A long time ago, when I was still a young kid, my dad bought an Apple //e (or maybe a //+, but eventually we ended up with a //e.) That event likely changed my life, and definitely set me on the path that ended up being my passion and career: a software developer. Before I got anywhere near programming though, I spent a lot of time doing all sorts of things on that computer. What I enjoyed most were computer games, and one of the most amazing games I had seen at an early age was Karateka.

Karateka was amazing because it had large characters that were animated very well. They were as close to lifelike as we got back then. It was written by someone called Jordan Mechner, who of course I had no idea who he was. The name stuck in my head though. A few years after Karateka, he came out with a game called Prince of Persia, which much later became a video game franchise and a movie. Back in the past when I was a kid, I played this game. It was a great game. It was hard. I never finished it. I also never actually bought the game, I illegally copied it from someone.

Well, recently Jordan Mechner released the source code to Prince of Persia, the original game! With that announcement, I spent of a bit of time on his website, and found that he also had written a book, the Making of Prince of Persia. I’ve got a link on the left to the Amazon version, I suggest the Kindle book because it is pretty cheap, like $8. I bought it because I was feeling a bit guilty about not paying for the games I had played. Karateka, which I did finish, and from which I learned one important bit of information: never run straight up to a princess if you have the opportunity to meet a princess. Walk slowly and respectfully towards her. I never did get very far on Prince of Persia – it was hard! – but I did enjoy playing. I think that even without the time limit Prince of Persia would have been hard for me back then. It would probably remain hard for me today, since there is a lot of mapping that you have to do, and I don’t know if I have the patience for it now.

I highly recommend watching the GDC Postmortem (linked on the left) of Prince of Persia, and buying the book. It isn’t really a technical programming book, it is really more of a diary about a young man trying to find a career for himself. I didn’t know that Jordan Mechner wanted to be a screenwriter, but that plays a large role in the book as well. I had a hard time putting the book down, and really enjoyed reading through the book, partly as nostalgia, and partly as an interesting look at a young man trying to find his way in life.

In fact, I’ve been really struck recently by how young people really can make a large difference and make a big impact. The most important thing is not experience (that helps, but can also just prevent you from doing something because you know how hard it can be to actually accomplish difficult tasks) but is just the idea of doing something. If you have an idea, don’t let people stop you, don’t let your idea of what you need to be to accomplish something, just get started and get out there and do it. I’m looking at all these amazing people who accomplish amazing things before the age of 30 – John Lennon, Steve Jobs, Anne Frank, Mozart, Shawn Fanning (well …)

It makes me excited to see what my young son will do when he is young. I’m proud of the things that I accomplished, but I haven’t changed the world. What is amazing to me is that you can change the world, even if it is only in the way of creating an amazing game that inspires others.