Prince of Persia Epilogue DLC

16-Feb-2009 Interview: Ubisoft spills all on the core-focused PoP update

Everyone agreed that this generation's first Prince of Persia game was visually stunning, but opinions on its wider success were a little more divided.

Some felt the game was a bit repetitive, while others weren't blown away by its combat. Perhaps the criticism that stood out the most was the fact that it was too easy.

Having listened to the feedback, associate producer Jamal Rguigui explains to us how Ubisoft Montreal has addressed fans' concerns with the core game in the PS3 and 360 Prince of Persia DLC that launches on Thursday.

Ubisoft was unwilling to talk about pricing details at this point, or to elaborate on why the content isn't coming to PC.

So the Epilogue DLC continues right from where the core game left off?

Jamal Rguigui: The story serves as an epilogue to the retail game. It starts just minutes after the end of PoP and has allowed us to add considerably to the character development of Elika and the Prince as well as to the back-story of our new universe.

What can you tell us about the size of the DLC, and about how much added play time it will offer?

Rguigui: As soon as we decided to do a DLC for PoP we immediately set to work making it significant - this is easily one of the most ambitious DLC projects Ubisoft has yet undertaken. Expect more than three hours of additional gameplay from start to end of the epilogue.

Prince of Persia was a gorgeous game. What's distinct about the new area, the Underground Palace, visually?

Rguigui: We've kept the illustrative art style and created a completely new region which is entirely corrupted. This new region takes place in huge rooms, inspired by the feeling of awe we felt when seeing the Mines of Moria in The Fellowship of the Ring. It creates a dark ambiance and claustrophobic feeling that we feel nicely contrasts the large, open, colourful world from the main game.

And how does the new region differ from the others, gameplay wise?

Rguigui: Given the Epilogue-style nature of the DLC, we have at our disposal all of the forms of Corruption to allow us to create some spectacular and more challenging sequences. Of course, having the production of an entire game under our belts, we've also learned some excellent tricks in terms of acrobatic sequences that feel great upon completion - the level design in the DLC is definitely some of our best.

In addition, the new power of Elika brings an additional timing challenge to the mix that helps us raise the challenge factor even further.

Some of the feedback we received from fans of PoP is that they wanted more puzzles - the DLC was an excellent opportunity for us to service this request.

We kept the philosophy of large 'set piece' puzzles that fill an entire room or area (and the rooms in the DLC are huge), but put additional focus on the need to use switches to modify and create pathways that your acrobatic abilities will then allow you to follow. There is one particular puzzle that I'm really looking forward to reading fan feedback on. It's a clever one.

Can you tell us a little more about the Prince's and Elika's new abilities?

Rguigui: Elika's new power "Energise" facilitates acrobatics but is different in that it adds a timing challenge. This power allows Elika to "materialise" an area of the environment for a short period that was previously destroyed. This then allows the Prince and Elika to reach destinations that were previously unreachable, assuming they move quickly enough.

In order to push the intensity of combat and reward players who focus on offense, we added the "sprint" move to both the Prince and his foes. When at a distance from the enemy, the player can mash the Acrobatic button to sprint which leads to an opportunity for the player to stun his opponent and therefore take the offensive. I'm very proud of this feature as I feel it has the potential to really change the dynamics of combat.

What else can you tell us about the more cunning foes, cleverer traps and level design?

Rguigui: All the enemies are more aggressive in the Epilogue. For example, they won't hold back from attacking when the Prince fails to block an attack. But most notably, the enemies all have the new ability to sprint, making them dangerous even at a distance.

In addition the Mourning King is now even more powerful as his powers are constantly growing. So much so, that the Prince will not be able to defeat him on his own. This forces the player to adopt a new fight strategy - thanks to her abilities inherited by Ormazd, Elika's attacks can temporarily weaken the Mourning King, making him vulnerable [to] the Prince's attacks. This further encourages team work between the Prince and Elika with spectacular results.

The Shapeshifter is an enemy that takes the form of two of Ahriman's most fearsome Lieutenants, The Warrior and The Hunter. Though the physical form is familiar to our heroes and the player, it will require a particular strategy to defeat the Shapeshifter, rewarding the player that takes advantage of the new sprint feature exclusive to the Epilogue.

The trap challenge is based on understanding the patterns in a series of traps and timing your acrobatics properly to pass through them. For the main game, players could discern the proper timing by focusing on just the first and second trap of the sequence. Now, in the DLC, the number of traps for one sequence will be higher and players will need to look at the third, fourth and further traps to understand the pattern and find the right timing.

In general - more traps, more diverse patterns, more aggressive enemies will significantly increase the challenge.

Was upping the challenge level a direct response to criticism from some people that said the core game was too easy?

Rguigui: We heard our fans loud and clear - what the hardcore Prince of Persia gamer missed in our main game is some of the hair-pulling challenge that featured so prominently in the past PoPs. We understand this and feel the DLC is the perfect opportunity to provide our fans with that sort of gameplay.

Figuring out how to pass through a long acrobatic sequence mined with a tough trap challenge, or how to defeat a more aggressive boss before he regenerates his energy will definitely be more intense.

Is there anything else that you think will make the content stand out?

Rguigui: This new content has been given as much attention as the original and has been developed by the same team that worked on the original one. And you will be surprised to see how well all the elements described above have been put together.

Some players love that they get to continue a game with DLC, while others say it's unfair they have to pay extra just to get to the game's 'true ending'. Do you sympathise with the second point of view?

Rguigui: Prince of Persia is a complete game and the ending is definitely the one we had in mind, literally, from day one. The Prince of Persia Epilogue is a special added bonus that goes on to illustrate events in the characters' lives following the closure of the game. In fact, that's basically the definition of an epilogue - it's a passage that is not integral to the story, but that gives an insight into the future of the characters.

The creative team behind Prince of Persia developed a story that they hoped would make players reflect upon the adventure that they had lived and why the story unfolded as it did.

Sometimes, wrapping up all of the mysteries of a story is not the best way to conclude - we wanted to leave some doors open to mystery. There is a short narrative text at the beginning of Prince of Persia:

The wind is free, but the sand goes where it is blown. Unaware of the world around it, whirling on the breath of the Gods, at the mercy of the storm that engulfs it. What is one grain of sand in the desert? One grain amongst the storm?

It was our hope that people's interpretation of this text would change as they played the game and as they lived the adventure of Prince of Persia. What did this phrase mean to you when you first started, what did it mean when you finished? And, possibly, does your perception change once again once you play the Epilogue?

Is this the only DLC we'll see for Prince of Persia that adds new environments and gameplay experiences, or are you planning more?

Rguigui: Nothing has been announced yet for after the release of the DLC.

What has Ubisoft Montreal learned from the game's development that it'll take into the next Prince of Persia title, or its next project?

Rguigui: Definitely that the line between accessibility and too easy is a tight one; so we still need to make sure that our games remain accessible (easy to pick [up] and control) and in the meantime we have to give a sense of challenge and accomplishment to the players.