Ubisoft has revealed that the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake is presently in the “conception” stage of development. The announcement came during an interview with the game’s Producer, Jean-Francois Naud, and Game Director, Michael McIntyre, following the recent announcement that the game would not feature at the next Ubisoft Forward event.
Naud explained, “In terms of the development stage, we’re in conception right now. Since we took over the project, we’ve been looking at feedback from the community and finding our own way of delivering the game. Now, we’re building up the team, defining the priorities, putting prototypes together, testing elements, and looking at how we can include community feedback in the development as well.”
McIntyre expanded on the planned updates, stating, “That refinement is actually kind of across the board. I think part of remake-versus-remaster is that there really is some degree of refinement in every aspect. The movement is a big one for us, but combat will get a similar treatment, because of how movement is evolving.”
Both Naud and McIntyre addressed the challenge of finding a balance between modernizing the game and preserving the original experience for fans, while also making it appealing to newcomers. McIntyre emphasized, “One of the great things about Sands of Time is that it’s very appealing to newcomers, just in its whole premise and the way it was built, and when people played the original game, I think they felt it was very welcoming in terms of difficulty.”
Regarding the key elements from the original game that need preservation, McIntyre highlighted, “Obviously, those things that we have said before are important. The gameplay mix of acrobatics, combat, puzzles – those things have to stay, and they have to stay balanced to the same degree they are. You don’t keep those, and then double the amount of combat, and say that it’s still The Sands of Time.”
While fans may have to wait longer for the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, Ubisoft’s commitment to capturing the spirit of the original while introducing modern enhancements should hopefully ease any worries that the title isn’t in good hands.
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