Hi Reddit! We are Arkane Studios, creators games such as Prey (releasing Friday!) – Ask Us Anything!

Everything's not going to be okay, is it?

(Susan) Maybe. Probably not. You should check that coffee cup.

In regards to the art style of Prey, what can you tell us about some of the influences used? Specifically how hard was it to blend retrofuturism with modern day architecture?

(Eric & Karen) We had several influences such as Syd Mead, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Stanley Kubrick films. You can see these influences in the architecture, texturing, and lighting throughout the game.

Which department ordered the most pizza and what are your favorite toppings?

(Amber) The Neuromod Division, obviously

(Eric) and of course the pizza is topped with Siskak Eels!

Oh oh can't forget the most important question. Whats a memorable/hilarious glitch you found during Preys development?

(Stevan) Oh, what to choose... There was a time when the shotgun was shooting smaller shotguns! Oh, and the recycler charge went through a brief period where it would spew out about a thousand fragments at high velocity :)

(Susan) or the period when, if a character was missing an emotional tag on their facial animation, they would use a look of psychotic surprise as a placeholder. So characters would be having these deep, intense, dramatic moments, and then suddenly break character to a lunatic nightmare for 2 seconds before going back to intense drama.

How viable exactly is the "Turret Lord" playstyle?

[Ricardo Bare] If it has "Lord" in the title you know it's legit.

Dishonored 2 DLC WHEN?

But seriously, how's the Prey PC version coming along? I can imagine you learned a lot from the Dis2 release.

(Emanuel) The PC version is something we've always had, as we develop primarily on PC. We have done a lot of testing with many outside groups to make sure our performance is what we want it to be on the various hardware. I think folks will be pleased with how Prey looks/runs on PC. I know I definitely am (I am the Lead Technical Engineer)!

Okay, so:

Zippers on the space suits. Aesthetic? How do the suits maintain a seal outside the ship with zippers?

Are the suits vinyl or leather?

And why are female Morgan's eyes blue in a lot of the art but brown in the game?

(PS I love this game so far, I'm all sad I can't get it release day but I LOVE THE DEMO)

Also, sorry, I'm silly: Will there be an option for no HUD? and/or aiming down sights for weapons in the future?

(Jessie) Much of it is aesthetic, however the suits are fictionally more advanced than modern space suits. Current suits rely on pressurization, hence the puffy look. Ours could be imagined to be based more on constrictive technology or layers to maintain protection. This also allows for a more form fitting look.

How fun was it to come up with the concept of January? I love the character and the idea of it (I'm looking to work in psychology & AI in the future) and really love all the writing behind it that I've seen so far!

[Ricardo] Very fun. He/She/It went through a lot of iterations early on and (without giving away spoilers) sorting out timelines was as interesting challenge. And thank you!

Hey everyone! Coming from a programmer's perspective, I understand that Prey was made using CryEngine. On a triple-A level, how is making a game on something like CryEngine different than working on something made in-house like the Void Engine for the engineers? Does the learning curve balance out the time saved from building the tools?

(Emanuel) Very good question!  Having done both in my career, the amount of work is high in both cases, but the work itself is different.  Ramping up on an engine you didn't write is time consuming, but it gives the content people something to start prototyping with while you (as an engineer) are ramping up.  You also have the company you purchased the engine from helping you by answering questions, fixing bugs, and just overall helping you as much as possible.  We did do a lot of customization, as is expected as no engine you get will be exactly what you need for your game.  What the outside engine gives you is a head start, but a lot of the work after that is about the same.

Is the coffee cup your favorite thing to mimic as?

(Gary) Coffee cups are fun, but toilet paper, turrets and operators are fun to mimic too.

(Eric) Toilet paper roll. It's hilarious and aerodynamic!

(Susan) Is mimicked toilet paper environmentally friendly? No trees were killed...

Is the name Antoine Sokol in Prey a reference to Anton Sokolov from Dishonored 2?

[Ricardo Bare] This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the developers' imaginations or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons (in Dishonored), living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental (except when it's not).

If the aliens were to come for us would this game prepare me properly?

