New consoles and game engines offer all sorts of tools to bring visual realism to new levels. But Ubisoft Montreal, which is using the capable Assassin"s Creed engine for the next Prince of Persia, isn"t aiming to create a pixel-perfect photo of the real world.

The studio"s looking for more style than that.

Visual art director Mickael Labat told Edge Magazine in a recent interview that he wants the look to be "fantasy, but credible."

He added, “We want to create a game with style, and we don’t go with realism, so we go with caricature."

Artistic inspirations for the new open-world Prince of Persia include Japanese movies like Princess Mononoke, comic books and games with distinct art direction such as Okami, the new Street Fighter and Mirror"s Edge.

"It’s a mix of a lot of things," said Labat.

Creative director Jean-Christophe Guyot added, “In terms of style, we know we’re on the right track when you consider something like the new Street Fighter… we’re not as extreme as that, but it’s on the same wavelength.

"We don’t have to showcase technology, we can just use it. It’s no longer about how shiny our rocks are.”

The full interview can be found in the latest copy of Edge magazine.