Tag Archives: ben mattes

Prince of Persia dev boss Ben Mattes has told a gathering at GDC that the no-death mechanic in last year’s franchise re-boot was a “mistake” in terms of projecting his own opinions on the game.

“I guess I made the mistake of projecting my own attitudes,” he said, as reported by MTV.

“I believed that, as a consumer base, the gaming industry had evolved to the point where they were punishing themselves for their failures.

“The idea with the Elika mechanic was [that] if you were a really good player, a single fall – when she had to pull you up – would be devastating thing because it ruined your perfect run.”

More through there. Thanks, EG.

In an epic fan Q&A on the PlayStation Blog, Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes has admitted Team ICO’s output has played a major role in conceptualising the imminent Ubi platformer, saying the Japanese developer is home to “incredible talent”.

“Team ICO is definitely an inspiration for us and both Shadow Of The Colossus as well as ICO were games we played extensively during the development of PoP,” he said.

“Team ICO consistently proves that videogames can be so much more then ‘just’ a form of entertainment – they can enlighten, teach, and make us feel. I welcome any and all comparisons to the incredible development talent of that studio.”

The game ships this week for PS3 and 360. A PC version follows next week.

There’s an absolute ton of information through there. You’d do well to read it.

Ubi producer Ben Mattes has confirmed that Prince of Persia DLC is very much on the cards.

“We certainly have plans for downloadable content, [but] we can’t really say more than that right now,” Mattes told Gamersyde in a video interview.

“The intention is to do downloadable content that adds significant value, so I don’t think you’ll see downloadable content of a new skin or a new weapon or something like that.

“If we’re going to do it, it’s going to be a new story, a new experience, maybe a prequel, maybe a sequel – we’re going to do something that really offers a lot of value for the player. In terms of when: sometime next year – I’m not sure of exactly when, it’s all still in discussion.”

Game’s out for 360 and PS3 on December 5, and on PC the following week. Thanks, Eurogamer.

After the break. See Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes talk about Elika, what’s she’s there for, how she’s used within the game, and all manner of Elika-related titbits.

Game’s out in December. Check it out.

By Mike Bowden

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On CVG. There’s some back-story on a new boss in there and a new speed drawing. Also a bit of a chat with the lead animator and producer Ben Mattes.

Game’s out at the beginning of December for PC, 360 and PS3.

Taken from the Ubisoft press conference last night, producer Ben Mattes guides us through one of the levels in Prince of Persia.

All we’re going to say is this: you owe it to yourselves to watch these videos. Prince of Persia is simply one of the best looking games we’ve seen.

By Mike Bowden

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Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes has told Eurogamer that he will have no qualms about releasing Prince of Persia in 2009 if need be.

“Obviously we’re not going to release the game if the quality’s not there, that’s for sure,” said Mattes when asked how much leeway the team had if they weren’t 100 percent happy with the finished product.

“But our goal is to make sure the quality is there in time. At least in my conversations [with Ubisoft management] it’s got to be out for Christmas. We want the Christmas market; we want a now one-year stagger with Assassin’s Creed.”

Even more PoP4 through the link.

By Mike Bowden

Eurogamer is running a three-page, hands-off preview of Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia.

Not much is there in terms of gameplay as it’s mainly an interview with producer Ben Mattes, but there is some new stuff on the last page detailing how your female companion, Elika, is utilised.

“The ‘Elika button’ – triangle on PS3, which the game’s being demoed on – is the one-stop shop for all your companion-related needs. It’s all contextual: bugger up a jump and she’ll sweep to the rescue; press it when you’re just standing around and you can have a nice old chin-wag. This is used to convey extra background on the story and characters for those who are about such things, in a similar manner to the function performed by the tapes in BioShock.”

More PoP through the Eurogamer link.

By Mike Bowden

Eurogamer is reporting that according to producer Ben Mattes, new Prince of Persia character Elika could star in her very own game.

“Princess of Persia? Sure, why not, that’d be fun,” said Mattes when asked about the possibility of an Elika spin-off.

“If my boss came along tomorrow and said, ‘I want you to take this region, this boss, and Elika and make a videogame about those characters,’ I’d have the source material I need because there’s a consistent story there.

“We see a lot of potential there in terms of maybe one day growing the brand – all that is highly based off the sales of this game. If this does really, really well and Ubisoft says more, then we’re ready for it. But if that doesn’t happen, we won’t.”

More Mattes through the link.

By Mike Bowden

Speaking to CVG at Ubidays last week, Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes said that the upcoming franchise reboot will hark back to the greatness of Sands of Time. Alienation’s off the menu, apparently.

“You’ve seen some dark stuff because that’s kind of what we want to show you at the start, but more than anything before this is the spiritual successor to the Sands of Time,” he said.

“There’s tons of platforming and there’s that mystical theme that was so critical in Sands of Time. If anything I think we’ll see the fans that lapsed after Sands of Time come back.”

Hoopla. We don’t know what else to say.

Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes reckons Atari head Phil Harrison’s got it wrong when he says unconnected, single-player games are on the way out. Well he would, wouldn’t he.

“I read that, and I don’t totally agree,” Mattes told Eurogamer. “I know where he’s coming from – I certainly see a lot of the industry moving in the direction of more community, more multiplayer, that sort of stuff.

“But in my opinion, there are things you can do in a carefully crafted single-player game – experiences you can create, emotions you can elicit and magnitudes of engaging the player – that you’re not going to reproduce in the uncontrolled environment of multiplayer.

“For some time yet, there’s going to be a market of people who say, ‘You know what, pander to me. Suck me into your world and just make me believe. I don’t want to be distracted by griefers and high scores, and dealing with the stuff not everybody loves about multiplayer games.’ I do think there is still a significant market there.”

Good interview there, from Ubidays yesterday. Have a read.