Tuesday 06 Jan 2009

Why, exactly, do we play videogames?

It’s a difficult question, and one to which different gamers (and game developers) would provide different answers. Traditionally, though, most of these answers would be focused on the concept of accomplishment. In videogames we face some specific and usually significant challenge in order to accomplish some goal. And once we accomplish said goal, we gain one or more rewards for our efforts. The bigger the challenge faced, and the more impressive the accomplishment, the better the rewards that are gained.

Accomplishment versus Experience

The seemingly simple principle of rewarding accomplishment has formed the basis of game design, specifically in genres such as the Action-Adventure, for as long as we can remember. But as of late there have been developers who have questioned this approach. During the previous console generation, a game designer by the name of Fumito Ueda, working for Sony Japan Studios, released two games that went wholly against the grain. Instead of focusing on providing hefty challenges and rewarding accomplishment, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus were focused on the experience of playing the game. The Ueda approach is also quite simple: should the gaming experience be sufficiently rich and immersive and unique, then the player will already be richly rewarded, and it simply becomes no longer necessary to provide some hefty challenge. These two games demonstrated that a game does not always have to be an endurance contest, or a race, or a tournament. Sometimes, a game can be a poem, or a ballet, or an opera. In short, it demonstrated beyond any doubt that videogames can indeed be art, instead of merely entertainment.

Ubisoft’s Montreal Studios have recently experimented quite extensively with the Ueda approach. Two games released thus far, Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry 2, have eschewed traditional game design approaches in favour of an experience focus. The results have been divisive, to put it mildly. Some (this reviewer included) consider both games to be masterpieces that peak among the high points of recent years, but many other gamers found them to be repetitive and frustrating in their lack of traditional design structures and gameplay challenges.

Prince of Persia is not only the latest chapter in Ubisoft Montreal’s ongoing experiments with experience-based gaming, but, in keeping with its royal-themed title, is also in many respects the Crown Jewel.

A Persian Tale

Prince of Persia represents a complete reboot for the franchise, having no ties to any of the previous games in the series. As such, gamers do not need to be familiar with any other Prince of Persia title in order to fully appreciate this game.

The new Prince (nicknamed so, according to the game’s manual) is a decidedly non-noble, rogue and hedonistic drifter, on his way home from raiding a tomb. He loses his way - and his treasure-carrying donkey - in a sandstorm, and then quite literally stumbles into a long-forgotten city. Here he discovers a young woman named Elika, on the run from armed pursuers. He learns that the city is home to the Ahura, a once-great but now dwindling civilisation, and that Elika is their princess. The Ahura are followers of Ormazd, the god of light, and lived in the city to guard the Tree of Life, ancient prison of Ahriman, the god of darkness. Through a series of events which I won’t spoil here, the Tree is damaged, and Ahriman’s dark Corruption escapes to infect the city. It’s up to the Prince and Elika to drive the Corruption out and restore the Tree before Ahriman can escape. This is done by activating the Fertile Grounds, mystical power-points spread throughout the city.

Similar to that of Sands of Time, Prince of Persia has a well-crafted story that recalls the feel and themes of the 1001 Arabian Nights. The story unfolds through much of the game in the form of dialogue between the Prince and Elika. As the narrative develops, players will find quite a few surprising moments waiting for them, making for a genuinely involving tale.

The quality of the writing is commendable throughout. The developers have clearly made it a priority to not only tell a good story, but to tell it well. The dialogue between the Prince and Elika in particular is crisp and sharp throughout. Sometimes poignant and moving, and at other times genuinely witty and funny, game writing seldom gets this good. The romantic chemistry between the two lead characters is also astounding, easily matching that of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Furthermore, the writers need to be complimented for their handling of the enemies. Far from typical, one-dimensional villains, the enemies in Prince of Persia are presented as true characters, having complex motivations that some gamers will find they can even empathise with.

The Prince and Elika both develop as characters throughout the game, and by the story’s end we don’t have the same pair of heroes that we started out with. The tale culminates in a beautifully executed ending that is shocking, haunting and thought-provoking, making for what is possibly the most memorable game ending of the year.

Princely designs

The main structure of the game is designed along fairly traditional adventure conventions. The world is divided into four main sections representing areas of the Ahura city, with each section further divided into six nodes. The order in which the nodes are completed is largely left up to the player. In each node, the Prince and Elika need to make their way to the Fertile Grounds, where they will battle one of the Corrupted. Once the Corrupted is defeated, the Fertile Grounds can be activated, which will heal that node of Corruption. It’s a simple design mechanic which is repeated throughout the game, but it’s so well-designed and focused on providing a rich gaming experience that it never becomes tired.

