The Making of Prince of Persia

Journals 1985 - 1993

By: Jordan Mechner

Narrated by: Yuri Lowenthal

Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

A deep dive into the origins of the epic, best-selling video game, featuring previously unreleased content in the game creator's own words.

The creator of one of the most innovative and best-selling video games of all time gives an unvarnished look into the 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 collector’s edition includes:

• Narration from Jordan’s original journals
• The stages of the game’s creation

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.

©2011, 2020 Jordan Mechner (P)2020 Jordan Mechner

Reliving the journey

I’ve listened to this audio while driving. I immediately dived into his thinking process because the voiceover sounds imaginative. I almost relived the journal entries. If you like auto-biography style of writing, you will love this too. Understanding the physiological aspect of game development is a stress relief for those who are trying it out there.

Rare look back

Love books that capture “the moment” and aren’t all “hindsight bias”. There’s some authentic content about being a creator - and how tough that can be on your and others.

Sneak peak into a great mind at work.

The book is full of good lessons and overall just a really good listen. The journal style ensures that the story never lingers too long on a single point. There’s episodes of his life that are more interesting than others but it was good seeing all the various emotions and relationships involved in creating a substantial piece of work.

The best lesson I gained from this book is that the most solid thing you can for making creative work a reality is to put in the work. The daydreaming only leads to emotional rollercoasters. Working on things is the best way to solidify the ground under one’s feet.

There’s plenty of other nuggets besides that but that was my main takeaway. A worthwhile read.