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How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

theguardian.com

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Re: How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

#21

Post by setopt »

Lethalman wrote: post #18
bentcorner wrote: post #4

I will always have a soft spot for the original Prince of Persia. It was one of those games I played constantly as a child, although only when my dad would let me use his Apple ][c. I only realize it now but it had some very unique game mechanics that even today you don't see very often (ok maybe that's a bit of a stretch but the mechanics were novel to me back then): - Notably you have 60 minutes to finish the game.…

It was also incredibly difficult. As a kid I couldn’t go beyond the first level. It was also difficult to attack the enemy at the right time. But still it was an amazing experience whenever I played it. I felt the pressure and the need to start again like no other game nowadays. But maybe that’s just because I was a kid.

I played it relentlessly as a kid (3-6 years old), and never got past the 4th level…

Re: How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

#22

Post by meerita »

This was the first game I ever played on a PC, and it will always have a place in my heart. I first played it on an 8086 PC-compatible machine with an amber monochrome CRT monitor (the kind usually paired with MDA or Hercules-style graphics, where everything appeared in those beautiful orange shades). Later, my father bought a 386 PC with a VGA graphics card capable of 256-color modes, which on my monochrome display looked like 256 shades of gray. A couple of years after that, we finally upgraded to an Acer VGA color CRT monitor, and seeing the same game in full color felt like entering a completely different world.

As a small note of color, when I was a teenager I helped the local police department clean up one of their PCs, which had been infected with multiple viruses, Michelangelo is the one I still remember, though there were others. After cleaning the machine, I installed Prince of Persia for them. The policemen were absolutely thrilled to have that video game on their computer.

Re: How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

#23

Post by HeavyStorm »

Lethalman wrote: post #18
bentcorner wrote: post #4

I will always have a soft spot for the original Prince of Persia. It was one of those games I played constantly as a child, although only when my dad would let me use his Apple ][c. I only realize it now but it had some very unique game mechanics that even today you don't see very often (ok maybe that's a bit of a stretch but the mechanics were novel to me back then): - Notably you have 60 minutes to finish the game.…

It was also incredibly difficult. As a kid I couldn’t go beyond the first level. It was also difficult to attack the enemy at the right time. But still it was an amazing experience whenever I played it. I felt the pressure and the need to start again like no other game nowadays. But maybe that’s just because I was a kid.

Yeah, it was. It wasn't even my first game - I was like 11 when I first got to it, and by then was a solid gamer having already owned a master system and mega drive game consoles. And still PoP was hard, really hard.

(But I also didn't like it very much...)

Re: How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

#24

Post by pelario »

As I see many others like me, full of nostalgia: You can play it on the internet archive:

https://archive.org/details/msdos_Prince_of_Persia_1990

Once every couple of years I dive into it, I still cannot complete it without cheat codes, but I love the mouse animation, the "mirror" prince, and many other amazing details!

Re: How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

#25

Post by ant6n »

bentcorner wrote: post #4

I will always have a soft spot for the original Prince of Persia. It was one of those games I played constantly as a child, although only when my dad would let me use his Apple ][c. I only realize it now but it had some very unique game mechanics that even today you don't see very often (ok maybe that's a bit of a stretch but the mechanics were novel to me back then): - Notably you have 60 minutes to finish the game.…

Well thanks to the 60 minute game play and no saves, you only ever see the first four/five levels or so. It’s a great game, but that particular mechanic is …kind of annoying.

Re: How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

#26

Post by skibz »

mscdex wrote: post #16

If you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend watching the "War Stories" video on the making of Prince of Persia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw0VfmXKq54 On a related note, I also highly recommend the "War Stories" video for the making of Crash Bandicoot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izxXGuVL21o

I came here to recommend the same thing. The entire War Stories series was magnificent.

Re: How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

#27

Post by phodo »

larodi wrote: post #13
curtisblaine wrote: post #9

I have a soft spot for Prince of Persia, but I have an even softer spot for Karateka, its (rotoscoped) predecessor on an ancient green phosphor Apple //e, a computer (and an age) where everything seemed possible.

The first two games to fall in love with - Karatéka and then Alley Cat.

In 7th grade social studies, I did a report for a class project, and printed the Karateka opening screen on my apple image writer as the cover page. I got an A+ because of that cover!

Re: How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

#28

Post by qsera »

meerita wrote: post #22

This was the first game I ever played on a PC, and it will always have a place in my heart. I first played it on an 8086 PC-compatible machine with an amber monochrome CRT monitor (the kind usually paired with MDA or Hercules-style graphics, where everything appeared in those beautiful orange shades). Later, my father bought a 386 PC with a VGA graphics card capable of 256-color modes, which on my monochrome display…

The graphics of Prince of persia took me to those dungeons more effectively than any 4k ray traced modern game could...

Re: How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

#29

Post by qsera »

Lethalman wrote: post #18
bentcorner wrote: post #4

I will always have a soft spot for the original Prince of Persia. It was one of those games I played constantly as a child, although only when my dad would let me use his Apple ][c. I only realize it now but it had some very unique game mechanics that even today you don't see very often (ok maybe that's a bit of a stretch but the mechanics were novel to me back then): - Notably you have 60 minutes to finish the game.…

It was also incredibly difficult. As a kid I couldn’t go beyond the first level. It was also difficult to attack the enemy at the right time. But still it was an amazing experience whenever I played it. I felt the pressure and the need to start again like no other game nowadays. But maybe that’s just because I was a kid.

>It was also incredibly difficult.

And we dumb kids used to play it without the manual. It was a minor victory day for us when we finally figured out how to pick up the sword!

Re: How we made hit video game Prince of Persia

#30

Post by magpi3 »

curtisblaine wrote: post #9

I have a soft spot for Prince of Persia, but I have an even softer spot for Karateka, its (rotoscoped) predecessor on an ancient green phosphor Apple //e, a computer (and an age) where everything seemed possible.

Yeah, Karateka deserves more than a simple aside here. It's amazing that he made that on his own as a college student. I loved that game.
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