How Ubisoft Is Bringing Prince of Persia Back as an Anime-Like Metroidvania
A brand new Prince of Persia was fully revealed at this year’s Ubisoft Forward, and it’s quite literally in a different dimension to the beloved Sands of Time games. Made by the folks behind Rayman, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a 2D game that revisits the series’ platformer roots.
To find out more about this unexpected return we spoke to three developers from Ubisoft Montpellier, who told us how they’re relaunching Prince of Persia as an anime-inspired Metroidvania.
“At Ubsioft Montpellier we have the experience of 2D games on Rayman, of course,” says world director Christophe Pic about the decision to go back to two dimensions for The Lost Crown. “So first of all it was [that] we had the experience, for us it was natural to make the choice for the game. And we also wanted to come back to the original Prince of Persia, because it also fits with the kind of structure we have and with the kind of controls and gameplay.”
“But it's also in 3D,” he notes. While viewed from a 2D perspective, the world is built in a 3D space, and so the camera can make full use of that. “So when we have dynamic combat and we have specific combos, we sometimes take control of the camera and we have this specific point of view [where the camera moves inside the game world]. So we want to keep something immersive, of course, and modern.”
When those special camera moves trigger, the world switches colour palette from a stylish-but-traditional middle eastern swatch to a bold, vibrant, anime-inspired design.
“We love modern pop culture, we love anime,” says art director Jean-Christophe Alessandri. “We love comics, superheroes. And this is really an act of love of fans. We are fans and we wanted to put that into the universe of Prince of Persia.”
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