While an area is Corrupted, it is dark, gloomy and menacing. The Corruption is an actual substance which is fatal to the touch and forms traps and obstacles. In a Corrupted area, there is only one possible path to reach the Fertile Grounds. Once the Fertile Grounds is activated, the area is healed and transforms into a gorgeous, lush environment. With the Corruption driven out, new pathways are opened up. A number of light seeds are also released throughout the healed area and these need to be collected. Once enough light seeds have been gathered, Elika can gain a new power, which will allow her and the Prince to reach other nodes. Players only need to collect roughly half of all the light seeds in order to finish the game, but are strongly encouraged to try and collect all of them, as in doing so they will explore every nook and cranny of the game world and gain maximum enjoyment from the game.

Royal acrobatics

Traversing an area is an absolute joy. Like its predecessors, platforming lies at the heart of the gameplay in Prince of Persia. The series has always been known for providing spectacular acrobatics, and the latest instalment is no exception. The platforming mechanics this time around are very similar to those of the Sands of Time trilogy, but have been changed, for the better, in some fundamental ways. There is a far greater emphasis on climbing and wall-running this time around. The Prince actually spends very little time walking on a “floor” or any horizontal surface, but mostly moves around by going up and down and along walls and cliff faces. A new mechanic is present which allows the Prince to crawl along ceilings, and Elika is imbued with powers that allow the pair to make use of special power plates. These plates initiate on-rail platforming sections that need to be completed to either get to the Fertile Grounds or to collect otherwise inaccessible light seeds, with two types of plates present in each area node.

What mostly sets the platforming apart from that of the previous games is that it’s a lot more fluid and dynamic. When moving across an environment, the Prince feels like an actual living character that the player is steering and guiding, rather than a mechanical avatar that needs to be controlled at all times. Part of this has to do with the control scheme, which is a lot simpler and more accessible than those of previous games. The result is that Prince of Persia is really not a very difficult game. Most gamers will find it considerably less challenging than any of the Sands of Time games. This does however not mean that the game is ridiculously easy. Prince of Persia is all about getting into the “flow.” As the Prince moves from point A to point B, players need to get into a rhythmic method of control, giving the right inputs at the right times, to keep the Prince moving. When done correctly, this results in some of the most riveting platforming sequences seen in any game, providing endless opportunities for exhiliration. This is poetry in motion in the truest sense of the phrase.

Kingdom for a Prince

Going hand-in-hand with the platforming is the world’s design. The developers have opted for a design that is open, seamless and uninterrupted. It is literally possible to make one’s way from one end of the world to the other in one long, uninterrupted platforming sequence, with no load screens or pauses to break the flow. With such a complex node-based world, this design approach helps to further infuse the platforming gameplay with a joyous sense of freedom. Level designs are also far more organic than those of the previous games, with multiple paths between two points, making for massive, complex structures that are there to explore and interact with. It’s definitely a giant step forward for the series.

Princess of Persia

One of the most unique features of the game is Elika. Elika is the Prince’s constant ally, being right by his side at all times. Wherever the Prince goes, Elika is right behind him, ready to lend her assistance the moment he needs it. More importantly, though, she never gets in the way, and players will never get frustrated by having to deal with “dumb” AI.

Elika’s not just there for show, though, as several gameplay mechanics have been integrated into her design. During platforming, for example, pressing the Y button in a jump will call Elika to grab the Prince and throw him further, effectively providing a double jump. Pressing Y when not in battle or in a jump will cause Elika to produce an orb of light that will show the way to the next destination. During battle, Elika can be called to provide a magic attack.

Elika is also the Prince’s saviour. In Prince of Persia, death in the most traditional sense of the word isn’t really possible. If the Prince misses a jump or a grab during a platforming sequence, Elika will immediately grab his hand and return him to the last safe checkpoint. Some have criticised this as making the game too easy, but such an evaluation isn’t really accurate. The developers have simply chosen to hide the “Game Over” screen, ensuring that the return to the last checkpoint is immediate, and not a process whereby players are punished. In this way, players stay in the game, remaining in the flow of things at all times. It’s a refreshing design decision which will hopefully inspire other developers. I found that it also encourages exploration and experimentation, as you are more inclined to try out different approaches to get to a hard-to-reach light seed when you know that there are no severe consequences for failing. Gamers will find that they will “die” during the game – at least as often as in previous Prince of Persia games. Only this time the experience is far less punishing.

Great care has also been taken to ensure that the Prince and Elika appear lifelike. At all times in the game, they come across as actual characters interacting with one another, rather than mere avatars. Should Elika block the Prince’s path on a beam, for example, they will exchange places by the Prince taking her hand and gently swinging her around him. At other times, during the on-rails platforming sections, they will need to hold on to one another to move together. All of this is done automatically, but it’s in no way mechanical. During the earlier parts of the game, these physical interactions appear terse and unwelcome, but in the later parts are accompanied by a witty comment or laughter, signifying the warming relationship and building chemistry between them.

