Videotaped David running and jumping in the Reader’s Digest parking lot. It’ll do for a start.
Tags: Prince of Persia
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So cool! You can really see how that turned into the animation.
I’ve always loved this video. Really shows the true origin of fluid animation that gripped many of us back in the day.
First of all, I found your site through John August’s, as I’m a frequent reader of his postings and screenwriting instruction. And I’m glad I did find it, this site brings back so many memories of playing Prince of Persia on my old 486-IBM with my older sister (who I’ve forwarded your site to). We used to play for hours trying to navigate our way through the most difficult levels.
This video is particularly nostalgic for me, as I’m sure it is for many, because the enactment is so genuine to what the animation boiled down to in the final product.
Awesome!!!
Please keep posting the old journal entries.
Best,
John
Hey, Jordan. Some of that was definitely filmed at Horace Greeley High School; David is jumping in front of several obvious landmarks.
Oh man, those are SO the motions! Haha, amazing!
Thanks so much for posting this! I always knew Prince of Persia was one of my all-time favourite games, but it wasn’t until I saw that jump and gasped in recognition that I realised how much I cherished it.
Didn’t realize it until watching this great footage, but Prince of Persia = parkour precursor.
Jeff – that’s what I thought of immediately! Looks like a kid just getting into Parkour! Wow, so…it seems Prince of Persia planted a little seed in me when I was a wee boy to eventually grow into a love for Parkour… Interesting.
Thanks for posting this. I had read all the PoP interviews in the past where you talked about this, though for some reason I’d always assumed it was a series of still photographs.
This is so much better and brings a nostalgic tear to my eye.
Did your brother grow up to be a stuntman?
So cool! Just wanted to say thanks for posting this
Seeing that is pretty jarring as a graduate of HGHS. They still have that wall in the first shot, and the tree is significantly larger… weird.
Thank you for making this game. Just downloaded it on my PS3 and it is a blast.
That is incredible.
nabeel
Is this game Prince of Persia? I was playing before Windows 95. Old days…
Heh, there’s a joke about this in Zero Punctuation review of the newer Prince of Persia.
I thought he had made up the part about “filming your little brother running in pajamas”
Is there a way to become a content writer for the site?
Died from jumping off such a short a wall??? He surely must have had the last bit of health
What can I say…. Man, you made history with this game, I don’t have words to express how much I had played (and love) “Prince of Persia(the original)”.
1 millons of Thanks for publish this!, you are an excellent artist.
Many people didnt valorize this work, but I know that it was a incredible, amazing work.
Thanks Again!
Glod bless you!
Keep on that way
This is so the Prince. And what a beautifully fluid runner David was!
Greetings from Italy and sorry for my poor english
Man, this is just amazing! I can clearly see the prince in your brother’s movements!
Thanks for sharing your memories, you have sure made history with POP!
I also liked a lot the new generation of Prince’s games, but they lacked somehow the “magic” of that beautiful DOS adventure, maybe because you made it all by yourself, piece by piece, pixel by pixel
God bless you!
Wow! I had no idea the animation was done like this… Nice work, very creative!
I’m writing this because I think a lot of the commentary on Prince of Persia (PoP) is just keeps missing the mark. I say this from the perspective of a big-time fan of the Sands of Time (SoT) trilogy on PS2/Xbox. SoT, TWW, and TT all have their pros and cons with game-play and story line respectively, however, all three games are excellent games in their own rights; even given their flaws (see me pros and cons for each below)!!
When the reboot came wasn’t sure where the franchise was more than excited when I purchased the game. After about 45 min. of playing while battling a combination of nausea, boredom and bewilderment of what a steaming pile of shit this game was, I promptly returned the game that very day. After seeing all the cut scenes and further game-play on YouTube, I still cannot for the life of me see how people think that this is such a great game. I actually think that Ubisoft has hired a bunch PR people to try and ward off or counter any negative press. All I can say is, every person I know that is into the SoT Trilogy and even the people at GameStop where I bought the game think the reboot sucks!
That being said let me define what I think of when I think of what embodies PoP. The prince is definitely Human. Not to belabor the point of risk versus reward but an example of a great gaming experience for me would be the knot you get in your stomach during the Dahaka chases when you only have one sand rewind or the end of SoT when you have to do all the crazy plat forming with no sand powers. Don’t get me wrong… I don’t want to start bang my head on the wall after having to repeat a boss battle or section of a game for the 100th time but I do like a little bit of a challenge. The fact that he is human also mean that the acrobatics and parcours have to be within some kind of reason. I mean, I saw the Prince flying and doing upside down summersaults on the ceiling between the ring jumps and shit… I mean come on!!! The princes mortality has even been a cornerstone of the PoP francise since the very fist game on the PC. I did enjoy the magical elements presented in the SoT trilogy but I never felt overwhelmed by it.
