The Making of Prince of Persia
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- Create Date：2021-06-12 09:57:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jordan Mechner
- ISBN：1468093657
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Before Prince of Persia was a best-selling video game franchise and a Jerry Bruckheimer movie， it was an Apple II computer game created and programmed by one person， Jordan Mechner。
Now available as a paperback and ebook， Mechner’s candid journals from the time capture his 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 available as a paperback and ebook， Mechner’s candid journals from the time capture his 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。
Reviews
Lee Sargent
，
A unique look at the behind-the-scenes of Prince of Persia。 Which was a bit of a nostalgic trip considering I grew up in that era and the games that Jordan talks about are all well known to me。I never finished PoP and I'm tempted to get a copy to give it a try。 The graphics alone in that game were breathtaking and it was wonderful finding out how they were made。I find it remarkably brave of Jordan M to put his journal out there， I'm sure there is more than one entry that makes him cringe。There w A unique look at the behind-the-scenes of Prince of Persia。 Which was a bit of a nostalgic trip considering I grew up in that era and the games that Jordan talks about are all well known to me。I never finished PoP and I'm tempted to get a copy to give it a try。 The graphics alone in that game were breathtaking and it was wonderful finding out how they were made。I find it remarkably brave of Jordan M to put his journal out there， I'm sure there is more than one entry that makes him cringe。There were chunks of it that were of no interest to me but I did find myself reminding myself that it wasn't written with a reader in mind。It was a privilege to have the opportunity to peek into that slice of his life。 。。。more
Björn
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Not only a great game but I really enjoyed to look behind the scenes of how this game was made。 An honest， inspiring journal。 Loved it。
Pablo María Fernández
，
This book was a beautiful surprise。 I used to play Prince of Persia during my childhood on an XT with a VGA Monitor。 It was something different for all the other games of that era: 24 frames per second， smooth and realistic movements， an arabic theme。 And most important， not the typical game in which it’s just a matter of how fast you press a button but it had an interesting background story， inspiring images and characters like the protagonist and it's shadow （that was a genius move， because it This book was a beautiful surprise。 I used to play Prince of Persia during my childhood on an XT with a VGA Monitor。 It was something different for all the other games of that era: 24 frames per second， smooth and realistic movements， an arabic theme。 And most important， not the typical game in which it’s just a matter of how fast you press a button but it had an interesting background story， inspiring images and characters like the protagonist and it's shadow （that was a genius move， because it created mystery and saved memory at the same time）。 The great revealing of this book is that Prince of Persia was not a Broderbund product but the result of a one man’s effort and passion。 He not only did all the coding bit filmed scenes， digitalized those images， draw the story， designed dozens of levels， worked on the music， wrote the copy of the packaging and much more。 The few things he didn’t do himself he was in charge of looking for the specialist， negotiating fees and hiring him or she （like the designer who made the opening scene illustration，or the programmers who made the adaptation to another device -PC， Mac， etc。）。 I liked very much when he visited his father and the two of them created the music as a team。 Perhaps the only team he writes about because all the rest it was just him doing all the work。 You can read this diary as the story of an artist fighting against struggles: the company that tries to pay him the least possible in spite of his previous hit， that loses focus and recover it， that suffer from stoppers inside the company like the game's product manager， and a company that doesn't promote the product after it was launched。 I also found out It was a successful and praised all around the world with favorable reviews from many games magazines but that it didn’t sell that well at the beginning。 Japan and Europe where the first to perceive its enchant， and then the USA catched up。 It’s fascinating the authors search for a path。 Was he a game designer or a filmmaker？ When I was a teenager （around this diaries date， around the '90） the second option was a more prestigious or serious one。 Also it speaks about the challenge of producing something interesting after a big hit （like it was Karateka）。 He shows his doubts， his faith， his convictions that went back and forth depending on the circumstances。 He peaked in his life very early creating these two wonderful games in his teens and twenties。 When he wrote this lines you find an artist that didn't know that in his 50 he would be continue to be known for his yearly work。 Maybe my least favorite part is the building of Prince of Persia 2 that was the opposite to the first one: all done by other people that he commanded like a RC controller from thousand of miles away while he was trying luck on filmmaking。 Almost like a factory with a remote supervisor。 He has another book on his other hit， Karateka。 As I wasn’t a fan of that one （I think I never played it） it didn't call my attention but I enjoyed this one so much that I will probably give it a try。 。。。more
