Even with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown‘s release date still over seven months away, Ubisoft has already unveiled a first look at a raft of promised accessibility features in a post published alongside the Ubisoft Forward showcase.
The range of inclusions and options range from subtitles and colourblind-accessible design, all the way through to innovative new features aimed at ensuring as many people as possible can play a game from a typically pretty inaccessible genre.
In a deep dive with Ubisoft Montpellier’s Senior Game Designer Rémi Boutin on the Ubisoft blog, Boutin said accessibility in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was an “early consideration” during development, and involved working with internal accessibility experts, consulting industry best practices, and extensive user research.
One of the key things Boutin said the team wanted to focus on making as accessible as possible was exploration through reducing the game’s cognitive load.
“Ensuring players can feel the thrill of free exploration without the frustration of feeling lost was a strong area of focus for us from the very start of development,” he said. To support this, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will include an optional guided mode that shows objectives, as well as blocked and available paths.
One of the most interesting new features though, which is baked into the design of the game itself, is Eye of the Wanderer.
Eye of the Wanderer allows players to take a screenshot of a location and pin it to the map as a visual reminder. Boutin says this feature aims to remove the barrier of needing to “take mental notes…remembering and visualising things like blocked paths, or situations that need tools or powers that you don’t have.” Difficulty presets and a number of individual parameters to adjust combat and overall gameplay challenges will also be included.
1 in 6 Australians are estimated to have a disability, and 1 in 4 adults in the United States live with a disability as well. With such a large audience often experiencing barriers to play due to game design and a lack of accessibility options, it’s no wonder developers and companies like Ubisoft are starting to take action.
Gaming accessibility advocates have been praising Ubisoft’s announcement and sharing their excitement for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown on social media.
EA Game Accessibility Lead, Morgan Baker, said they felt “ridiculously excited” for the game, which she said might be the first metroidvania game she’ll be able to complete independently. Ubisoft Montréal’s own Accessibility Design Lead, Aderyn Thompson, also shared the news – Thompson has previously called for “seamless” accessibility as a core design pillar in gaming, rather than a post-development inclusion.
What I’m most excited for!!! As a long time fan of the series & big metroidvania enthusiast, this might be one of the first games of the genre that I may be able to complete independently.
Cognitive accessibility is a constant barrier, and this first look leaves me hopeful 🥹 pic.twitter.com/FPdevYOafq
— Morgan Baker (@momoxmia) June 12, 2023
Boutin echoed Thompson’s sentiments about integrating these features as a core part of game design in his interview on the Ubisoft website, saying “it’s…important to start thinking about accessibility as early as possible in development, it means you’re able to do more and do it more effectively.”
Check out the full list of accessibility features for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown here:
VISUALS
- Colourblind-accessible by design.
- Text presentation designed at a size suitable for both living room and hand-held use, in a clear sans-serif font and on plain contrasting backgrounds.
- Enhanced contrast: assistance distinguishing important gameplay elements.
AUDIO
- Subtitles are on by default, and players can choose the opacity of the background (none/half/full).
- Separate volume sliders for master, music, SFX, voiceover, and interface sounds.
- No important information is communicated through sound alone.
NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE
- The Eye of the Wanderer – pin screenshots to the map.
- Guided mode – optional icons marking objectives and available/blocked paths.
- Reminders of important controls are shown on-screen during gameplay.
- Practice area with no consequences of failure, and tutorials.
CONTROLS
- Multiple input devices – both keyboard/mouse and gamepad support on PC.
- Remapping of gameplay controls for gamepad.
- Sticks can be swapped.
- X and Y axis inversion for both sticks.
- Vibration intensity can be adjusted or turned off.
- No QTEs (quick time events).
COMBAT
- Several difficulty presets.
- Individual parameters can be adjusted:
- Enemy damage.
- Enemy health.
- Parry timing.
- Special attack charge and deplete rate.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is set to release on PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch on January 18, 2024.
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