The Making of Prince of Persia: Journals 1985-1993

by Jordan Mechner

  Jim’s work is dismayingly bad. I’m not sure he’s saved us any time at all. I’ve got no choice but to redo it. What at first seemed like a fun thing to do for a couple of days has turned into a massive project. Three days, and I’m burnt out and not even half finished.

  Brian and Lance are thrilled to have me coming in every day, even though it’s for a bad reason. The first day, I worked in Lance’s room, the last two in Brian’s. Brian in particular is happy as a clam. We just got another rave review (Nibble magazine), the customer response cards are uniformly “Excellent,” the IBM version is starting to come together… and now that he’s got me under his wing, he’s confident everything will go smoothly.

  Dad delivered his new music, which he and Tom Rettig are both pleased with. (Dad: “This is the first music I’ve written that I’ve really liked.” Tom: “This is the most exciting project I’ve ever worked on.”) Even Lance likes it.

  Doug brought Ken and Roberta Williams by today and I showed them IBM Prince. (Ken: “Great animation.”) Doug then explained that he was losing me to the movies, and that in an effort to forestall this he’d written me a bad recommendation for NYU.

  Alan Weiss has been removed from the job, putting Prince’s future on NES and Game Boy temporarily in doubt. Dianne Drosnes is taking over licensing. Tomi and I have already talked to her. A Nintendo license might mean an advance of $150,000, and again that much in royalties… enough to pay for three years of film school… so it’s worth politicking for.

  Getting Prince onto as many different formats as possible (maximizing my future income stream) is all very well, but what’s really grabbing my attention these days is the potential for something bigger. Dad’s suggestion that I make a franchise out of Prince sequels, Doug’s offer that I captain a new graphic-adventure line for Broderbund, and my own idea of starting a company with Tomi, Roland, or Lance, are all sort of churning around in the back of my mind; I’m just waiting for them to coalesce into some really irresistible form.

  January 26, 1990

  The character animations for IBM Prince are a big job. I’ve put in thirty hours this week and I’m barely halfway through. It turns out that what I’m doing is not, as billed, a “polish” of Jim St. Louis’s work, but a complete overhaul. In some cases I’ve even had to go back to the Apple originals.

  I hope Jim doesn’t notice that all his work has been redone when he sees the published product. I actually feel worse about the possibility that his feelings will be hurt than I do about having wasted time and money paying for work I’m now having to redo myself.

  It’s all coming together. Sound effects, music, graphics. Tom Rettig, Dad, and Leila have outdone themselves; they’ve given this project the best work they’re capable of, and more of their time than Brian or I had a right to expect.

  This is going to be the definitive version of Prince of Persia. With VGA and sound card, on a fast machine, it’ll blow the Apple away. (In contrast, none of the Karateka conversions was as good as the Apple original.) If it makes its new April release date, it’ll be shown at Computerfest in May. I hope so. God, I hope it’s as big a hit as it deserves to be.

  Everything seems to be going right. The Apple version hasn’t received any marketing push as of yet (and is selling a lackluster 500 or so units a month, as against 1,500 for a normal Carmen Sandiego title), but the reviews have been glowing enough to hold everyone’s attention. Everything depends on how the IBM version sells. (IBM Carmen is selling 5,000 units a month.)

  In three months we should have some idea. The waiting is driving me crazy.

  This isn’t such a bad business to be in. Now that I’m going to leave, I’m starting to miss it. It’s more fun now that I’m not programming by myself. I think it would be fun to start a software company to make games, or educational games.

  But how can I do that while enrolled as a full-time graduate student at NYU? To try to do both at the same time would be folly. I don’t want to short-shrift NYU the way I short-shrifted Yale.

  I don’t want to spend another three years moving pixels around, even though it would be fun. I want to make movies.

  I’m so confused.

  January 31, 1990

  Another Broderbund week. I’m so tired of coloring in these frames, I see paint in front of my eyes when I fall asleep at night. But it’s worth it. Two weeks of back-aching work, away from the new screenplay, is a reasonable price to pay for an IBM version as spectacular as this one is turning out to be – especially since the same graphics will be used in the Amiga, Atari ST, and CPC versions.

