Prince of Persia : Escape

Ever imagined experiencing the iconic classic on your mobile device? The moment you've been waiting for has arrived!

Prince of Persia is now a legit mobile game inspired by the vintage classic "Prince of Persia." Sprint diligently, leap gracefully, and most importantly, dodge those menacing spikes!

A word of caution: this game poses quite a challenge! Study the patterns, devise the right maneuvers, and master the timing to successfully navigate through. Remember, the prince is resilient in the face of any impediment! Engage in countless distinctive levels waiting for your triumph! The nostalgic side-scrolling arcade experience fits right in your pocket!

Core Gameplay

The game is a platformer where the player is constantly running forward (right) and a tap triggers a jump. There are obstacles like spikes, moving platforms, and pits that the player must successfully maneuver to get to the next level. 

How long the tap is held will determine how long the prince will jump. The skill of the game is balancing short vs long jumps with well timed taps. 

The game is a pretty standard mobile runner. There isn't anything new brought to the genre but its still a decent casual game.

There are a few nuanced game design choices made by Ketchapp that I'd like to take a look at.

Level system

This is a level based game. The player starts in a safe area, goes through some obstacles that last about 30 seconds to 1 minute before reaching the end of the level.

The interesting part is that there is no level selection screen. There is no way to go back and play a previous level. I think this is because most players just don't do that in these kinds of games.

This design choice declutters the UI/UX and simplifies gameplay. It also removes the need for the developers to put it in the game.

Ketchapp also does not say how many levels there are. I think they did this for a couple reasons:

1. Players WANT to finish the game but don't actually know when that is going to happen. I would argue this adds a sense of mystery and keeps the players wanting to keep going

2. Ketchapp can keep putting out more and more levels without anyone knowing

This can also backfire and actually turn players away. Since there is no known end, progression doesn't really mean anything. Completing 50/100 levels means you are half way there, but completing 50 levels in of itself doesn't mean anything without context.

The subtitle "Escape" also plays on this. That word suggests a story without the need for dialog or cut scenes. The player is trying to escape. However, at this point, there is no escaping. I searched online and no one has seemed to reach the end of the game.

Tutorial

The tutorial for this kind of game is pretty simple since most people understand the tap to jump mechanic. There is simply one short jump and one long jump with text on how to get over the obstacle.

The design decision that is cool, is that the tutorial will repeat itself at the beginning of a level if you haven't played the game in a while. This brings players back into the game quickly and smoothly. It's very short and very simple so I don't mind doing it again.

I have returned to games after long hiatuses and been confused by what to do upon return. Now this game is super simple and it's hard to forget the mechanics, but it's a nice touch and a concept designers could use in other titles.

Unfortunately, on levels where the tutorial does show up, it will keep repeating if you die in that level. So repeating the tutorial over and over again if you are struggling with a level can become quite annoying.