Ubisoft revealed in a recent interview that they were looking for ways to make the promising Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown more accessible to players. As fans of Metroid or any game of that genre know, sometimes there is a tendency for the player to get lost while deciding where to go. To change that, senior game designer Rémi Boutin says they’ve implemented a feature they’ve dubbed Eye of the Wanderer. Eye of the Wanderer allows players to take in-game screenshots and then pin them to the in-game map to remind them where that blocked entrance was, etc., so they don’t spend an hour running around the map trying to remember where said location was . Here’s what he says:
Does the genre of the game present unique challenges?
RB: Games with similar mechanics to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown aren’t always known for their accessibility, so we wanted to explore ways to make our game enjoyable for as many players as possible.
We have identified research as a key part of this. Ensuring that players can experience the thrill of free exploration without the frustration of feeling lost has been a strong area for us from the very beginning of development. We have an optional guided mode to help with this, showing objectives and blocked/available paths. But we also approached it through design, especially with a feature that we hope our players will enjoy – Eye of the Wanderer.
The genre depends a lot on the ability to “capture mental notes”; remembering and visualizing things like blocked paths or situations that require tools or powers you don’t have. We know this can be a hindrance for some players, so to help with this, the Eye of the Wanderer feature allows you to take a screenshot and pin it to the map as a visual reminder.
Our game offers combat depth, and we aim for a challenging game, so that players can experience the satisfaction of overcoming dangerous enemies. But we know that people are different and that a challenge means different things to different people. So we offer preset weights and a range of individual parameters, so more people can experience a challenge that matches their abilities.