  And it is spectacular. It fulfills all my hopes of what a VGA version might look like. With its 3-D shaded backgrounds and cleanly drawn animated characters, it looks like a Disney film. I think when people see it with the new characters, they’ll flip out. John Baker stopped by Lance’s desk on his way out, and was stunned by the opening sequence with the new music. “That is hot!” he said, a most un-Baker-like utterance.

  Politically, the situation couldn’t be better. IBM Prince of Persia is being touted as a test case, an example of what the Broderbund in-house machine can do. If it hits, it’ll be a vindication of all John Baker’s efforts during his tenure at Broderbund to develop an effective system to run PD.

  The truth is, in this case the “system” benefited from a lot of unofficial work by the original author – if I’d spent the past seven months off in Europe and Dad hadn’t done new music, it would have gotten done just as fast but it wouldn’t have been as good – but that’s irrelevant. It’s better for it to be viewed as an in-house triumph rather than mine. That perception will help ensure that it gets a fair shake in QA, marketing, promotion and sales.

  February 2, 1990

  Another lackluster month for Apple POP sales: 600-odd units. This in a month when Karateka sold 200, Wings of Fury 400, and Ancient Art of War 700 – in short, it’s selling no better than the old, established, dying Apple II games that came out a few years ago.

  In the same month, the Apple version of Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? sold 15,000 units.

  It’s frustrating. The reviews all say it’s the greatest Apple game in the history of the world. Where are the 15,000 Apple owners who bought Carmen Time this month? Do they read those magazines? Do they even know this game exists?

  Patience, Mechner. It took seven months after release for Karateka to have its first big month (June 1985, 12,000 units). POP has only had four.

  (But POP sold in at 3,000 units. This means the stores haven’t been reordering. Why not? I can’t shake this fear that something terrible is happening –- that it’s going to die.)

  Relax. The IBM version is on its way. What happens with the Apple II version won’t matter so much.

  God, I want this game to be a hit so badly. It’s the best game I know how to make. As far as I can see, I’ve done everything right. If it doesn’t become a hit, I don’t want to be in this business any more.

  At least I’ve applied to NYU. But if POP isn’t a hit, how am I going to pay for it? $13,000 bucks a year! And the cost of living in the city…

  The IBM version isn’t going to ship till April. Three months. I’ve got to get my mind off this somehow.

  Like, by finishing my next screenplay.

  By the time Deathbounce died, I’d already forgotten it. Four months after Karateka shipped, when it was looking like a dud, I felt only mild disappointment – I was concentrating on my schoolwork.

  If Prince of Persia fails, it’s going to take the heart right out of me.

  I want to travel to foreign countries. Someplace exotic and romantic that’s completely different from the USA. India maybe. China. Russia. If I don’t do it now I’ll never be able to do it again – not the way you travel when you’re young: looking for answers in everything, hoping to fall in love.

  February 5, 1990
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br />   Another day at Broderbund. Today I didn’t even get to work on the graphics. All I did was meet with people: Henry Yamamoto (NEC 9801 version, looking good after three months’ work; possibly other Japanese versions); Dianne Drosnes (game machine licensing); Roland (3.5" Apple II version; we fixed the bug that was causing all the trouble); and, of course, Tom, Lance, and Leila.

  The IBM version impresses everyone who sees it. I’m feeling very confident.

  I also talked to Jim Alex. He told me that I was going to be a hot property very soon and he wants to make my next script as well. That he had a first-look deal with Paramount, but that he left the lot because it was too much trouble to find parking, and is now close to making a deal with not just one but two other studios, MGM and Universal. He said: “I promise you this movie will get made.” At around this point it dawned on me that I was talking to a man on the verge of a complete psychological breakdown. It’s not only that I don’t believe him, it’s that it’s logically impossible for all of his statements to be true simultaneously.

