←back to thread

A platform-jumping prince – History of Prince of Persia's 1990s Ports

(www.jordanmechner.com)
189 points michelangelo | 1 comments | 26 Sep 25 04:29 UTC | HN request time: 0.244s | source
Show context
toonewbie ◴[26 Sep 25 05:59 UTC] No.45383182[source]▶
> "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.

replies(3): >>45383511 #>>45383658 #>>45386566 #
1. jezzamon ◴[26 Sep 25 06:50 UTC] No.45383511[source]▶
I've actually had the same experience the author describes -- me and a friend worked on a web game for 6 years together, and then later my friend made a steam port and extended the game. The experience was pretty awesome playing it for the first time; the connection to code review feels pretty trite in comparison.

The experience is more like discovering there was an extra book in a series you've read 20 times over. Except you were the original author!