Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Q&A - Updated May 19th | Forums

[ComDevGabe]

Q&A answered by Thomas Simon - Lead Game Designer

Why did you decide to rework the battle-system?

Combat in Forgotten Sands is developed around the Prince’s two greatest strengths: his legendary agility and his superior swordplay. Mainly, combat is built around the Prince’s maneuverability; we tried to convey through gameplay the contrasts between the Prince’s speed and acrobatic talent and a powerful mob of enemies.

Why confront the prince with so many opponents?

The “crowd control” system takes full advantage of this concept of maneuverability and was a natural evolution that, basically, imposed itself early in development. Because of the sheer number of enemies on screen, there is no way the Prince can block and counter dozens of weapons. This means the Prince must always be on the move and use the environment to limit the number of opponents he faces. On the other hand, if you fail to control the crowd, you will progressively witness the Prince’s mobility being reduced as he’s encircled and finally overwhelmed by the mob’s brute force.

Okay, so he’s surrounded by bloodthirsty enemies, now what?

The five hit combo system is based on the Prince’s devastating swordplay. Each of the five strikes can be quick, or can be charged to perform a stronger slash with each new strike being more powerful than the previous one. Combined with good timing, players have a deadly technique to dispatch multiple enemies. However, players must be wary since the time it takes to charge a power strike leaves them open to attacks.

How do the Prince’s elemental abilities factor into all this?

The Prince’s elemental abilities add another layer of complexity to our combat system – basically adding more tools to the Prince’s repertoire. As stated previously, we put the Prince at a distinct disadvantage in terms of the number of enemies he must face, so he will need all the help he can get. Consequently, players will have to use every advantage available to them, and the elemental powers will be crucial for the Prince’s survival. Each one has a specific function that applies to the various battle scenarios the Prince will find himself in, so players will have to manage them carefully in order to exploit them to maximum effect.

[Mr_Shade]

Q&A answered by Graeme Jennings - Producer - February 22 2010


What’s going on with the Prince? What is happening to him in Forgotten Sands?

As the prince is travelling towards his brother’s kingdom, he notices smoke billowing in the distance. Still fresh from the events in Azad, the Prince races uphill only to discover his brother’s fortress is under siege. As he gets closer, he notices that the siege is well underway and is now waging war in the inner walls of the fortress and the battle is obviously favouring the attackers.

Determined to help, the Prince navigates through the battle’s chaos to find his brother, Malik. In a desperate gamble to save what is left of his people and kingdom, the Prince’s brother, Malik decides to unleash the mythical Sand Army; hoping to control it and defeat his assailants.


What happens when the Sand Army is unleashed?

Unfortunately for Malik, the Sand Army is not easily controlled. When unleashed, it effectively repels the invading army but turns both ally and foe in statues of sand. In order to restore peace to his brother’s land, the Prince will have to use his signature skill set – acrobatics, combat, wit – and new powers over nature that will help him in his fight against this overwhelming, legendary force.


How will The Forgotten Sands play? How will the Prince control?

We are returning to the classic gameplay and platforming of the Sands of Time universe, and that means a return to fluid, skill-based acrobatics. Familiar moves such as leaping over huge gaps, wall-running and clinging to columns are all coming back. One of our objectives was to tune our environments and the Prince’s controls so that these elements chain together organically.

We are aiming for a kind of rhythm to the Prince’s movement that will make timing your button presses essential to the navigation of levels. Overall, the way the Prince is controlled will feel similar to of Sands of Time.


Speaking of “classic gameplay,” the Sands of Time is known for its puzzle elements…

The Forgotten Sands will take a similar approach. From the get-go, we designed every environment around what we call “room philosophy”. This is a similar process to the kind used in Sands of Time where getting from point A to point B is, in itself, a sort of puzzle.

The platforming in Forgotten Sands is about exploration, observation and puzzle-solving as the Prince tries to negotiate complex environments. Since we are using the Anvil engine (from Assassin’s Creed 1 and 2), our level design team was able to craft vast rooms and exterior environments where the player, when he enters a room, will have no choice but to stop, look around the room and think on how he will navigate that space before he can try to pull it off.