Anu
，
Having spent fevered days and nights playing Prince of Persia on my PC， this was a very entertaining look behind-the-scenes。 Mind bending to think how much has changed in the gaming industry， from writing to publishing to distribution and devices。 The author seems to be a polarising figure but I liked him well enough， at least based on what he reveals about himself in the book。 Buy the print edition - the illustrations and hand notes suck on Kindle。
Ben
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If you came into this book expecting only what the title says， you will be disappointed。If you are not the sort of person who reads forewords， you will be disappointed。This is not a book about the making of Prince of Persia， despite its title。 It is a book about the life of Jordan Mechner， almost exclusively compiled from his contemporary journal entries。 The exceptions are his modern-day comments in the sidebars， and a final few pages of fan retrospectives about the titular game。 As a work of a If you came into this book expecting only what the title says， you will be disappointed。If you are not the sort of person who reads forewords， you will be disappointed。This is not a book about the making of Prince of Persia， despite its title。 It is a book about the life of Jordan Mechner， almost exclusively compiled from his contemporary journal entries。 The exceptions are his modern-day comments in the sidebars， and a final few pages of fan retrospectives about the titular game。 As a work of archival history， it is invaluable for getting a sense of the ideas， personality， and influences that went into making one of the definitive games of the late 80's。 As a history about how the game was actually made， it is full of the sorts of gaps that one would expect when asking a 20-something to write a journal in the moment about what they think is important。Mechner's voice comes through quite clearly， and as he says in the foreword， it is very much the voice of a highly privileged kid in his 20's with no sense of how good he has it。 There is a reason why most of us hide the journals of our youth where they can never be found， let alone published， and it is very apparent in reading the words of young Jordan Mechner。That aside， it is an interesting look at the person behind the game， and the ideas， challenges， and limitations that influenced its development。 Much more of a "behind the music" type of source than a Rinzler-style "making-of。" 。。。more
Connor Van Ooyen
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Love this dudes stuff。 Just his diaries while building games
Todd
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I would give the first half a solid 4 stars， it was really very interesting。 However， like others mentioned， it meanders and becomes less interesting in the last half after POP is released。
Jim
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 “Prince of Privilege” Not a book， but an edited and published collection of diary entries。 It takes a hard， drastic nosedive two thirds of the way into this volume。 There are hints all along。 It’s hardly surprising because the author’s stunted geek-child ego isn’t hiding。 Nothing stealthy， slick or clandestine here。 The top entry on page 289 could stand as a placeholder for the entire 300+ page diary:“[San Rafael] ‘Prince 2’ is looking good。 It feels cool， being the young game designer who lives “Prince of Privilege” Not a book， but an edited and published collection of diary entries。 It takes a hard， drastic nosedive two thirds of the way into this volume。 There are hints all along。 It’s hardly surprising because the author’s stunted geek-child ego isn’t hiding。 Nothing stealthy， slick or clandestine here。 The top entry on page 289 could stand as a placeholder for the entire 300+ page diary:“[San Rafael] ‘Prince 2’ is looking good。 It feels cool， being the young game designer who lives in Paris and breezes into town for the week to look in on the project that’s going to keep him rich for a few more years。”LUCK-Y！ So。。。 what does a young， rich and talented game designer make of such a charmed life？ Trust me， he dishes in glorious， anticlimactic monotony。 From his diary we learn that his life mainly consists of going out to lunch， jet setting between trendy expensive cities， wishing you were in a different trendy expensive city and seeking humans for feedback。 “Feedback”， meaning he finds underlings to stroke his ego and then remind him how he’s so humble AND talented。 When this privileged game designer’s life path leads to an obstacle， i。e。 anything that bores him or doesn’t cooperate with him on the first try， this charmed game designer runs away like Forrest Gump。 