Jordan Mechner
Encyclopedia
Jordan Mechner is an American video game designer, screenwriter
, author
, and filmmaker, best known for creating the Prince of Persia
video game franchise.
. He is a graduate of Yale University
where he received a BA in psychology in 1985.
Mechner's first hit game was Karateka
(1984), created on the Apple II
while he was still an undergraduate at Yale University
. His second game, Prince of Persia, was released in 1989.
Prince of Persia was noted for its fluid animation
of human figures, which Mechner based on videos and photographs of his brother David
running and jumping. Both titles were published by Brøderbund
for the Apple II and became best sellers, while Prince of Persia was adapted for nearly every computer and console platform.
Mechner designed and directed the first sequel, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame
, released in 1993.
Mechner subsequently founded independent developer Smoking Car Productions
, where he led a 30-person creative team in the production of the critically acclaimed 1997 CD-ROM adventure game The Last Express
. Mechner's first four games were all published by Brøderbund
.
In 2001, Mechner joined forces with Ubisoft
to relaunch his decade old Prince of Persia
for a new generation of gamers. Developed at Ubisoft Montreal
with Mechner as game designer, writer and creative consultant, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
was one of the biggest hits of 2003, sweeping the Interactive Achievement Awards (DICE) with 12 nominations and 8 awards.
Ubisoft
has since published three more Prince of Persia
sequels and several spinoffs. The latest title, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
was released in May 2010.
Mechner recently became one of the few video game creators to adapt his own creation as a feature film with Disney's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
, directed by Mike Newell
, and starring Jake Gyllenhaal
, Gemma Arterton
, Ben Kingsley
, and Alfred Molina
. Disney released Prince of Persia movie on May 28, 2010. Mechner wrote the first drafts of the screenplay and is an executive producer of the film.
In 2003, Mechner wrote and directed the documentary
film, Chavez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story. It won the 2003 IDA award for Best Short Documentary, was short-listed for an Academy Award nomination, and received its broadcast premiere on PBS Independent Lens in 2005.
Mechner's first graphic novel, Solomon's Thieves, illustrated by LeUyen Pham & Alex Puvilland, will be published by First Second Books
in May 2010. Mechner previously collaborated with First Second, Pham & Puvilland on the 2008 Prince of Persia graphic novel written by A.B. Sina. Mechner also has a new Prince of Persia graphic novel, Prince of Persia: Before the Sandstorm, coming from Disney in April 2010 to tie in with the film’s release.
Mechner is writing the screenplay for a film adaptation of Michael Turner's Fathom
for Fox Studios and actress Megan Fox
.
Mechner has posted old journals and videos from the 1980s, describing the making of the first Prince of Persia game, on his personal blog, where he also posts sketches and current information about his projects.
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and filmmaker, best known for creating the Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia is a platform game, originally developed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1989 for the Apple II, that represented a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in video games....
video game franchise.
Life and career
Mechner was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He is a graduate of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
where he received a BA in psychology in 1985.
Mechner's first hit game was Karateka
Karateka (video game)
Karateka is a 1984 computer game by Jordan Mechner, the creator of Prince of Persia. Karateka was Mechner's first hit game, and was designed while he was attending Yale University. The game was renowned at the time for its realistic animations. In the United States, Karateka was published by...
(1984), created on the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
while he was still an undergraduate at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. His second game, Prince of Persia, was released in 1989.
Prince of Persia was noted for its fluid animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
of human figures, which Mechner based on videos and photographs of his brother David
David Mechner
David Mechner is an American amateur 6-dan Go player. He was a student of professional player Janice Kim and later an insei in Japan, studying under Oeda Yusuke ....
running and jumping. Both titles were published by Brøderbund
Brøderbund
Brøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
for the Apple II and became best sellers, while Prince of Persia was adapted for nearly every computer and console platform.
Mechner designed and directed the first sequel, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame is a platform game released by Brøderbund in 1993.-Gameplay:Similar to the first Prince of Persia, the character explores various deadly areas by running, jumping, crawling, avoiding traps, solving puzzles and drinking magic potions. Prince of Persia 2...
, released in 1993.
Mechner subsequently founded independent developer Smoking Car Productions
Smoking Car Productions
Smoking Car Productions was a video game developer founded by Jordan Mechner to create the computer game The Last Express.The company was located in San Francisco from 1993–1997 and at its peak had sixty full-time employees.- Staff :...
, where he led a 30-person creative team in the production of the critically acclaimed 1997 CD-ROM adventure game The Last Express
The Last Express
The Last Express is a video game created by Jordan Mechner and Smoking Car Productions, published in 1997. It is an adventure game that takes place on the Orient Express, days before the start of World War I. It is noted as being one of the few video games that attempts to realistically simulate...
