Three questions for the Prince of Perisa @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on September 16, 2004

News: Producer Bertrand Helias answers a trio of fighting related questions.

Bertrand Helias, a Producer for Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, recently gave this Q & A about some of the Prince's new moves. So for everything you always wanted to know about Free Form Fighting but were afriad to ask, read on...

Q: So far, we were under the impression that combat was the major focus of PoPWW. Is it true or did you work on other gameplay elements as well?

A: Yes. The new Free Form Fighting system has been the core of the development efforts of PoPWW. We wanted players to get the best combat experience currently available in this genre.

But we also know that the Prince of Persia series success is due to its unique mix of gameplay and we wanted to keep it, and even make it more engrossing. PoPWW gameplay will keep the classic components: combat, acrobatic navigation and enigmas to solve. We know people like to explore stunning environments as well as use their brain in a Prince of Persia game and they will have huge opportunities to do that in PoPPWW.

Q: What is the balance between these different gameplay elements?

A: Well, the story of Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within is the one of a man fighting for his life, to defy a fate that has already been written -so, combat will naturally be the core of the experience. The combat will be very diverse, offering a large variety of combos, enemies' behavior and tactics ... But what we mostly wanted was to make sure that navigation puzzle solving and combat would be embedded together. So in PoPWW, these gameplay elements are not built in sequences, but really tied together: you will have to navigate WHILE fighting, chase enemies on beams structure, trigger a mechanism to kill enemies etc ... I believe this unique blend makes the experience absolutely enjoyable

Q: Tell us about the new navigation moves that you implemented in PoPWW. Why did you add these moves?

A: Our initial desire since conception is to provide an experience that would be close to swashbuckling and Hong Kong movies. Of course this is true in combat (look at the new fighting moves in previous trailers like the new wall attacks or the moves around pillars), but this is also visible in navigation: for instance you will now be able to go down walls by stabbing your sword in huge curtains and slicing them down; you can also do longer walling by using ropes etc ... eventually I think players will really enjoy this new freedom in navigation just as in combat.