Prince of Persia with Andrew S Walsh

Ubisoft's narrative director plots the Prince's reinvention

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Is this a challenge? Do you find yourself fighting for more narrative space - cut sequences, etc?

Yes... and no. It isn't about fighting. There's negotiation which goes on because I am a gamer... the last thing I want to do is wreck the gameplay by sticking something in the wrong place. Its as much to do with placement as anything else; where do you put things? If you're in the middle of a really good section of jumping or wall-running you don't put a big narrative point in the middle of it. You tend to put things where they will frame the gameplay. This allows the player to understand the gameplay, and find out what the characters think about it.

Have you been involved in the new film at all?

We're a separate universe. Its confusing! Well, it must certainly be confusing for some people in terms of their being two Prince of Persias. The game we're working on is not related to the film.

The film's based on the Sands of Time?

Yes. That's right, as far as I know. But you probably know as much as I do. Looking at the designs that have leaked out, it looks like that's the case, although I can't really talk about the movie as my link is very small. A lot of people thought the last PoP was the same as those before it, but there has been a change there. The last trilogy - the Sands of Time games - was based on a different Prince from the original games. So, not everyone understands that. But, we're not linked with the film.

Will we see another game out alongside the film, perhaps?

Yeah, you never know how the stories will evolve. How things will link up and so forth. Right now... this is an experience set just within this game.

Going back to the Arabian Nights.. how do you blend these themes into the game without it being hackneyed?

Well, we went through a lot of discussions. In terms of how we would have certain enemies, certain influences and so forth. So there was talk of using djinns, and other things. There were certain elements you want to reuse, because they are requirements of the game, and others that aren't. None of the enemies or villains are cliches of Arabian Nights - but they do have that 'feel'. A lot of the Arabian Nights stories are quite fantastical, so there is quite a free rein within that.

How has your story influenced the design of levels and that kind of thing?

There's definitely an impact. The Arabian Nights is an overall feel. You're not going to bump into Aladdin! I can say there are no flying carpets, either! In terms of the way the levels work - its quite a team effort - there are lots of meetings... how characters move, abilities, how that all ties together with gameplay and story. So, each of the levels - well, the gameplay 'experiences' - each of those has a short story experience. A beginning, middle and end. Even slight stuff like jokes... while others have got a more emotional arc. You learn something about the Prince or Elika. As the level unfolds you learn more about that, until you get to the grand exposition at the end. Beyond all this there's an overarching story, its an open-world, you can choose the order you tackle things, but its all framed within a central story.

So the main story is told, in order, regardless of where you are in the game world?

Yeah, you open certain points where the story then progresses, as you go through. So that allows the characters to evolve. Linearity is a bad word now... but people love GTA. GTA uses an open-world, but you move through a story experience. This allows you to evolve the characters and get some emotion in there.

What are the challenges of telling a story in an open-world setting?

The balance of two things is key: Knowing where characters are up to in the central story, and allowing the player the freedom just to 'play'. How do you show the characters are evolved? How can they go through experiences. We've tried to find natural ways of making the characters move forward. So adrenaline, running, jumping, trying not to die, fighting; in those circumstances the characters are about the present. Around those you can tell much more; the other sides of the story, the past, the future, etc.

What can you tell me about Elika?

Well... its all about how you set out making a companion. How do you do that? In other games they're annoying, they don't do much. We set out to say what we didn't want from a companion. Then we looked at what they can do. So, we always wanted Elika to be an equal... so you're not tagged-along. Its also important - because we've a male and a female character - that we didn't end up with a stereotyped story. They bicker all the way through, etc. There's definitely friction, arguments, they also come together to help each other. They start as complete strangers and then they have to evolve from that point. They learn what each other want from the world.

Elika is obviously very beautiful. How do you bring her to life without her becoming another cliched female game character?

She has a brain! That's the core of it. When we were looking at the world; the elements in place. She had to be clever... because of the things she's charged with. Also in terms of what her past has brought her to, the key is that she's the one who knows this world, the one that exists in it, the Prince is new to it. She can tell him what happened, and what's happening. She also tells the player things, as well as airing her own thoughts. Elika and the Prince have reasons to come together, and reasons to fall apart.