[Ricardo Bare] How do you know that isn't the purpose of the game? Greetings, Starfighter. You have been recruited by TranStar to defend earth against the Typhon! ;)

(Jessie) That depends, did you fabricate your wrench and gloo cannon yet?

Does a game like Prey even need New Game Plus? It seems like you will be able to backtrack any and everywhere on the ship. Will it be that kind of open sand-box style game?

[Ricardo Bare] Si.

Any chance on being able to buy one of those fancy golden TranStar mugs?

(Susan) You might see something soon... Maybe a coffee cup. Maybe a mimic.

Hello Team, I'm afraid of mimics, what should I do? :D

(Susan) Attack everything. All of it.

[Ricardo Bare] Careful what you pick up.

Hey team, were any of you ever spooked by the Mimics during testing?

(Emanuel) I keep a drawer at my desk stocked with clean underpants.

(Eric) All the time. Trust nothing.

(Gary) Yes and even now they still catch me off guard.

(Jessie) I've done at least 4 play-throughs, and even now they still get me from time to time.

(Karen) I have a reputation of being very jumpy. Mimics constantly scare me...but it was when I was super low on health and finally made it to a medbay that I literally screamed out loud at my desk because a Phantom jumped out from behind a cabinet.

Hey! Prey looks fantastic and I can't wait to play it Friday! Prey has some homages to other games such as Bioshock, System Shock 2 and Half Life 2. What are some other works of fiction you drew inspiration from?

[Ricardo Bare] Hey Notkade. Some of us read some classic works like the novel Solaris, or the some of Robert Heinlein’s stories, like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. But, I’d add that a TON of inspiration came from actual science and history.

I've heard that the full game takes anywhere between 16-22 hours. Seeing as the demo, which was heavily marketed as the first hour of the game, took me 6 hours to complete, how long should the rest of the game take me? That is to say, how big a part of the game is the demo?

[Ricardo Bare] You probably will spend way way more than the 16-22 hour range then.

Is it true that Raf is like 60?!

[Ricardo Bare] No. Raf is MUCH older than 60. But the Toughness Neuromod subtracts several decades.

A good friend of mine works at your studio but divulged no information on the game no matter how much I pried. How do you keep your employees so tight lipped?

[Ricardo Bare] We have real live mimics in the office.

(Susan) https://imgur.com/a/9rtNl

What do you feel about upcoming system shock 3 & system shock remake?

(Susan) Excited! We are happy for them! And there better be monkeys.

Will the pc version have any special graphics options or sliders?

(Emanuel) Yes! They are listed out on a wonderful blog post by Jess, our community manager: https://bethesda.net/en/article/6At50JUQPSi0EqGK6qgYya/prey-system-specs-achievements-demo-launch.

What where your inspirations for the design of Talos I? It doesn't look like a typical space station. Was it always envisioned with a skyscraper type look?

(Jessie) The style of the station evolved along with the production, we didn't solve it at the very beginning. It was an organic process. A lot of choices were informed as interiors were designed and levels took shape. This eventually translated into a tower shape, and surface material treatment was balanced over time between iconic space-type and more luxurious deco materials. We actually talk a bit in-depth about this process in the art book :)

is it a spoiler to ask if there are Bosses in the game?

(Eric) Yes it's a spoiler. :)

Was Cedric Peyravernay chosen to do concept art based off of the work he did on dishonored?

(Jessie) Cedric is great to work with. He definitely understands our artistic values since he's worked with Arkane for so long. He made a really great contribution to the look development of our characters in particular. Fred Augis was another artist who did several key pieces for us as well.

would you consider Prey as more of a thriller game or an adventure game?

[Ricardo Bare] Both!

Got three questions about Prey for you guys:

-Will objects permanently stay where they are placed, whether it be on the ground or stashed in a cabinet?

-If you go through a loading zone, will enemies respawn in previously cleared out areas?

-Is it possible to explore everything without any alien powers, or do you at least need Mimic?

Understandable if you can't get to all/any of them. Looking forward to the game!

(Susan) 1. Yes, if you stash something, it will remain in place. There are some good spots in your office to place things...

