Chapter 18 Interview: Jordan Mechner...............
Chapter 18 Interview: Jordan Mechner.................
The only complaint one could have about Jordan Mechner’s work in computer
games is that he has not made more of them. Each of the games he has
designed and spearheaded —Karateka,Prince of Persia, andThe Last Express
— has had a unique elegance and sophistication that one seldom finds in the
world of computer games. But the game industry has had to do without
Mechner for several periods of time while he pursued his other great love,
filmmaking. Indeed, it is Mechner’s knowledge of film that has helped to con-
tribute to the quality of his games. But this quality does not come through the
epic cut-scenes and barely interactive game mechanics that so often come
about when developers attempt to merge film and gaming. Instead, Mechner
has blended film and game techniques in unique and innovative ways, help-
ing his titles to tell stories visually while still retaining the qualities that make
them great games. This is the most apparent in his most recent work, the
amazingPrince of Persia: The Sands of Time. This interview was originally con-
ducted around the release ofThe Last ExpressforInside Mac Gamesmaga-
zine. For inclusion in this book, Mechner was kind enough to fill out the
interview a bit, expanding it to cover the full breadth of his twenty years in com-
puter game development.320