[B][URL=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4239/the_auteur_forum_mechner_and_.php]Gamasutra[/URL] has posted a translation of a French interview with [I]Prince of Persia[/I] creator Jordan Mechner and Eric Chahi ([URL=http://www.anotherworld.fr/anotherworld_uk/][I]Another World[/I][/URL]).[/B]

Mechner, who's currently writing a film adaptation of Michael Turner's "Fathom" (to star Megan Fox) and a Prince of Persia graphic novel anthology, says games "should be about something":

[INDENT]For me the driving force in making a game, movie or graphic novel is to tell a story -- to create a world and characters that will come to life in the player's imagination, and give them a memorable experience. The greatest satisfaction for me is when people tell me they played one of my games years ago, at a certain point in their life, and that the memory stayed with them.

[/INDENT]Chahi expands on the theme:

[INDENT]The primary motivation is to take the player through a playful experience focused on interaction. You have to give him enough choices to create his own experience within the boundaries of the designer's intent.

Those choices can weave a story or not -- you do not necessarily have to tell something or even embody a character. Your intent can be pure entertainment, a philosophical reflection, a feeling, a color, an impression: there are no rules, everything is acceptable.

[/INDENT]So what of today's crop of finely tuned, narrative blockbusters are these two cult heroes playing? Not much, it turns out:

[URL=http://www.gameculture.com/2010/01/11/auteurs-games-prince-persia039s-jordan-mechner-and-another-world-creator-eric-chahi]read more[/URL]

[url=http://www.gameculture.com/2010/01/11/auteurs-games-prince-persia039s-jordan-mechner-and-another-world-creator-eric-chahi]More...[/url]