1. Sometimes. It depends on what is happening on the station and how long you've been gone.

2. You should be able to go everywhere without using alien powers. It won't be EASY to go everywhere, but afaik, it is possible.

Also apparently numbered lists are HARD.

Who would you rather have tea with? Corvo, Emily or Morgan?

(Stevan) Daud.

(Jessie) Granny Rags.

I don't know if I would drink any tea she made me though!

(Jessie) YOLO.

(Eric) Not sure, but I definitely don't want to have coffee with Dr. Bellamy

For the people who worked on both Dishonored 2 and Prey, What were the most striking differences for you in terms of the game design and development?

[Ricardo Bare] That's a very tiny subset of people (like 2 maybe) and none of them are here today. But having worked on Dishonored 1 and Prey, I can tell you a few things: Prey is more open-structured experience vs Dishonored mission approach. Prey has more 'classic' RPG features (inventory, maps, lots of skill trees, etc), whereas Dishonored is more focused around being an assassin.

Will there be an FOV slider in the PC release? I played the demo on PS4 and not being able to fix the FOV kinda ruined my enjoyment of the game a bit because I wasn't able to aim properly, keep track of enemies that dart around, and having everything right up in your face is kinda off putting.

For instance, when you first meet Alex in person, you have to step up to him to initiate a conversation. I got close enough to him where the UI popped up with his name and I tried pressing buttons to talk to him but I realized I wasn't close enough. You pretty much have to kiss the man in order for the conversation to activate and I just felt it was a bit strange to have to get so close.

Anyway, my point is that being able to push the camera back a bit would make it a much better experience for me so I was just curious if there might be plans for a slider or not. Cheers :3

(Susan) At launch, FOV can be adjusted via config file (unsupported feature) and we’re working on implementing it with a full slider post-launch.

Fun fact unrelated fact - but related to PC settings: We will have ultra widescreen support at 21:9 for launch.

I noticed Raphael Colantonio was credited on the last 2 songs of the soundtrack. What were his contributions to these songs?

Also, thank you so much for making these kinds of games.

[Ricardo Bare] Raf is a talented musician on the side. I believe he helped compose the music and write the lyrics. I love the music in the game. Btw - fun fact, Mae Whitman did vocals for Semi Sacred Geometry and is the voice of Danielle Sho.

Thanks for continuing the proud tradition of the immersive sim, I wanted to know how the team goes about creating such non-linear and explorable spaces, what design influences or priorities shape the level design? Did having to conform the game to a space station create any benefit or disadvantage in contrast to the more arbitrarily defined city streets of Dishonored?

For a more boring request, there's a sense from the demo that the player model weapon aims off-reticule due to its angle, can this be corrected post-release? It's such a small thing yet disproportionately awkward.

[Ricardo Bare] We started with some high-level constraints like: this is a space station, the player can backtrack, things can be done in different order, a loose overarching plot / goal for the player). Then loooooong (but fun) brainstorming and planning sessions with level designers to come up with interesting spaces, problems to solve, encounter vignettes and so in. It's like an old dot matrix printer - we keep making passes over it until a solid picture emerges.

[deleted]

[Ricardo Bare] At home, in the dark with a good set of headphones. As for powers: Remote Manipulation! Grabbing loot, hacking, etc while I'm safely hiding in the rafters is really fun.

(Jessie) I personally love using the crossbow darts to trigger charges that I've strategically placed.

(Eric) Mimic EVERYTHING. Hide, until you get the drop on them....and SURPRISE!

(Stevan) Setting up turret traps plus using the recycler charge!

(Gary) Sneak up on enemies then surprise them with the shotgun. Favorite powers are MindJack, Psychoshock and Remote Manipulation.

(Susan) Turret and repair skill. I carry one with me at all times and never have to get my hands covered in alien goo.

Hopefully I'm not too late to ask a question.

I'm just curious, I know that Ricardo has worked on previous games like Deus Ex and Deadly Shadows.

What are the backgrounds of some of the other members of the team?

I've always wondered if Arkane employed former Looking Glass Studios (RiP) or Ion Storm employees. It seemed likely given how Dishonored and PREY are structured mechanically.

