So later on you must have found some more memory so you could put in the
other characters.
A lot of the time that goes into programming a game likePrince of Persiaon a computer
like the Apple II is taking what you’ve done already and redoing it to make it smaller and
faster. Eventually the stuff that was in there just got more efficient and left enough
room to come up with a limited set of character shapes for the guards. If you notice,
there’s a lot that the guards can’t do. They can’t run and jump and chase you. All they
can do is fight.
Your games have all been very visually appealing. How did you balance the
games’ visual appearance with the requirements of the gameplay?
I think along with what we already talked about with the simplicity of the controls and
consistency of the interface, visuals are another component where it’s often tempting
to compromise. You think, “Well, we could put a menu bar across here, we could put a
number in the upper right-hand corner of the screen representing how many potions
you’ve drunk,” or something. The easy solution is always to do something that as a side
effect is going to make the game look ugly. So I took as one of the ground rules going in
that the overall screen layout had to be pleasing, had to be strong and simple. So that
somebody who was not playing the game but who walked into the room and saw some-
one else playing it would be struck by a pleasing composition and could stop to watch
for a minute, thinking, “This looks good, this looks as if I’m watching a movie.” It really
forces you as a designer to struggle to find the best solution for things like inventory.
You can’t take the first solution that suggests itself, you have to try to solve it within the
constraint that you set yourself.
So what made you decide to stop working in games and pursue screenwriting
full time?
I’ve always sort of alternated games and film projects. I think there’s a lot of value to
recharging your creative batteries in a different medium.Karatekatook a lot of inspira-
tion from my film studies at Yale, especially silent films.Prince of Persiawould not have
been as rich if I hadn’t spent those couple of years afterKaratekathinking and breathing
film, writing a screenplay. The same withLast Express. That project came on the heels
of doing a short documentary film in Cuba calledWaiting for Dark. AndSands of Time
came after my longest break from games, several years during which I wrote screen-
plays and directed another documentary,Chavez Ravine.Right now, the challenge of
writing thePrince of Persiamovie and getting a good film made is my top priority. After
that, I don’t know whether my immediate next project will be a film, a video game, or
something else. To me a compelling project is one that I have to talk myselfoutof pur-
suing, rather than talk myself into it.
Technology is evolving pretty fast. A video game now is so different from what a
video game was ten years ago, who’s to say what we’ll be doing in ten years?
352 Chapter 18: Interview: Jordan Mechner