The Making of Prince of Persia: Journals 1985-1993
£13.30
The creator of one of the most innovative and bestselling video games of all time gives an unvarnished look into the creative process in this one-of-a-kind compilation.
Before Prince of Persia was a best-selling video game franchise and a Disney movie, it was an Apple II computer game created and programmed by one person: Jordan Mechner. Mechner’s candid and revealing journals from the time capture the journey from his parents’ basement to the forefront of the fast-growing 1980s video game industry—and the creative, technical, and personal struggles that brought the Prince into being and, ultimately, into the homes of millions of people worldwide.
Now, on the 30th anniversary of Prince of Persia’s release, Mechner looks back at the journals he kept from 1985 to 1993, offering new insights into the game that established him as a pioneer of cinematic storytelling in the industry. This beautifully illustrated and annotated collector’s edition includes:
- 300 pages of Mechner’s original journals
- Present-day margin notations by Mechner adding explanation, context, and affectionate cartoons of real-life characters
- Archival visuals illustrating the stages of the game’s creation
- Work-in-progress sketches, rotoscoped animation, screenshots, interface design, memos, and moreA full-color 32-page “Legacy” section in which Mechner and fans share Prince of Persia memories from the past 30 years, including the Ubisoft games and Disney movie
The Making of Prince of Persia is both a tribute to a timeless classic and an indelible look at the creative process that will resonate with retro-gaming fans, game developers, and writers, artists, and creators of all stripes.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Stripe Press, Illustrated Edition (11 Jun. 2020) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 336 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0578627310 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0578627311 |
| Dimensions | 15.88 x 2.54 x 23.5 cm |
by Stephen
I really enjoyed the insight into the creative process and the corporate publishing house pain that Jordan went through to develop one of my favourite games. But the book is a lot less about PoP than the title suggests. If you’re interested in reading about Jordan’s life in the years during and after PoP with a wee bit of information about how he went about completing PoP, then have at it. If you are hoping for a deep dive into how he developed the game or solved programming problems, you might be better just to email and ask him.
With all that being said, It was still an entertaining read, just not what I was expecting.
by FFaruq
Prince of Persia was the first videogame I ever finished, having only really played arcade games up till then. Played it on a monochrome CGA laptop, but still the great gameplay and wonderful story shone through. Been a fan of the series and Jordan Mechner ever since.
The book chronicles Jordan’s life through the development of PoP and PoP2. It’s an interesting look back to how the idea for the game began and grew, in the midst of the life of an up and coming game developer in his youth. A must read, especially for fans of the game.
by Josh Ling
An insightful and raw peek into the life of a young game developer in his 20s working on the hit game Prince of Persia before he knew it was a hit. Through the course of the journals Jordan battles with situations that will be painfully relatable to anyone who has worked in or around games in their teens / twenties, particularly solo developers (or small teams). Since it’s almost entirely unedited, you get an unfiltered look at Jordan’s thoughts as he struggles to reconcile his desire to create hit video games in a time before anyone cared about games, with his desire to make movies in a time where everyone was desperately trying to make movies.
Read it in one sitting, great read!
by G. D. Kendall
There isn’t much that’s in-depth about this book. Most of it passes with Jordan talking about what’s happening as the first Prince of Persia game makes its way into production and saying how he feels about it. There’s little to nothing about the coding challenges that (one imagines?) must make up at least part of the development process – but maybe Jordan just never found it hard to do. That’s just another aspect in which the book lacks substance though – you don’t learn how it is that Jordan came to have his programming skills. Or how he came to decide what features he would put into each level of the game. Tantalisingly, there are some notepad sketches of graphic elements that, if you played early versions of PofP, you will recognise, but you don’t ever get close to his thinking re the actual creative journey. So it’s just not quite the book I wanted it to be and has little else as compensation.
by Ian Hocking
I bought this book entirely on the basis that I played Prince of Persia on my Amiga back in the early 1990s, and figured that the book was worth a punt.
It certainly was. I got the nostalgia kick I was looking for, but the bonus is that Mechner is a good journal writer. The reader gets an insight into the tribulations of game development and there’s a real sense of the sheer effort of will required to get things done. It’s honest at times – often so honest that I wonder whether it’s a good idea, legally speaking, for Mechner to write this stuff.
Overall, thoroughly recommended for fans of the game, or those just interested the auteur creative process.
by Mr. B. Lee
(from my goodreads review)
If you picked up this book looking for pretty pictures of Jake Gyllenhal and co on location and amusing anecdotes from the cast and crew of the movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, you’d be sorely disappointed. This is not that book. This is a book about the original video game that spawned a host of original remakes, which later provided inspiration for the movie. Every story has a beginning, and this is the beginning for the Prince, in his earliest iteration.
For fans of the recent Ubisoft series of games, this might make an interesting read (provided you can put your console/computer controller down long enough to read) and is an excellent insight into how the original Prince of Persia was created. Although not exactly a detailed account into the mechanics or decisions that were made to create such a classic game, this book does provide a look into Jordan Mechner’s thoughts on the process and how he struggled to balance his dreams and ambitions. In essence, isn’t that a story we all personally know?
The more I read through this collection of journal entries, the more I wanted to root out my copy of the DOS PoP and play it (which I did about halfway through the book). Twenty three years on, and the game is still a thrill to play and I don’t think I’ve played a game recently that has given me the same shivers I got whenever the pixelly Prince needed to make a particularly haring jump. This is lasting power, and hats off to Mechner for getting past all the politics he describes here to get this made and have it enter legendary status (in my books at least).
In the end it’s a wonderful story of how, through hard work, perseverance and personal drive, you really can achieve all that you set out to achieve. I think this was quite an inspiration and highly recommend it for anyone who loves the Prince of Persia game(s) (new or old), or anyone who enjoys a good biographical look into the mind of a successful professional (although, at the time he wrote this section of his journal, Mechner wasn’t an out-and-out success yet).
by Alex
Sands of Time was the first big video game I ever played, and as such this book, albeit about the original 1989 Prince of Persia, has a special place in my heart. Jordan’s life is equally fascinating, enviable, and relatable. Strongly recommend this for any Prince of Persia fans!