Also, Ricardo, if you're still reading these messages, Brigmore Witches was incredible, 10/10 stuff. Especially the Brigmore Manor.

[Ricardo Bare] Hi FTWiener. Thanks for the kind words about Brigmore Witches! That was super fun to work on.

I'll let everyone else comment about their background - but I wanted to clarify one thing: For Thief Deadly Shadows my only official contribution was doing some monster voices. Unofficially, I play tested and gave them feedback.

I noticed in the demo that items that contain eel give you Psi points, What are the eels hiding?

[Ricardo Bare] You'll find out. Keep digging.

[Ricardo Bare] Actually, scratch that. You might not want to know.

It felt like for ages the immersive sim was dead, and now there's been this big resurgence with games like Dishonored and Prey and future games like Underworld Ascendant and System Shock 3. Even games that were quite traditional now have experimental systems interacting with eachother like the new Zelda. What do you credit this to? Do you think gamers are just more receptive to this kind of game now? Does Arkane feel vindicated having championed this genre for so long?

(Eric) We love the Immersive Sim genre here, and we are lucky enough to be developers that make games that we want to play. It's exciting to see that so many others love it as well, and I hope to see more games!

[Ricardo Bare] I love it. Playing breath of the wild now and really enjoying it. I think it's at least partially due to the fact that the industry is much bigger now. The audience is much bigger and more fluent / sophisticated as gamers.

First of all, thank you for all these years of amazing games, rocking in my case since Dark Messiah of M&M.

What do you do to think about those virtual boundaries we have regarding interaction? I've seen some really weird ideas (Like the toy gun with the computer) that I could not come up with. How do you get those ideas?

Also, how do you feel regarding the "Prey" name? Probably this is more a Bethesda itself related question, but I would like to know how do you feel when using that name regarding expectations from people who played the last one, the cancellation of the sequel and so.

Pd: Just want to put it clear that this is not a "Hate message regarding the use of the trademark"

[Ricardo Bare] Believe it or not a lot of our best ideas come from dealing with constraints. Sure, you can come of with some interesting things if someone hands you a blank piece of paper, but 9 times out of 10 you'll come up with something MORE interesting if you have constraints and resource limitations. (Smart creatives put constraints on themselves even when there are none).

The demo had a lot of hidden safe and passages and mysteries to solve and find, is this a theme you stuck with for the entire facility and story? Love the game BTW.

[Ricardo Bare] Yes. Lots of goodies like that all over the place. And thanks!

Any particularly interesting design/programming problems/solutions you guys had? I always love hearing about the behind the scenes

(Emanuel) My answer is similar to a previous answer I gave, which has a minor spoiler if you didn't play the demo: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/691ze4/hi_reddit_we_are_arkane_studios_creators_games/dh354l8/

1. Have we seen all the main types of Typhon in the game, or are there some creatures that haven't been revealed in trailers/articles?

2. Are Weavers an enemy we actually engage with in combat, or do they only work in the background?

Very excited for this game!

(Gary) You can engage with Weavers in combat if you choose or let them work in the background and try to avoid them. Up to you.

Hey Arkane Studios! Glad to see your doing a AmA, a good way to get in touch with fans of your latest game. Alright here's my question. How was it designing the exterior of Talos 1? Pretty large from the size comparison chart I saw! Can't wait to explore it in Zero-G!

(Karen) The Exterior was a beast. There were early researches done to start defining the style...but it definitely was influenced as the layout of the interior of the station came together. It was also a technical challenge - since it's roughly the length of 8 football fields :)

(Jessie) On the plus side, the zero-g and large size give it a special ambiance and makes it a really different experience from the rest of the game. There are some unique encounters and exploration opportunities scattered everywhere, you can get lost out there for hours.

What was the biggest hurdle you came across during the production of Prey?

(Emanuel) MINOR SPOILER

From a technical standpoint, the Looking Glass was a very cool, challenging problem. I won't spoil it by describing it, but the challenge was how to get that super cool tech, but performant enough to keep everything else we wanted in the game. Plus, it is a main feature and something super important to the story! We had to do quite a few iterations and a lot of performance work, but we are happy with it. Shout out to Chris who did pretty much all of this feature!