. Mechner's first four games were all published by Brøderbund
Brøderbund
Brøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
.
In 2001, Mechner joined forces with Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
to relaunch his decade old Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia is a platform game, originally developed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1989 for the Apple II, that represented a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in video games....
for a new generation of gamers. Developed at Ubisoft Montreal
Ubisoft Montreal
Ubisoft Montreal is a Canadian video game developer owned by French publisher Ubisoft.Ubisoft's North American studio is located in Montreal, Quebec...
with Mechner as game designer, writer and creative consultant, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a third-person action-adventure computer and video game published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 21, 2003 and is a reboot of the landmark video game series Prince of Persia, created by Jordan Mechner in 1989.The Sands of Time, developed internally at...
was one of the biggest hits of 2003, sweeping the Interactive Achievement Awards (DICE) with 12 nominations and 8 awards.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
has since published three more Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia is a platform game, originally developed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1989 for the Apple II, that represented a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in video games....
sequels and several spinoffs. The latest title, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a multi-platform video game produced by Ubisoft which was released on May 18, 2010, in North America and on May 20 in Europe. The games mark a return to the storyline started by Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is...
was released in May 2010.
Mechner recently became one of the few video game creators to adapt his own creation as a feature film with Disney's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (film)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2010 sword-and-sorcery action film written by Jordan Mechner, Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard; directed by Mike Newell; produced by Jerry Bruckheimer; and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures...
, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Eleventh Hour, Without a Trace, Cold Case, The...
, directed by Mike Newell
Mike Newell (director)
Michael Cormac "Mike" Newell is an English director and producer of motion pictures for the screen and for television. After the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005, Newell became the third most commercially successful British director in recent years, behind Christopher Nolan...
, and starring Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
, Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton is an English actress. She played the eponymous protagonist in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and starred in the feature films St Trinian's, the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Tamara...
, Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
, and Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
. Disney released Prince of Persia movie on May 28, 2010. Mechner wrote the first drafts of the screenplay and is an executive producer of the film.
In 2003, Mechner wrote and directed the documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
film, Chavez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story. It won the 2003 IDA award for Best Short Documentary, was short-listed for an Academy Award nomination, and received its broadcast premiere on PBS Independent Lens in 2005.
Mechner's first graphic novel, Solomon's Thieves, illustrated by LeUyen Pham & Alex Puvilland, will be published by First Second Books
First Second Books
First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism.-History:...
in May 2010. Mechner previously collaborated with First Second, Pham & Puvilland on the 2008 Prince of Persia graphic novel written by A.B. Sina. Mechner also has a new Prince of Persia graphic novel, Prince of Persia: Before the Sandstorm, coming from Disney in April 2010 to tie in with the film’s release.
Mechner is writing the screenplay for a film adaptation of Michael Turner's Fathom
Fathom (comics)
Fathom is a comic book created by Michael Turner and originally published by Top Cow Productions. It debuted in 1998 and was Michael Turner's first creator-owned comic book series. Fathom is currently published by Turner's own company, Aspen MLT....
for Fox Studios and actress Megan Fox
Megan Fox
Megan Denise Fox is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2001 with several minor television and film roles, and played a regular role on Hope & Faith. In 2004, she launched her film career with a role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen...
.
Mechner has posted old journals and videos from the 1980s, describing the making of the first Prince of Persia game, on his personal blog, where he also posts sketches and current information about his projects.
Games
- Karateka (1984)
- Prince of Persia (1989)
- Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the FlamePrince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the FlamePrince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame is a platform game released by Brøderbund in 1993.-Gameplay:Similar to the first Prince of Persia, the character explores various deadly areas by running, jumping, crawling, avoiding traps, solving puzzles and drinking magic potions. Prince of Persia 2...
(1993) - The Last ExpressThe Last ExpressThe Last Express is a video game created by Jordan Mechner and Smoking Car Productions, published in 1997. It is an adventure game that takes place on the Orient Express, days before the start of World War I. It is noted as being one of the few video games that attempts to realistically simulate...
(1997) - Prince of Persia: The Sands of TimePrince of Persia: The Sands of TimePrince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a third-person action-adventure computer and video game published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 21, 2003 and is a reboot of the landmark video game series Prince of Persia, created by Jordan Mechner in 1989.The Sands of Time, developed internally at...
(2003)
Movies
- Waiting for Dark (1993)
- Chavez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story (2003)
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of TimePrince of Persia: The Sands of Time (film)Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2010 sword-and-sorcery action film written by Jordan Mechner, Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard; directed by Mike Newell; produced by Jerry Bruckheimer; and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures...
(2010) (screenwriter)