FOSSPicks
Prince of Persia clone
SDLPoP
Prince of Persia is one of the best 2D platform and adventure games of all time. Originally released in 1989 at the end of the 8-bit era and developed by Jordan Mechner on an Apple II, the game was remarkable for several reasons. The first was its realistic character animation. The sideways animations for the main character and his various enemies were all drawn by hand from actual video footage of Jordan Mechner running, jumping, and sword fighting. This gave the game an uncanny realism that was only matched when motion capture became prevalent many years later. Another reason the game was so compelling was its game play. You start in a palace dungeon with only 60 minutes to escape and save the heroine. Through countless hours of play testing, the game difficulty and playability was fine-tuned perfectly, making the quest not too difficult but not too easy either. The gaps between platforms were perfectly placed, as were the enemies and challenges in finding your way out. There was just enough variety and challenge to keep you hooked, as many of us were.
While the original game has never been released as open source, and the franchise continues on modern hardware, the hand-assembled original has now been decompiled and the resultant code rebuilt using SDL, creating SDLPoP. It's a perfect recreation of the original game, including the graphics, sound, music, and immortal gameplay. Even now, with the game more than 30 years old and modern games bundling ray tracing, AI, and hundreds of simultaneous online players, Prince of Persia is a lot of fun to play. This version also includes cheats (skip level, room navigation, kill and resurrection keys, and slow falling), mod support, and the ability to record video replay videos and save games, which also make it more accessible to a younger generation – or perhaps to those of us without the same wits and agility of our youth.
Project Website
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Red Hat Adds New Deployment Option for Enterprise Linux Platforms
Red Hat has re-imagined enterprise Linux for an AI future with Image Mode.
-
OSJH and LPI Release 2024 Open Source Pros Job Survey Results
See what open source professionals look for in a new role.
-
Proton 9.0-1 Released to Improve Gaming with Steam
The latest release of Proton 9 adds several improvements and fixes an issue that has been problematic for Linux users.
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.
-
Ubuntu 24.04 Comes with a “Flaw"
If you're thinking you might want to upgrade from your current Ubuntu release to the latest, there's something you might want to consider before doing so.
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.