(Susan) I'm pretty sure that our physics engineer would be happy if no one ever says the word gloo around her again.

Each individual person has a role in developing the games that you guys put out there for us, what are some personal fears you guys have about showing off your games to the public?

[Ricardo Bare] I think any creative person can relate to that tornado-like mix of anxiety and giddy excitement (and maybe sometimes abject terror) at finally showing someone what you've been working on for the last X years. If I could summarize mine it would be something like: I'm really proud of the game we made. It's the kind of game I would want to play. So, my hopes and fears are all wondering if people will resonate with the same things that I appreciate about the game.

1. Is there newgame+?
2. Will there be DLC?
3. How do we claim our preorder bonus in game?

(Susan) Right now we're focusing on launching the game first, so can't speak publicly about NG+, DLC, and any other post-launch plans. Sorry!

And you can claim your pre-order bonus via a redeemable code. Once you're in the game, you can find your goodies in Morgan's office. Conveniently located next to the Fabricator and Recycler for all your crafting needs.

Beyond swapping pronouns, will any plot points or lines of dialog change depending on if you choose to play the male or female Morgan?

[Ricardo Bare] A few things here and there, but they're subtle and I don't want to give any spoilers.

I know they prey was inspired by sc-fi film's. What Movies inspired the the game. And how were the inspiration implemented in the game?

(Jessie) For the art department we found Kubrick inspiring. Pacing, lighting, mood, tension, framing - there's a lot of mastery to be found in his films.

Are there going to be more conventional weapons that we haven't seen yet?

(Susan) Depends? Which ones have you seen? I'm pretty sure there are weapons that haven't been viewed in any of the twitch feeds yet, yes.

Hey Arkane,

Really enjoyed the Demo, Looking forward to playing the full game. Was there technical limitations in using the Void engine for Prey and thats why you chose to use CRYENGINE?

(Stevan) Glad you enjoyed it! When we started working on the project, CryEngine was a good fit for our needs. The Void Engine was still a work in progress back then.

Got a couple of questions here.

How often are we going to be encountering human enemies? and are there lethal and nonlethal ways of dealing with them?

Also are there narrative choices and consequences based on what we do?

[Ricardo Bare] Yes, there are nonlethal ways of dealing with any human survivors (or enemies) you encounter. As for narrative choices, absolutely.

How long is Prey, in terms of hours played?

[Ricardo Bare] Kind of depends on how you play. People who've tested the game for us have taken anywhere from 16-24 hours to finish the main story path. Gary, our animation producer, took something like 34 hours to play the game.

That Prey t-shirt looks so badass. How can I get my hands on one?

(Susan) The one in the proof photo at the top? That one is the team dev shirt, so you'd have to know people who know people. (But I know there are Prey shirts already up on the Bethesda store, including a cool one I want that has the Axiom Program logo on it.)

I know you guys said the PS4 input lag would be fixed upon release, but people with early copies have shared patch notes and it mentions nothing of that. Will there be an additional patch release day to fix that or will it come at a later date? Regardless of that, I'm super excited to play the game! The atmosphere you all managed to create is top notch.

(Susan) The patch notes are culled down from a big master list of every bug fix and polish adjustment. We try to pull out the key ones as best we can, but some changes end up under the umbrella of "other fixes". The controller adjustments are present - they were just one that didn't get called out in the list.

Cats or dogs?

(Stevan) Tamed mimic wearing a top hat!

(Karen) Dogs! (3 of them...2 labs and a shepherd)

[Ricardo Bare] Dogs inside. Cats, chickens and sheep OUTSIDE.

(Amber) Bugs!

(Emanuel) I have both. But the cats pee on my damn bed. So my dog wins right now.

(Susan) One old, smooth, chill cat and one rambunctious little twerp of a kitten.

(Eric) Cats!

How do you guys feel making me spend Opening Hour just hitting every damn thing I find with my wrench while crying silently (otherwise I will die)... I downloaded the demo not knowing a thing about this game. I am still lost other than "Everything is not as it seems Morgan" or "See that cup? It isn't a cup. See that chair? That isn't a chair!" , I also saw a nod at The Matrix in a book towards the start of the demo.