Yup， he skips town， abandons ship because， you see。。。 this wunderkind game designer is secretly a REALLY talented film maker。 He was on his way to being the next Francis Ford Coppola， but this successful video game side gig of his slowed him down。These diaries are not recommended for anyone who has had to work hard or struggle to achieve any morsel of success in life， as they could anger you with how blasé and spoiled they read。 You will not learn a single thing about the Prince of Persia video game that you couldn’t skim from the Wikipedia page。 The author’s narcissism and sense of entitlement steal the show。 Apparently he thinks people will care about where he ate lunch with people we don’t know。 “Diary of a Spoiled Kid。” 。。。more
Mark Vayngrib
，
Prince of Persia was the first video game I got addicted to as a kid， so this book held a special attraction。 It's presented as an unedited sequence of journal entries， some long， some tweet-sized， some a day apart， some months apart。 If it's all fake， all the more kudos for making it seem realistic。I enjoyed the journal style， it was very intimate， though disappointingly chaste。 It reminded me of how much I enjoyed The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society， which was in the form of lette Prince of Persia was the first video game I got addicted to as a kid， so this book held a special attraction。 It's presented as an unedited sequence of journal entries， some long， some tweet-sized， some a day apart， some months apart。 If it's all fake， all the more kudos for making it seem realistic。I enjoyed the journal style， it was very intimate， though disappointingly chaste。 It reminded me of how much I enjoyed The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society， which was in the form of letters， not a journal， but was similar in that the style itself was responsible for some of the magic。 Also Isaac Asimov's 1600+ page autobiography， which I read twice I think。 It all makes me wish I'd leveled up my spy skills and read more people's diaries when I had the chance。 Ah who am I kidding， I'm still young！ Hide your diaries boys and girls， there's a new creep in town。 That's right， get off TikTok and start writing。A few other things I liked:- how the author managed to consistently write in a journal without boring me to death- the credible zigzagging between the highs of extreme confidence in himself and the product， and the lows of burnout and all-consuming existential dread- a great easter egg in his previous hit game， Karateka。 I can't find it in the book for some reason， so I copy pasted it from here。"The programmer doing copy protection for the game figured out that by messing with the bit table， the whole game could be played upside down， which is really hard to do，" he explained at San Diego Comic-Con in 2008。 "We thought it would be hilarious if we burned the flipped version of the game to the other side of the disk。 We figured of all the people who buy the game， a couple would accidentally put the floppy in upside-down。 That way， when that person called tech support， that tech support rep would once in a blue moon have the sublime joy of saying， 'Well sir， you put the disk in upside-down，' and that person would think for the rest of their life that's how software works。" All that said， I probably wouldn't recommend this to the average reader。 No， I don't mean you， you're clearly well above average。 But you over there， definitely pick something else。 。。。more
Ankur Sharma
，
This book just blew my mind！ Wish more people write about their experiences like this and open their journals for us to read them。
Greg
，
Very readable。Just short， digestible chunks that really take you through the highs and lows and the feelings of a young man with the world at his feet in an emerging industry， caught between where he is and where he perceives he wants to be。
Stasya
，
Очень интересно и читается молниеносно （то， что записки в виде бога помогает， конечно）
Hideo Daikoku
，
I really recommend this book to anyone aspiring to be a developer， game designer or game publisher。 This is a great diary based journey of all the struggles and setbacks and victories it took to make the iconic game we know today as Prince of Persia。
Markus
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Thoughtful writing。 It's impressive how carefully this twenty-something kept a diary through the years。 Thoughtful writing。 It's impressive how carefully this twenty-something kept a diary through the years。 。。。more
Trevor
，
I went into this thinking it would discuss game design and aspects of the software， but it turned out to be almost entirely about the life of Jordan Mechner while he was working on the games。 I still found it interesting to read the inner monologue of a twenty-something software engineer， including all his anxieties and existential questions， but don’t expect much more than that。
Ja
，