What kind of combat can we expect from The Forgotten Sands?

Combat is coming back to the series roots, with a few twists! The Anvil engine is very flexible and allowed us to bring something new to the series to fight sequences. In fact, combat includes up to fifty enemies onscreen. These foes will use different strategies such as encircling the Prince to use their overwhelming number to their advantage.
In order to make this fun and manageable, we designed the combat with a unique philosophy – crowd control. Due to the sheer number of enemies the Prince must fight simultaneously, fighting directly the mob is pitting yourself against its greatest strength.

As such, combat is about staying very mobile using the Prince’s swordplay, his incredible acrobatic talent, the ability to knock down enemies – effectively repelling them – and using the new powers. In other words, the player will have to use all Prince’s strengths to turn each fight to your advantage. This adds a layer of strategy, ensuring every combat is fun, challenging and distinct.


How is The Forgotten Sands going to look?

Since Forgotten Sands is set in the Sands of Time trilogy universe, we stayed true to the original series visual style. We are designing the game with a realistic look but with Arabian Night influences, gracing it with fantastical element – basically, the visual signature of the original series. Also, we wanted to bring grandiose environment to Prince of Persia; to achieve this, we exploited the increased graphical abilities of the current generation of consoles. As such, this look will be reflected in every aspect of the game including the environments, so although Malik’s Palace will consist of a variety of different settings, they all will appear both plausibly realistic yet fantastic.

We believe Forgotten Sands environment are the kind that could only be hinted at in Sands of Time but the team can now show thanks to the graphical prowess current hardware.


If Malik’s Palace is in the middle of the desert, why does it haves lush environments?

Located in a sea of sand, Malik's kingdom is an oasis whose greatest source of prosperity, water, is plentiful. The source of this water has ramifications that reach deep into the lore behind The Forgotten Sands… which you will have to discover for yourself when the game ships! Evidently, since Malik’s kingdom is located in the middle of the desert, water is extremely valuable; so much in fact that the desire to own this resource could be a source of conflict… begging to be robbed by rival empire.
If you look at human history, confident monarchs have often displayed their wealth by constructing huge castles, like Louis XIV’s Versaille.

It was a way of exhibiting their prosperity but also a tactic to astonish diplomats who would be overwhelmed by the empire’s might and power. Malik is no different; his palace includes lush environments such as waterfalls and gorgeous water jets who all exhibit his greatest riches – water.


What kind of gameplay innovations will The Forgotten Sands offer the Sands of Time universe?

One of the things we are really proud of adding is this concept of introducing unstable ingredients into the gameplay of The Forgotten Sands. Malik’s Palace is a very volatile place to begin with since it’s the focal point for a major siege, so we wanted to make sure the gameplay supported this in a dynamic way. As the siege of Malik’s Palace progresses, damage will be done that will impact where you can and can’t go. There is also the water to consider, since it is the centerpiece of Malik’s Palace, we wanted to use the transitive nature of water to add dimensions to the gameplay. Running water can be interacted with by using the ability to slow down its flow, so players will need to be mindful of how water’s different physical states can be used to the Prince’s advantage.

We are also adding an upgrade system for the Prince’s new elemental abilities. As you are playing, you’ll earn points that can be spent on customizing the Prince’s power set, so if you become enamored with a particular power or notice that you use one more than the rest, you can focus on beefing that power up to become more effective.

Those elemental powers will enable the Prince to gain the upper hand in any situation, enabling him to master both his environment and enemies.

[Mr_Shade]

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Ceri Young Story Q&A - May 18 2010



Hi everybody! With the release of our new Developer Diary focusing on the story of The Forgotten Sands, I thought it might be nice to do a quick interview with our Scriptwriter Ceri Young and the voice of the Prince, Yuri Lowenthal.

I’ve compiled a rather long list of questions from our forums and Facebook fan page (yeah, I was spying this whole time!), so don’t be surprised if you see some questions that look familiar ;D

Without further ado, let’s hear what Ceri and Yuri have to say about The Forgotten Sands!

Ceri Young, Scriptwriter

Gabe Graziani: Who is the Prince in The Forgotten Sands? Could you describe him in a couple of sentences?

