The Making of Prince of Persia: Notes on a four-year project
7 hours ago
- The article reviews Jordan Mechner's published journal 'The Making of Prince of Persia,' highlighting how the notebook was an active creative tool, not just a record.
- The four-year project actually contained two years of honest work; long pauses and periods of doubt were essential parts of the creative process, not detours.
- Mechner's game innovations came from combining real references: filming his brother for animations, tracing a swordfight from a 1938 movie, and using his father's music.
- The book emphasizes the importance of social interactions (lunches and conversations) in shaping the project, correcting the myth of the lone auteur.
- Post-ship years show Mechner struggling with purpose despite success, underscoring that the journal served as a lifelong thinking tool.
- The Stripe Press edition adds valuable marginalia and is recommended for its enhanced form, including an essay on why Mechner journals.
- The article includes trivia: the iconic shadow enemy was a memory constraint, the game initially flopped, and Mechner's deal was royalty-only with no advance.