What I think of the new PS3 iteration after playing it for 2 days? As far as the gameplay so far, I think the Prince jumps way too high from a standstill and too high in general. Or at least make the jump based off of how fast your running. I feel the same for the wall run… it’s a little too over exaggerated. I also don’t like that the human enemies disappear when they die. I don’t much like the combat system so far. It just seems to be one bottom hacking so far. I’m not a fan of not being able to block with the sword. I was really into the free-form fighting developed in the SoT especially in TWW. As far as the Magic. There is a bit too much of it for my taste. I liked the “relative” realism of getting sand from a sand creature or health from a water fountain. I’m not sure I like the idea of hacking boxes for health and magic orbs. I am a little more optimistic with the storyline. I’m glad Ubisoft returned back to the roots. It at least gives me the resolve to even finish this game because I’m actually not really that into the game-play so far. Critics are saying it gets better as you get more powers but it was the human free-running through platforms, puzzles and free-form fighting that made the game fun for me.
In conclusion, I have no clue if anyone will every read this as I am not an avid blogger but I somehow hope someone from Ubisoft will read this and that it may somehow impact the next PoP title that comes out. From the looks of how the Ubisoft developers swear by the greatness of the past iterations of PoP for the PS3 and the rest of the next generation consoles, this realization seems highly dubious. The way things stand for me now, I would almost be happy if Ubisoft just came out with a PS3 version of the original SoT trilogy for PS3 similar to what The God of War franchise did for the first two games and I would just drown my sorrows in my nostalgia.
Sands of Time:
Gameplay Pros and Cons:
• Plat forming was fun
• Controls were very responsive and
• Nice intro to form fighting. Although it got repetitive at times you skip a lot of the fights if you wanted and I thought the toolbox for to be fairly diverse and overall fun
• Would have been nice to have a few more boss battles
• Graphics and art in the levels were breath-taking
• You were mortal but the ability to manipulate time blended well with the storyline and just enough to keep you from ripping your hair out in complex platforming sequences.
Storyline Pros and Cons:
• All around great story telling and very original for platformers in that era. No complaints from me here
Warrior Within:
Gameplay Pros and Cons:
• Plat forming was more fun than SoT. I liked the additions like the curtain slide, the linking wall runs with ropes and end even most, not all, of the Dahaka chases
• Controls were very responsive and intuitive
• I liked the enhancements made for the free-form fighting. You skip a lot of the fights if you wanted and I thought the toolbox for combat even more diverse than SoT. I liked that it was a bit more gory… (what can I say I’m a 30 yr old gamer)
• Graphics and art in the levels were breath taking. I enjoyed the pseudo open world feel of some of the levels. It was a bit too dark btu I liked that a conscious effort was made to put in some beautiful settings like the gardens
• I found the music a bit annoying at times
• Boss battles were very uneven, sometimes too difficult.
• You were mortal but the ability to manipulate time was enough to keep you from ripping your hair out in complex platforming sequences
Storyline Pros and Cons:
• All around great story telling. I like the liked that the Prince as a bit more of a hardass. The fact that it‘s set many years after SoT didn’t make it too reaching for me
• The ending left it an opening for not pigeon-holing the franchise into some dark depressing hack-and-slaher
• I missed the fact that Farrah wasn’t in this one
Two Thrones:
Gameplay Pros and Cons:
• Plat forming was more fun
• Controls were very responsive and intuitive
• Nice intro to form fighting. Although it got repetitive at times you skip a lot of the fights if you wanted and I thought the toolbox for to be fairly diverse and overall fun
• I have mixed thoughts on the speed kills I liked being able to do them. They got old after a bit but you didn’t have to use it if you didn’t want to
• Boss battles were an improvement to that of WW. I found some of the speed killing sequences to be a bit of a pain in the ass of some of the bosses
• Graphics and art in the levels were breath-taking. I enjoyed the pseudo open world feel of some of the levels. I liked that it lightened up the mood a bit from WW
• Much better soundtrack that WW
• You were mortal but the ability to manipulate time was enough to keep you from ripping your hair out in complex platforming sequences
Storyline Pros and Cons:
• All around great story telling. I like the balance struck between the SoT and the WW versions of the Prince.
• Mixed feelings on the Dark Prince. It was a good change up in the game play but I was glad you didn’t use him for too much of the game
• Bringing Farrah back was a plus
This one of the most awesome videos i have ever seen, it really shows the how the animation was made. it really translates to the game, it’s like playing the game ! ! !!
PLAY PRINCE OF PERSIA –> http://www.newgreenways.net/prince_persia.htm
Prince of Persia is definitely one of the best movies this year.`,’
Prince of Persia has definitely great graphics and storyline. Jake is also the best actor for this movie.”-*