Prince of Persia 2 (working title) Q&A

By Staff, GameSpotPosted Jul 7, 2004 3:32 pm PT

We talk to the sequel's artistic director for the lowdown on the Prince's stylish new look.

Watch a video interview with Mikael Labat, artistic director for Prince of Persia 2. Click the stream option for a larger view.

Prince of Persia 2 has been turning heads since it was shown off at this year's E3. Besides being the sequel to last year's critically acclaimed 3D update of the classic franchise, the game has made quite a splash thanks to its hard-edged look and gameplay. We had the opportunity to interrogate artistic director Mikael Labat, who is hard at work up at Ubisoft's Montreal studio where Prince of Persia 2 is currently in development, on the evolution of the game's new look.

GameSpot: What would you say were the biggest strengths of the art design in the first Prince of Persia?

Mikael Labat: Well, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was certainly one of the most original settings of 2003 games. Persia is a theme that is both very rich and unique in video games. I think we managed to convey the mystery of this universe and that’s what made this game so attractive. Several art and design guidelines allowed us to reach this level of quality. We had tons of references to the Persian style when we started the production. This helped us to create a very credible world. And thanks to an impressive technology, PoP-SoT was one of the most beautiful games on consoles last year.

Prince of Persia 2's new looks offer a grittier twist to the young royal's adventure.

GS: Looking back, what elements in the first game do you wish had been more polished? How did that affect the development of PoP2's art?

ML: Well, I wouldn’t say "polish," as PoP-SoT is a game for which we really took the time for an almost perfect polishing. But, of course, there were still places for improvements, but it asked us to think differently. We completely changed the art direction to let us find solutions to surprise the player. Our objective was to make all environments more beautiful, more detailed, more alive, more immersive... We also focused on the character design. Indeed, this was our first goal when we started PoP2 development: to make sure we would have memorable characters, the kind of heroes or enemies players would remember. And I think we have managed this so far.

GS: How did the new, hard-edged direction influence PoP2's art? (Generally speaking and in relation to the new look for the prince.)

ML: Well, it all started when we defined the new emotions we wanted the player to feel in PoP2, namely fear and oppression. The player will play a prince that is cursed and that will have to face his own destiny, his own death. This had to transpire in the artistic direction. Naturally, we came to a more mature, darker treatment, also oppressive and violent.

We spent a lot of time on defining colors, lights, materials, and all the details that help make the atmosphere of each place of the game almost unique.

Color definition, lighting, and a host of other fine details all play a part in crafting the darker atmosphere.

Of course, we also had to work on character design to reinforce this new treatment. A good example is the prince; we redesigned him to make him older, more mature. Right now, he is a master warrior and we use specific materials that reflect his new personality: leather armor close to his body that will protect him but also allow him to perform masterful athletic moves, leather strips around his arms, and flexible boots. The player will feel his rage and aggression with his attacks and his enormous determination.

GS: The first game's architecture had a consistently Middle Eastern style; from what we've seen of the new game, there's a distinct piratical influence at work. Why this change in direction?

ML: In fact, we keep more or less a Persian influence. We wanted to move away from the "Arabian Nights" treatment of PoP-SoT, and at the same time, we wanted something that would fit with the dark treatment--something massive like a fortress or a prison, typically a place you wouldn’t like to spend your holidays. We took most of our inspiration from the ancient Near East history, like Persia, Mesopotamia, Babylon, The Hanging Gardens, but we added a fantastic touch to it.

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