> "For the first time I felt what it's really like to play Prince of Persia when you're not the author and don't already know by rote what's lurking around every corner."
This perfectly captures why code reviews by someone who didn't write the original are so valuable. You can't unsee your own assumptions.
I remember seeing the following short but extremely interesting documentary about makings of the game as well: https://youtu.be/sw0VfmXKq54?feature=shared - Essential viewing for anyone interested in game development history.
I remember that I was playing the DOS version of PoP on a computer with Hercules Graphics Card (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_Graphics_Card) so I suppose the DOS version also supported Hercules (beyond CGA/EGA/VGA).
Finally, after all these years I still remember running it with "prince megahit" to enable cheat mode so I'd be able to pass the levels using ctrl+l...
You're supposed to read the entire left-hand column first, then scroll back up where it continues with "Presage had an excellent, seasoned lead Mac programmer..."
This works in print where you can guarantee that both columns fit on the page, but on the web it's just weird.
The columns are responsive, so a quick usability to fix is to make your browser window narrow enough that the other column goes away.
My friends parents used to clean a business on the weekends, and as kids we got dragged along, but we had permission to play games on one of the office computers.
It was an unassuming 286 running DOS, but it had a modem and a couple bulletin boards in the phonebook.
Prince of Persia was one of the games we played the most. Paired with a Soundblaster and a small set of speakers, playing that game in a dark office was a great experience.
Jordan's books "The Making of Karateka" and "The Making of Prince of Persia" are delightful stream of consciousness journals of his time working on these early pioneering titles and are a fascinating look into the history of the personal computer and computer gaming revolutions.
Full of his hopes, thoughts, fears, struggles, aspirations, setbacks, and successes. Old sketches and screen captures. Just reading about his workflow for the animation on Prince of Persia is fascinating.
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[ 2.0 ms ] story [ 41.4 ms ] threadThis perfectly captures why code reviews by someone who didn't write the original are so valuable. You can't unsee your own assumptions.
I remember seeing the following short but extremely interesting documentary about makings of the game as well: https://youtu.be/sw0VfmXKq54?feature=shared - Essential viewing for anyone interested in game development history.
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[1] https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-prince-o...
For those who wondered:
https://www.therage.ie/products/prince-of-persia-snes-japane...
https://x.com/Danny8bit/status/1196862172174811136/photo/1
The music, even though was playing from the PC beep speaker haunts me to this day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcI8lQvX8Ng
Finally, after all these years I still remember running it with "prince megahit" to enable cheat mode so I'd be able to pass the levels using ctrl+l...
I found someone briefly showing on yt :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQW4M5azj_0?t=60
You're supposed to read the entire left-hand column first, then scroll back up where it continues with "Presage had an excellent, seasoned lead Mac programmer..."
This works in print where you can guarantee that both columns fit on the page, but on the web it's just weird.
The columns are responsive, so a quick usability to fix is to make your browser window narrow enough that the other column goes away.
It was an unassuming 286 running DOS, but it had a modem and a couple bulletin boards in the phonebook.
Prince of Persia was one of the games we played the most. Paired with a Soundblaster and a small set of speakers, playing that game in a dark office was a great experience.
Full of his hopes, thoughts, fears, struggles, aspirations, setbacks, and successes. Old sketches and screen captures. Just reading about his workflow for the animation on Prince of Persia is fascinating.
Jordan has a way with storytelling.
https://x.com/jmechner/status/1831585901350158436