Prince of Persia

I used to be obsessed with computer games once upon a time, spending hours playing every single day. Then one day I woke up and didn’t feel like playing anymore. It was really random, but that obsession over computer games never came back and I’m not sure why. Thus, while the idea of playing games for homework sounded exciting, I wasn’t sure what to play – I am not up-to-date with the gaming world. So I decided to watch my friend play Prince of Persia. I used to play the old 2D version of that game back in the day. The newer version, called Prince of Persia: The Sands of time, is in 3D, has better graphics and audio.

What I found most interesting is not in the way that my friend was playing the game, but just how the audio and interactions were built in the game. The prince goes and rescues a princess/companion, and together they go on their adventures. The princess is thin and can go through cracks in the wall (!) and open doors. They have built-in interactions/conversations at certain points in the game. A lot of those conversations really stood out for me. They were about how she was less powerful and needed his help. For example, when the prince jumps to go from one broken cliff to another, she says, “I can’t do that!” The prince has to find levers to bring floors or stairs closer together for her. At those points, she says “I can reach this one!” and jumps then. The princess can’t jump or reach the things that the prince can. Did anyone else see patterns like this in their weekend or general gaming experiences? Does that bother them?