Ubisoft
So , you ’ve unlocked a new ability in a Metroidvania . You sleep with that it could help you get to a antecedently inaccessible area , but you do n’t quite retrieve exactly where that area was on the game ’s expansive map . It ’s a common notion when playing the genre and an yield that games have been trying to solve for long time . That frustration is what inspired the world of the Memory Shards scheme inPrince of Persia : The Lost Crown , which supply a salve to this problem by enabling players to pin screenshots of sure obstacles on their map .
At any time while walking around Mount Qaf , players can press out down on the D - pad to leave behind a Memory Shard that pin a screenshot to the mapping . afterward , after put on a new ability or just increasing or master a platforming skill , Memory Shards cursorily remind player where they can apply the accomplishment they just get wind . There is a finite number of Memory Shards that participant can pin , but more can be found via geographic expedition . It ’s the kind of engaging Ouroboros - fashion game design that provides a stalwart backbone to an engrossing Metroidvania .
Ubisoft
“ The principle of taking genial notes is a central element of Metroidvania biz : You take on a freeze way , and you need to come back later with the ripe tool to unlock it , ” Senior Game Designer Rémi Boutin tells Digital Trends in an sole interview about the initiation of Memory Shards . “ If you take a gap or if you have to take too many mental notes , you forget what you were attempt to achieve . As players , it happen to us a lot . At the same fourth dimension , we were play games with photo mode , and some of us were also using the screenshot features of the console table to remember the block path . retention fragment come by nature from all these elements . ”
Prince of Persia : The Lost Crownimpressesas an expansive yet accessible Metroidvania when it establish before this month . In addition to its sleek smooth platforming and combat , innovative ideas like the Memory Shard organisation make exploring this vast macrocosm a unseamed process that never arrest thwarting . To instruct more about how it came to be , I spoke to Ubisoft Montpellier about a minuscule creation that has the potential to revolutionize the Metroidvania writing style go forward .
Making new memories
One ofPrince of Persia : The lose Crown’sbiggest speciality is how it emphasizesapproachability and accessibility . It ’s a secret plan where the platforming and combat challenge can get very tough , but Ubisoft give players the two to toggle and customise the experience with things like a Guided Mode , platforming assist portals , and Memory Shard feature of speech . According to Boutin , the development team ’s main goal withThe Lost Crownwas “ to reach the Metroidvania musical style to as many players as possible , ” so accessibility play a major part in the biz ’s development from the starting time .
“ It took a ton of looping to come to this simplicity . ”
Each time the team designed a system , Boutin suppose Ubisoft analyzed if any obtrusive barrier could potentially gatekeep delectation of it . If issues were identified , the developers behind those specific feature were in bursting charge of find the best way to make the system more palatable . Memory Shards are meant to work out the issue of not being able to think of a antecedently encountered obstacle that can now be overcome .
For the most part , Boutin believes that the core prospect of Memory Shards stay the same from concept to release , although some humble elements were pick off for simplicity ’s sake . “ What took time was to refine the interaction , the moment to introduce it , and its first use , ” Boutin says . “ We did some tests where you had to ‘ point ’ what you were taking a screenshot of , and enemies could ache you , but as you expect , it was not really helpful or fun for the player . I think that the last edition feel unproblematic and natural , but it direct a ton of loop to come to this simplicity . ”
Playtesting played a critical character in getting a feature that works this well . Boutin says that when Ubisoft did n’t tell player about it , there were “ huge differences ” between the experience of those who did and those who did not get it . That ’s why it ’s a system clearly stick in and tutorialized to the actor on the secret plan ’s main path . To help grain the importance of this system into players ’ mind further , Ubisoft also recognize this mechanic withinThe Lost Crown’snarrativeand world with the Eye of the Wanderer item .
“ When we playtested it and observe how much players loved it , we experience this lineament was core to our game , ” Boutin says . “ We also wanted players to watch the world rather than only take care at icons on the map . By merging it with the map in the phantasy of the biz , we remember it ’s wanton for player to link exploration , mapmaking , and Fariba , who can trade them her maps . At the same metre , we read that one of the first centre prosthetic gadget in the world was notice in the southeast part of Iran . ”
This advance to biz intent , where even more esoteric mechanic are acknowledged within the plot ’s all-encompassing worldly concern and lore , can make gameplay automobile mechanic feel more cohesive and meet for the experience . That ’s why it sense so solid to practice Memory Shards inThe suffer Crownrather than just look at icons on a map like you would in another Metroidvania likeDisney Illusion Island .
A memorable system
Using Ubisoft Connect , The Lost Crownsupports crossbreeding - advance and cross - save . This means that if you ’re act the secret plan on Nintendo Switch and take a Memory Shard screenshot , that same Memory Shard must come out on your mapping if you were to reboot the game up on Xbox Series X and stay on play there . Although that increase the service program of Memory Shards even further , it did put limits on how many screenshots Ubisoft could let players take and immobilise to the mapping .
“ We had to be not to have an tremendous save data because of the screenshots , so we had to determine the right number , ” Boutin acknowledges . “ you may have a total of 25 Memory Shards per save , we think it ’s enough to bring off your exploration . One side effect is that it also advertize the thespian to “ clean ” their Memory Shards and keep a readable single-valued function ! Another interesting thing is that we do n’t give all Memory Shards from the origin so that some of them act as a wages , often in situations where you need to take screenshots , remember the beingness of the feature to the role player . ”
That speaks to the deepness of this otherwise simple system . Memory Shards give back just as much as players put into it , and that ethos can be date across many ofThe fall back Crown ’s difficulty and accessibility offering . That makes sense , as Boutin admits the development team ’s approach “ was to not be diffident on accessibility options and trust the player . ” Ubisoft designedThe Lost Crownto be challenging , both in term of combat and geographic expedition , but system like Memory Shards guarantee that novice or struggling player could have the choice to make a more enjoyable experience immediately useable .
It ’s possible to make for through the entirety ofThe Lost Crownwithout ever using a Memory Shard , but in a way , that ’s a good - character scenario for this idea . Memory Shards are a helpful tool for instrumentalist whenever they postulate it without taking anything out . They subtly but comprehensively innovate , produce a helpful feature that many Metroidvania role player — including myself — will sorely miss in future games in the writing style , likeHollow Knight : Silksong , if they do n’t adopt a similar scheme . Boutin hop to see it in succeeding Metroidvanias , implementing it in a means that ’s “ well-off to use , to see on the map , and to manage . ”
Photo modes and single-valued function markers have exist in video game for years , but by combining the two in this exploration - focused genre and grounding it within the game ’s world , Ubisoft ensuredThe at sea Crown wouldbe a toothsome Metroidvania that promote musician to go for 100 % mop up , not a forefront - scratching adventure where backtracking is a slog . Memory Shards are an innovative feature that gear up Ubisoft ’s latest apart as one of the salutary game of January 2024 and will hopefully be something other picture biz developer are inspired by going ahead .
Prince of Persia : The Lost Crownis available now for PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X / S , and Nintendo Switch .
