Prince of Persia (1989 video game)

This article is about the 1989 video game. For the 2008 game of the same name, see Prince of Persia (2008 video game).
Prince of Persia

Cover art used for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and MS-DOS versions
Developer(s)

Brøderbund

Publisher(s)

Brøderbund

Designer(s) Jordan Mechner
Composer(s) Tom Rettig (sound)
Series Prince of Persia
Platform(s) Apple II (see Ports)
Release date(s)

‹See Tfd›

‹See Tfd›

Genre(s) Cinematic platformer
Mode(s) Single-player

Prince of Persia is a 1989 fantasy cinematic platformer originally developed and published by Brøderbund and designed by Jordan Mechner for the Apple II. In the game, players control an unnamed protagonist who must venture through a series of dungeons to defeat the Grand Vizier Jaffar and save an imprisoned princess.

Much like Karateka, Mechner's first game, Prince of Persia used rotoscoping for its fluid and realistic animation. For this process, Mechner used as reference for the characters' movements videos of his brother doing acrobatic stunts in white clothes and swashbuckler films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood.

The game was critically acclaimed and, while not an immediate commercial success, sold many copies as it was ported to a wide range of platforms after the original Apple II release. It is believed to have been the first cinematic platformer and inspired many following games in this subgenre, such as Another World.[4] Its success led to the release of two sequels, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame and Prince of Persia 3D, and two reboots of the series, first in 2003 with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which led to three sequels of its own, and then again in 2008 with the identically-titled Prince of Persia.

Plot

The game is set in ancient Persia. While the sultan is fighting a war in a foreign land, his vizier Jaffar, a wizard, seizes power. His only obstacle to the throne is the Sultan's daughter (although the game never specifically mentions how). Jaffar locks her in a tower and orders her to become his wife, or she would die within 60 minutes (extended to 120 minutes in the Super NES version, which has longer and harder levels). The game's nameless protagonist, whom the Princess loves, is thrown prisoner into the palace dungeons. In order to free her, he must escape the dungeons, get to the palace tower and defeat Jaffar before time runs out. But in addition to guards, various traps and dungeons, the protagonist is further hindered by his own doppelgänger, an apparition of his own self that is conjured out of a magic mirror.

Gameplay

IBM PC version of Prince of Persia

The main objective of the player is to lead the nameless protagonist out of dungeons and into a tower before time runs out. This cannot be done without bypassing traps and fighting hostile swordsmen. The game consists of twelve levels (though some console versions have more). However, a game session may be saved and resumed at a later time only after level 3.

The player has a health indicator that consists of a series of small red triangles. The player starts with three. Each time the protagonist is damaged (cut by sword, fallen from two floors of heights or hit by a falling rock), the player loses one of these indicators. There are small jars of red potion scattered throughout the game that restore one health indicator. There are also large jars of red potion that increase the maximum number of health indicators by one. If the player's health is reduced to zero, the protagonist dies. Subsequently, the game is restarted from the beginning of the stage in which the protagonist died but the timer will not reset to that point, effectively constituting a time penalty. There is no counter for the number of lives; but if time runs out, the princess will die and the game will be over.

There are three types of traps that the player must bypass: Spike traps, deep pits (three or more levels deep) and guillotines. Getting caught or falling into each results in the instant death of the protagonist. In addition, there are gates that can be raised for a short period of time by having the protagonist stand on the activation trigger. The player must pass through the gates while they are open, avoiding locking triggers. Sometimes, there are various traps between an unlock trigger and a gate.

Hostile swordsmen (Jaffar and his guards) are yet another obstacle. The player obtains a sword in the first stage, which they can use to fight these adversaries. The protagonist's sword maneuvers are as follows: advance, back off, slash, parry, or a combined parry-then-slash attack. Enemy swordsmen also have a health indicator similar to that of the protagonist. Killing them involves slashing them until their health indicator is depleted or by pushing them into traps while fighting.

A unique trap encountered in stage four, which serves as a plot device, is a magic mirror, whose appearance is followed by an ominous leitmotif. The protagonist is forced to jump through this mirror upon which his doppelganger emerges from the other side. This apparition later hinders the protagonist by stealing a potion and throwing him into a dungeon. The protagonist cannot kill this apparition as they share lives; any damage inflicted upon one also hurts the other. Therefore, the protagonist must merge with his doppelganger.