I am absolutely in love with this game。 I remember the first time when I saw it and I played it。 Sweet childhood memories so when I see it somewhere， I get sentimental。 I was expecting to read a journal describing the full experience of creation， meanwhile I've got maybe some interesting facts but it was too dry。 I guess， that was the concept of the book and some may like it but I'm not one of those people。 I am absolutely in love with this game。 I remember the first time when I saw it and I played it。 Sweet childhood memories so when I see it somewhere， I get sentimental。 I was expecting to read a journal describing the full experience of creation， meanwhile I've got maybe some interesting facts but it was too dry。 I guess， that was the concept of the book and some may like it but I'm not one of those people。 。。。more
Harsh
，
A book dedicated to the joy of making。 Thoroughly enjoyed and felt nostalgic to days in college and right after when the possibilities were limitless and there was an untainted joy in making and creating。 An honest insight into Jordan Mechner's fascinating and prodigious life。 A book dedicated to the joy of making。 Thoroughly enjoyed and felt nostalgic to days in college and right after when the possibilities were limitless and there was an untainted joy in making and creating。 An honest insight into Jordan Mechner's fascinating and prodigious life。 。。。more
Chris
，
Couldn't put it down！In short I couldn't put it down （but read in two sittings :）。 The Apple II will always be a special ones to me， and the reminiscing along with the book was great。 Couldn't put it down！In short I couldn't put it down （but read in two sittings :）。 The Apple II will always be a special ones to me， and the reminiscing along with the book was great。 。。。more
Patrick Lum
，
I sort of started reading the preview on a whim， reached the end of the preview， immediately bought the rest of the ebook and kept going。 I'm gonna get the hardback if I can too。 Mechner's diaries bring the reality of the early days of game dev to life through his own lens in a way with an immediacy that a lot of well-researched but retrospective non-fiction does not。 Though it doesn't offer as much in the way of game design insights， apart from the occasional pseudo-essay Mechner was thinking a I sort of started reading the preview on a whim， reached the end of the preview， immediately bought the rest of the ebook and kept going。 I'm gonna get the hardback if I can too。 Mechner's diaries bring the reality of the early days of game dev to life through his own lens in a way with an immediacy that a lot of well-researched but retrospective non-fiction does not。 Though it doesn't offer as much in the way of game design insights， apart from the occasional pseudo-essay Mechner was thinking about at the time， it's still an incredibly enjoyable read。 。。。more
Scott Johnson
，
BlahI was expecting more nuts and bolts in game development。 I wanted more technical details。 Didn’t care for the scriptwriting segues。
Dale Humby
，
This book desperately needed commentary， explanations and interpretation in amongst the mostly boring journal entries。 I struggled to finish in， the only reason I did was I though it’d get better or make a point。 Spoiler: it didn’t。
Ye Lin Aung
，
（meta-review about the process: It has been some time that I have read a new book and feels good to be able to finish one！）Programming is fun and these days， it is on the rise。 All the top companies in the stock market are the tech giants。 However， back in the 80s， it was not the case。 People were not very sure。 Then if you narrow it down to "games"， it was a very small niche market。 Nobody knew whether they will be around or what it will be in the next few years。Jordan had a success making his （meta-review about the process: It has been some time that I have read a new book and feels good to be able to finish one！）Programming is fun and these days， it is on the rise。 All the top companies in the stock market are the tech giants。 However， back in the 80s， it was not the case。 People were not very sure。 Then if you narrow it down to "games"， it was a very small niche market。 Nobody knew whether they will be around or what it will be in the next few years。Jordan had a success making his previous game Karateka and was attempting to make the second game: Prince of Persia。 He loved the fun part of the process， which is writing codes and making the graphics。Given that the book contents were the diary entries of Jordan， they were raw and funny。For anyone who is interested in how he made certain part of the games， also checkout this amazing video by Jordan。 。。。more
Jef-Aram Van
，
Inspiring！This diary is a light， fun read and gives great insight into the roller coaster ride of emotions that Jordan Mechner went through while developing “Prince”。 Despite hindsight， I actually felt tense at times when things were rough and equally thrilled when Mechner succeeded。 Highly recommend this book！
جادی میرمیرانی
，
fun read。 specially if you have played the game。
Greg Stoll
，
