The gaming community is no stranger to nostalgia. For many of us, though, players’ experiences with iconic games do not cross over into the realm of development. This is why the War Stories series on the Ars Technica YouTube channel is such an incredible look behind-the-scenes at some of the most influential games in the industry’s history.
In War Stories, Ars Technica wisely takes a step back and allows these game directors, programmers, and developers to provide a fascinating look at the struggles in creating some of the best games ever, and how adversity frequently led to inspiration, resulting in innovative solutions to difficult problems.
Most recently, Jordan Mechner discusses all of the challenges he encountered when making Prince of Persia on the Apple II. The closer he got to completing the game, the later into the Apple II life cycle he went, but it was the hardware limitations that proved most troublesome. But the ideas that these obstacles precipitated are what made the game so impressive, and it’s well worth the watch.
One of my favorite games growing up was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, so the opportunity to watch the designer of that game comment on his development process for the original game in the series was remarkable.
If you liked this video, the War Stories series is a superb review of gaming history with some of the best creators the industry has to offer. Be sure to check out other videos on classic games.
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