Once they have merged, the player can run across an invisible bridge to a new area, where they battle Jafaar (once the final checkpoint is reached, the player will no longer get a game over screen even if time runs out). Once Jafaar is defeated, his spell is broken and the Princess can be saved. In addition, the in-game timer is stopped at the moment of Jafaar's death, and the time remaining will appear on the high scores.

Development

Mechner used hand-drawn storyboards such as this to layout the game's level design and character movements

Development for the game began in 1985, the year Jordan Mechner graduated from Yale University. At that time, Mechner had already developed one game, Karateka, for distributor Brøderbund. Despite expecting a sequel to Karateka, the distributor gave Mechner creative freedom to create an original game.[5] The game drew from several sources of inspiration beyond video games, including literature such as the Arabian Nights stories,[6] and films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark[7] and The Adventures of Robin Hood.[8]

For a few seconds, the camera angle has them in exact profile. This was a godsend. I did my VHS/one-hour-photo rotoscope procedure, spread two-dozen snapshots out on the floor of the office and spent days poring over them trying to figure out what exactly was going on in that duel, how to conceptualise it into a repeatable pattern.

Jordan Mechner on how he used the final duel between Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone from The Adventures of Robin Hood to create the game's swordfighting mechanic[5]

Mechner used an animation technique called rotoscoping, with which he used footage to animate the characters' sprites and movements. To create the protagonist's platforming motions, Mechner traced video footage of his younger brother running and jumping in white clothes.[9] To create the game's sword fighting sprites, Mechner rotoscoped the final duel scene between Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood.[8] Also unusual was the method of combat: protagonist and enemies fought with swords, not projectile weapons, as was the case in most contemporary games. Mechner has said that when he started programming, the first ten minutes of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark had been one of the main inspirations for the character's acrobatic responses in a dangerous environment.[10]

For the Japanese computer ports, Arsys Software[11] and Riverhillsoft[2] enhanced the visuals and redesigned the Prince's appearance, introducing the classic turban and vest look. This version became the basis for the Macintosh version and later Prince of Persia ports and games by Brøderbund. Riverhillsoft's FM Towns version also added a Red Book CD audio soundtrack.[2]

Ports

Screenshot from the Super NES version developed by Arsys; this version features enhanced graphics and more levels than the original Apple II release

After its release on the Apple II, Prince of Persia was ported to a variety of platforms. Below is a list of the ports that were developed.

Official
Port Release Developer Publisher
Amiga 1990 Domark
Amstrad CPC 1990 Brøderbund
Atari ST 1990
MS-DOS 1990
SAM Coupé 1990 Chris 'Persil' White[12] Revelation
NEC PC-9801 July 1990[2] Arsys Software[11] Riverhillsoft
Sharp X68000 April 30, 1991 Riverhillsoft
TurboGrafx-16 November 8, 1991
Master System 1992 Domark
Game Gear 1992
Sega CD 1992 Riverhillsoft
Game Boy January 1992 Virgin Games
FM Towns June 1992 Riverhillsoft
Super NES July 3, 1992 (JP)
November 1, 1992 (US, EU)
Arsys Software[13] Masaya (JP)
Konami (US, EU)
NES November 2, 1992 Virgin Games [14]
Macintosh 1992 Brøderbund
Genesis 1993 Domark
Game Boy Color April 15, 1999 Ed Magnin and Associates [15] Red Orb Entertainment [15]
iOS (Actually "Retro", replaced by "Classic" version on 2011) May 28, 2010 Ubisoft
iOS (Actually "Classic") December 19, 2011
Nintendo 3DS January 19, 2012 [16]
Wii January 19, 2012 [16]
Unofficial
Port Release Developer Publisher
Enterprise 128 1990 Brøderbund[17]
Electronika BK-0011M 1994 Evgeny Pashigorov, Pasha Sizykh [18] Flame Association
ATM Turbo 1994 Honey Soft, Andrey Honichem Moscow
ZX Spectrum 1996 Nicodim [19] Magic Soft [19]
MC Software [20]
HP48/GX 1998 Iki[21]
TI-89, TI-92 2003 David Coz[22]
Commodore Plus 4 2007 GFW & ACW [23]
Commodore 64 2011 Andreas Varga [24]
Linux, Microsoft Windows 2014 David[25] This port, called SDLPoP, uses SDL.[25]
Roku (Streaming Box and Smart TV) 2016 Marcelo Lv Cabral[26][27]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings80% (1 review)[28]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Dragon (DOS)[29]
EGM32/40 (GEN)[30]
Adventure Classic Gaming (DOS)[31]
Génération 490%[3]
Sega Force94% (SMS)[32]

Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World stated that the game package's claim that it "breaks new ground with animation so uncannily human it must be seen to be believed" was true. He wrote that Prince of Persia "succeeds at being more than a running-jumping game (in other words, a gussied-up Nintendo game)" because it "captures the feel of those great old adventure films", citing Thief of Baghdad, Frankenstein and Dracula. Ardai concluded that it was "a tremendous achievement" in gaming comparable to that of Star Wars in film.[33]

In 1992, The New York Times described the Macintosh version as having "brilliant graphics and excellent sound ... Sure, you could do all this years ago on a Commodore 64 or Atari 400. But those games never looked or sounded like this".[34] Reviewing the Genesis version, GamePro praised the "extremely fluid" animation of the player character and commented that the controls are difficult to master but nonetheless very effective. Comparing it to the Super NES version, they summarized that "the Genesis version has better graphics, and the SNES has better music. Otherwise, the two are identical in almost every way ..."[35] Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) likewise assessed the Genesis version as "An excellent conversion of the classic action game", and added that the game's challenging strategy and technique give it high longevity.[36] EGM's panel of four reviewers each gave it a rating of 8 out of 10, adding up to an overall score of 32 out of 40.[30]

In 1991, the game was ranked the 12th best Amiga game of all time by Amiga Power.[37] Prince of Persia would go on to influence cinematic platformers such as Flashback as well as action-adventure games such as Tomb Raider,[2] which used a similar control scheme.[38]

Despite a positive critical reception, the game was initially a commercial failure in North America, where it had sold only 7,000 units each on the Apple II and IBM PC platforms by July 1990. It was when the game was released in Japan and Europe that year that it became a commercial success. In July 1990, the NEC PC-9801 version sold 10,000 units as soon as it was released in Japan. It was then ported to various different home computers and video game consoles, eventually selling 2 million units worldwide by the time its sequel Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (1993) was in production.[2]

Remake and modifications

A few DOS games were created using exactly the same game mechanics of the DOS version of Prince of Persia. Makh-Shevet created Cruel World in 1993 and Capstone Software created Zorro in 1995.[39]

In 2007, Prince of Persia was remade and ported by Gameloft. The remake, titled Prince of Persia Classic, was released on June 13, 2007 to the Xbox Live Arcade, and on October 23, 2008 on the PlayStation Network. It features the same level design and general premise but contained 3D-rendered graphics, more fluid movements, and Sands of Time aesthetics.[40] The gameplay and controls were slightly adjusted to include a wall-jump move and different swordplay. New game modes were also added, such as "Time Attack" and "Survival".[41] The game has also been released on Android.[42]

Reverse engineering efforts by fans of the original game have resulted in detailed documentation of the file formats of the MS-DOS version.[43] Various level editors have been created that can be used to modify the level files of the DOS version.[44] With these editors and other software, over sixty mods have been created.[45]

Source code release

On April 17, 2012, Jordan Mechner established a GitHub repository[46] containing the long-thought-lost[47] original Apple II source code for Prince of Persia.[48][49] A technical document describing the operation of this source code is available on Mechner's website.[50]

