MDA: Retro Prince of Persia
One of my old-time favorite games is Prince of Persia, the DOS version from 1989 (Figure 1). It is still as exciting as it used to be, cultivating in me a sense of discovery and challenge that is nicely wrapped up with an intriguing narrative bow. The question here is what are the fundamental game mechanics that make it so special to me.
The greatest success of this game to me is the character’s action vocabulary, the varying degree of intensity with which these actions can be performed, and the precision with which they can happen (Figure 2). The prince can walk; on a higher intensity he can run very fast, on a lower he can make tiny cautious steps. He can jump high and low; he can squat, hang off a cliff, and climb. All these actions create different dynamics when combined, serving a variety of scenarios that the prince has to address as he explores different levels.
The main premise is to escape from the dungeon and fight his capturer. In his way to freedom he comes up against traps and enemies, such as guards, skeletons, even himself. Similar precise and fluid movements happen when the prince holds a sword — for example by squatting and attacking he can fool and kill the guards. The quality and fluidity of movement mainly comes from using the rotoscoping technique . Specifically, the creator used as reference for the characters’ movements videos of his brother doing acrobatic stunts in white clothes (Figure 3).
Discovering the best sequence of actions for each situation, while trying to make it out of the dungeon and beat your best time score makes it a thrilling experience.