  Meanwhile, Larry Turman sent me a copy of the recommendation he wrote me for NYU. Warm and glowing. Now there is a producer, and a gentleman. He may not be riding a hot streak at the moment, but I’d work with him again in a second if the chance presented itself. The more experiences I have, the more I realize that working with people you like and respect is more important than anything else.

  February 8, 1990

  Got a call from Jack Abramoff, Jim Alex’s backer on In the Dark. He asked if I could write a synopsis of the story for him. He also asked if I had any casting suggestions for the lead teenage girl role. He seemed like a nice guy, even though everything I’ve heard is to the contrary. He told me he’d made Red Scorpion.

  “I’ll have to rent it,” I said.

  He laughed. “Don’t bother. Unless you’re a Rambo freak.”

  VGA IBM POP went into QA on Tuesday.

  “It’s Dying Out There”

  February 22, 1990

  Dianne Drosnes hailed me in the parking lot and told me she was following up on POP and, in addition to Nintendo and Game Boy, would try to license it for a coin-op.

  February 23, 1990

  Broderbund ten-year anniversary party.

  March 5, 1990

  Today was a glorious summer day. I got to Broderbund in time to go with Brian, Rob, Dane and Ed to China Camp for a picnic by the bay.

  Saw the new NEC 9801 Prince from Japan. It’s beautiful. It blew me away. What a great feeling. As Lance said: “It’s like seeing the movie version of a book you wrote.”

  Doug came in all excited about making Prince of Persia Roland MT-32 compatible. Nice thought, but it would mean slipping the release date. We talked him out of it, but just barely.

  Apple Prince sold fewer than 150 units last month. It’s dying out there. This is unbelievable. Laurie reported to me a remark made by Latricia T., Marketing Manager: “It’s only an arcade game, and arcade games don’t sell.”

  Time for me to take Latricia to lunch.

  If only there were some way of harnessing Doug’s enthusiasm and putting it to use.

  What I need is simple: (1) A marketing push for the IBM version. (2) Licensing to game machines.

  Latricia and Dianne, respectively, hold my fate in their hands. And neither of them knows anything about computer games, or has any idea what makes this one special.

  March 6, 1990

  Drove to Forest Knolls where Danny Gorlin lives. He showed me his setup. We had lunch in Fairfax. It was a nostalgic day, recalling everything the software business once meant to me, and I’d write a lot more about it, if I weren’t going to Cuba.

  March 7, 1990

  Roland came over for breakfast and we installed an extra 1 MB in my Mac. Roland tested it out by creating an 8,000-page document in MS Word.

  March 9, 1990

  Lunch with Latricia, Sophie and Jessica. Latricia didn’t seem to want to talk about Prince of Persia, so we talked about my Hollywood adventures instead. It’s true what Laurie said: Latricia doesn’t like this game. Even Sophie and Jessica are enthusiastic, but to Latricia, it’s an arcade game, and “arcade games don’t sell.”

  A really good review by the Game Wardens.

  The 3.5” version of Apple POP finally signed out of QA today.

  The IBM version is down to the last few bugs, and O God, it’s a thing of beauty. Playing it is a pleasure, even for me. It’s the most beautiful game I’ve ever seen. And I’m not the only one who’s saying that. If this version doesn’t sell 100,000 copies, there is no justice in the world.

  Dianne stopped by and told me she was submitting it to Konami. Thank God she’s in there trying. I hope they sell a few before the bottom drops out of the cartridge business.

  The tension is just about unbearable. This game should be a major hit. It should sell 250,000 copies. In the best case, if it gets licensed to game machines and coin-ops, I could end up making over a million bucks. Alternatively, everything could just… fizzle.

  I won’t really know till May. Two more months.

  NYU called to say they never got Doug’s letter of recommendation. I had to call and ask him to write a new one. I think it annoyed him. He’s also probably annoyed about the Roland MT-32 fiasco, where he tried to do me a favor and thanks in part to my lack of enthusiasm, it blew up in his face.

  March 27, 1990

  Got a $2,000 check from James Alex, renewing the option on In the Dark.

