Did You Know Prince Had His Own Game; Prince Interactive
As the world says its goodbyes to the legendary performer that was Prince, we take a look back at his 1994 interactive CD-ROM game, Prince Interactive.
Prince became a major international music star in 1984 with the release of “Purple Rain” and his blend of rock, funk, soul and dance music has kept him popular ever since. He was an early proponent of computer technology to deliver music whether it be through the internet or in a 3D multimedia experience such as this CD-ROM. At the time, Prince was in a battle with Warner over control of his music and was not using his name but instead using the now globally recognized ‘Artist Formerly Known As’ symbol.
Essentially, Prince Interactive is a Myst-clone type of experience. The player  is on a quest to collect the five pieces of Prince’s symbol, as they navigate through a virtual reality world of his Foyer, Studio, Library, Grand Hallway, Dance Club, Boudoir, Virtual Video Room and Candle Room. They’ll get the chance to mix Prince’s music, play DJ, VJ, and more.
The structure you journey through is also in the shape of the artist’s symbol. There are 11 simple puzzles to solve in order to get clues to play videos and collect the pieces that when all gathered you will see a special final exclusive video.
There are hundreds of music samples, video clips, and interactive objects many of which provide a history of Prince’s life, music, albums, posters and friends. There are several mini games such as a working mixing console and DJ deck.
There are four full-length music videos, including two new songs: ‘Interactive’ and ‘Endorphin Machine.’ The music studio has a karaoke version of ‘Kiss,’ and in the private club Eric Clapton, Little Richard, George Clinton, and Miles Davis share their views about him.
Collectors who may be looking to find a copy of the game are going to be hard pressed for success. Not many copies, if any, seem to be floating around these days.
