If it generates enough backing, an unusual kit proposed on LEGO Ideas would let buyers build screens from Jordan Mechner's original 1989 version of Prince of Persia, complete with enemies and even health bars. The project needs 10,000 fan votes in 58 days for a LEGO panel to consider real-world production, which is not guaranteed.
Mechner designed Prince of Persia while at Broderbund, basing it off inspirations like the Arabian Nights and the Errol Flynn movie The Adventures of Robin Hood. Players navigate dungeons and then a palace to rescue a princess from the Grand Vizier Jaffar, duelling with guards and avoiding traps like pits and spikes. The game is often considered the template for all later puzzle platformers like Braid, Inside, or Little Nightmares, and the 2003 reboot series was so popular that it spawned a 2010 movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal. In fact, LEGO released movie-themed Prince of Persia sets that year.
The LEGO Ideas project, spotted by GamesRadar, contains enough gray and gold blocks to build any dungeon or palace screen against a black backdrop. The backdrop also includes holes, onto which people can attach decorations like torches, windows, and doorways, all done in Prince of Persia's art style. Minifigures include the Prince, Princess, Jaffar, a skeleton, and two guards. Scenery incorporates things like rats, treasure, and spikes, and the project's creator says that two or more sets can combine - something that could in theory let people build entire levels, if probably only horizontally.
The project is at just 95 supporters as of this writing, which means it will need to drum up considerable attention to cross the 10,000-vote threshold. Even with popular backing, LEGO's Ideas panel could still decide against production – whether this is because Prince of Persia is too niche or some aspect might be difficult in mass production. The former is more likely because the series has been mostly dormant since 2010's The Forgotten Sands. A remake of one of the most popular games, The Sands of Time, has been delayed without a new release date.
LEGO and game fandom do overlap in many cases, and Prince of Persia has been ported to dozens of platforms – such as the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360. So while it can't be played on modern consoles, many people have likely interacted with the franchise in some way – or at least its sequels – at some point during their childhood or teenage years. That could earn the LEGO Ideas project enough momentum to get out of mockups and into people's hands.
Sources: LEGO Ideas (via GamesRadar)