Ceri Young: The Prince in The Forgotten Sands is a young warrior who’s been sent to learn about how to lead a kingdom. He used to be arrogant and crave power, but now he’s a little older and wiser and understands that power and magic come with a price. He’s still quite sarcastic, though. And he talks to himself.

Gabe: Why was the Prince sent to his brother’s kingdom?

Ceri: After Sands of Time, the Prince is a seasoned warrior, who knows a little bit about battle. Unfortunately for him, nobody else remembers what happens, so his Father still thinks of him as a youth who’s never seen battle. So the Prince is sent to visit his brother, Malik. Malik is an experienced battle commander in another part of the kingdom, and their father hopes that by studying with his brother, the Prince will pick up some experience in war and leadership.

Gabe: The Prince from Sands of Time was witty, youthful and pretty sarcastic… how did you approach writing for him in The Forgotten Sands?

Ceri: I did go back to the original trilogy when I first came on the project to take a look at who the Prince was and how his character was set up. In writing something that happened after Sands of Time, I wanted to give the feeling that the Prince has been changed by his experience. He was quite arrogant in Sands of Time, which gets knocked out of him over the course of the storyline, so we start with a less arrogant character – in a way our Prince has gone a bit too far in the opposite direction; he’s a little too willing to let Malik be in charge. I thought he would still be a sarcastic youth, but a little less young now, and a lot more wary of things like “magic” and “wonders” – he’s seen that these things come with a price, and so he tries to talk Malik out of using this power he’s been given – he’s very suspicious of it.

Gabe: Did you have Yuri Lowenthal in mind while writing the Prince’s lines? How much did his performance in Sands of Time shape your interpretation?

Ceri: By the time I sat down to write the dialogue for The Forgotten Sands, I knew that we planned to have Yuri return as the voice of the Prince. So yes, his work did influence me quite a bit. I wanted to recapture both the writing, and his way of speaking. Going back to that voice was really a lot of fun as a writer. In one way it makes the lines easier to write, because I could read it over to myself and hear the voice and know if a line is going to work or not. In another way, it made things more difficult because the Prince had such a distinctive voice, and all these witty quips that meshed so well with the gameplay. It was a bit intimidating to try and capture that feeling again without becoming repetitive.


Gabe: Many of our fans have wondered about the origins of the names in The Forgotten Sands… how did you choose “Malik” and “Razia?”

Ceri: Razia was a name that was already chosen when I joined the project. It’s a reference to Razia Al-Din who was the Sultan of Delhi for a brief period in the 13th century. I’d encourage people to look up her story, because I think she’s a fascinating historical figure. Our Razia is quite a bit different, of course, but we really drew on the strength of that original figure.

For Malik’s name, I wanted something that sounded strong, and that had a meaning that fit well into our game. I looked at a lot of different possibilities for Arabic and Persian names, since we draw on both mythologies. Malik is a fairly common name that means “king”. Since Malik is supposed to be such a strong leader, and since he is ruling this territory on the edge of his father’s kingdom, I thought it fit well.

Gabe: What source material did you draw from to construct the story of The Forgotten Sands?

Ceri: A lot of different places. There are the Arabian Nights tales, of course, which are really the backdrop for the Prince of Persia games. We’ve taken some elements from Persian mythology, as well. I read Tales from the Alhambra, which is sort of in the same style as the Arabian Nights, but set in a castle that’s in Spain. I study a lot of other mythology, so there’s probably some other cultures mixed up in there that I’m not even aware of.

Gabe: Who is Razia? Why does she help the Prince?

Ceri: Razia is a Queen of the Marid, who in our game are a tribe of the Djinn who are known for their control of water. Their great city was built underneath Malik’s palace, in a natural reservoir. Way back in the time of King Solomon, Razia swore that she would protect the water and keep the city above as an oasis in the desert. It’s been more than a thousand years, but she’s still there and still keeping her promise. Helping the Prince is part of this. She’s made a vow, and she’s going to keep it as best she can.

Gabe: Razia refers to herself as “we,” why is that? Is it a reference to royalty or is she an amalgamation of djinn spirits or what?