References

  1. Mechner, Jordan (2009-05-03). "Prince of Persia released". jordanmechner.com. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kurt Kalata; Sam Derboo (12 August 2011). "Prince of Persia". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  3. 1 2 Prince of Persia review, Generation 4, issue #25, September 1990
  4. Rybicki, Joe (5 May 2008). "Prince of Persia Retrospective". GameTap. Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  5. 1 2 "The Making Of: Prince Of Persia". Edge. Future plc. Archived from the original on July 10, 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  6. Rus McLaughlin; Scott Collura & Levi Buchanan (May 18, 2010). "IGN Presents: The History of Prince of Persia (page 1)". IGN. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  7. Gamasutra - Features - Game Design: Theory & Practice Second Edition: 'Interview with Jordan Mechner'
  8. 1 2 Mechner, Jordan (2011). Classic Game Postmortem: PRINCE OF PERSIA (Speech). Game Developers Conference. San Francisco, California. Event occurs at 38:35. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  9. October 20, 1985 | jordanmechner.com
  10. Gamasutra - Features - Game Design: Theory & Practice Second Edition: 'Interview with Jordan Mechner'
  11. 1 2 Prince of Persia release info, Moby Games, October 3, 1989
  12. "SAM Coupe Magazine Preview". February 1992: 50. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  13. "Corporate profile". Cyberhead. Archived from the original on October 24, 2001. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  14. "Virgin Interactive Games". IGN. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Prince of Persia International Releases". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  16. 1 2 "RELIVE CLASSIC PRINCE OF PERSIA ON WII™ AND 3DS™". MCV. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  17. "Museum - Enterprise Games - Prince of Persia [Google translation of original Hungarian "Múzeum - Enterprise játékok - Prince of Persia" page]". ep128.hu. 2011-06-20. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  18. "Prince of Persia BK-0011M". R-GAMES.NET. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  19. 1 2 Tarján, Richárd (21 February 2009). "Prince of Persia - ZX Spectrum version (Nicodim/Magic Soft, 1996)" (DOC). World of Spectrum. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  20. Ribic, Samir (July 2007). "ZX Spectrum Screenshot Catalog": 655.
  21. "Detailed information for Iki's Prince of Persia". hpcalc.org. 1998-10-30. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  22. "Prince of Persia - TI Series". 20 September 2003. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  23. "Prince of Persia". Plus 4 World. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  24. Lemon, Kim. "Prince of Persia". Lemon. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  25. 1 2 "Get the Games: SDLPoP". PoPOT Modding Community. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  26. "lvcabral/Prince-of-Persia-Roku". GitHub. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  27. "PoP1 for Roku Set-Top Box - Prince of Persia". forum.princed.org. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  28. "Prince of Persia (1989) for PC - GameRankings". Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  29. Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia & Lesser, Kirk (December 1992). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (188): 57–64.
  30. 1 2 Electronic Gaming Monthly, 1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide, p. 86
  31. "Prince of Persia Review". Jeremiah Kauffman. 19 February 2006. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  32. "Sega Force Issue 7" (7). July 1992: 13. Retrieved July 9, 2016. The best MS game we've seen for ages!
  33. Ardai, Charles (December 1989). "Good Knight, Sweet Prince". Computer Gaming World. pp. 48 & 64. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  34. Shannon, L. R. (1992-08-11). "Playing at War, Once Removed". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  35. "ProReview: Prince of Persia". GamePro (57). IDG. April 1994. p. 30.
  36. "Review Crew: Prince of Persia". Electronic Gaming Monthly (56). EGM Media, LLC. March 1994. p. 38.
  37. "All-Time Top 100 Games". Amiga Power magazine. Future Publishing. May 1991. p. 6. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  38. Blache, Fabian & Fielder, Lauren, History of Tomb Raider, GameSpot, Accessed Apr 1, 2009
  39. "Zorro". RGB Classic Games. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  40. Review of Prince of Persia remake by Nick Suttner, 13 June 2007, 1Up.com
  41. "Xboxic Classic review". Xboxic.
  42. "Prince of Persia Classic". Ubisoft Entertainment/Google.
  43. "Prince of Persia Specifications of File Formats" (PDF). Princed Development Team. 2008-01-05. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  44. "Modding Community; Level Editors". PoPOT.org. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  45. "Modding Community; Custom Levels". PoPOT.org. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  46. Prince of Persia Apple II
  47. Ciolek, Todd (2012-10-17). "Among the Missing: Notable Games Lost to Time". 1up.com. Retrieved 2015-06-19. Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner believed that the source code to the game's original Apple II version was gone when he failed to find it in 2002. Ten years later, Mechner's father uncovered a box of old games at the family home, and among them were disks containing Prince of Persia's bedrock program.
  48. Fletcher, JC (2012-04-17). "Prince of Persia source code successfully rescued". joystiq.com. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  49. Mastrapa, Gus (2012-04-20). "The Geeks Who Saved Prince of Persia's Source Code From Digital Death". Wired. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  50. Mechner, Jordan (12 October 1989). "Prince of Persia Technical Information" (PDF). Retrieved 6 October 2014.

External links

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