Cargo Interactive

I just happened to pass this game the other day. Prince of Persia Classic for the PS3 and Xbox 360 is a remake what is in my opinion one of the best games ever made. Jordan Mechner brought a completely new expirience to puzzle game design, inspiring a new sub-genre of platform games (to name a couple: Abe’s Oddysee, and the cinematic Another World by Eric Chahi).

I had heard that Mechner video taped his brother as a visual aide when designing his character animations. This was the key to creating fluid jumping, falling, and climbing sequences, and brought the game to life. This would be a precursor to motion capture. Here is some of that footage.

Prince of Persia Animation Reference 1985 from jordan mechner on Vimeo

Here’s a video I saw a while back, but felt it particularly inspiring. It’s a discussion among some of today’s most recognized independent game designers.  Pioneers, showing that small teams can make truly enjoyable and innovative games.