'It's amazing it has all come down to this,' Mallat says, as his eyes scan the large open area that houses his team of 50 young French-Canadians. Already, the team has fixed more than 13,000 bugs in the past three months. Right now, all that stands in the way are a few dozen bugs.

So two more to go.' What isn't said is implied: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, is almost finished. 'I'm guessing we will have 153 versions of the game by the time we are done. 'We've got a bet going right now,' he says while tapping the case of the last disc with his finger. It's every version of the game we have made.' He continues to run his finger along the line of CDs until he reaches the last one, build 151, which was completed just hours ago. 'This,' Mallat says, as he runs his finger along the top row of CDs, 'represents the last two and a half years of our lives. Inside, 151 CD-ROM cases are neatly lined up in two rows, organized numerically by a red number on the spine of each CD. He steps back, and Mallat, sporting a heavy five o'clock shadow, flings the doors open. Moments later, a young programmer with a shaved head walks up to the cabinet, rummages through a key chain, and slides the key into the lock. As he approaches the cabinet, he turns to a programmer, snaps his fingers, and points to the lock with his index finger.Īfter opening the black cabinet, Yannis Mallat looks through old versions of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. His destination, it soon becomes apparent, is a 6-foot-high black cabinet up against a wall. As the sun streams through the windows of a five-story brick building in Montreal, Canada, Yannis Mallat, 29, briskly walks across the hardwood floors.

Prince of persia 3d development artwork