Ceri: Razia is using what’s called the ‘royal we’, so she’s referring to herself as a monarch. When the Prince first arrives, she sees this young wanderer who’s running around releasing magical armies without having a clue what he’s doing, and she draws back from him. As the game goes on, they develop a better relationship and that distance closes, but at first she really sees herself as above the Prince. I wanted her speech to reflect that.

Thanks so much to Ceri for answering our questions today!

Your ComDev,
Gabe

Follow me on Twitter@UbiGabe UbiGabe and become a fan of the Prince on Facebook

[Mr_Shade]

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Yuri Lowenthal Story Q&A

Hello again PoP fans! Now that we’ve gone through some of the key story points with our Scriptwriter Ceri Young, let’s see if we can get the voice of the Prince, Yuri Lowenthal, to answer some of our questions.

The most diligent Prince of Persia fans will remember Yuri from his performance in Sands of Time, the 2003 reboot of Jordan Mechner’s classic side-scrolling adventure. Yuri essentially defined that generation’s Prince of Persia, so we are ecstatic to have him back for The Forgotten Sands!

Okay, enough set-up, here’s what Yuri has to say about The Forgotten Sands!


Yuri Lowenthal, Voice of the Prince

Gabe Graziani: How does it feel to be reprising your role as the Prince of Persia, one of Ubisoft’s most popular characters?

Yuri Lowenthal: Exhilarating and terrifying. On one hand I love this character and I will always jump at the opportunity to reprise him, take him on new adventures, evolve him. I'm honored to be asked again to play him. On the other hand, I'm not the only person who loves this character. There are a lot of fans of the franchise out there, and they're all waiting for an amazing game, so I feel a lot of pressure to give them that. And because I'm a PoP and VG nerd myself, there's that added pressure to contribute to a great game.

Gabe: What do you think of the Prince as a character?

Yuri: He's a classic hero and a rogue. A virtuous (mostly) guy, thrust into situations where he has to save the world or the girl, sometimes both, and he does it with a sense of humor. He's a badass when he needs to be. But he's not invincible. He's experienced loss, betrayal. Who wouldn't want to play this guy? He can be a bit of a complainer sometimes, but even that comes off as charming with him.

Gabe: How has your portrayal of the Prince changed from Sands of Time to The Forgotten Sands?

Yuri: The Prince was a little more selfish, a little more carefree and cavalier in the beginning of SoT. He's lost his father, had to kill his undead father, fallen in love, had to give it up, fought a whole bunch of sand creatures. The story takes place between SoT and WW. In this game we had to see a Prince who was in between that first "lighter" story and the really dark tortured state we find him in in WW. We tried to find that Prince for this game.

Gabe: What do you do to prepare for a recording session?

Yuri: Warm up my voice, because there's usually a fair bit of fighting, screaming, falling and other various strenuous vocal gymnastics. Then talk with the director, writer, whoever's available to give me any information about what's going on in the game. They have the big picture and can keep tabs on me during the session to make sure I'm on track. So then I just have to relax and trust that we're gonna get what we need. As an actor you can get in your head about what you're doing, think too much, start wondering if you're doing it right. It can cripple a performance if you let your fears take hold. So I try to relax from the start and be confident that I was cast for good reason.

Gabe: What does your family think of your work in video games?

Yuri: My wife, Tara Platt, is an actor and works in video games as well, so I'm lucky there. My mom doesn't quite get it, but she knows I'm happy and doesn't have to send me checks in the mail anymore, so she's happy too. And my nephews think I'm the king of the world because they all play the games I work on.

Gabe: What was your favorite line in The Forgotten Sands and why?

Yuri: Honestly, it's been a while since we recorded and I don't really remember. I do remember yelling, "MALIK!" a lot. I'm sure after I play the game a few times I'll have a favorite. I still quote SoT on a regular basis. "No, no, no, that's not how it happened. Let me try again..."


Thanks so much to Yuri for answering our questions today!

Your ComDev,
Gabe

Follow me on Twitter@UbiGabe UbiGabe and become a fan of the Prince on Facebook