A nice look back at the making of Prince of Persia。 Usually when I read stuff like this I can't help but feel jealous and wonder if I should have tried to start a startup or whatever。 I didn't feel that reading this， partially because Mr。 Mechner's skillset is very different than mine （he wrote scripts for movies and such）， and partially because I have fond memories of Prince of Persia。 I remember playing it as a kid and getting so scared by the big chopper things that chop the Prince in half th A nice look back at the making of Prince of Persia。 Usually when I read stuff like this I can't help but feel jealous and wonder if I should have tried to start a startup or whatever。 I didn't feel that reading this， partially because Mr。 Mechner's skillset is very different than mine （he wrote scripts for movies and such）， and partially because I have fond memories of Prince of Persia。 I remember playing it as a kid and getting so scared by the big chopper things that chop the Prince in half that I ran out of the room :-）It's a diary so the topics vary a lot， but it's interesting and short！ 。。。more
David
，
As an artist and creator， so much of Jordan's thought process during the long process， literally years， of working on this classic game （in the pantheon of all time greats） resonated with me on a deeply emotional level。 The doubt， the self-reproach， the vitriol directed at those who didn't get it and never would。。。 it was comforting to read that even the creator of one of the greatest masterpieces of electronic art went through all those feelings we mortals endure。 As an artist and creator， so much of Jordan's thought process during the long process， literally years， of working on this classic game （in the pantheon of all time greats） resonated with me on a deeply emotional level。 The doubt， the self-reproach， the vitriol directed at those who didn't get it and never would。。。 it was comforting to read that even the creator of one of the greatest masterpieces of electronic art went through all those feelings we mortals endure。 。。。more
Jarred Finney
，
Played this game on my 386 and it was so different than anything else for the PC at that time。 This book is great for anyone who is facing challenges with something that they have created and released into the wild。
Saya
，
Si ya es difícil puntuar un libro escrito con un propósito， creo que puntuar un diario no tiene demasiado sentido。。。Había leído reviews negativas sobre este libro y su autor。 Quizá me equivoque， pero no las acabo de entender。 Qué fácil es juzgar la vida de alguien que todavía está aprendiendo， como si todos naciésemos "sabidos"。 Sí， Jordan Mechner es un pelín pedante a ratos y suelta comentarios machistas de vez en cuando （y no creo que eso deba sorprender a nadie）， pero también es honesto y hum Si ya es difícil puntuar un libro escrito con un propósito， creo que puntuar un diario no tiene demasiado sentido。。。Había leído reviews negativas sobre este libro y su autor。 Quizá me equivoque， pero no las acabo de entender。 Qué fácil es juzgar la vida de alguien que todavía está aprendiendo， como si todos naciésemos "sabidos"。 Sí， Jordan Mechner es un pelín pedante a ratos y suelta comentarios machistas de vez en cuando （y no creo que eso deba sorprender a nadie）， pero también es honesto y humilde， mostrando esa delgada línea entre defender lo que uno quiere hacer o está haciendo y resultar orgulloso y descarado。 En cualquier caso， el diario de Mechner contiene pasajes muy inspiradores， y considero importantísimo conocer no solo los triunfos de las personas， sino también sus dudas y fracasos。 Y el diario de Mechner tiene de todo eso。 No， obviamente el autor no es perfecto （¿lo eres tú？）， pero es jodidamente humano。Si te interesa mínimamente el proceso de creación de un videojuego y encima jugaste al primer Prince of Persia en su día， este libro puede ser para ti。 。。。more
Arthur Cravan
，
Sure， the guy is a bit of an egomaniac， & it makes the last quarter or so a lot less meaningful than what comes before， but it's easy to read & ultimately quite interesting。 I forgive a lot of the self-congratulatory bullshit - I mean， he's young， he's becoming successful， he was probably a bit of a basement-dweller leading up to the inflow of cashmoney。。。 & it was a personal journal， he didn't know people would be reading this shit 30 years later。 You can see a lot of his struggles， as well - I Sure， the guy is a bit of an egomaniac， & it makes the last quarter or so a lot less meaningful than what comes before， but it's easy to read & ultimately quite interesting。 I forgive a lot of the self-congratulatory bullshit - I mean， he's young， he's becoming successful， he was probably a bit of a basement-dweller leading up to the inflow of cashmoney。。。 & it was a personal journal， he didn't know people would be reading this shit 30 years later。 You can see a lot of his struggles， as well - I think the journal is a bit of him hyping himself up， directing himself， trying to get better。 So that's my stance on that。Other than somewhat defending （or at least excusing） the megalomaniacal side of things， I don't have too much to say。 It was a bit of a breezy read length- & voice-wise， it showed a lot of the business side of things that I didn't really expect but appreciated， & hearkens back to a time when a single man could create a videogame that takes over the world - at the forefront of fancy graphics， no less。 Makes me want to go back & actually try beating the game - because I'm not sure I ever got past the start of the second level as a kid。 。。。more
Tijs
，