I woke up this morning thinking “Today’s the day!” One that’s been emblazoned in my mind for weeks now, thanks to subtle reminders like this one:
But it wasn’t until I picked up my iPhone and blearily checked email and Twitter while making breakfast (compulsive habit, I know; I’m trying to break it) that I received the surprising news that today is ALSO the release date of the original Prince of Persia for iPhone/iPad.
You’d think such perfect timing would have to have been coordinated months in advance, but it wasn’t. If there was a mastermind, it could only have been some unsung Apple employee with a sense of irony.
This weekend might be just the occasion for me to try playing through the game for the first time in 20 years. I already have my fallback strategy: If I can’t get past level three, I’ll blame the touchscreen controls. It couldn’t be aging reflexes. No way.
And I promise not to play my iPhone during the movie after the lights have gone down.
Posted Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 11:33 am in Blog, Film, Games, Prince of Persia | 25 Comments »
This month’s American Cinematographer features an article by Shelly Johnson, ASC, cinematographer of The Wolfman. Typically of his profession, he’s generous both in sharing insight into his own creative process and in giving credit to others — part of the reason I love reading AC.
I especially liked his closing passages, in which he describes the emotional pull of creative team effort in terms anyone who’s worked in the video game industry will understand:
Filmmaking is an interchange of creative ideas that either hits upon a point of collaboration or doesn’t. I believe that when minds come together who are meant to be together, that creatively charged atmosphere is conveyed on the screen and directly to the audience…. The collective spirit of the entire production team is what makes great things happen on the screen.
Well spoken. And yeah, the article kinda makes me want to see The Wolfman.
Posted Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 11:36 am in Blog, Film, Games | 2 Comments »
This sound bite jumped out at me from Wil Wheaton’s blog (can sound bites jump?)
Narrative video games aren’t going to replace television and movies any more than television and movies replaced books, but as technology continues to advance, and games become even more cinematic and interactive, the battle won’t be only for the consumer; it will also be for the creator. People who went to school 20 years ago to learn how to make movies are now going to school to learn how to use the same narrative storytelling techniques to make video games.
20 years ago, I was trying to get away from making Prince of Persia (video game) so I could go to film school to learn how to make movies. Guess I did everything backwards as usual.
Posted Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 4:54 pm in Blog, Film, Games, Prince of Persia | 2 Comments »
Thanks to Jeremie Biron for finding and posting (and translating!) these “Tips for Game Designers” I gave in 2004, after the release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. I’d forgotten all about it until now.
Rereading the advice, I think it stands up well and is more relevant to today’s industry than the 1996 list of tips for designing story-based games I posted last month.
- Prototype and test key game elements as early as possible.
- Build the game in incremental steps – Don’t make big design documents.
- As you go, continue to strengthen what’s strong, and cut what’s weak.
- Be open to the unexpected – Make the most of emergent properties.
- Be prepared to sell your project at every stage along the way.
- It’s harder to sell an original idea than a sequel.
- Bigger teams and budgets mean bigger pressure to stay on schedule.
- Don’t invest in an overly grandiose development system.
- Make sure the player always has a goal (and knows what it is).
- Give the player clear and constant feedback as to whether he is getting closer to his goal or further away from it.
- The story should support the game play, not overwhelm it.
- The moment when the game first becomes playable is the moment of truth. Don’t be surprised if isn’t as much fun as you expected.
- Sometimes a cheap trick is better than an expensive one.
- Listen to the voice of criticism – It’s always right (you just have to figure out in what way).
- Your original vision is not sacred. It’s just a rough draft.
- Don’t be afraid to consider BIG changes.
- When you discover what the heart of the game is, protect it to the death.
- However much you cut, it still won’t be enough.
- Put your ego aside.
- Nobody knows what will succeed.
Posted Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 6:53 pm in Blog, Featured, Games, Prince of Persia | 12 Comments »
Tonight’s Spike TV Video Game Awards 2009 broadcast will include a couple of Prince of Persia exclusives:
- The first footage from Ubisoft’s upcoming game, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
- Jake Gyllenhaal introducing a new clip from the Prince of Persia movie in which he stars
I’ll be there, too. Although with the rain, this would really be a perfect Saturday to stay home, watch TV and play video games.
Posted Saturday, December 12th, 2009 at 3:08 pm in Blog, Film, Games, Prince of Persia | 17 Comments »
But it wasn’t until I picked up my iPhone and blearily checked email and Twitter while making breakfast (compulsive habit, I know; I’m trying to break it) that I received the surprising news that today is ALSO the release date of the original Prince of Persia for iPhone/iPad.
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