When the players are going to discover
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown,
I really hope that they are going to
wish that the music was louder.
(Main Theme)
I think music and video games,
they're crucial to the whole experience.
It's the foundation for the whole feeling of the game.
Obviously, I expected the greatest from myself.
Prince of Persia is one of these games, you know, from childhood.
So the first goal was really to bring back the brand.
The Lost Crown is a brand new chapter in the Prince of Persia history.
This game is going back to the roots,
to the DNA of the Montpellier Studio.
Music is supportive in games,
but sometimes it can also lead the way.
Finally, this game is us.
(Main theme)
A Musical Odyssey
To modernize the brand.
We decided to stray away from the Arabic cliché, and we looked
(Lead Sound Designer)
for an Iranian composer who could bring his unique
and, most importantly, authentic music style, to the game.
(Door opening)
This is why we decided to work
with Mentrix as the main composer.
My name is Samar.
I'm a recording artist under the name Mentrix.
(Music Composer)
I make music and visuals to communicate with myself and the world.
(Associate Art Director)
Samar is important on the team because she has Iranian background
and a huge knowledge of Iranian instruments.
I was born in Iran
and I moved to Europe, first to Paris and then to the UK and now to Berlin.
I feel very connected to my roots
and my culture.
I've discovered Mentrix's music
on the Internet.
I showed her music to the team
and the team enjoyed the style.
When we saw the videoclip we have discovered that Mentrix's intention
was very close to what we were doing
I was very much exposed
to classical Iranian music, traditional music and religious music,
even though in my teenage years I struggled with it for a while.
Today, I believe that they've really shaped the artist that I am.
She was
playing with persian chords in this music, in the costume,
in the video clip, and she was bringing more
contemporary, more modern stuff.
So throughout my entire childhood,
music was pretty much forbidden.
It was only later on in my early
twenties that I discovered rock and punk and all these other influencess
that became inspiration for me.
We definitely had no idea of what the music could sound like.
It's a good way to work because when you don't have a specific idea
in mind, you're not narrow minded.
You're open to propositions.
My early references obviously have a lot of Iranian
sounds associated with them, like dutar or sitar,
kamancheh.
We wanted to be as authentical as possible
and Mentrix has a huge knowledge and a huge sensitivity.
She's an Iranian composer, so she has a huge
and deep knowledge in traditional Iranian music.
The fact that
for this game, Ubisoft was looking for something
really specific and new, and who would give me a green light
to explore sounds and directions that allow
real originality in the music while conserving the Iranian roots,
the classical inspirations is just a great opportunity.
What can I say?
I'm just absolutely overjoyed to be collaborating with them.
Let's do a take with the music, yeah.
So, go from the start.
I can just guide her
Mentrix was the foundation
of our mythological game.
She built all the atmosphere alongside with creatures,
especially fantasy creatures
that are specific to the mythological Persia.
(Ambiance music)
Gareth worked on the narrative aspects of the game.
He mainly worked on the boss fights, iconic boss fights.
but also character themes and cinematics.
A lot of my projects for Ubisoft always focus on
(Music Composer)
a lot of combat music and a lot of heavier music,
but one might argue that I'm probably most known
for doing really soft music from the Ori series.
So it's actually really interesting to be able to flex
that muscle of doing combat music, especially set in this unique universe.
(Scream)
I'm not really just
doing the typical Hollywood, Persian sounding music.
We all kind of know what that sounds like,
What we want to do
is get a little flavor of modernization, not just into the look of the game,
but also the music.
The Betrayer !
We have this character called Orod... One of the things we wanted to do
This is kind of a reference,
but I like the idea of references because his moveset is quite unpredictable.
So they wanted me to really experiment with very interesting rhythms
that were like not typical, like very off the beat.
We're trying to do a different spin on tales that we have known for a long time.
Give me a challenge !
We took some assets as an inspiration, as an hommage from the Sands of Time,
but of course we created our own assets from scratch
and modernized them to make sure that it matches with our game direction.
It feels like a very fresh and new approach
to Prince of Persia that, I myself haven't seen before.
(Epic music)
So you're
trying to balance old and new because you can't take away
the identity of what made the game series popular in the first place.
But equally, games have to constantly reinvent themselves.
In the first presentation of the game, Jean Christophe,
brought in some urban references for the first time.
In the very early step
I like to listen a lot of music,
(Senior Art Director)
to immerse myself in the world I can imagine.
Various music from persian trap to very traditional Iranian music.
Making it modern is creating bridges between these different influences
and cultures and speak to all the players around the world.
Making something universal.
While working on the trailer music
it was important for us to try to find urban musician.
Building music for a videogame is one thing.
Building music for revealing a game
is something else.
(Trailer Music Producer)
We were, I think, all really excited for this one
because it gives you an opportunity to mix different styles
and genres like Persian instruments and textures.
And then with Joznez's beats and the rap from Kataem.
(Trailer Music Singer)
I wanted to be as general as possible, but also hitting on
certain elements in the game, What is he facing and certain stuff.
Usually use direct images of what he's facing
as a metaphor for certain obstacles.
Joznez is also really good
at taking a traditional recording and then completely destroying it.
The main theme of the song is
made out of three samples.
Then this one.
And that's the next one.
So those were the samples
that I chopped up, like cut of them
tried different things, pitched them up and down,
lots of effects on them and
the outcomes.
You still have the vibe
and the sound of that instrument or music from Persia.
But it's also something new and fits perfectly
with with hip hop beats.
I've been a big fan of Prince of Persia since my childhood from the very,
very first game decades ago to the most recent game
entries from the last decade.
I was 14 years old when I discovered The Sands of Time.
You know, when you're progressing the game, you unlock new swords.
And there was one specific sword, that I was in love with the design.
And I remember I loved it so much that during my holidays
I spent 2 entire weeks
crafting a wood version of it, and I painted it.
I put all the details just so I could play on my parents
garden and play the prince, like doing some acrobatic stuff, etc..
And now I remember this sword is ugly as hell,
but I still keep it on my parents in a home because
it's good memories.
I can't wait for players to get lost in Mont Qaf
and experience this unique atmosphere.
I hope that this game could bring the old generation fans
and new generation fans together into an enjoyable experience.
In my opinion, the very best games have a nice balance
where different elements of the game, the art, the animation, music, the story
all take turns to take the lead and work together.
And that's what I feel like we're doing with Prince of Persia.
I hope the players will really, really enjoy to immersee
in this world of fantasy, of adventure.
When the players are going to discover Prince of Persia, the Lost Crown.
I really hope that they're going to
not only enjoy the game but wish that the music was louder !
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