‘Prince of Persia’ creator Jordan Mechner on telling stories in 48 kilobytes or less
Ever since he began programming from his dorm room at Yale University, Jordan Mechner has wanted to make games that tell stories. Rising to prominence as a game designer during a time when the expressive qualities of computer games were severely limited by the machines they ran on, Mechner’s timeless classics like Prince of Persia have become recognized as foundational to modern day gaming. His now-expansive career, which also includes screenwriting and filmmaking, recently led him back to his native New York, where he spoke at NYU’s Game Center this week — ironically, his first time giving a talk there since being rejected from their film program in the early 80s.