Elika also provides company for the Prince. In a surprisingly good design move, much of the dialogue between the two is optional and accessed by the player by pressing the left trigger. In this way the characters not only get to know one another, but it helps players get more information about any given area in the city, help with puzzles and goals, etc. Players are strongly advised to make use of this feature at all times, as failure to do so will deprive them of much of the story.

Overall, Elika represents one of the year’s most innovative game mechanics, and sets the bar for AI-controlled characters in adventure games.

A warrior Prince

The Sands of Time games were often criticised for focusing too heavily on combat, and the developers have clearly taken note of those criticisms. Prince of Persia features far less combat than the previous three games, and the approach to combat has also been completely reworked. In a sense, the combat this time around returns to that of the original Prince of Persia, with battles always being one-on-one. The Prince will never face off against more than one enemy at a time. The combat system has also been simplified, with four basic attacks that can be stringed together into combos. Elika is integral to the combat too, as she can be called upon to perform magic attacks. Like the platforming, players need to get into a rhythmic flow during combat, trying to string together the longest possible combos. When done effectively, this results in thrillingly acrobatic battles that are a joy to behold. Aiding in this is the game camera, which changes angles and zoom to ensure that each battle is a truly cinematic spectacle. With combat encounters taking place only once or twice in each area node, the fighting never wears out its welcome, and remains a positive experience throughout the game.

Royal beauty

Prince of Persia benefits from one of the most stunningly gorgeous presentations we’ve ever seen in a game. The visual style is completely distinctive and unique, called “illustrative” by the developers. Not unlike celshading, every single frame of graphics looks like it was hand-drawn and –painted in watercolours. Like the story, the visuals in the game are very successful in evoking an Arabian Nights look and feel. Running on the same graphics engine as Assassin’s Creed, the character animations are naturally top-notch. Character models are beautifully designed and covered with incredibly rich and detailed textures.

Even with such a huge and seamless world, there are no framerate drops or noticeable screen tearing. When a Fertile Grounds is activated, the area changes from Corrupted to healed in real-time, and this really needs to be seen to be believed. In certain parts of the game, the Prince and Elika will platform their way through structures that are busy collapsing, also in real-time. Furthermore, all cutscenes are rendered in real-time, with no pre-rendered material to be found. It’s a stunning meet-up of advanced graphics technology and inspired artistic design, which makes for what is, quite simply, the most beautiful game I’ve had the privilege of playing.

The visuals are complemented by an equally impressive soundtrack. Orchestral compositions tinged with Middle-Eastern flavours swell and soar in tandem with the action taking place on screen. Adding to this are beautiful environmental sound effects that really help bring the world alive. If there is a fault with the audio presentation, though, it’s that the vocal performances for the characters are a tad too American for the game’s setting. The Prince is voiced by Nolan North, who was also the voice actor for Nathan Drake in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. In the earlier parts of the game, it seems as if Mr North is still playing the role of Nathan Drake, and this can be a little jarring at times. However, as the game progresses and the character grows, this ceases to be a noticeable problem.

Conclusion

Most players will complete the game in 10 to 12 hours, which is pretty standard for the genre. Attempting to collect all light seeds and go through all conversations, though, will easily result in 15 hours of play. With no additional difficulty levels, many gamers might find the game to be low on replay-value. It should be noted that the order in which one tackles the area nodes does influence the game, as it determines which Corruption traps and obstacles are present in other nodes. Effectively, the relative difficulty of each node depends on how early or late in the game that node is played. Even without this feature, many gamers will find the game experience to be so rich and rewarding that they will want to play it again. The game has only been out for a month, and I’ve already played through it three times. This is the first game in years that I can say that for.

I found Prince of Persia to be a masterpiece. The flowing platforming, stunningly crafted world, beautiful story, interactions with Elika and mesmerising presentation combine to provide what is not only one of the most unique and memorable experiences of the year, but also one of the very best. However, I should point out that gamers who prefer their games to be high on challenge and to provide a concrete sense of accomplishment will in all likelihood not enjoy Prince of Persia all that much. Players who enjoy more experience-based games such ICO, Shadow of the Colossus or Assassin’s Creed, however, will find Prince of Persia to be a treasure fit for a prince.

Pros: Fluid platforming; beautiful story; innovative gameplay and design mechanics; gorgeous presentation.

Cons: Lack of traditional difficulty; voice acting sometimes clashes somewhat with the game’s setting.

Rating:
Contributor:	Mark

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