 7:42 AM

        I agree. I really liked Tommy, he was very unique for an FPS protagonist. Plus, it was one of the few games where I actually felt emotionally invested in the main characters plight. Near the end of the game I was hell-bent on kicking the crap out of the aliens and making them feel pain for what they did.
        The huge environments and portals and gravity tricks were all very neat as well. And the Art Bell cameos where funny to listen to.

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        August 11, 2011 8:11 AM

        It was kind of unique, with some interesting mechanics and settings, as well as one of the best game beginnings. Unfortunately the core gameplay and plot weren't great, but good enough for me to finish the game. I enjoyed the sci-fi elements in it.

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          August 11, 2011 8:14 AM

          The plot was simple, but I thought it was effective. I liked that the game was about a seemingly regular guy rather than some kind of elite soldier or something, like many FPS.

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        August 11, 2011 8:17 AM

        Played through it twice and I have a mind to go for a 3rd since E3.

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          August 11, 2011 8:21 AM

          I'm in the same boat, I played it twice, back-to-back, when I first got it, and now I'm really feeling the itch to play through it again.

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        August 11, 2011 9:48 AM

        I disagree.

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      August 11, 2011 7:43 AM

      Awesome!!

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      August 11, 2011 8:16 AM

      Gets better and better. This looks to be a really sweet game.

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      August 11, 2011 9:45 AM

      I'm glad they kept Tommy around. I found Prey to be one of the most exciting and original games I had ever played when it came out, and have replayed it all the way thru at least 3 or 4 times since then.

      It sucks that the original story isn't continued more directly, or maybe it is?

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