I’ve been reading *The Making of Prince of Persia Journals 1985 — 1993* for the past few weeks. Absolutely wonderful insight to the creative process as a whole and the hurdles of game development. While the book may span only eight years, the experience comes off as timeless. One element I am captivated by is Jordan Mechner’s obsession with fluid, lifelike animation and how he pulled it off on an Apple II. [Watch the game in action](https://youtube.com/watch?v=fggouSd3dr4&t=155). Remarkable stuff. In the book, there is an ad that was used to promote the game. It’s a typical advert with quotes from reviews and some screenshots. ![[persia_animation_ad_scan.jpg]] The emphasis on the animation was certainly justified. Mechner would film people then take the film frame-by-frame and animate the game characters. > “September 23, 1986 — …It sounds like a pain, but I think it’s the best way.” Jordan Mechner, page 38 of The Making of Prince of Persia Journals 1985 — 1993 I find it fascinating that nearly 35 years later, the video game industry is still obsessively pursuing lifelike animation. > Even after years of working on it, I’m still blown away by the animation in Part II. We have one of — if not the — best animation team in the industry — both in raw animation skill and technical knowledge. Can’t wait for you to experience their incredible work. – Neil Druckmann via [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Neil_Druckmann/status/1238496735078625281) > Our animation team is super talented… This is just a small part of what is to come! – Almudena Soria Sancho via [Twitter](https://twitter.com/soria_sancho/status/1180324702301982721) [Some thing never change](https://youtube.com/watch?v=eML5icfq5VM&t=762)…