[Ricardo Bare] I've got joy down in my heart, deep deep down in my heart. Also, which book are you referring to? Just curious.

Dear Arkane,

Thanks so much for your games. Back in 2012 when Dishonored released I was so so excited for it but I couldn't afford it on launch. I'm proud to say I've preordered both Dishonored 2 and Prey, and I absolutely love your design philosophy.

I was so excited this past week that I learned how to code a bit of PHP just so I could contribute to the gamepedia Prey wiki. My best hope for you guys is to have a great launch and for as many gamers as possible to be able to experience Prey.

1. What is everyone's individual favorite part of the development process?
2. I know in that in Dishonored 2 you had specific visual pillars in design; what were your visual pillars with Prey?
3. What was the most complicated Typhon organism to get through dev process?
4. Any teaser about future projects unannounced as of yet?

I know you guys prefer not to talk about the original Prey, but my question is not a hostile one. I was not familiar with the original Prey at all, and I was surprised when I was looking through social media and seeing comments people were making.

So,

5 Did you expect the backlash surrounding your Prey game simply because it has the same name?

Thanks so much for everything. I hope you guys have a great launch, and I have no doubt you'll prove those 'optimization' whiners wrong. They don't even know what they're talking about.

(Emanuel) I can only really answer #1 for myself, but for me it is doing R&D on tech stuff, and improving performance. I love digging into the low level code and finding tricky ways to get more of the framerates. These days there are lots of cores so you have to think of ways to run things in parallel.

Will the enemies get harder as the game goes on (will mimics get more health and do more damage etc) or will they stay the same throughout the game? By the way, loved the demo, I'm really looking forward to playing the game Friday.

[Ricardo Bare] Thanks Skullgrater! Creatures don't get more HP or anything like that, but the types and numbers change over time.

Can we see some pics of the cute pets of Arkane? Just 'cause.

[Ricardo Bare] Here's Env Artist Bryan Shannon: https://imgur.com/a/jnl7s

[Ricardo Bare] I mean, that's his pet. Bryan is definitely a human and not a dog. Nor a mimic.

(Amber) http://imgur.com/a/IhqK9

(Emanuel) Nick is in the AMA proof picture

[Ricardo Bare] Boom. https://twitter.com/RicardoBare/status/859212533516959744

(Eric) Siamese! (His name is Thief) http://imgur.com/PJoTie9

(Emanuel) EmanuPets! https://imgur.com/a/vrMzx

(Jessie) Here! http://imgur.com/a/qMQ8E

I'm a big fan of the strange sci-fi stuff you guys are doing with Prey, and as an aspiring writer I have to ask - how did your writers get to where they are today? Any tips / tricks?

What drives you during the tedious times of game development?

[Ricardo Bare] The programmers in the room wanted me to say 'I got in my car and drove here' but since I'm not a JERK FACE like them... The short - and slightly trite but still true - answer is a lot of work plus some luck. Keep writing. Write write write. Read other excellent writers. Then write some more. You have to get good at starting something and finishing it.

Can you drop any safe codes on us?? Throw us a bone?

(Eric) No, but I can guarantee 0451 is a code in the game.

I will start by telling you I recently stumbled upon Dishonored. I absolutely love this game. In a few months I will be able to afford to buy an XboxOne. Dishonored 2 will be my first game purchased...and after watching the trailers, Prey will be shortly thereafter.

Did you have to use any outside help? And what was the coolest/most interesting thing you learned from outside help? (E.g. If you're trying to simulate zero G in gameplay would you seek out someone at NASA?)

(Susan) You may be underestimating the level of science geekery we have on the ground in this studio. I could tell you tales of earth/moon/sun simulators and large Excel spreadsheets of velocity and distance. And extended arguments about the precise location of Talos I in relation to all the above.

But that was long ago and we're all talking to each other again by now.

What do you think would be more optimal for gameplay, Steam controller or mouse?

(Emanuel) Whatever you are most comfortable with! I know it sounds dumb but it is true. Use whatever is easier for you to kill mimics with. I'm a mouse/keyboard person, so that is what I'm using.