Jordan Mechner (born 1960s) is a recognized figure in the video game industry as a visionary game designer. With the release of Prince of Persia in 1989, Mechner revolutionized the quality of computer animation used in computer and video games.

For the animations used in Prince of Persia, Mechner spent days studying videos of his brother running and jumping and meticulously replicated the actions in his game. No animation used in games up to that date had such realistic movements.

Mechner was born in New York City and graduated from Yale University in 1985. In 1993, Jordan formed Smoking Car Productions, an entertainment software development group based in San Francisco to create The Last Express.

In 2003, Ubisoft released the fourth installment of the Prince of Persia saga, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which Mechner was involved in. He was involved in name only with the fifth installment, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, which was released the following year. At least one further sequel is planned, currently scheduled for release in late 2005.

Mechner today divides his time between writing screenplays and designing video games. He also wrote and directed two award-winning documentaries Waiting for Dark and Chavez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story.

Games

• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (2004)
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003)
• Prince of Persia 3D (1999)
• The Last Express (1997)
• Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (1993)
• Prince of Persia (1989)
• Karateka (1986)

External links

• Moby Game's Rap Sheet on Mechner
• IMDb entry on Mechner
• Bio from documentary.org