The Making of Prince of Persia

A deep dive into the origins of the epic, bestselling video game, in the creator's own words.

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 industryand 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 more
• A 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.

“"Mechner'sjournals are a unique record from the birth of an industry, in thewords of one of its pioneers--and if that's all they were, they would beinvaluable. But The Making of Prince of Persia is also an unvarnished window into the creative process, with all itsexcitement, toil, setbacks, doubts and triumphs. A fantastic read." -- D.B. Weiss, writer and co-creator of HBO's Game of Thrones "Whenan industry is brand-new, its innovators are generally so busy creatingthe future that they rarely have time to document the present. Luckily,Jordan Mechner did. With these journals, we can track the developmentof Prince of Persia froma few penciled squiggles to a global franchise. For anyone aspiring tocreate a game--or any endeavor that takes months and man-hours--Jordan'sjournal is sobering and inspiring." -- John August, screenwriter, author, host of Scriptnotes podcast "Mechner'sjournals are a time machine that takes us back to an era when ambitiousyoung creators were making strange new video games all by themselvesand making up the rules as they went. It is not a retrospective;instead, it is a present-tense diary written by the creator throughoutthe creation of his most influential work. It is a humbling andinspiring record of what it was like to make one of the best video gamesof all time. I love these journals." -- Adam "Atomic" Saltsman, game designer and creator of Canabalt " Prince of Persia was the first computer game I ever fell in love with. Thirty years on,we are very lucky to have this window into its creative process.Mechner's journey is a universal one for anyone creating something brandnew, and it brought me back to the early, crazy days of buildingInstagram. The engineer in me loved his description of the technicalchallenges and solutions, and the entrepreneur in me loved the honestchronicle of his emotional adventure. I'm excited to get to revisitthese journals in newly illustrated form." --Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram "Probably my favorite book on game development." -- Neil Druckmann, writer and director of The Last of Us and Uncharted 4”

"Mechner'sjournals are a unique record from the birth of an industry, in thewords of one of its pioneers—and if that's all they were, they would beinvaluable. But The Making of Prince of Persiais also an unvarnished window into the creative process, with all itsexcitement, toil, setbacks, doubts and triumphs. A fantastic read."—D.B. Weiss, writer and co-creator of HBO's Game of Thrones

"Whenan industry is brand-new, its innovators are generally so busy creatingthe future that they rarely have time to document the present. Luckily,Jordan Mechner did. With these journals, we can track the developmentof Prince of Persia froma few penciled squiggles to a global franchise. For anyone aspiring tocreate a game—or any endeavor that takes months and man-hours—Jordan'sjournal is sobering and inspiring."—John August, screenwriter, author, host of Scriptnotes podcast

"Mechner'sjournals are a time machine that takes us back to an era when ambitiousyoung creators were making strange new video games all by themselvesand making up the rules as they went. It is not a retrospective;instead, it is a present-tense diary written by the creator throughoutthe creation of his most influential work. It is a humbling andinspiring record of what it was like to make one of the best video gamesof all time. I love these journals."—Adam "Atomic" Saltsman, game designer and creator of Canabalt

"Prince of Persiawas the first computer game I ever fell in love with. Thirty years on,we are very lucky to have this window into its creative process.Mechner's journey is a universal one for anyone creating something brandnew, and it brought me back to the early, crazy days of buildingInstagram. The engineer in me loved his description of the technicalchallenges and solutions, and the entrepreneur in me loved the honestchronicle of his emotional adventure. I'm excited to get to revisitthese journals in newly illustrated form."—Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram

"Probably my favorite book on game development."
—Neil Druckmann, writer and director of The Last of Us and Uncharted 4

Jordan Mechner is a game designer, screenwriter, graphic novelist, and author. Widely considered a pioneer of cinematic storytelling in the video game industry, he created Prince of Persia, one of the most successful and enduring video game franchises of all time, and became the first game creator to adapt his own work into a feature film with Disney’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. He also created the games Karateka and The Last Express. His books include the Eisner Award-nominated graphic novel Templar (a New York Times bestseller); his 1980s game development journals, The Making of Karateka and The Making of Prince of Persia; and his recent sketchbook journal, Year 2 in France. He lives in France.

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR: Jordan Mechner's graphic novel Templar won the Eisner Award and was a New York Times bestseller. GAMING HISTORY: Prince of Persia is a bestselling video game credited with pioneering a new genre of cinematic storytelling. The Making of Prince of Persia appeals to a vast and engaged audience of video gamers and retro gaming fans. APPEAL TO CREATIVES: The Making of Prince of Persia is an in-depth look at Jordan Mechner's creative process as an independent artist, making the book an indispensable resource for artists, filmmakers, writers, and other creatives. NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN MATERIAL: This edition includes original work-in-progress sketches, cartoons, and annotations, plus a new section in which Mechner reflects on the game's legacy--including the Ubisoft Prince of Persia games and the Disney film. ENGAGED COMMUNITY: Stripe Press has a sizable community of avid fans--who run the gamut from startup founders to executives at some of the world's largest companies--who eagerly await each new title. Many readers tweet about our books--the Stripe Press "shelfie" is a genre unto itself--as do the founders of Stripe and many Stripe employees.

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