  IBM POP signoff looks imminent. I invited Lance, Leila, Brian, Tom and Oliver to dinner Friday to celebrate.

  March 29, 1990

  All versions of IBM POP have signed out. Hooray! On the horizon: Amiga and Mac. I’m worried about Scott. It’s almost April and I still haven’t seen an alpha version.

  March 30, 1990

  Prince of Persia IBM celebratory dinner at Butler’s. Lance, Leila, Brian, Ollie, Tom and me. It was a lot of fun. I paid. They were grateful. It was a good thing to do.

  At the company meeting they unveiled the promotional campaign for Wolf Pack. Brian and I are seething with jealousy. It makes me sick to think that Prince of Persia hasn’t received even a tiny fraction of the attention (or money) they’re lavishing on this product.

  Latricia T., once again you stand between me and perfect happiness!

  Brian, John Baker, Tom and Leila would love to have POP 2 as an in-house project. If I’m going to be off at school, it would be a comfort to have it sheltered under Broderbund’s wing.

  April 3, 1990

  A perfect spring day. I drove out to Danny’s to see Amiga Prince. He’s on schedule! Brian is still maddeningly skeptical. Danny must really have traumatized everyone on Typhoon Thompson to engender such distrust.

  A great piece of news: Tandy’s decided to stock Prince of Persia. They chose it over Wolf Pack – HAH! Take that, Latricia! (Steve Dunphy wrote in his memo to Brian: “Even though Latricia came with me, they decided to order 11,000 units. Imagine how many they would have ordered if I’d gone alone.”)

  As Brian pointed out, on the strength of this one order, IBM POP has already outsold the Apple version 2:1.

  May 25, 1990

  Lunch with Lance today, and a meeting with Ann Kronen about Prince 2. She’s not willing to commit to a sequel until Prince proves itself in the IBM marketplace – i.e., until its trajectory makes it clear that it will sell at least 100,000 units.

  I reminded her that I’m going to NYU in the fall, so if I don’t do it this summer, I won’t be free to start until next June at the earliest. This left her unmoved.

  Lance, meanwhile, assured me that he’ll do it… in his spare time if necessary.

  Everyone is unhappy. Product managers are leaving in droves. Broderbund is going down the sink. Doug is travelling.
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br />   Prince just got a rave review from the largest entertainment magazine in France, Tilt (“the great Jordan Mechner, author of the unforgettable Karateka”… gotta love the French), which nobody at Broderbund will even bother to have translated to find out what it says. Tomi had to translate it for me.

  It also got a good response at a “focus group” test Don Panek and Alan Weiss ran at the Northgate mall yesterday afternoon. I dropped in and watched the kids play it through a one-way mirror. All the kids said that if it were available on Nintendo, it would be one of the top two or three cartridges on their shopping lists.

  But I’m more worried than ever that despite the incredibly enthusiastic reactions from the few people who’ve seen it, this game will sink without a splash. People at Broderbund don’t know what they’ve got. And I don’t see what more I can do that I haven’t already done.

  I sure hope NYU lets me in. I don’t want to spend another minute here.

  May 31, 1990

  Dinner at Royal Thai with Tomi and the French interviewers from Tilt who interviewed me the other day – Dany Boolauck (the most famous computer journalist in Europe, according to Dominique) and Jean-Michel Blottiere. It was a lot of fun. We stayed late drinking beer and talking about the software industry, Europe and America. It’s been a long time since I met two such enthusiastic and interesting new people. It was a pleasure.

  June 2, 1990

  Those bastards! They turned me down! NYU said No!

  Ann Norton thinks what probably happened is that since my application wasn’t complete till several months after the deadline (because Adaire lost Doug’s first letter of recommendation instead of mailing it), they’d already filled all their slots. This might actually be true.

  Shit. Now what do I do?

  June 7, 1990

  I moved out of the attic at 47 Paul. There was a full moon in a bright blue sky with clouds drifting past it. I felt like I was saying goodbye to Broderbund.